Reclaim your heart for God. You can reclaim your heart for God. Or maybe claim it for the first time. Sure you’ve messed up. We all have. And David who killed Goliath messed up too. Big time. And yet, scripture says David had a heart for God. So if David reclaimed his heart for God, there’s hope for all of us. Here are three steps to reclaim yours.
To Reclaim Your Heart For God You Must Recognize Its Condition
Is man basically good or evil? You can argue it either way, right? There are many examples of both. The Bible, however, simply calls us sinful. In other words, we have the capacity for both good and evil. Isn’t that what we actually see in the world?
Sin is the heart condition that separates us from God. And we all sin. Lying, cheating and stealing are just a few obvious ones. There are many other things we do as well. Also things we say and even think about. Seriously. Do I have to spell them all out for you?
The point is, when you let sin rule your heart, you act in all kinds of…well, sinful ways. But you don’t have to let sin rule. You can invite God’s Spirit to rule instead.
To Reclaim Your Heart For God It Must Be Transformed
It was a time after defeating Goliath that David committed adultery and then committed murder to cover it up. Two more examples of sin. But when confronted with his wrong doing, he confessed his sin and repented before God.
Confession and repentance open the door to transformation. Why? Because when you confess and repent, God forgives. Simple, but not easy. Because confession and repentance require humility.
And that means taking responsibility for your actions, rather than make excuses and blame someone or something else. That’s what David did. And we all have to do too. That’s when your heart is transformed.
Transformation doesn’t happen because of what you do, but what God has done. God’s forgiveness wipes the slate clean. Makes you new from the inside out. Lets you start over. And reclaim your heart for God.
Your Reclaimed Heart Must Be Guarded
When you reclaim your heart for God, it’s not one and done. Because sin is persistent and pervasive. And there’s a spiritual enemy seeking to drag you down. And relentless on his spiritual attacks.
That’s why even though God transforms your heart, it quickly and easily fills back up with sin. And so you must sincerely and regularly repeat the whole confession and repentance process.
You have to guard what you let into your heart. And manage what stays there. Play defense and offense. By also pursuing a life that moves towards God, rather than away.
As you reclaim your heart for God, you also reclaim a life of purpose, meaning and eternal significance.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Looking for a Bible Study for yourself or small group??
Looking for a quick, humorous book to read? I think you’ll find that my Christian detective novel, Soul Pursuitis fast-paced, entertaining and inspirational. Here’s a funny scene from one of the chapters to grab your interest. Check out the five-star reviews on amazon then buy a copy of Soul Pursuit and enjoy reading it yourself.
An Excerpt From Chapter 22 in the Detective Novel Soul Pursuit
Warren looked at Terrence and Jeff with an admonishing frown.
“If you two are finished with your teasing and home spun philosophizing, can we get back to our discussion on the deity of Christ? How can Jesus be fully God and fully man at the same time?”
“Don’t think we’re supposed to understand
it,” said Terrance. “It’s what you call a…uh…a…”
“Paradox,” finished Jeff.
“Yeah. I mean, Jesus was a real person. He
experienced everything we do. What do you think, Jack?” asked Terrence.
I knew he was trying to pull me in, to engage me in a spiritual discussion. But I wasn’t going there. I gave a non-committal shrug.
“But you have an opinion. A worldview. We all do.”
“This is a safe place to explore scripture and ask questions,” said Warren. “We’re all on a spiritual journey and none of us have it all figured out.”
“Okay, since you’re talking about real
people, I do have one question weighing on my mind,” I said.
Warren smiled encouragingly, the paternal,
spiritual father encouraging a toddler to take his first spiritual, baby step.
“Ask away.”
“Did Jesus fart?”
Warren’s smile crumpled into a look of
shock at such sacrilege. Terrance was in mid-drink of coffee and blew it
through his nose as he laughed. Jeff smiled, uncertain where the conversation
was headed, but ready to go with the flow.
“What?”
It caught Warren completely off guard and
the spiritual confidence that had marked his face dissolved into one of holy terror.
It was nice watching someone else squirm for a change so I pressed forward.
“Did Jesus fart?
You know, pass gas, cut the cheese, play the posterior trumpet.”
Warren’s face grew a deep red.
“I…I…don’t see the relevance in that
question.”
“Terrence just said Jesus was fully God
and man. And he shared all our experiences. If so, shouldn’t he break wind like
everyone else? And by the way, if Jesus was perfect, what would a perfect fart
sound like? Or smell like? Don’t give me a churchy, idealized version of God. You
say he’s real. I want to know how real.”
“Jesus was real in every sense of the
word. But this level of vulgarity is not germane to our spiritual discussion.”
Warren was visibly struggling and
reverting to obfuscation to cover his discomfort.
I smiled innocently and shrugged.
“Why not?”
“Wait a minute,” said Terrance.
He was trying to control his laughter and
wiping snot globs of coffee from the table.
“I think Jack has a legitimate point. I
mean, we do talk about the humanity of Jesus, don’t we?”
Warren’s look of discomfort turned to
horror. His friend was turning against him.
“Yes, but—“
“Well, if he’s the God who created smell
in the first place, I’d think he could go either way,” said Jeff.
“Meaning?” asked Terrence.
“Raunchy or sweet.”
“A loud blast or silent but deadly?” I
added.
Crass conversation was in my wheelhouse. Maybe I could get into this accountability thing after all. Terrance had another thought and almost spit out a mouthful of donuts in his haste to share it.
I was warming up to the exchange.
“Hey, maybe that’s part of the story we
missed in the Bible. You know, when Jesus cleared the temple?”
“A holy of holy farts,” said Jeff. “Awesome
in power and mighty to scatter away.”
Jeff and Terrence were both now laughing
so hard they were slapping the table and wiping tears from their eyes. I joined
them along with people in nearby booths who had no idea what was funny, but laughed
because the laughter was infectious.
Warren, however was appalled at such blasphemous
talk.
“This conversation shows an incredible lack of reverence for God. It’s…it’s undignified.”
“Maybe,” said Terrance. “But if Jesus could
control the smell, what does that say about election and free will?”
“And the trinity?” added Jeff. “An
Omnipotent fart to the power of three might evaporate the universe.”
Warren was self-righteously indignant. He closed
his Bible and gathered his notes.
“This Bible Study has downgraded to obnoxious
and is effectively concluded.”
“Okay,” said Terrance. “Then I have a parting
thought.”
We waited expectantly as he stood and
smiled.
“Oh, man. SBD bomb!”
With no further discussion we all left.
Click here to purchase a copy of Soul Pursuit or check out other books by Chip Tudor.
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