Archive for Christian Living
The Heart of the Matter
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The Bible has so much to say about our hearts. Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day when they “found fault” with his disciples for not following their traditions and he had these words for them,
“Hear me, EVERYONE, and understand: there is nothing that enters a man or woman from outside which can defile them; but the things which come out of a person, those are the things that defile them….For from within, OUT OF THE HEART, comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these EVIL things come from WITHIN and defile a person.”
Matthew 7
Jesus levels the playing field with this list as he puts evil thoughts, envy, slander, and arrogance on the same team as sexual immorality, theft, murder, and adultery. As he addressed those religious leaders, he said, “You don’t have a leg to stand on! You might not be a murderer, but your mind is full of slander and evil thoughts, etc.”
I am reminded of something Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say: “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket.”
Jesus basically taught that our hearts are the heart of the matter. We do well to daily ask God to show us what’s in our hearts.
Proverbs 4:23 tells us that “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” In other words, everything flows from your heart.
Why You Must Not Go Back
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Last week I posted some thoughts about why you must go back.
There are times when we must deal with our past issues because our past issues are still having a current effect on our lives.We do need to go back emotionally when we need to grieve our sins, our mistakes, our losses. We need to go back and experience the fullness of moments we have ignored, avoided, or pushed to the back of our consciousness.
But at other times, it is unfruitful and even unhealthy to go back.
There are two ways that we can choose to live in the past. One is by idealizing the past, and the other is by allowing the past to freeze us in our pain. Let’s look at these two ways and see if we find ourselves in either unhealthy pattern.
The Perfect Past
“If things could just be like they used to be!”
How often I have heard this expression of a deep longing in someone’s heart! Things have changed and we just want to go back to the way things used to be.
We long to turn back the hands of time. We wish we could wave a magic wand over our lives and restore things to the way they used to be. Although it is legitimate to grieve when we have experienced loss and it is right to be thankful for a wonderful event or season, may I suggest that the answer is not in going back?
Are You Tired?
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Isaiah 53:4 contains a beautifully mysterious phrase. Jesus carried our sorrows.
What an amazing thought! The very idea of “sorrows” invokes feelings of things that are weighty and burdensome. To know that there is One who will carry those things which are too heavy for me is a thought which comforts and encourages my soul.
Life is made of cycles and seasons, and you don’t have to live long to figure out that some of those are filled with sorrows and pain. When my life is filled with sorrows, I cry out for relief, longing to escape the place where my heart is torn apart. And Jesus answers. Sometimes his answer contain immediate rescue, but many times His answer carries this idea, “I will carry the sorrows for you.”
He always wants to carry our burdens, but we usually try to handle life in our own ways, carrying things in what we believe to be our own strength. The problem with that is, well, we don’t really have any strength! It is an illusion. Nothing reveals our lack of strength any more than sorrow and pain. When life becomes unbearable, then we are either driven to the feet of Jesus to ask for help or we are moved to reject him because we misunderstand his heart.
The Unforced Rhythms of Grace
Posted by: | CommentsIn this busy world in which we live, Jesus offers a beautiful gift – rest. In Matthew 11:28-30, we find these words of Jesus:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NKJV)
I also want to include that section of Scripture from The Message:
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." (The Message)
We all long for true rest, the kind that Adam and Eve had before their fall when they walked and talked with God easily and did the work that He directed them to do. Notice what Jesus said about true rest:
· If we want true rest, we must come to Jesus.
· His offer is for all who are tired, worn out, and burned out.
· Rest is a gift from Jesus.
Seeing Through the Eyes of Grace
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