The heart seems to get a lot of attention. From a key organ in our body to the center of a city or event, or the bottom line of understanding. It is about getting down to it. So today I want to spend some time getting to the heart of it all.
Many different directions to take this message of the heart and they are flooding my head right now. The things going through my head are:
- Heart to heart
- Heartfelt
- Heartless
- A matter of the heart
- Trust your heart
- Cross my heart
- To lose heart
- Take heart
- Heart rate
- Heartburn
- Bleeding Heart
- Purple Heart
- Broken heart
- Heart and soul
- Have a heart
- Heart throb
- Cold hands warm heart
- Young at heart
- Lonely heart
- Wearing your heart on your sleave
- Heart of gold
The Heart is the Center of It All
Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew about our heart.
Matthew 12:34b AMP
For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
So what we put in our heart is what comes out. I remember a song by Petra (80’s Christian Rock Band) that spoke of “garbage in, garbage out.”
So what we are full of is the heart of who we are. That with which our heart is filled with reveals itself. And how is that known? The mouth gives it away. Either it tells what your heart is full of by what comes out, or by HOW it comes out. What do I mean by that? Listen to how The Message Bible says it:
Matthew 12:34b MSG
It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.
Wow! So it’s not just the words, but it is also how it is conveyed. And there is one other thing that brings meaning to your words – action! James 2:17 states that faith (God’s Word) without action is dead being by itself.
That Is The Heart of This Message
If you want to have that every-day-walking-around-kind-of-life with Jesus, you have to mean it from the heart. Otherwise, it doesn’t mean anything. Its gotta be from the heart, and out of love.
The Heart More Than Anything Means Love
If you mean anything from the heart, it has to be out of love. So what does that say about Jesus? I would say that He loves more than anyone could ever imagine or think. His words were always full of action – literally you cannot separate His words from action. It is His word that hits the heart of the matter. His word literally goes to the core of your heart. It is His word that literally changes your heart. That’s what His love does.
His love fills the hole in our heart. It fills us up. His Word and His love gives us eternal life. It makes our heart whole again and puts us in right standing with the Father.
Challenge of the Week
What do you need to empty your heart of in order for Jesus to fill your heart to make it whole again? Is it hurt, hatred, unforgiveness? Or maybe it’s just a lack of His Word? Fill your heart with the love of Jesus and His Word. It will bring life to you, and to others you reflect it to. So be it!
