Heart and Mind

And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever”. 1 Chronicles 28:9 ESV

Total service to the Lord always includes both the heart and mind.  It must be with the whole heart and a willing mind. Both must serve with holy motives for the Lord knows the heart and the mind.

Solomon was given good instructions from David his father, instructions that he followed at first but abandoned in his senior years.  A warning to all but especially to those in their senior years!  

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Know Your Bible!

Know your Bible! There is no better instruction book on the market. It will address the issues of the heart and therefore the issues of life. It will guide you in the right way and will always give you the truth. It tells the most important story every recorded in history and shares the deepest love ever shared. Read it often. Follow @pastorbarr

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalm 119:9 

Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

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Make the Right Heart Choices

When it comes to the desires of the heart choose wisely. The heart can be deceitful. If you are going to set your heart on anything be sure that it is the will of Lord and that the desire breaks no precepts or principles set forth in scripture. Be careful also of your emotions for they often overrule good sense when it comes to matters of the heart.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23  

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah  17:9  

Today's Prayer: Lord make the desires of my heart right. Do not allow me to give a foothold for the devil to tempt me. Amen

Coming Out*

The heart is the true character of a person, and it will eventually show itself. When it does come out, what we see is often scary. Therefore it is wise to examine our heart often and keep it as near to God as possible.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? -Jeremiah 17:9

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. -Proverbs 4:23

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Listen!

Listen! In the cool of the morning or at twilight, listen to the sounds of nature. They speak a language that calms the soul. Their song reminds us that that there is harmony in the heart when the heart is right with God.

Psalm 19:1-4

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

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Beware Where You Let Your Heart Go!

His wives turned away his heart. 1 Kings 11:4.

EVERY man is vulnerable at one point of his character. Strong everywhere else, and armour-plated, he is weak there; and our great enemy knows just where to strike home. It would have been useless to argue with Solomon for the claims of idols. He could at once, by his wisdom, have annihilated all infidel arguments, and have established the existence and unity of God. But, step by step, he was led by silken cords, a captive, to the worship of other gods. It is  a solemn warning; and Nehemiah was perfectly justified when, in his contention with the Jews who had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab, he said, "Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things! Yet among many nations there was no king like him who was beloved of his God."

Let young people beware where they let their hearts go forth in love. Whom we love we resemble; and in the marriage tie it is almost inevitable that seductions to the lower will overcome the drawings to the higher. When a Christian disobeys God's distinct command against intermarriage with the ungodly, he begins to sink to the level of his ungodly partner whom he had thought to raise to his own religious standing.

Our associates determine the drift and current of our life. It is so easy to launch upon the current that flows past our feet; it seems impossible that the laughing, enticing water should ever carry us against sharp, splintering rocks, or over breaking cataracts. When we are compelled to associate with the ungodly, let us maintain a strict self-watch, and pray that the breath of the heavenward gale may more than counteract the tendency of the earthward current. -F. B. Meyer, Homily 

The Heart of Worship

True worship begins with the heart. If the heart is not right -- if Jesus is not present and sitting on your heart's throne, then it is impossible to worship God in truth and spirit (John 4:23-24). A self-examination of the heart and prayerful attitude will help develop true worship.

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. (Psalm 26:2)

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THE HEART’S WORSHIP.
-Bowring

The offerings to Thy throne which rise,
Of mingled praise and prayer,
Are but a worthless sacrifice,
Unless the heart be there.

Upon Thine all-discerning ear
Let no vain words intrude;
No tribute but the vow sincere,—
The tribute of the good.

Our offerings will indeed be blest,
If sanctified by Thee;
If Thy pure spirit touch the breast
With its own purity.

O, may that spirit warm each heart
To piety and love,
And to life’s lowly vale impart
Some rays from heaven above.

A New Year -- A Fresh Start

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 ESV

Before time was, the eternal God and creator of all things introduced the beginning. He is the God of beginnings – New Beginnings.  Do not fail to grasp this simple truth: God can give you a new beginning – a new start. Enter the New Year with hope, knowing that the Lord who created all wants to create in you an new heart and fresh start.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV

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Christmas Heart

Peace I leave with you, my peace... -Jesus (John 14:27)

Sometimes others say it better than you can. When they do, it is best to just quote them.

"Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years... Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart." - George Matthew Adams (The Christmas Heart)

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