Soul – Page 7 – Praying Pint

139. For there is no one who does not sin

1 Kings 8:46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

How do we know if there is sin in our life? How do we know if we are active in our walk with God? How do we know if our walk is worthy of honoring God?

“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin.” “ Psalms 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” “Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? “Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” “Isaiah 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” “1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I fear that we are thinking we are active in our walk with God and that our life is honoring Him but His word is far from our heart, mind, and soul. This is an intentional choice being made every single day to neglect His word, live for self, and give no thought about serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God on a deeper level each day. How can we say we are committed Christians and we spend little to no time in His word with the single thought of to know and understand Jesus Christ more and more so that we would honor and serve and become very aware of sin in our life.

Turning a blind eye or deaf ear to God’s word does not give us a pass on the sin in our life.

134. Walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul,

1 Kings 2:2 Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Deuteronomy 29:9   Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Joshua 1:7    Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

1 Chronicles 29:19    Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes

Deuteronomy 4:1     “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live,

Deuteronomy 5:1    And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Psalms 119:2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

Proverbs 3:1-4 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

We have the liberty to walk in the way that we choose. We are given this liberty/choice to test our heart and mind. Walking in God’s way is taking a narrow path and is full of promises, truth, grace, mercy, strength, hope, joy, love, courage…… but the path that leads to destruction is wide and comes with promises but they are for the pleasures of the flesh. They are for this world and this side of eternity with no eyes on eternity, no eyes on coming judgment, no eyes on God, and living for the liberty of doing what pleases fleshly desires.

I wonder if we take liberty with our walk with God. We walk with Him on Sunday, at least for part of the day, but for the rest of the week, there is nothing different in our walk and those who are not walking with God at all.

Walking with God is an intentional lifestyle choice for every moment of every day. It is a humble walk of desiring and seeking to serve, glorify, honor, follow, and obey Jesus Christ. There is no way this is possible if His word is not active in your life every day. There is no way this is possible if there is not an intentional commitment each day. There is no way possible if there is not a desire to know and be known by Him. There is no way possible if there is no desire and want to listen to His word speak into your life. Liberty and freedom of choice do not mean we are guiltless of the choices we make in this liberty and freedom. “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart”

133. What man can live and never see death?

1 Kings 2:1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the earth.

Joshua 23:14    “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.

Job 16:22    For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

Job 30:23   For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

Psalms 89:48     What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol

Hebrews 9:27   And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

All of us, sooner or later, must keep a personal, unavoidable, appointment with death. Most people live their lives as if they were exceptions to the rule of death! You don’t get a second chance at life and death. When people say, “You only die once!” they usually mean that you might as well be reckless. But surely, since we live and die but once, we should make of our life what we were meant to make of it. Surely we should not waste our one life recklessly. When Hebrews 9:27 says, “after this” it puts life and death into perspective. Judgment. It is appointed for men once to die and after this the judgment. Death is appointed, and you are no exception. You only die once, and death is not the end; it is your destiny’s door. This destiny is either for heaven or hell for eternity. Those who live for what this world has to offer will find their day of death as a day of regret with no chance of changing the outcome. These are those who disregard what it means to believe in Jesus Christ for redemption and forgiveness of sin. Or still others who look at their life and self-proclaim they are good enough to deserve heaven but there has been no change of heart and mind. No rebirth. No indwelling of the Holy Spirit. No clinging to, relying on, or trusting fully in the blood that was shed for their lives by Christ on the cross. They wrongly believe and will find their eternal destiny full of torment forever as stated in Luke.

Luke 16:19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

The time for salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternity in heaven is now. No man knows the time of his death and every day delayed is an eternal gamble.

78. I have broken the bars of your yoke

Joshua 23:14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.

Exodus 23:27-30 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

There is peace when our heart, mind, and soul, cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ. There is strength for today and hope tomorrow. There is courage to face each and every trial. Our heart, mind, and soul expect to see the work of Jesus Christ in our lives and through the trials and troubles common to all. There is fruit in our lives because of Jesus. There is discernment in our thoughts. Our eyes and ears are opened to see truth and as well that which is false. There is purpose and meaning to our life.

Stay in His word each day. Fight against neglect, busyness, and complacency. Be intentional with your walk with Jesus.

54. “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Deuteronomy 28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 11:13    “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul

Exodus 15:26    saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Psalms 111:10    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

Isaiah 1:19     If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

Isaiah 55:2-3    Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant

Luke 11:28     But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Listen diligently to Me, willing and obedient, do what is right in His eyes, give ear to His commandments, serve Him with all your heart and soul. How can these words from scripture be taken any other way than how they are presented.

Listen diligently – is a choice to want to hear God speak into your heart, soul, mind, life.

Be willing and obedient – is a choice to act on what God is speaking into your life.

Doing what is right in His eyes – is a choice that actively searches God’s word with a desire to grow in understanding and knowledge so that your life honors and glorifies God.

Serve Him – is a choice that recognizes worldly stuff and self and chooses to serve Jesus Christ for His honor and glory.

It is all a choice of the heart, mind, and soul. Don’t be neglectful or complacent with choices of serving and honoring God.

51. Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Deuteronomy 13:3 For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him

Psalms 66:10    For you, O God, have tested us

Matthew 24:24    For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

2 Thessalonians 2:11     Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

1 John 4:4    Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

2 Corinthians 13:5-7     Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!  I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.  But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

God’s testing is a gift from Him to us. We can experience new areas of faith as we grow through these testings. It is possible for us to see our heart’s “faith” status in and through these testings? The answer to this is yes if we have determined (Faith) that God is sovereign, in control of everything, has power over everything, and sees and knows everything before it happens. The answer is no if we have determined (lukewarm or nonexistent Faith) that God is not in control, He is not powerful enough, and He does not know or see my troubles.

When we have faith in God all things are possible. We can run to Him in our testing trials and tell Him our anxious worrisome thoughts and seek His refuge, strength, courage, and power to carry us through.

When we don’t have faith in a loving, all powerful, all knowing God we go it alone. We worry. We complain. We have a pity party. We get angry. We feel alone. We seek self-solutions. We doubt God. We lose hope. We lose peace. We have no rest.

I recently read a commentary that said “God tests our hearts. He wants to know, to find out, to see for Himself, through the circumstances that He creates or allows to occur, what our reaction will be. He does not assume; He does not presume that He already knows. God tests and He is watching.” This is “SO WRONG”. God does know. It is because of His steadfast love that He is giving us the opportunity to see our heart faith, so we can confess, repent, and turn away from unbelief.

God tests us to show us the faith status of our heart, the commitment status of our soul, and to allow us joy, peace, rest, comfort, and hope when we seek refuge in Him and place the burden of the test into His hands.

When you are walking through a time of testing rejoice! Because if in this time of testing you seek and desire God’s refuge you will experience and see how awesome God is, you will witness His power, you will grow in faith, and worship, honor, and glorify Him in new and deeper ways.

48. Leading you to fall away from the living God.

Deuteronomy 11:1 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. For your eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord that he did.

Deuteronomy 11:13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

Luke 21:8    And he said, “See that you are not led astray.

Luke 21:34    “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation (self-Indulgence) and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Hebrews 2:1    Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Hebrews 3:12    Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Deuteronomy 8:19   And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.

I have been giving thought to what causes people to drift away from God. What causes neglect to His word? What leads to being complacent with reading it? I could never quite get these ideas to form into something that makes sense. I found these thoughts from Chris Russell.

One of Satan’s greatest weapons against our generation seems to be his ability to make good people busier than ever before. If you desire to walk closely with God, you will absolutely, necessarily have to begin by taking a close look at your calendar. It is likely that you are currently doing too much. And it is also likely that your overly hectic schedule is affecting your relationship with God. So take out your pruning shears and begin to cut out any activities you can that will allow you to focus more time on your relationship with your Creator.

Be careful not to set your heart on things that really don’t matter. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen good people lured away from church life because they have fallen in love with things or activities that have no eternal merit. For example, children’s sports can certainly be a thrilling activity for your kids to pursue.

When the trials of life cause a person to become discouraged, he often begins focusing on those problems and takes his eyes off of Christ. It reminds me of when Peter walked on the water. He did great until he took his eyes off of Jesus and began looking at the waves beneath him and the clouds above him. It is important for you to know that when life’s clouds grow dark and your trials become fierce, that is the time to run TO Jesus and not FROM Him.

We Americans are so fat with our own prosperity that we often make wealth our god and not the true King of heaven. This has also been a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible. People struggle, God blesses them, they become prosperous, and then they depart from God. Ironic, isn’t it? People of abundance often choose recreation over worship. Why go to church if you could be out golfing, boating, camping, or going to movies or sporting events? Satan wants us to be prosperous, because our prosperity and abundance often lure us away from our Creator.

Many people begin to drift away from God, because they have sins in their lives that cause them to feel guilt when they show up at church. And they feel reluctant to pray or read their Bible when they know they have these issues in their lives.

How have you done in your journey with God over the past year or the past few months? Have you drifted? Now is the time to return. Call out to God before you are so far from the shore than you lose all sense of spiritual direction.

47. What does the LORD require of you

Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God,

Jeremiah 7:22-23  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Micah 6:8  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 11:29-30  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

1 John 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Obey my voice! Serve God with all your heart and soul. Keep His commandments. Be no longer stubborn. Walk in the way that I command you. Walk humbly with God.

What does it mean to serve Him with all your heart and soul, to keep His commandments, to be no longer stubborn, and to walk humbly? I am certain it will require emptying oneself of what is more precious and consuming time in their heart, mind, and soul. During Christmas, we hear of how there was no room in the inn for Mary to give birth. It seems to ring true today with no room in our busyness for Jesus to reign fully. Making room would indicate that something has to be purposely moved out. What is consuming your heart and soul leaving no room for Jesus?

We can say we are doing all we can with the busyness of our life, family, job, etc…. By saying we are doing all we can means we have intentionally chosen to give our time (heart, soul, mind) to something else. We choose to believe we are doing what God wants for us to do. How can that be true if Jesus is not #1 in our heart? How can that be true if we give His word nothing more than a glance every once in a while?

In Joshua 22:5 It says, “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” In Psalms 81:13 it says, “Oh, that my people would listen to me”. In Titus 2:11-12 it says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age”

There has been no other time in history where God’s word has been so readily available. There has never in history been so much neglect of His word than what is presently being done. Never in history has there been this much complacent behavior by those supposedly called by His name. Our lives should not and do not have to be like this. We aren’t forced into it. We choose it to be this way.

We can choose to not be this way. We can choose to repent, confess, return and commit to humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying God. We can start by intentionally committing to reading His word each day. We can intentionally seek and desire for Him to lead us closer to Him through more understanding and knowledge of Him and what it means to give Him all our heart, mind, and soul.

42. Artificial Christianity

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 5:32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Deuteronomy 11:13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Tozer said; “Artificial Christianity is a deeply human and spiritual loss to the heart and soul.” It is a disease of the heart and soul that is satisfying a false belief that they are secure in this artificial state. This artificiality actually becomes a means to feel good about self and gives no thought to the fact their heart and soul is far from God.

There is no urgency in the gospel, no urgency for the lost, no urgency of sin, no urgency of honoring, serving, following, and obeying God. The artificialness of their life blinds them but not to the lost. The lost see no difference in these pretenders and their artificial life. Neglect and complacency are the norms for these artificial lives.

If there is no visible difference in the life of a Christian how are they to be a reflecting light of the gospel of Jesus Christ? I heard a radio preacher say; “ too often Jesus is proclaimed as the Gospel of saving you from your problems. This is a lie. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Jesus came to save us from our Sin. He dies on the cross to take our sin upon Himself and redeem those who would believe in His sacrifice for their sin. Trusting Him for salvation is the means and message of the Gospel.

Artificial and worldly messages proclaiming Jesus came to save us from our problems is not proclaiming the gospel that leads to repentance, forgiveness, and eternal life.

God said to serve, honor, follow and obey with all our heart, mind, and soul. This will only happen when we see our eternal state in light of our sin and sinful nature and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do not be an artificial believer. Run to Him and repent for not giving any thought to sin and His sacrifice. Run to Him as one who is on the cliff of hell with no hope of escape but for the love, He demonstrated on the Cross. Oh, that our heart, mind, and soul would grasp the love and sacrifice given for our sin and sinfulness. Nowhere in the bible does it say If we confess our problems He is faithful and just to take away our problem. No, it says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness..”

41. We must pay much closer attention

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 4:20-23     My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 3:3     Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Proverbs 3:21    My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion,

Proverbs 7:1     My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;

Joshua 1:18    Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Revelation 3:3    Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Proverbs 4:1-13     Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,  for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

  Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Hebrews 2:3     how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

Hebrews 2:1    Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees when He said: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” We choose what goes into and stays in our heart. Our heart reflects the treasures that are held, dear. Our heart treasure is often spoken of. Likewise, that which is not cherished or treasured or chosen will never find a place in our heart and will not be spoken of.

These verses today speak of choice, a choice to be diligent, steadfast, remembering, attentive, guarding, keeping, faithful, storing, receiving, and holding and clinging onto God’s word with the single purpose of honoring, glorifying, and obeying Him. We get to choose what comes into and stays in our heart. What we feed into our heart is what is going to be abiding and directing our thoughts, words, and actions.

Jesus stands at the door to our heart seeking to be invited in forever. I fear the door to many hearts is shut and Jesus is viewed through the peephole. They wrongly assume that viewing Him on the other side of the door is the same as having Him inside. And you know what is so sad about this, they are happy and content to live this way.

Inside their heart, they live for themselves and every now and then when the confusion, chaos, and troubles of this world affect them they run to the door and peep through the hole to make sure Jesus is still out there. They don’t invite Him in but rather speak through the door to Him and ask Him to fix what is on the other side of the door.

Be intentional with your choice to keep in His word, live for His word, cherish His word, honor His word, obey His word, speak His word, remember and meditate on His word. Open the door to your heart and invite Jesus into your heart forever.