[Faith-talk] FW: [BlindMen4Christ] A Brighter Tomorrow

Mon Jan 5 18:45:23 UTC 2009

-----Original Message-----
From: blindmen4christ-bounces at morales-family.lljfm.net
[mailto:blindmen4christ-bounces at morales-family.lljfm.net] On Behalf Of Stu
(by way of Curtis Delzer <curtis at calweb.com>)
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 11:30 AM
To: Blind men for Christ
Subject: [BlindMen4Christ] A Brighter Tomorrow

Jesus' Treasure Principle of the Heart

In God's mind, the heart is the central issue (1 Timothy 1:15, 2 Timothy
2:22, Matthew 5:8). He is not interested in externalities, showmanship,
performance,

or smiles falsely pasted on our faces. He cares about who we really are on
the inside, and therefore, so should we (1 Samuel 16:7). When we come to
Christ,

He gives us new hearts that can and do desire the things of God (Ezekiel
18:31, 36:26, 2 Corinthians 5:17), though our hearts can be corrupted and
definitely

need continued sanctification (2 Corinthians 7:1, James 4:8). But we ought
to consider the state of our hearts because it will affect everything we
think,

do, and say.

The heart, according to the Scripture, is, by definition, the seat of
desires and affections. It is the true measure of a person. Does the person
have

Christ living in his heart and is he letting Christ have full control of all
that he desires and possesses affection for? These are the key questions.

Jesus gives a treasure principle as a means to assess the true state of our
hearts. He said in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your
heart

will be also." There is a direct correlation between what we treasure and
the state of our hearts. How do we know what we treasure? 
Frankly, we probably

do have a pretty good idea of what we really get excited about and really
desire, but in case we have deceived ourselves, here are some criteria.
First,

what we treasure is what we spend a lot of time thinking about. Mary, after
experiencing the birth of Christ and the miraculous events associated with

it, treasured those things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19). 
The events were so wonderful that she just couldn't stop thinking about
them. Her

heart was filled with joy and delight in what God had done, and she was
thrilled to keep thinking about it. Second, what we treasure will be born
out in

what we do and what we say. Jesus said in Luke 6:45, "The good man out of
the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man
out

of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from
that which fills his heart." The state of our heart affects the actions we
will

take and the words we will speak. We can suppress our actions or words for a
time with extreme willpower, but ultimately the heart will win out because

it is who we really are. God's desire for us is that we would not be springs
that yield both fresh and bitter water. Such things ought not to be (James

3:10-11). What we say and what we do, as with what we think, should be
driven by the leading of the Holy Spirit Who must transform our hearts so
that

we are no longer conformed to the ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2). 
It is only He Who can give us self-control which can provide more
consistency and

persistency in the Christian life. Sanctification is a process, no doubt
about it (Philippians 2:12-13), but as we submit to our Lord, it will be
accomplished.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are
the issues of life" (KJV). So if the heart affects our thoughts, attitudes,
actions,

and words, as we have already established, it is crucial that we take care
that it is not corrupted or deceived. The Bible says we do that by keeping
it

with all diligence. The idea here is to watch over, guard, and blockade the
heart from any corrupting influence. The imagery created by the original
words

used in the text are of a guard posted at a prison cell standing watch over
the prisoner so that everything remained secure and as it should be. There

would be no escape and no unlawful entry. Nothing would get in to that cell
unless the guard gave his approval and consent. This is what the Bible wants

us to do with our hearts, guarding them fervently and vigilantly, not
letting anything in that could corrupt us and take us down.

The battle for the heart is very much related to the battle for the 
mind. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to take every thought 
captive to the obedience

of Christ. This involves thinking only on what is true, honorable, 
right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise 
(Philippians 4:8).

Our mind is to dwell on these things, pondering them in our hearts. 
Staying pure and guarding our hearts involves following the directive 
of Psalm 119:11

when it says, "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not 
sin against You." When God's Word becomes the treasure of our hearts 
and good and

right things become the subject of our thoughts and affections, we 
will be able to walk in purity before God. But if our thoughts are 
compromised as we

take in unholy things, we will quickly begin to treasure evil things. 
This sin of the mind can quickly carry over into sin of word or deed. 
Colossians

3:17 says, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of 
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Doing 
something in the

name of the Father and giving thanks to Him implies that Christ is 
our treasure. Without God as the treasure of our hearts, we cannot 
give thanks properly,

and we will not be able to do His will in word or in deed.

We must never underestimate the interconnectedness of the Bible, our 
thoughts, our hearts, our desires, our actions, our words, and what 
we treasure. May

God change us where we need to change, and even if we don't want to 
change, may He change our hearts still. May He be always that which 
is our greatest

treasure of all (Matthew 13:44).

Stu
<mailto:K5stu at sbcglobal.net>K5stu at sbcglobal.net
Reading your Bible today will help prepare you for A Brighter Tomorrow!
_______________________________________________
BlindMen4Christ mailing list
BlindMen4Christ at morales-family.lljfm.net
http://morales-family.lljfm.net/mailman/listinfo/blindmen4christ_morales-fam
ily.lljfm.net