Out Hearts In Sync With God pt.2: Made Whole

Our relationship with God revolves around his love for us. All that has been done for us has been out of love from His heart. This must have been extremely difficult in light of the fact that we are unworthy and imperfect, while He is perfect in this love and in all things. It all stems from the desires of the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” and God the Father, our  Divine Parent, sees it all. He sees man at his core and knows that the “imaginations of the thoughts” are evil daily (Genesis 6:5, 1 Chronicles 28:9).
But not only is this evil seen by God on this “unseen level” of the heart, but by careful observation and listening, we too can determine the status of others and even ourselves. One's actions and words reflect what is on their hearts. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34) and it is because of this that man, in his carnal nature, is “defiled” (Matthew 15:18). This means that man’s potential is tarnished, or ruined; he is weakened. We may not even notice this, as what we do in the flesh becomes so natural and accepted that we see even good actions as being right. But God ponders the heart and sees the true intentions behind these “good deeds”, which then determines whether or not they are righteous. Even so, in these moments of weakness, as said in Psalm 27:14, if we “wait on the Lord and be of good courage, He will strengthen our heart,” and this will in turn place hearts on a pathway to be established in a foundation of being unblameable. This new found strength reverses the effects of being defiled; we will be renewed and cleaned. Then, if we seek him, He too will seek us, and hold us close unto himself. He will give us a new heart and we shall be his people and his children, as our heart has been made whole.

Womanhood (pt.2): Virtuous Woman

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
(Genesis 2:18 KJV). A man is not an all powerful being; therefore, there come times when he needs help. God created a woman to help a man. While in this context there is mention toward creation for companionship, in 1Peter 3:1-2 the woman/wife is a help to a man/husband in times when he may not be in the Word as needed of him. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;  While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.(1 Peter 3:1‭-‬2 KJV)

In the natural flow of things, a godly man will by example teach his family the way of godly success. It is not his way, but yet the ways of He who taught him. If at any point in time a man loses his way, it is imperative that he regains his Christian leadership, and that should be done by his wife, without opposition and challenge hinging from his failure. Therefore, this process should be done with the proper level of respect and discretion similar to the address given to the wives of deacons, which required that they be not slanderers (1Timothy 3:11). She should reflect, not the behavior of her own desires and discernment, but those of God. And by this, she will not shame him, but she will be the crown of her husband and a virtuous woman(Proverbs 12:4).

Sacrifice (pt.2): Right Reasons. Right Heart.

SACRIFICE (pt.2): Right Reasons. Right Heart.

As with anything that we do for God, others and even ourselves, we must be cautious to be sincere and true in our intentions. In other words, we must do so honestly and with a good heart. G. Batiste said, “Sacrifice means nothing if you are doing it for the wrong reasons.” In relation to this, it is perhaps best if first we establish the “why” and determine further if the course of action is pleasing to God.

In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel gave a sacrifice to God from the best that they had to offer. But reading this passage, we find that God rejected Cain's sacrifice (v.3-5). It was not said exactly why God rejected Cain's sacrifice, but no doubt, it had something to do with his heart. Perhaps his intentions on some level or another were not righteous. In later verses, we see God warning Cain to guard his heart from evil, lest it consume him (v.7). His intentions at that moment were about himself, and he slew his brother. Perhaps his heart had already been tainted with a self-serving drive even before giving his sacrifice. We do not know for sure, but God knew. And He still knows now the longings and intentions our our hearts today. It is great to follow God's commands, but it is empty unless we have our hearts in the right place. Our service is useless without substance.

Later in the Old Testament, the wise King Solomon stated, “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Proverbs 21:27)
An abomination is something that God detests or makes him want to turn his face from. If God were to turn from us, we would have no hope of peace and no substance. We need God. Therefore, all that we do should be for him. All sacrifices should be modeled after the sacrifice given for us- with not only good intentions but aided with a righteous heart. Good intentions are not enough, but acting also, with good Christian thoughts will bring good intentions to a righteous destination. God wants our sacrifice. And when done with the right reasons and the right heart, God will accept it and favor us.

We pray blessings upon all who have read. We invite you to follow us on social media as well! Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

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