What’s In Your Heart Today?
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
“But I’m a GOOD person… I haven’t killed anyone!”
Where have I heard this before? Oh yeah, I use to say this in response to those nosey people who wanted to know if I had accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
It was my “go to excuse” when the Holy Spirit was confronting the NEED in my life… Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… “But, but, but… if you compare me to all the sinners (you know apples to apples), I’m not so bad!”
Surely a “GOOD God” wouldn’t count my small “MISSTEPS” against me, especially when He had so many REALLY BAD people to deal with. Besides, who elected Him as judge and jury in MY LIFE?! If He doesn’t DO RIGHT by my wishes, He may just find Himself in my bucket of useless unicorns, fairytales, and Santas… yeah Buddy… as EVERYONE knows, perception is reality! If God doesn’t straighten up and fly right, I just may have to adjust my perception and declare Him no more than a myth.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.
Like so many, I fully expected the rules to declare that I could believe in God and serve myself. I wasn’t an atheist, I believed there was/is/maybe will be God. I just didn’t know what to do with Him – especially when He insisted on CHANGING me! When God said, “Let Us make Mary into Our Own Image”, I thought when They were done making me, They would then become the Cheerleaders (my daughter’s description of the role some gospels give to Jesus) of my life. After all, isn’t that what outstanding parenting is all about?
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, (Galatians 5:17)
Thank You Holy Spirit, for never giving up on training this fleshly diva, for wrestling with me as I continue to demand Your blessing, and mostly for producing Your fruit in my life against all the birds, rocks and weeds that make use of the fleshly soil in my life.
What’s in my heart today? You tell me… Romans 10:9-10 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Jesus as Lord! Do I confess before myself and men that He has the right and authority, due to ownership, to do with my life as He wishes?
Jesus as Savior! Do I believe with the heart that once I was lost… that He is the One who paid (He is risen!) my debt (for the wages of sin is death)… and now I’m found!
What’s in my heart today is evidenced by what is PRACTICED (Strong’s Concordance: performed repeatedly or habitually or Thayer’s number 1 definition: to be busy with) in my life.
Deeds of the flesh… Galatians 5:19-21 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these,
Or the fruit of the Spirit… Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Deeds, which come from me, and always become defined by, ironically, my own legal interpretation, or Fruit, which comes from the Holy Spirit, and is never a matter of legalism?
Growing up I always strived to be a good girl… it seems I always failed at being good enough. I used my siblings as the measuring stick and was always very careful to stay out of trouble – at least the trouble THEY got into. Of course I was trying to please my parents but in hindsight I realize I was the one who rendered every verdict. I was raised with religion as a staple of our household. Our household religion declared and demanded we know and parrot all of the standard doctrine which is still used today to label ourselves, hopefully, as “ok with God”.
I do believe there is a heartfelt desire to please God in each of us… Romans 1:19-20 that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that we are without excuse.
Rather than walking in the garden with God Himself… Romans 1:21 we did not honor Him as God or give thanks, we became futile in their speculations, and our foolish heart was darkened… We made up our own brand and called it RELIGION…
Romans 1:22-23 Professing to be wise, we became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Preferably an image that could not nor would not talk back to us!
What was in my heart thirty seven years ago? Religion, or to be more truthful, ANTI-religion. I believed in God, but the God I believed in was no friend of mine! I never met Him personally because He, from everything I was taught, was a REALLY SCARY DUDE!
Until… I met Jesus! And He said to me… “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:7)
What’s WHO IS in my heart today? Jesus, the One I confess with all that I am as my LORD and the One whom I believe with all my heart, conquered death so that I might live!
Thirty seven years ago I didn’t get religion… I got God, Himself!
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means “God with us.”
Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.