The Right Heart

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Some would think that Samuel would have learned with Saul about looking at the outside qualities of a person. He has Jesse’s sons before him and he is to anoint one of them as king. Notice what God says to him as he looks on these fine young men. “Don’t look at his appearance - appearance - whether he is handsome. And don’t look or not or the height of his stature. This would be indicative of his power or his natural ability. The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks at outward appearance and the Lord looks on the heart.
David was not without his faults. He was valiant when it came to Goliath but he ran from Saul and Abimilech. He had a temper and was ready to kill Nabal and it was all about his pride. He had been hurt by Nabal's rejection. He went on to make his infamous choices concerning Bathsheba and the killing of her husband (which was no surprise to God). He had a problem with women (multiple wives and concubines.) and struggled with handling his family.
But David was teachable, even by a woman! Abigail had confronted him on his way to kill Nabal and pointed out that this was no way for the future king to act. David heard her and dropped his plans for revenge. When he was confronted with sin he confessed it and repented. He did not blame anyone else. And when it came to choosing his own punishment he chose to let God decide.
What is it that God looks for in the heart? Let David answer that question in his words to his son, Solomon. "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” 1 Chron. 28:9
God wants us to have an intelligent understanding of who He is. His character, nature and his relationship towards mankind in general and his children in specific. This means that we must understand that He is holy, pure, ever-present, and all-knowing. That He has a right to claim our worship our reverence, obedience and submission. He has a right to condemn our ingratitude, our sin and our departure from Him but that He is ready to receive us, forgive us and restore us if will return in repentance and in faith.
We should serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind. This is a heart that will follow and serve the Lord when it is convenient and inconvenient as well. A willing mind is one that is pleased to please God. A mind that will always ask, "Lord what will You have me do?" He wants a heart devoted and a will that is surrendered.
God wants us to seek Him. It means to spend time with God, to go often, looking for Him for fellowship as well as help and direction. When it seems that you are distant, you may need to strive even harder to hear his voice but He will be found. Don't forsake Him. If you do not give attention to knowing him, serving him, and seeking him you will forsake him.
The Lord searches the hearts and understands (separates) all imaginations of the thoughts. He knows the heart and he will search it at your request. He will search it without your request but he is graciously and lovingly interested in our lives and it seems the only time we don't want God "snooping around" is when we are doing something wrong. His desire is always for my best.

The Greatest Commandment

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

Mark 12:28-33 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Jesus answers the scribe from the book of Deuteronomy, chapters 6, 10 and 30. the scribe would know these passages and the thought behind them. There are three things that are found in Jesus’ answer that are important to consider.

The first thing is 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one’. He is the Lord, Jehovah, Yaweh. There is no other. Monotheism (one God) is the true belief. Polytheism (many gods) is a false belief. What is a false god? Anything you put in front of God. Anything you love, depend on or put first in your life before God. We have a tendency to never question that we have “another god” in our life. That would be unthinkable, until we put it to the test. This God is our God. This is a personal relationship between a worshipper and his God. It is a daily experience. We are related to Him; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Therefore, we should love, adore, and worship Him. This comes only as we seek the relationship. Relationship requires both parties to be involved if it is to be a good one that is growing and continual. He is one Lord. He is to the focus of our life. He is to receive our attention and love, our worship and praise. There should be no other distraction in our lives. That requires a choice on our part. How important is God in our lives? The answer to the question could determine how we seek the relationship as well as the ease to which we find excuses to explain why He is not the most important subject of devotion.

The second thing is how we are to love Him. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' Love God as your very own God. This is a personal relationship, not a distant relationship. It is not a casual or occasional relationship. I grew up thinking that God was up in heaven and that it was far, far away, probably in some other galaxy and He was busy with the important things of the universe. He did not have time for me and my petty little problems like where I misplaced my pocket knife or that I was sad because a friend was moving away. God is personal and wants a relationship with us. That was why He sent His Son and why He provided a way that we could be reconcile to Him. He is always close and wants to be personally involved with us and wants us to be personally involved with Him. Loving God is something that is to be full of life and active. Jesus is describing a love that takes all we have and all that we are. He breaks it into three parts the heart, the soul, the “mind and strength.” Our heart comes from the idea of the thought or feeling and actually means the center of our emotions. Our soul comes from the Greek word that means breath and by implication, our spirit. Our spirit was essential dead and was revived by God by salvation, to love God. Our mind comes from the word that gives the idea of deep thought. Are your thoughts about God deep or are they shallow and temporary? The noun form of this word means the faculty by which you think, imagine or understand. And then there is our strength. It implies our ability, might or power. It is with ALL of these things. It means whole or complete heart, soul, mind and strength. This speaks of total commitment to God. Everything else is secondary and is subject and surrendered to loving God.

The third part is actually from what the scribe said but Jesus confirms the truth of what he said by telling him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. The scribe confirmed the correctness of Jesus answer and went on to says that the two commands, To Love God and your neighbor was greater than any offering or sacrifice. This means that anything else that we might do, anything we might give or service we might perform for God means nothing without loving God first and our neighbor as well. Jesus sums it up in Matthew 22:40 when he says, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." In short we fulfill all the rest by just doing these two. That simplifies things doesn’t it?

Going Overboard

John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Have you ever been accused of going overboard on something, especially the Lord? Peter has literally gone overboard in his hurry to get to the shore and the Lord. We have no idea how far out they were or how deep but from the story they were close enough to have a conversation and John identified Jesus. Peter just bails and starts for shore.
Peter’s first contact with Jesus was through his brother, shortly after the Lord’s baptism. And though Peter was impressed it was not until Jesus introduced and unorthodox fishing method that Peter realized his own sinfulness and responded to the call to follow Jesus.
Then Peter began to witness amazing things as he walked with Jesus. He had seen water turned to wine. His mother-in-law healed along with so many others. He saw a little girl rise from the dead as well as Lazarus. He walked on the water, though only for a short time, with Jesus. He watched as Jesus cast out demons and saw Jesus stand in the face of political opposition. What have you watched Jesus do in your life or the life of others around you?
But Peter had failed too. He had been caught in his own boasting and pride when he declared that all others would leave but he would be with Jesus and never leave but would be willing to die for Jesus. He had declared Jesus to be the Son of God but did not understand that Jesus would die. That did not fit into his ideas. He also figured that he would have a position in the kingdom. He had argued like all the rest as to who would be the greatest. Though he wanted to be loyal he fell asleep when Jesus needed him to pray and when it came to the test he denied Jesus three times.
Have you found yourself failing Jesus and not sure how to change it? Did it seem that the more you tried to fix it yourself the deeper you got. That seemed to be the problem with Peter. He found himself sitting in a room, filled with fear, waiting for his own arrest and death. He had cried out for forgiveness and had gone to the cross but he also watched Jesus die and felt like a failure. Jesus suddenly appeared to them all and Peter knew that He rose from the dead but still could not seem to get back to his enthusiasm. That brought them here fishing.
He had gone back to what he knew and Jesus followed him. Jesus did not chastise them for being there but reminded them (and especially Peter) of their call. How did he do that? By reminding them of the unorthodox fishing method. When Peter realized John was right he made a decision. He left the fish behind, took what he had with him (his outer cloak) and went to Jesus. He just knew he needed to be with Jesus more than anything else.
There was something else I noticed. It was that Jesus knew that Peter needed forgiveness and so he invited him for a walk and there cleared the slate and restored the call. Peter, do you love Me? Yes, Lord. Then feed my sheep.
Good ol’ loveable Peter wanted to know about John’s outcome but Jesus just said, “What is that to you? Come follow me. And Peter did. He went overboard, even to his death and he never looked back.
I guess it’s good to go overboard for Jesus. That way he will give you everything you need even if you have failed Him to go on and serve Him and never look back