How's your heart?

How's your heart? That can be a very important question. Towards the end of last year, a very dear friend of ours (my wife and me), who was 81 years of age (the same age as I currently am!), but full of life, and joy, and who always seemed to be in the best of health, died unexpectedly. The cause of her death? A sudden heart attack. The Emergency Services were called, but it was too late. Now, I have to say that this dear lady was a true disciple of Jesus and we believe, firmly, that while the physical body died, her spirit - the very essence of who she was - went to be with her Saviour, to be eternally with Him. However, it would appear that her heart - the physical organ - wasn't as strong as those who knew her had believed!

The heart, as well as being a physical organ, has long been considered to be the seat of our emotions; the seat if decisive action; and the seat of belief (as well as of doubt!). The heart symbolises the centre of our moral, spiritual, and intellectual life. It is the seat of our conscience and life.

And Almighty God knows our hearts well! Through the prophet, Jeremiah, He states that "I YHWH search the mind and try the heart, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (17:10). After the global flood, He pronounces that "the desires of the human heart are evil from youth;" (Gen. 8:21; NABrevd).

The Lord Jesus informed His disciples that "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man." (Mark 7:21-23).

Father God searches, and weighs, our hearts by the teaching of the Scriptures. He opens our hearts, to His truth, and gives us a new heart when we come to the Christ, in confession, repentance, faith, and commitment. He gives us a heart that is sensitive to His presence, His leading, and His love. Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, He states: "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances." (36:26-27), words originally declared to the Children of Israel, but applicable to all.

Don't ever hesitate to take to Him whatever is on your heart. He already knows it, in any case, but He doesn't want you to bear its pain, or celebrate its joy, alone!

So, "How's your heart?"!

God's Grace

If I had just £1 for every time I have spoken a benediction, I would have quite a tidy sum in the bank! The precise wording does, of course, vary but the form that I use most regularly is found in Paul's second letter to the believers in Corinth: 

 « The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. »  (II Cor.13:14). To be honest, I usually use the somewhat extended form that I learned from Rev George B. Duncan: « The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is all-sufficient; the love of God the Father, that never fails; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Who never forsakes, be with you all. » There is almost a wee sermon in that benediction!

However, the words « The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ » appear no less than thirteen times in the pages of the New Testament. I would contend that, in the Scriptures, such repetition is not because of a lack of something to say, but because God the Holy Spirit wishes to specifically emphasise something! Could it be that, in this instance, He is wishing to place an emphasis on the grace of God?

Many will be familiar with the acrostic that makes up the word "grace" in the English language - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. By the way, it is also one of the words at which I look more fully in my first book - Great Words of the Faith - a link to which may be found at the top of the page. Please forgive me for emphasising that ALL royalties go directly to Release International, in support of the persecuted church in more than 50 countries worldwide. I do not receive a single penny! Grace has also been defined as receiving from Father God that which we do not deserve (Mercy, on the other hand, is not receiving from the Father what we do deserve!).

God extends His grace to the very creation itself, simply by keeping the universe together! Peter writes: « … by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. » (II Peter 3:5-7). If I were God, I would have wrapped up this world a long time ago - but I do not exercise His grace!

Sadly, there are those who abuse the very grace of God. Jude, in his brief letter, refers to them as « ... ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.» (Jude 4). They deny the very One Who has paid the penalty for all of the sin of which they are guilty; the One Who, for their (and our!) sake was « ... made ... to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.» (II Cor 5:21). It is little wonder that Paul refers to such people as «... detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good deed.» (Titus 1:16).

A final thought. At least three times we read that the Lord focuses His grace on us as individuals, an indication of His concern for us at a personal level, as well as of His intimate knowledge of our innermost thoughts! Writing to his 'son in the faith', Timothy, Paul noted that «... the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.» (I Tim 1:14; emphasis added)and, writing to his brothers and sisters in Jesus, who lived in Thessalonica, he prayed that «... the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.» (II Thess. 1:12; emphasis added). And, of course, we are assured that it is «... by grace you [singular] have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God » (Eph. 2:8; emphasis added). How grateful we ought to be for that grace of God that dies what we could never do!

Are you aware of the grace of God operating in your own life? Do you give thanks for that grace? May we constantly do so - giving Him the glory, and being reminded that all is of Him.

*** STOP PRESS! *** For those who live in or close to, Lanarkshire, Scotland, all three of my books are now available, in paperback format, in the GLO Bookshop in Motherwell. Pay them a visit; purchase one (or more!) of my books; and browse some of the other items on offer. Remember that all of the royalties from my own books go directly to Release International in support of the persecuted church.

What is the "rust" in your life?

The apostle, Paul, emphasises that the whole man must be kept clean - not only from the sins that defile the physical body, but also from those that involve the inner attitudes and dispositions of the human spirit. Writing to the early disciples of Jesus in Corinth - infamous, in its time, as a hotbed of immorality and licentiousness - he states: "... let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, ..." (II Cor 7:1). Those who disregard these guidelines of grace, hinder the power and plan of Father God for their lives.

John Speed-Andrews was an English evangelist in the second half of the 19th century. Once, when he was touring a large manufacturing plant, he noticed a man using a high-intensity torch to work on huge slabs of steel. Using a pantograph he traced the pattern on a blueprint, that was attached to a table, and this enlarged the design as it was burned into the metal. There were times, however, when the flame made no impression. When this happened, the operator would apply a chemical substance to the resisting patch and, immediately, the cutting was able to be resumed.

The worker explained to the visitor that, although the torch was capable of cutting through clean steel, up to a thickness of eight inches (20 cms), if it encountered even the slightest film of rust on the surface, the flame would not penetrate. The chemical cleaned the patch of the rust, so that the cutting could continue.

Mr Speed-Andrews wrote: "It struck me, forcefully, that this is a picture of the Christian. The Holy Spirit is seeking to produce in us, God's perfect design. If the life is unblemished, He is able to continue His efforts but, if we are carnal or backslidden, His work of shaping us is hindered until the area in question has been thoroughly cleansed."

If we want the joy, and the victory, that comes from having our lives cut to God's pattern, then we need to avoid the hindering "rust" that accompanies "... every defilement of body and spirit, ..." Each of us knows what that area is in our individual life. We need to bring that area (those areas?!) under the cleansing blood of the Lamb - even God the Son: the Lord Jesus Whose entry into this world we will shortly be celebrating (even if His birth did not take place on Dec.25th!). May we do so - for our own good, and that Glory might be given to Him.