Influence of the Heart

"My son, do not forget my teaching,

but keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years

and bring you peace and prosperity."

Proverbs 3:1-2

Its easy to think its my mind that most influences me for God, that guides me to His ways.  But in reality, its the heart that matters most (Proverbs 4:23,Psalm 139:23).

Treasure.  If it's success, my focus will be on climbing up the ladder.  If it's financial security, my attentions will be directed toward making sound investment decisions.  If it's relational, I'll spend my time building close bonds.  If it's health, my heart will be inspired to do all I can to preserve my body.  Whatever it is that I deem as valuable will drive my life.  And along with this drive will come the expectation that the thing I'm holding up as my treasure will bring satisfaction, meaning and fulfillment.  Until success never comes, the stock market crashes, the love of my life leaves and cancer ravages my body.  Now what?  I think.  What is the purpose of my life?  Now that my treasure is gone, where do I go from here?

As Jesus said, ". . .where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)  The only secure investments of my passion and attention are the heavenly ones, so I would be wise to focus on the spiritual things of God, making it my goal to know Him more each day.  If I were to pray that He open the eyes of my heart, I would begin to see things more as He does, and find what is of eternal value that is worth pinning my devotion to (Ephesians 1:18).

I would be wise to pay attention to what I treasure, and learn to value heavenly things above all.

Desire.  "My heart is just not in it."  How many times in my life have I said this?  Too many times to count.  I do things out of obligation, but I'm not really into it.  I dot all the i's and cross all the t's but there is no joy in doing a good job.  I spend my time crossing things off my to-do-list, but I wonder what I've really accomplished.

I have come to this conclusion:  if my heart is in it, I'm all in.  If I'm somehow disconnected, it won't last.  It reminds me of the years I devoted to homeschooling.  Many people who were considering taking the plunge asked me for advice and I always said the same thing, "Make sure you have a calling to homeschool.  If you don't, when the going gets rough, and it will get rough, you will not have the commitment to see it through."  In other words, if your heart is not in it, it will not last.

The same is true with anything.  I have to ask myself, what is it that I want out of this?  Is it all about quenching some personal, fleshly thirst, or is it from God?  Is this what I want, or is it what God wants?  Does this line up with God's best for me, or am I settling for something less?

I would be wise to pay attention to my desires, and let God change my aspirations to line up with His.

Yield.  For years I agreed with the Gospel, but I didn't surrender control of my life to Jesus.  I knew that I was saved but I failed to trust Jesus as Lord.  I wanted eternal life but didn't want to give up control.  It took many years before I yielded to Jesus, letting Him have His way in my life.  Up until then I was what is called a "carnal Christian," looking just like the rest of the world in the way I live my life and the values that I hold yet identifying myself as a believer of Jesus.  

It's in the heart that I either resist God's attempts at transforming me from the inside out, or I cooperate (Romans 12:2).  I can learn all I want about God, but until I give my heart to Him, trusting Him wholeheartedly, it will never go deeper than the superficial (Proverbs 3:5-6).   If I'm always striving for what I want and never give up and let Him lead me toward what He wants, I'll never find contentment and peace (Psalm 46:10).  It's in the heart that I either yield to Him or resist Him.

I would be wise to let God have His way in my life, yielding my heart to Him.

I spend a lot of time focusing on knowledge and wisdom, but it is in the heart where my faith is really determined. Therefore, it is important that I cultivate a heart that is dedicated to God, treasuring the heavenly, desiring the godly, and yielding to Him.  When I do, I will realize the influence of the heart as my life song sings for the glory of God!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to yield to His loving hand of discipline and guidance.

When do I resist Him?

How do I neglect my heart, thinking it is what I know that most influences the direction of my life?

   

Steady Heart

In honor of yesterday's 800th post on 

Writings on the Doorframe, 

I am offering free signed copies of my book: 

If you would like to be entered in the drawing, 

please email me at boosehome@aol.com
or leave me a comment below 

by the end of the day on Sunday, March 22nd.  

Winners will be announced on 

Monday, March 23, 2015!


"Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast,
trusting in the LORD.
Their hearts are secure,
they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes."
Psalm 112:6-8

What's the secret of a steadfast, firmly-grounded-in-the-Lord heart?  One that doesn't fear the unknown, what could be, or the threatening?  One that resists doubting no matter how impossible the situation, how weak the flesh, or how great the odds are against me?  What's the secret of a steady heart?  It's no secret, really.

Righteous.  There's a difference between being self-righteous and declared righteous.  The first is where I use my own standard, measuring myself using my own yardstick and ending up smelling like a rose.  The second is where I am deemed as right with God through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Even though I fall short of God's perfect standard, I am measured according to the perfection of Christ and therefore my faith in Him as Lord and Savior places me in right standing with God despite my sin.

Since my identity in Christ is not based on my own merit, I know I am a well-loved daughter who is fully accepted and I can be assured of my eternal place in God's family.  Knowing that there is nothing I will go through in life, nothing that can be done to me or nothing that I can do that will shake my position or make God stop loving me makes a huge difference in the way I live my life (Romans 8:1-2, 8:38-39).  If God is for me in such an astounding way, then what does it matter what man does to me (Psalm 118:6)?  Or how much heartache I face?  Or how my enemy lures me into doubt and fear?  There is no match for my Father who has my heart so I, as His child, know that I am always loved and accepted.

The secret to a steady heart is to know I am declared righteous by faith and my right standing with God can never be shaken.

Trusting.  Trusting God means believing He has a plan in the midst of the chaos.  Believing God is sovereign is not about me trying to understand the mechanism by which He will save me but to only know that it is His mission to bring about my salvation.  My faith in the Lord is less about the odds of success and more about the enormous size of my God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Therefore, when I place my full weight on God's faithful nature, my heart is firmly entrenched in His trustworthiness.  It's not so much that I believe I'm able to walk the path I'm called to walk, but that I know that my own weakness is not too big of an obstacle for God to overcome.  In other words, my trust in God is more about God's strength than in my weaknesses.  It's more about God's trustworthy nature than my unreliable one.  It's more about who God is than who I am.  And so, my trusting heart gives me confidence to step out in faith, to bet my life on God, which is really no gamble at all. 

The secret to a steady heart is to take a chance on the God who will never let me down.  

Triumphant.  I have an enemy who constantly tempts me to falter in my faith, who consistently tries to remind me of who I was before I met Christ and get me to believe I'm still that same wretched being, who is always at work attempting to lure me back into past sin, future strongholds and tempting distractions.  Even though the attacks of Satan and his minions are relentless, in Christ I am triumphant over them.  How so?  Because in Christ, I'm on the winning side!

And so I can say to my tempter, as Pastor John Piper suggested, "You're out of your mind.  Who wants to join forces with a loser?"  There truly is no weapon formed against me that can prevail because God is the glorious Victor (Isaiah 54:17).  And when I take up His sword and I place my allegiances in His camp, I join in the victory.  

This means my helplessness is only an illusion.  The reality is that in Christ I have the unlimited power of God on my side!  It means my hopelessness is only a misconception on my part.  In reality I have all the hope in the world through Christ!  It means my powerlessness against enormous odds is a deception of the enemy.  In reality I have the favor of a God with unlimited resources.

The secret to a steady heart is to remember I am on the winning side.

When do I despair, giving in to fear?  It's usually because I forget my firm standing in Christ, the unfathomable character of my God, and the triumph of God's mission here on earth.  When I remember these truths, I will have discovered the secret of a steady heart.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep focused on God's character instead of getting distracted by the problems that overwhelm.

When do I feel unworthy of His love?

How am I forgetting I am on the winning side and that my enemy is a loser?  He knows it, but he is testing me to see if I know it.    

Justice is the Lord's

"It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong

done to me,

and that the LORD will repay me

with good for his cursing today."

2 Samuel 16:12 ESV

This is not the way a king should be treated.  David's men were ready to defend their friend and God-appointed ruler of Israel against this man who taunted him.  Wasn't it bad enough that his son Absolom was attempting to steal the throne away from him?  Now this man named Shimei was bold enough to curse the name of the rightful king as they fled Jerusalem, not even letting them escape in peace.  Instead, this bitter, angry man kept pace with them, throwing dirt in the air, hurling stones and giving David a piece of his mind.  Obviously, as a supporter of the former king Saul, Shimei would not let David forget his past. (2 Samuel 16:5-14)  Interestingly, instead of rising up in arms against Shimei, David lets it go, allowing the man to vent as they traveled. David decided to let God be the judge.  

Today, we live in a world driven by personal rights.  People will die fighting to defend their liberties and do whatever it take to protect their good name.  God, however, is the one true Judge.  Only He knows what is fair.  Therefore, I can have the same attitude as David did instead of being so easily offended, letting God decide who deserves what.

Heart

It seemed good enough to me.  I had never been to a powerlifting meet before entering my first competition, but I thought my squats were up to par.  Imagine my surprise, then, when the head judge scratched me from the competition, concluding that my lifts were not performed to standard.

It's easy for me to be my own judge and jury, using my own sense of right and wrong to form an opinion about my actions.  Only God knows the true state of my heart, separating the selfish ambition from the humble obedience, the decisions made out of fear from the acts of faith, the anxious spirit from the mind at rest.  If I rely on my own judgement, I'll give a poor assessment.

Therefore, I am wise to simply trust God instead of depending on my own faulty line of reasoning, submitting myself to Him in all areas of my life.  When I do so, the path He has marked out for me to travel will become clear.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

It is also important that I seek God's opinion of my motives and impulses, inviting Him to explore my heart thoroughly.  As I let Him examine my inner-most thoughts and desires, He will determine what is driven by fleshly desires, where I am self-centered and anxious or how I am offending Him.  Only then will I know the true state of my heart.  (Psalm 139:23-24)

Once I have a more godly perspective of myself, I can seek God's restoration.  Only He can redirect my desires, making them line up more closely to His.  Only He can generate a passion within me for pleasing Him instead of myself.  Only He can change my drive, replacing my craving for self-satisfaction with a longing to do His will. (Psalm 51:10)

While it may be easy for me to give myself a pass, only God can determine the true state of my heart.

Fairness

"It's not fair!"  If I've heard it once, I've heard this cry of so-called injustice a thousand times.  Children and youth have a way of seeing the world from a purely selfish point-of-view.  Unfortunately, the years have not necessarily made me any wiser than they when it comes to judging the world objectively.

Only God knows what His children truly need at any given time.  While I might think circumstances are too harsh, His wise perspective reveals the need for a sober wake-up call.  When I judge a period of one crisis after another to be too much, He determines it is exactly what I need to learn to depend upon Him for my strength.  Even if I think I can't wait another minute for relief, God's perfect sense of timing tells a different story.

Therefore, I can rely on my Father to give me exactly what I need just when I need it.  Keeping this truth in mind helps when I'm facing the harsh that seems so undeserved, or the difficult that I judge as too much, or the hurting that I've determined is beyond what is reasonable.  If I am to walk by faith, believing that God has my best interest at heart, I must trust Him enough to accept what He allows into my life, knowing that He will use it to transform me into the image of His Son.  (Romans 8:28-29)

This life, then, is not so much about getting what I think I deserve.  Instead, it is about receiving what I need.  In place of focusing on my own comfort and rights, I must realize God is constantly in the process of molding and purifying me.  While it is easy to get caught up with the worldly practice of defending my reputation, I can replace that pursuit with a quest for God's name to made well-known through the circumstances of my life. 

Living in a world that encourages me to defend my rights warps a godly perspective that let's God decide what is necessary.

Glory

"I can't tell God how to get His glory."  These words were all the more astounding considering out of whose mouth they were coming.  My friend had lost her daughter in a cruel and violent way.  In the midst of her suffering as she searched for answers, she came to the aforementioned conclusion:  God knows how to best get His glory.

When the Lord delivered His people out of the hands of harsh, Egyptian slave masters, He could have done it swiftly and surely, supernaturally providing a way out for the nation of Israel.  Instead, He chose to send Moses to appeal to the Pharaoh, performing signs and enacting plagues.  By the time the whole ordeal was over, all the people of the earth knew the might and sovereign power of the God of Israel.  (Romans 9:17)

In the same way, God chooses to work in ways mysterious to me in order to make much of His name.  I don't always appreciate His greatness when things go smoothly and cleanly.  When I'm at the end of my rope, however, out of options and at a loss as to how to proceed, I often discover the might of His hand as He delivers me through the storm.

If I were completely equipped and able to accomplish the impossible task set before me, how would God get the credit for my success?  Therefore, He often gives me much more than I can handle so I must rely on Him, setting Him up for gaining the credit for all He has done.   When people observe the outcome, they will be quite sure that such a feat could not be accomplished by mere human hands.

What if I enjoyed good health all the days of my life?  Most people would assume I took good care of my body and tired hard to avoid harmful substances.  Consequently, God might find it necessary to allow disease or chronic pain into my body, giving me a chance to rely on His strength.  When people observe the peace of my heart in the midst of the storm, they will know such serenity is not human-generated but can only come from the Lord. (Matthew 5:14-16)

People will know the Lord is my God and realize His greatness when they witness the fruit of His presence in my life.

I naturally am compelled to seek out my own best interest, especially when the going gets tough.  If I take a lesson from David, however, and give God the job of sitting as judge, I am acknowledging that only He knows my honest intentions, understands what is truly fair, and knows how best to get the credit for the good He generates.  Therefore, I would be wise to live my life as if true justice belongs to the Lord.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can stop trying to defend myself and instead let God choose what is right for my situation.

How do I spend so much time defending myself that I fail to see God's hand at work all around me?

When do I steal God's glory by trying to avoid suffering?

Understand Your Badness

Today's reading comes from my new book, 52 Days of Grace, available now on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle.

Understand Your Badness

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.  God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’  To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.   But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.  There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.   For God does not show favoritism.”  (Romans 2:5-11)

We live in a world where who we know is more important than what we know.   Even a poorly qualified kid with a bad attitude and poor work ethic can get his foot in the door of virtually any corporation or organization with the right connections.   It is an attempt to fool Human Resources into thinking this individual would be an asset to their company, and the youngster may even believe that himself.

God is showing us in this passage how different His economy is to the world’s.  He judges us solely on our heart: our intentions, our attitudes or the direction we turn our face.  He knows whether we are seeking our own selfish desires or His.  He reads our hearts and identifies whether we follow Him or follow evil.  He takes a look at our attitudes and discerns if we have truly accepted the Truth or if we are following a lie.  We can’t bluff our way past God.

It is easy to read this passage and think, I’m not following evil.  Maybe I’m not fully committed to Jesus, but I’m not evil.  The scriptures tell us differently.  Either we are for Him, or against Him. (Matthew 12:30)  Either He is master, or something or someone else is. (Matthew 6:24) 

Consider the words of C.S. Lewis, author and 20^th Century Christian intellectual, “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him.  When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.”  Each time we rely on our own judgment of ourselves and our behavior instead of God’s, we are following evil. 

For example, when I justify the nasty tone when speaking to my husband with the thought that he deserved that because of how he hurt me this morning, I am setting my own standards and thus claiming to be my own god.  If instead I turn over those feelings of hurt to Jesus and ask Him to show me where I am wrong, I am submitting to His lordship.  He will accordingly give me His perspective which sheds light on my own faulty line of reasoning.  It is not about being perfect, but about wanting to please my Father more than I want to protect my own feelings.  It is about submitting myself to God and letting Him defend me instead of thinking I have to protect myself.  This attitude shows how much I trust God.

God isn’t impressed with our connections or credentials; we can’t fool Him.  He is pleased with a heart that is fully committed to Him and a willingness to see our sin for what it is.  There is no way to sugar-coat disobedience and rebellion in God’s Kingdom. 

My heart reveals my motives for which

God will hold me accountable.

How are you guilty of sugar-coating your sin, calling it a “mistake,” a “blunder” or an “oversight”?

Are you honest with God, or do you try to bluff your way through prayer, pretending to be something you’re not?

Do you believe that God can handle the truth about you, and that He will never forsake you because of the blood of Christ?  There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Heavenly Father,

I see Your goodness and I know Your standards, yet I try to pretend I’m something I’m not when I’m spending time with You. Thank You for the abundance of Your grace.   I ask Your help in dropping the pretenses and being honest and authentic in my relationship with You.  I know You love me with a love that will never end.  Help me to accept Your unconditional love.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen

For more information on ordering your own copy of 52 Days of Grace, click on the image of the book below:

It's all God

"Dear friends,

you always followed my instructions when I was with you.

And now that I am away,

it is even more important.

Word hard to show the results of your salvation,

obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

For God is working in you,

giving you the desire

and the power

to do what pleases him."

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

The sound of birds singing praises to their Maker woke me early that Spring morning.  I arose, stepping foot into the awakening garden, feeling the softness of new blades of grass beneath my feet,  observing the buds opening here, the bright, cheery blossoms there.  As I examined the ground, it seemed to be coming to life with new growth: Blooms of the crocus trumpeted the end of Winter, Azaleas bursting forth with the hope of soon-to-come blankets of color, and even the weeds rising up from the seemingly dead earth show forth the hand of God.  There is no greater time than Spring to see that everything can be attributed to God.

When I look beyond nature and into my heart, I discover that even my desire to please God comes from Him.  I have it not in me to want to do the right thing, no matter what I think.  My sinful nature pushes me away from Him, but His loving Spirit constantly draws me.  As I notice how He works within me, it is evident that He gets all the glory for the great things He has done in my heart, life and in the world at large.

Moves my Heart

Much was needed for the sacred garments of the Levites, the performance of required rituals, and for the building of the Tabernacle itself.  The nation of Israel had received the law from God through their leader Moses.  Now they knew what was expected of them from a holy God, and they also realized the task that lay before them in undertaking this large project.  The first step after hearing the plan from God was to collect the necessary materials.  Moses must have thought of the enormity of this venture and wondered how it would all come together.

Then God did His work on the hearts of the people.  Exodus 35:20-24 describes how He stirred the hearts and moved the spirits of the people, prompting them to bring not only offerings to the Lord, but also all the materials needed for the Tabernacle.  It said, "Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing" came to offer everything from richly colored thread to acacia wood. (Exodus 35:22a NLT)  There was no need for Moses to worry; God moved the hearts of the people to do that which pleased Him.

In the same way, God moves my heart to value Him above all things.  Instead of doing things that I think I should do, He gives me the desire to know Him more.  Oswald Chambers wrote about how easy it is to work toward the wrong goal.  He said when I focus on Christian work instead of on Christ, I'm evading my true purpose in maintaining my friendship and loyalty to Him.   "Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, we may become amateur providences, and may work against Him whilst we use His weapons."

God moves my heart to desire a relationship with Jesus above everything else.

Changes my Will

She used to only care about herself and her needs; especially the emotional ones.  Consequently, she jumped from one man to another, seeking what could not be found in any mortal.  All that was left of her life was a skeleton of what she had once dreamed it could be.  How did she end up here, ostracized and the town's laughing stock, forced to visit the well in the heat of the day for fear of humiliation at the hand of the backbiting women who gathered there in the cool of the morning? (John 4:1-42)  The Samaritan woman had hit bottom.

Then she met Jesus.  As she heard and accepted the message of the Living Water that would forever quench that deep-seated need inside of her, the transformation began.  Instead of thinking about herself, she thought of all the townspeople who needed to know this Messiah as much as she did.  God had changed her will from wanting only to look out for herself to desiring to make Him famous.

In the same way, He changes my will so that I desire Him to be able to get His way.  Instead of seeing people who are living messed up lives, I perceive an opportunity to introduce those who are lost in darkness to the One who will make all things right.

God changes my will from only being concerned with my own happiness to desiring to make Jesus known to those around me.

Driven to Love

His heart was black with hate.  If it is the last thing I do, I will wipe these wretched people off the face of the earth.  He thought it the highest calling to beat, arrest and even kill the followers of Christ. (Acts 9:1-19)  Saul saw himself as a true follower of God and the Christians as his enemy.  

Soon, however, Jesus set Him straight by confronting Saul on the road to Damascus as he was on his way to arrest many believers.  Saul, who then became Paul, saw the truth of his actions and became one of those he used to persecute.  Instead of being obsessed with going after believers, he became driven to love all people in the name of Jesus.

The God of love who snatched me from the jaws of death as surely as He did Paul, has given me a deep well of compassion that springs up inside of me.  Suddenly, things I used to never think of doing, like reaching out to a drunk, showing kindness to a stripper or giving up something valuable for one who is in need becomes second nature.

God makes me driven to love those around me who live in a world devoid of compassion.

Everything comes from God and there is nothing for which I can take credit.  He moves my heart to align more with His, changes my will to desire what He desires and drives me to love like He does.  Everything good in my life is from Him and I can take no credit for any of it.  Because of this, I can point to all the good in my life and say with conviction, "It's all God!"

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can remember to keep God front and center.

How do I naturally shy away from those who look different from me and fail to let God love through me?

When do I most notice the way He has transformed me?

Inward Focus

"Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas

to the palace of the Roman governor.

By now it was early morning,

and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness

the Jews did not enter the palace;

they wanted to be able to eat the Passover."

John 18:28

They were so concerned with their own holiness.  They went to great pains to study God's law, interpret it, create rules to help others follow it and supervise the adherence to it.   Their devotion to God's law was astounding.

Many looked up to these Jewish leaders as the epitome of godliness.  Most thought they were the ones to emulate.  It was assumed these men knew God Himself, so holy were they.  Unfortunately, the people of Israel who believed these things about their leaders were wrong.  Jesus said to these same men, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." (John 8:19)

If they had paid more attention to the One who wrote the laws instead of obsessing over the law itself, God would have opened their eyes to the Messiah.  Instead, they found themselves fighting against God and being used by Him to fulfill scripture regarding Jesus. (Isaiah 6:9-10, John 12:37-41)

In the same way, I can get caught up in religious ritual, timeless tradition, and stubborn beliefs.  When I make these my god, I forsake the One who died a criminal's death on the cross so that I might get to know my Creator.  Instead of walking with Him throughout my day, I spend my time trying to figure out how to please Him, working on my character so that I can look more like Jesus, or doing things that seem like godly activities in which to take part.  When I do follow Him, however, He leads me down paths of righteousness for His namesake. (Psalm 23:3)

From the outside, I may look holy and godly, just like the Jewish leaders, but God holds an inward focus.  How do I stack up inside?

Heart

She tried so hard to worship God.  Looking around her on Sunday morning, she mimicked the behavior of those deemed acceptable and who looked like they had it all figured out.  They told her to just let go and allow God's Spirit to well up inside of her; to free her body to praise God in however He leads.  She tried, but somehow she never felt what they described.  She must be doing something wrong.  She loved God but she felt like a failure.  Why can't I just worship Him?

God is meant to be worshiped with my whole being in the way I live my life. (Romans 12:1) Since God is the lover of my heart, He doesn't care so much about what I do, what I wear, where I go or who I befriend.  His focus is not on the outward appearance, but on what is going on inside my heart.  He wants me to be so attentive to Him that I don't care how it looks on the outside.

To some it may appear I'm falling away from God because I stopped coming to Bible study to make time to hang out with drug addicts, I started bringing questionable characters with me to church on Sundays, and I got a tattoo.  

These believers may judge me, thinking that I'm turning away from God and trying to make it seem like I'm still following Christ.  In reality, God is leading me to reach out to "sinners" by frequenting places unbelievers hang out.

In Matthew 15:9, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in criticizing the wrong focus of the "church people."  He said, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." (Isaiah 29:13)  God desires my heart to be fully devoted to Him.  This doesn't mean I must be perfect, only that wanting to know Him and follow Him would be my greatest longing.

I must be warned, however, that when I start letting God transform my mind and mold my way of thinking, I will look strange to everyone else.  Only those whose hearts are aligned with God will understand; everyone else will try to talk me out of the path I'm taking, telling me that I'm off.  As Peter said to the Sanhedrin, "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29)

In order to avoid the trap of shallow worship, I must devote my heart to knowing and being known by Jesus.

Cleanliness

I have noticed lately my country's obsession with cleanliness.  There are constantly new products on the market to kill bacteria, fight fungus and stop the spread of germs.  We are encouraged to clean the old-fashioned way, clean with new-fangled gadgets, or clean the easy way.  Whichever method I choose, I'm getting the message that clean is good.

While they're is nothing wrong with cleaning, I find it interesting that people are so passionate about outward cleanliness but have no problem with all the filth that penetrates the hearts in their homes.  Network television is filled with shows that degrade families, promote pornography, encourage promiscuity and endorse the gay lifestyle.  The Internet is widely accessible in most homes and filled with garbage that is embraced as entertainment.  

The minds of most Americans are constantly bombarded with dirt.  As Angus Jones, actor who plays "Jake" in Two and a Half Men and recently went public with his belief that a true God-fearing person cannot be on a television show like that, said, "Please stop watching it.  Please stop filling your head with filth."

If I want to be truly concerned with my cleanliness, I must be concerned with what goes in, not just what's on the exterior. (Proverbs 4:23)  I can't just look good on the outside.  When David confessed his sin against God in taking Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, as his own, he cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)  

It's not enough to look good, but a heart devoted to Jesus will be changed and grow sensitive to sin.  When this begins to happen, I'll only desire things that honor God instead of being willing to allow filth into my heart.  My motives will be pure, dropping the ulterior motive of my own comfort, pleasure and entertainment and be completely concerned with pleasing and honoring God.

In order to avoid the trap of focusing only on appearances, I must let Jesus guard my heart as the wellspring of life.  

Holiness

Some people believe it is possible to live a life free from sin.  They think God's Spirit enables me to live a holy and pure life.  Oswald Chambers says of this, "The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them.  There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ.  All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. . .Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else. . . The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally."

I am not called to be holy for my own purposes.  I am called to live in obedience to His Spirit who is within me so that I can glorify God.  I resemble His character when I'm dedicated to Him, not to my own sanctification.  Chambers shed some light on the difference when he said, "The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ."

When I see someone suffering who has been ostracized by the medical community and other believers as "crazy," Jesus compels me to reach out and comfort.  When I am drawn to a group of cursing, drinking teens, Jesus compels me to share His love.  When my neighbors' children are out of control, Jesus compels me to offer support.

A focus on my own character development would not drive me toward these uncomfortable situations.  Only a devotion to Jesus Himself would give me the desire to do these kinds of acts as I'm more concerned with God's glory than my own reputation or status.

In order to avoid the trap of being driven by a quest for personal holiness, I must be more concerned with the glory of God. 

Religion requires an outward focus and is an empty, bottomless pit filled with traps of all kinds.  Three I must avoid as I follow Jesus are worshiping superficially, cleaning outwardly, and seeking to improve my own reputation.  Instead, I can live with the desire to please God in all things, protect my heart from the filth of this world, and seek glory for God alone.  In so doing, I will discover the joy in walking at peace with Jesus.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep my focus inward instead of only concerning myself with how things look on the outside.

How do I clean up the outside, but neglect to protect my heart from filth?

When am I more concerned with my own entertainment than in protecting me and my family from things that dishonor God?

What Comes Out

"'You have let go of the commands of God

and are holding on to the traditions of men.'

And he said to them: 'You have a fine way

of setting aside the commands of God

in order to observe your own traditions!

For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother,

and

 Anyone who curses his father or mother

 must be put to death.

But you say that if a man says to his father or mother:

Whatever help you might otherwise

 have received from me is Corban

 (that is, a gift devoted to God),

Then you no longer let him do anything for his

 father or mother.

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition

that you have handed down.

And you do many things like that.'

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said,

'Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.

Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going

into him.  Rather, it is what comes out of a man

that makes him unclean.'"

Mark 7:8-15

I recently took a trip to the west coast to visit my parents.  One thing that stood out to me was the fixation on fitness and nutrition that people seemed to carry.  Living as I do in one of the fattest states in the Union, I'm not used to having these kinds of conversations.  Even though I love exercise and have a mild interest in eating well, it is no longer what defines me.  In the past, I obsessed over exercise and nutrition and there was a time when I would enthusiastically welcome such discussions.  As I've grown in my walk with Jesus, however, I have found there are other things which are more important than physical health.

Jesus found the church people during His time on earth similarly fixated on things that were not important.  In order to try to 'help' their fellow Jews please God, these thoughtful leaders came up with lists and lists of rules for people to follow.  This set of man-made laws evolved into commandments that ended up overshadowing God's own decrees.

It's not so different now.  I have been pressured to think I must dress a certain way in order to worship God on Sunday mornings, to believe that a "good" Christian only listens to certain music or watches specific movies, or that in order to please God I must live up to the standards which man has set.  Thankfully, God judges me according to my heart.  For this reason, its not what goes into my body that defines me, but its what comes out that matters.

Fruit

The vines grew to take over the entire hill and I began making plans to preserve pickles and add zucchini to every dish that I cooked during the summer months.  It looked like the harvest would be abundant.  Then the fruits began to form and, much to my dismay, they were rotten at one end.  Disappointingly, the vines began to wither.  I was another victim of the persistent Squash Vine Borer and the destructive Cucumber Beetle.  All my hopes for a plentiful yield were dashed.

In the same way, if I walk with Jesus my life will produce good fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23)  If, however, I follow my fleshly dreams and desires, my life will produce rotten fruit. (Galatians 5:19-21)   

I am recognized by my fruit.  If my life is filled with strife, unrest, jealousy, gossip, rage, bitterness, hatred and the drive to get ahead, then I am producing fruit that is of my own sinful flesh.  But, if my life is filled with a compassion for others, the ability to suffer without complaint, the desire to live in harmony with others, and a calm and quiet spirit, then it is God's Spirit who is winning out and making His own fruit evident in my life.

Jesus said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:8-9)  Maybe I don't always feel good.  I've been through some rough times and have fallen into sin on more than one occasion.  I feel like a failure.  But it is not up to my own ability to live a righteous life that produces this kind of fruit.  That is impossible.  

Instead, it is a life that is wholly devoted to God and devoid of any selfish desires that is able to produce the fruit that God calls good.  As Oswald Chambers said, "Undress yourself morally before God of everything that might be a possession until you are a mere conscious human being and then give God that."  God can do amazing things with a life that is surrendered to Him.

It's the quality of my fruit that matters to Him.

Cleanliness

I had the honor of visiting a Mosque and going on a tour of the facility.  As the young women described their beliefs and walked me through their rituals for pre-prayer cleansing, it struck me that they were trying to make themselves pure by washing their outer selves.  This, however, did nothing to address the real source of their uncleanness: their hearts.

God revealed His focus when He commanded Samuel to anoint a new king to replace the rebellious Saul.  He cautioned the priest to, "not consider his appearance or height. . ." as Samuel's eyes were drawn to the older, more experienced and stronger brothers.  Instead, He said, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 17:7)  

Even though he was a mere boy at the time, David later became known as a great king, and more importantly as a "man after God's own heart." (Acts 13:22)  My purity comes from my heart.  Do I have a desire to glorify God or follow a religion?.  Do I mostly follow my own lead or God's?  Do I consider my own needs as more important or am I dedicated to loving others?

My cleanliness does not come from taking a shower or going through a purification ritual.  Rather, my heart betrays the motivation of my actions, and thus the purity of my faith.  Either my heart is inclined toward God, or it's slanted toward myself.  As David prayed when Nathan the prophet pointed out his sin and he realized his selfish motivations, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)

It is the tilt of my heart that matters to God.

Traditions

I remember reading about a young wife who began cooking her Thanksgiving turkey one year early in her marriage.  She thawed it out in the sink, just as she'd seen her mother do so many times before.  Finally, she placed the dish drainer upside down over the bird.  When her husband asked her why she did this, the young woman replied, "I don't know.  That's just how my mom always did it."  Unbeknownst to her, her mother's cats had attempted to dine on the thawing poultry so her mom had come up with the strategy of protecting it with the dish drainer.  Since the newlyweds owned no pets, there was not a need for this ritual.

There are many things I can do without understanding why I do them.  Maybe it's something I've seen someone else I look up to doing.  I think that if I follow suit, I'll end up with the same results as my idol.  

Or it could be that I've read a lot of books, or listened to much advice from well-meaning believers and I want to do the things they've said to do.  

It's easy for me to also get caught up following my own strategy that I've developed over the years.  After all, no one knows myself better than me, right?

If I'm not following God directly out of obedience to Him, I have no business taking part in any tradition.  No matter how long something has been carried out in my family, church or town, it will lead me away from God if the directive did not come from Him.  My relationship with God is more important than fitting in with what everyone else is doing.

Getting caught up in following traditions is not peculiar to God's people in this day and age.  The prophet Isaiah had to deliver a message to the Israelites that, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."  (Isaiah 29:13)

How much of my worship of God, or the way I live my life, is made of stuff I do without meaning? How much of it is out of direct obedience to His calling on my life?  The former cancels out the latter.  

It is my obedience to God that matters to Him.

It is easy for me to think that either I'm a complete failure or that I'm doing pretty good.  Both beliefs are fallacy.  Rather, the truth is that I am a sinner who is saved by the grace of God through faith in my Savior Jesus Christ.  As such, I am free to move forward from here and produce good fruit that comes directly from Him, to have a pure heart cleansed by His blood, and to cultivate an obedient relationship with my Father.  It is then that what comes out of me will please God and lead to a blessed and fulfilled life.  

As I begin this day it is my prayer that my life will be wholly devoted to pleasing God.

How do I let traditions overshadow God's direct Word in my life?

In what ways is my life producing rotten fruit?