Psalms 111:1
Praise you the LORD,
I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and
in the congregation.
Loving God with all your
heart, all your soul, and all your might is something that you keep with you forever.
It is not a commitment that you make ONE TIME, it is a commitment that you
renew daily and keep forever. When we begin to lose our commitment in this
area, we begin to lose our closeness to God. Even if you have been a Christian
for most of your life, you are still required to put Jesus as the center of
your life.
Psalms 86:12
I will praise You, O
Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.
Why do we allow the idea
in our culture that our heart does not have to match our lifestyle? Often
people will look at their behavior and say, “I know I'm not living like I
should, but God knows my heart.” This kind of thinking is inconsistent with the
Bible. We assume that we can have a good heart, but bad actions. We assume that
good intentions is the same thing as a good heart, but this contradicts what
Jesus said.
Luke 6:45
A good man out of
the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man
out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Here Jesus clearly says
that a good heart produces good actions, and an evil heart produces evil
actions. The intentions of a man do not reflect the condition of the heart. The
actions of a man reflects the condition of the heart. To say that good
intentions reflect a good heart is not consistent with our laws as a nation
either. To say that we should not get a penalty, because we meant to pay our
fine, though we failed to pay it, would be inconsistent with our judicial
system. So, God and man are in agreement. It is not what your heart meant to do
that justifies or condemns us, but what your heart actually does through your
life. If a man intends to pay child support, but actually fails to do so, does
it reflect a good heart since he actually intended to pay? It does not reflect
a good heart, it reflects a heart that is deceptive and lies to itself.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is
deceptive above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
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