Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Your Heart

"At the end of the day, I want to hear people say my heart looks like Your heart..."


"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."-Deuteronomy 6:5


"Be strong, and let your heart take courage all you who wait for the Lord." -Psalm 31:24


"You yourself are our letter of recommendation, written in our hearts, to be known and read by all.  And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on the tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." -2 Corinthian 3:2-3


His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things...'-Matthew 25:23


It's hard to imagine...


A world where everyone strived to lead a life reflecting Christ.
Radical compassion, pure acceptance, unwavering love, endless forgiveness.
Can you even begin to grasp it?  A better question is, are you living it?


This morning as I did my devotional, I was sitting here just thinking. 
I listened to a song called "Your Heart" by Chris Tomlin and I was struck by the overwhelming power behind this song.  It gave me perspective and clarity on the important things in my life which I keep pushing to the background, sure I have enough time to do them one day.  


The song says,
"I never did dream beyond the pastures I could tend, 
Never was about the praise, 
Not about the street parade,
Didn't really need a crowd when Goliath fell down
Never meant to wear a crown
or to bring armies down, 
never was about me or who I hoped to be..."


I am a dreamer. Plain and simple.  
Some people tell me to get my head out of the clouds, and I listen.  I limit the dreams God gives me and label them too difficult by the world's standards...
 I pull myself back to Earth only to realize that keeping my heart with Jesus is the only way to even begin to stand the darkness here.  Pain, lies, rejection, failure, poverty, disease, death....focusing on some of the things this world brings pushes me to sink without God to hold me up.


  God has given me a vision for a better world where some of its darkness will be overtaken by the beautiful light of Christ's Kingdom, but I lose sight of this.  God has blessed every single one of us in a unique way to better this world, and yet we wait, I continue to wait for the perfect opportunity.


We wait for a blaring green light to go.
We wait for someone to ask us blatantly for help.
We wait for when we have 'free time'


News flash! You may never get any of these things.  It can be like sitting at a stop sign waiting for a green light that will never come, ever!  Sometimes, it means having the courage to move forward with the power of Christ behind you directing your path.  We must always continue moving forward because this life will not last forever.


Doubt and excuses are what shoves us back into the ordinary and we forget how precious the time God grants us is.  

'Oh I have time to meet that person sitting by themselves another day'


'I'll tell them how much I care if it really comes down to it'


'I'll volunteer there next year maybe...'


'I'll bring up faith with my friends if it comes up...'


'I will invite him to church next month...'


'I'll really live out my faith once I'm settled in, now's the time for fun'


Matthew 24:36 says,"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."


Instead of looking at your life from a human perspective, try thinking of it from God's perspective.  
We have such little time here and every single moment we spend focused on things apart from God, is a moment wasted.  


Seeking and studying God on a rainy Tuesday morning, I am reminded of God's everlasting love. The love that envelops us and calls us to further His work here on Earth.  
Today is the day to live.  The day to take joy in God no matter what stage or season of life you find yourself in.  
Today is the day to grow.  The day where you do that one thing God has been prompting you to and you have yet to do.
Today is the day to glorify and to love.  Love those around you and reflect the compassion God has given to you so that you may give it away.


Following Christ means not settling.  
Not settling for the mediocre, the false image of love, a superficial society, half-hearted living, surface relationships, a life full of excuses against living the way you know you can.


It is defined by challenging yourself and others around you to become rooted in Christ.  To search your heart and find God waiting to use you.  
Our mission is clear: To live like Jesus did, having Love be our reason, our purpose, our meaning, our joy.  He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)


So where are you today?  
What excuses are blocking you from being the person you can be?
Let God wipe them away and replace them with the victory of Christ that plants a love in our hearts and minds to persevere through this life.  It is the victory of our faith that overcomes this world (1 John 5:4-5).


Lord, help us to deepen our passion and clarify the vision You give us for our lives.  Your heart is the only thing that brings true fulfillment for us and the power to restore healing in our broken hearts.  Forgive us for giving up on dreams You give us because we deem them impossible.  All things are possible through You and nothing can separate a Love so deep that it connects every single person on Earth and in Heaven.  Give us a spirit of courage to go out into this world and to be a reflection of Love for those who don't know who You are.  May your love dwell in our hearts and become so rich that it overflows out of our hearts and into the lives of others.  In Jesus' name, Amen.




"I can't hold it all inside, I'm reaching for the One who brought me out of death and into life..."



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