July 2nd, 2021
by Robert Presson
by Robert Presson
by Jordan Wilks (info below)
The heart is the mirror of our actions. If you want to know the condition of a person’s heart, you can look at their actions and their words. We know from Scripture that, “…out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh,” (Matthew 12:34 KJV throughout). So our words are representative of the condition of the heart, as are our very actions. This is true in both the righteous and the wicked. So what about the times where we as Christians have difficulty with the condition of our heart not matching up to the desired integrity that can be seen throughout Scriptures?
Many times in a person’s Christian walk, they must lay down certain things that are deemed as sinful. Whether that is pornography, profanity, fornication, or whatever else there may be. In these moments of realizing that there is sin in our lives that we need to be set free of, we have to make the choice to lay these things down. Often, we continue to desire these things even after we’ve laid them down. The attitude of our heart may continue to crave these things, but at times we must first take the action of laying sinfulness down before the attitude of our heart can truly be aligned with the Word of God.
This is meant to be edifying because we often, as believers, struggle to love people to the full capacity that we know we should. It seems impossible to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and it is so easy to think of ourselves as unloving people because of this. There are many people in this world that have never heard of the Gospel and we may not even bat an eye at the thought. How can we align the attitude of our hearts to be reflective of the Word? We must first take action. Our hearts are not naturally good; we must be given new hearts by God. Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If our treasure is sinfulness, our hearts will be wicked. If we place our treasure in heavenly things and in advancing the Kingdom of God, the very attitude of our hearts will change and be more conformed into the image of the heart of Jesus.
If you struggle to love others or if you are stuck in an area of sinfulness, seek God and begin to take the actions necessary for a heart-change. I find it interesting that the word for “love” in the King James Version of the Bible is “charity.” Charity takes the meaning of “love” to another level because now it’s not just an emotion or feeling, it’s an action and way of life. God is the one that changes our hearts, but there is action required on our part because, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it,” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).
Jordan Wilks is a missionary to New Orleans. He and his wife Madison and their two children moved to the city in 2020 to reach the lost and hurting in the French Quarter. His organization, Courier Missions, has been doing several outreaches a week in the Quarter. You can find out more about Jordan and Madison Wilks and Courier Missions at couriermissions.com, or go to couriermissions.com/donate to support them financially.
The heart is the mirror of our actions. If you want to know the condition of a person’s heart, you can look at their actions and their words. We know from Scripture that, “…out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh,” (Matthew 12:34 KJV throughout). So our words are representative of the condition of the heart, as are our very actions. This is true in both the righteous and the wicked. So what about the times where we as Christians have difficulty with the condition of our heart not matching up to the desired integrity that can be seen throughout Scriptures?
Many times in a person’s Christian walk, they must lay down certain things that are deemed as sinful. Whether that is pornography, profanity, fornication, or whatever else there may be. In these moments of realizing that there is sin in our lives that we need to be set free of, we have to make the choice to lay these things down. Often, we continue to desire these things even after we’ve laid them down. The attitude of our heart may continue to crave these things, but at times we must first take the action of laying sinfulness down before the attitude of our heart can truly be aligned with the Word of God.
This is meant to be edifying because we often, as believers, struggle to love people to the full capacity that we know we should. It seems impossible to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and it is so easy to think of ourselves as unloving people because of this. There are many people in this world that have never heard of the Gospel and we may not even bat an eye at the thought. How can we align the attitude of our hearts to be reflective of the Word? We must first take action. Our hearts are not naturally good; we must be given new hearts by God. Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If our treasure is sinfulness, our hearts will be wicked. If we place our treasure in heavenly things and in advancing the Kingdom of God, the very attitude of our hearts will change and be more conformed into the image of the heart of Jesus.
If you struggle to love others or if you are stuck in an area of sinfulness, seek God and begin to take the actions necessary for a heart-change. I find it interesting that the word for “love” in the King James Version of the Bible is “charity.” Charity takes the meaning of “love” to another level because now it’s not just an emotion or feeling, it’s an action and way of life. God is the one that changes our hearts, but there is action required on our part because, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it,” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).
Jordan Wilks is a missionary to New Orleans. He and his wife Madison and their two children moved to the city in 2020 to reach the lost and hurting in the French Quarter. His organization, Courier Missions, has been doing several outreaches a week in the Quarter. You can find out more about Jordan and Madison Wilks and Courier Missions at couriermissions.com, or go to couriermissions.com/donate to support them financially.
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