Where is Your Heart

There are times in your life when you spend time thinking about what your priorities are and what you want out of life. Sometimes those times come unexpectedly and other times they come after an event that reminds you that life on earth has an expiration date.

This week some of my family went to a funeral for a man that we have known and have worked with for 20 years. He was an older gentleman and his passing wasn’t unexpected or a surprise. He was 84 years old and had a family of 15. He had 105 grandchildren and I am guessing there will be a few more added to that number. I have to wonder what legacy Dan Detweiler will have. In 4 generations, will anyone remember that he existed? Will they know what sort of man he was? Will they even care?

Do you know what sort of man your great great grandfather was? You had a bunch of them. Do you know any of their names? Do they matter to you? Have you ever wondered what sort of men they were? What about their wives? You wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for them and yet they most likely never crossed your mind.

Do you want to be remembered? Do you want to leave a legacy? Do you need to be remembered to leave a legacy? Do the decisions you make have any importance? Does it make a difference if you make good or bad decisions? Who is affected by those decisions?

I think they matter. I think every decision you make has long reaching implications. This should not paralyze you but make you free to live life joyfully. You matter. We all matter. That is why the work of Christ in your heart is so important. That is why Jesus came to die for us. Because we matter. The world will tell you that you do not matter to anyone but yourself and you need to make sure you are happy because nobody else will. They will tell you that you are alone and you need to make your own way. Is that true?

No person lives alone to themselves. Every moment. Every motivation. Every purpose. Every beat of your heart is affected by someone else and every beat of your heart affects someone else. In countless ways and in boundless measure you matter. We all matter. That is why it is important that you make good choices. We need to live for good. We need to leave a good mark in the world we live in. We need to let the work of the Trinity work His wonderful work.

We all know this. We want to do this. We want to be good and we really to take ourselves as good. We know the motivations of our hearts and we know the things we intended. We judge ourselves as needing only a bit more work and then we are perfect. We know this is laughable but we still believe it.

What messes us up is the fact that we do not exist in a vacuum. We are surrounded by good and evil influences. Depending on your circumstances you will generally think that the world is either a fundamentally good or a fundamentally evil place. What is difficult is to believe that the other might be true. That the world might be different than we perceive it. That we do not have a complete understanding of Creation. That there are things that we cannot explain. That we might be wrong in some way that matters. That we may need to repent. To change.

One fundamental understanding we need to have is that our hearts are wicked. Among others, here are some clues to that truth.

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

Mark 7:21-23 – For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Romans 1:21 – Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 3:10-18 – As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Matthew 12:35 – A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Psalms 51:5 – Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 118:8 – [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

I want to focus on one of those verses for a bit. Matthew 12:35. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and was warning them to repent.

[Mat 12:33-37 KJV] 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

This gives us another clue to the nature of our hearts. We do have a choice about what treasure is there. The CSB translation of this verse, Mat 12:35 “A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.” We can choose to put good or evil material there. Through the work of Christ, we have that option. That ability.

What is in your heart? Have you been putting good treasure there? How do you put good treasure there? Do you consider the things you read? Do you consider the things you listen to? Do you consider the choices you make on what media you will consume? When was the last time you chose to not consume something because it was unhealthy? What about the thoughts that you dwell on? What about the friends that you choose? Do they affect the decisions you make? Who do you let tell you what is acceptable and good? Do you consider?

I will tell you that reading the Bible, praying, and fasting are the best ways to build good treasure in your heart because those things are good. There are other good things that you have opportunities to do. As you do those things, you are putting good things in your heart because those things are good. What you choose to do with the time you have is what determines what is in your heart.

Where do you want to go? Are you bent toward evil? Do you want what is good? Is your heart in a good place? How can you tell? I will remind you that you are not alone in the world and that is why it matters. You are not alone. Every choice you make will affect someone else in some way. Even the thought life and emotional life you lead matters.

If you are not in the place you want to be, I recommend doing something about it. If you believe there is nothing you can do about it, you are believing a lie. The grace of God will enable all who want to know Him. It is a divine promise.

[Jer 29:13 KJV] 13 And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

[Zep 2:1-3 CSB] 1 Gather yourselves together; gather together, undesirable nation,  2 before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning of the LORD’s anger overtakes you, before the day of the LORD’s anger overtakes you.  3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the LORD’s anger.

[Luk 11:9-13 CSB] 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 “Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? “

Are you searching for God with all your heart?