The Condition of the Heart

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:11-15

At any time, the receptiveness of your heart will determine your response to God's Word (Luke 8:5-18). If your heart is like the trampled ground, hardened by the sin of bitterness and unforgiveness, you will be unable to accept a message from God. Though you hear the words of the message, you will remain unchanged. If your heart is like the shallow soil on top of a rock, you will accept God's Word in your mind, but the truth will not penetrate your heart to make a difference in your actions. A heart like thorny soil is a life that is distracted by the cares of the world; the pursuit of earthly pleasures prevents God's Word from taking hold and producing righteousness. The heart that is like good soil receives a word from God, applies it, and brings forth fruit in due time. This is the heart that Jesus desires in us, for the fruit will be a Christlike life.

Any time you hear a word from God, whether through Bible reading, prayer, or worship, the way you respond will depend on how you have cultivated your heart (Hosea 10:12). How do you develop a heart that is like good soil? Repent of any bitterness, anger, or unforgiveness that is hardening your heart. Meditate on God's Word until it enters deep into your heart and not just your mind. When you read or hear a word from God, apply it to your life and let God bring His word into reality in your life (Galatians 6:9). Protect your lifestyle. See that you don't devote all of your energy to worldly concerns, rather than to pursuing your relationship with God. The condition of your heart will vary, depending on how you cultivate it. If it was receptive to a word from God yesterday, this does not guarantee it is receptive today. Daily prepare your heart for the word God has for you!

- Excerpt from “Experiencing God Day-By-Day” by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Relax In Every Circumstance

Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

As an operating room nurse, I worked alongside a team that ensured that sterile surgical procedures took place. Before each procedure began, we searched for, identified and eliminated even the smallest impurities that could contaminate the sterile field.

This care and intention minimizes the risk of infection for the patient, protects the surgical staff from exposure to potential illness, and reduces complications so that patients can heal and recover quickly. But these techniques also make me wonder what it would look like if we applied the same attention to detail to keeping stress and worry from contaminating our lives.

Could we scrub away our stress more effectively if we immediately called out to God (Psalm 118:5)?

What if we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable, sharing our pains and heartaches with the “team” of people in our lives so we could carry each other’s burdens instead of suffering alone (Galatians 6:2)?

What would happen if we searched for, identified and eliminated the chaotic, negative and untrue thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5) that could contaminate our days before we even rise from our beds each morning?

How much faster would we heal and recover from our worries and fears if we cast all our anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7)?

In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” God’s Word reminds us that no matter what we are facing, we can relax in Him in every circumstance.

God is fully aware of your stresses and challenges, and He has gifted you perfect peace — a sense of spiritual serenity that isn’t fleeting or dependent upon external factors and that cannot be taken away by worldly circumstances.

When stress, anxiety, burdens and fear attempt to contaminate your life, you can cry out to God, cast every care upon Him, and then relax, knowing He cares for you. Your hope and reassurance in Christ go beyond what this world can offer.

Today, fix your mind on Jesus, regularly communicating with God through prayer and meditation, surrendering to Him and relying on His power to navigate you through every situation. With His help, you can cultivate and experience perfect peace and enjoy God’s loving presence in your life.

Father God, thank You for Your divine, perfect peace and for welcoming me, even when I feel stressed and burdened, with open arms. No matter what I’m facing, I know I can relax and trust You with it all. Thank You for the gift of Your love and presence in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Tracie Braylock

Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Changed Through Meditation

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2

Meditation means “to think deeply and continuously about something.” For a Christian, this means remaining in the presence of God and pondering each truth He reveals about Himself until it becomes real and personal in your life. This takes time. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus accused certain would-be followers of calling Him “Lord” and yet never doing what He told them (Luke 6:46). They had the correct truth in their heads, but it had never translated into obedience. When you meditate on Scriptures, the truth moves from your head to your heart and results in obedience. As the psalmist said: “Your word have I hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).

When you know God's Word in your mind but not in your heart, it means that you have learned the principles and concepts and doctrines of God, but you have not come to know Jesus personally. You can reject a doctrine, or ignore a concept, or challenge a principle, but it is much more difficult to ignore a Person. You can have Scripture in your mind and still sin against God. There are those who can recite long passages of Scripture and yet live ungodly lives. However, you cannot have Scripture fill your heart and continue to sin against God. When God's truth is allowed to touch the deepest corner of your soul, the Holy Spirit will transform you into the image of Jesus Christ. Don't just read your Bible; meditate on God's Word and ask Him to change your heart.

Ask yourself how you should change so you're living as God wants. Knowing and thinking about God's Word is the first step towards applying it to your everyday life. If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what he says.

- Excerpt from “Experiencing God Day-By-Day” by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Application of God's Word: Psalm 1:3

Verse: Psalm 1:3

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Application:

When Scripture says, "In all they do, they prosper," it does not mean immunity to failure or difficulties. Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: When we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear will be good and receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's Word in our hearts.

For all who take their delight in living by God's Word, there is prosperity. Under the image of a fruitful tree, the psalmist declared that whatever the righteous do will prosper. Two qualifications need to be noted. First, the fruit, that is, the prosperity, is produced in its season and not necessarily immediately after planting. Second, what the godly person does will be controlled by the Law of God (1:2). So if a person meditates on God's Word, his actions will be godly, and his God-controlled activities will prosper, that is, come to their divinely directed fulfillment.

Wisdom Through Meditation

Psalm 119:145-152

I cry out with my whole heart;

Hear me, O Lord!

I will keep Your statutes.

I cry out to You;

Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.

I rise before the dawning of the morning,

And cry for help;

I hope in Your word.

My eyes are awake through the night watches,

That I may meditate on Your word.

Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;

O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.

They draw near who follow after wickedness;

They are far from Your law.

You are near, O Lord,

And all Your commandments are truth.

Concerning Your testimonies,

I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

---

Our receiving God's wisdom begins with prayer, but it does not end there. He has a method in His transformation process, and it requires our full cooperation. We are not passive recipients of His mind; we are active in our pursuit. He offers it, but we must want it. And there is more to wanting than just asking.

We can learn the Word of God through study. But it does not become a part of us until we meditate on it. Lacking that step, we become knowledgeable without becoming wise. There is a profound difference between knowing about God's will and His ways and actually knowing God's will and His ways. One leads to an illusion that we're spiritual when we're not. The other leads to life.

Churches are full of people who hear the Word of God preached on Sunday and then have forgotten it on Monday. There are many tools to incorporate God's truths into our lives, but the first, after prayer, is to meditate on it. What does that mean? It means to chew on it, think of what God does with it and why it came from His mouth, how we've failed it in our past, and how it might be applied in our everyday lives. The Word of God is not given simply to be admired; it is given to be learned. It is not spoken to make us smart; it is spoken to change us and conform us to the bright image of the living God.

At all costs, do not passively let the Word of God go in one ear and out the other. Do not read it so casually that it is forgotten the next day or the next hour. There's power in it! It is a gift that will craft us into the person God wants us to be, the person we were designed to be from the very beginning. That molding process is the greatest earthly fulfillment we can ever experience. And God first begins to answer our prayers for that when we meditate on His truth. Let it soak in, completely and deeply. Let it do its powerful work.

“Meditation is…allowing the Holy Spirit to take the written word and apply it as the living word to the inner being.”  - Campbell McAlpine

[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]

Application of God's Word: Psalm 1:2

Verse: Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

Application:
This "law" means all of Scripture. The more of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we all have to guide us in our daily decisions.

You can learn how to follow God by thinking about his Word. This means spending time reading and thinking about what you have read. It means asking yourself how you should change so you're living as God wants. Knowing and thinking about God's Word are the first steps toward applying it to your everyday life. If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what he says.

A godly person is influenced not by unrighteous people but by his meditation on the Word of God. Such meditation necessarily involves study and retention. This is possible only if he has a desire to do so, here referred to as a delight. The psalmists found direction, not drudgery, from the Law of God.

Meditate on These Things

 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8

casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Paul’s final instruction in his prescription to anxiety is to meditate on the things of God. In other words, pick what you ponder. Picture your thoughts as airplanes in the sky above a busy airport. You are the air traffic controller of that airport. You get to decide which thoughts land and which ones fly away. Want to be happy tomorrow? Let the thoughts of happiness land today. Want to be miserable tomorrow? Let thoughts of guilt, worry, and fear land today.

Healing from anxiety requires healthy thinking. In truth, your challenge is not your challenge; your challenge is the way you think about your challenge. Likewise, your problem is not your problem; the way you look at the problem is your problem. Satan knows this, which is why he is always seeking to plant lies in your thinking. He wants to influence the way you perceive your struggles or uncertainties. But remember that he is not the master of your mind.

Furthermore, you have a power he can never defeat, for you have God on your side. When anxiety threatens to weigh down your heart, you can simply call on God. This slaps the handcuffs on the culprit and marches it before the One who has all authority. This denies worries and fears to have a platform to influence your mind. This guards your thoughts as you trust in God your Father.

Of course, saying this and doing this are two different things. You may want to resolve that today you will think only on things that are true, honorable, and right. . . even if it kills you. But who can really do this?

There is a simpler way: just make it your aim to cling to Christ. Abide in him. Go to him as your source of strength and the One your thoughts need to obey. Read God’s Word. Listen to sermons. Worship him. Set aside distractions and claim time for him. Understand that if anything good comes into your life, he will be the conduit.

The dominant duty of the disciple is to cling to Jesus. And when you cling to Jesus, you fill your mind with God’s truth. You disarm the enemy and keep anxiety at bay. You receive God’s truth. And that truth sets you free - free from fear, free from dread, and, yes, free from anxiety.

Having anxiety just means you are human. It does not mean you are emotionally underdeveloped, stupid, demon possessed, or a failure. It does not mean your parents failed you, or vice versa. And - this is important - it does not mean you are not a Christian. Yes, even Christians battle anxiety. Jesus himself battled anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane. But he didn’t stay anxious. And neither should you.

A new day awaits you. A new season in which you will worry less and trust more. A season with reduced fear and enhanced faith. Can you imagine a life in which you are anxious for nothing?

God can. And, with his help, you will experience it.

- By Max Lucado