Heart

Things are not as they appear, but God looks at the heart. It’s in the Bible, 1 Samuel 16:7, NKJV. “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God has made each heart unique. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 33:15, NKJV. “He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.”

Where is God when our hearts are broken? It’s in the Bible, Psalm 34:18, NKJV. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

Even when we think we can’t go on, God can be our strength. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 73: 26, NKJV. “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Is there anybody we can trust? It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

What about when everyone says to just trust my heart? It’s in the Bible, Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

The Bible can cut deep to show the truth about our hearts. It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 4:12, NKJV. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

What kind of heart is needed to see God? It’s in the Bible, Matthew 5:8, NKJV. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

How can my heart be purified? By faith in God. It’s in the Bible, Acts 15:9, NKJV. “and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

How do I find God? It’s in the Bible, Deuteronomy 4:29, NKJV. “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

How can I be saved? It’s in the Bible, Romans 10:9-10, NKJV. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

If we let God show us the sins in our heart, He can lead us into everlasting life. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Is there anything I can give to God? God only asks for a broken spirit and sorry heart. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 51:17, NKJV. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise.”

My heart is full of darkness, can God still save me?  It’s in the Bible, 1 John 3:20, NKJV. “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”

What happens if we do not follow and hear the Holy Spirit? It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 3:7-8, NKJV. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness’”

What if my heart is too hardened? God promises He can give us a new heart. It’s in the Bible, Ezekiel 36:26, NKJV. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

We need to want God to create a clean heart in us. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 51:10, NKJV. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

What can we put into our hearts to help us day by day? It’s in the Bible, Psalm 119:11, NKJV. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

God promises He will write His law on our hearts and minds. It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 10:16-17 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

God wants to give us the deepest desires of our hearts, if we will trust Him. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 37:4-5, NKJV. “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

Christ can fill the thirsty heart and overflow from it. It’s in the Bible, John 7:38, NKJV. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Guard what you let into your heart, because it is the source of all you do. It’s in the Bible, Proverbs 4:23, NIV. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

The things people say are good signs of what is in their hearts. It’s in the Bible, Luke 6:45, NKJV. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Where does sin begin? In the thoughts of the heart. It’s in the Bible, Mark 7:21, NKJV. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.”

Where does the decision to do what is right start? The heart. It’s in the Bible, Daniel 1:8, NKJV. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

Loving God takes all of our hearts. It’s in the Bible, Deuteronomy 6:4, NKJV. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Our worship is meaningless if our hearts are not in it. It’s in the Bible, Matthew 15:8, NKJV. ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.’

How can we be prepared for Christ’s second coming? It’s in the Bible, Luke 21:34, NKJV. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.

The things you hold dear, reveal where your heart is. It’s in the Bible, Matthew 6:20-21, NKJV. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(c) 2024 Banning Seventh-day Adventist Church.