The Ugliness Within…

The Lord never ceases to amaze me of how He so graciously illumintes His light upon the “ugliness” in our hearts.  Ever since the beginning of the year I’ve kept a journal (I’ve been a little slack as of late) BUT, I’ve kept a journal about all the things God is showing me in my life, things that need to go.  I entitled it, “the ugliness within” because generally it’s the thoughts, motives, and intents of the heart that no one else sees.  Sometimes even we don’t see it, but God always does!  Just last night I had to expose some selfish motives in my life, and I told Brooke about them, and it was very hard to share!  No one ever likes to share the faults and “dirty laundry”, but there is freedom in it! 

I shared in another blog about how God looks at our heart, and when He does He will bring to light those things that need to go, and then we have the choice to get rid of them, or try to cover them up!  I encourage you to have the guts to confess them and get rid of them!  After I shared these things with Brooke, I began to read Ps. 51 (David’s repentive psalm after he had messed up), and I was floored about how much I felt like those words were my words! 

Ps. 51:  “Have mercy upon me O God, according to Your lovingkindness, According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot our my transgressions, wash me thouroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” vs. 6. “Behold you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (the fear of the Lord, which keeps me from sin.) Finally in vs. 10…:create in me a clean heart O God!  And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.”

It has been an awesome journey of freedom as the Lord has shown me those deep, hidden, sometimes secret things that were in my heart that were not pleasing to Him.  It’s been a process getting them out, but how fun, in a wierd way, it has been!  The freedom is awesome, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! 

Dont’ wait another minute!  Begin to deal with those selfish motives, ambitions, secret sin, get it out and start living in freedom, not bondage! 

God Bless,

Rick

What does your heart look like??

I Samuel 16:1-13

If you read our newsletter, in the last paragraph I asked the question “What does your heart look like??” and then I told you if you really cared, to check the website for more and read the story in I Samuel 16.  So, here it goes…

In chapter 16 of I Samuel we find the prophet Samuel going to Jesse’s home to anoint the next King of Israel.  As the reader, we know it’s going to be David, the same one that would slay Goliath, but at that moment, all Samuel knew was where to go:  the house of Jesse the Bethlemite.  Once Samuel gets there he sees Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse (Jesse had 8 sons, David being the youngest).  When Samuel sees him (Eliab) he says “Surely this is God’s anointed (the next king of Israel)! 

What God then says to Samuel is where I want to focus…and I quote….”Do not look at his physical appearance, because I have rejected him.  For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, BUT the Lord looks at the heart.” NKJV

That is absolutely phenominal!  As humans, we are so quick to look with our natural eyes and judge things, assess things.  We look at what someone has or does not have and we judge their success.  What kind of car we drive, the house we live in, our salary, degre, etc.  This is how the world judges success.  BUT I want to to tell you this day that God does not judge externally, but internally.  HE looks at the heart.  So again, I ask the question:

WHAT DOES YOUR HEART LOOK LIKE??

That is the only thing that matters to God.  You can fool everyone else, and put on the mask, but God will not be fooled; He is the one who judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. (I Chronicles 28:9)  I challenge you this day to began to become real, to take off the mask, God will not be fooled.  Begin to seek God with clean hands and a pure heart, ask forgiveness, repent…let this be the first day of the rest of your life!  Examnine your heart, what does it look like to God?  What you do when no one is looking, that’s who you really are.

I pray that the Word of the Lord would bring light into the things in your life that need to change. Things that you have thought were OK.  In the light of His Word, you will see things differently.

God Bless!

Rick