Whole Heart

I was a little late for the corporate prayer meeting at church, and a young man was already singing Hillsong’s “I Surrender” as I walked in and took my seat.  Several things said and prayed made me think of renewed consecration, rededication and recommitment (as well as surrender) to the Lord. At church service later that same day, a young lady shared that  the Lord had asked for her whole heart, and as a result, at the Lord’s direction and in His timing, she was being ”re-baptized” as a sign of her surrendering to Him anew - rededicating and recommitting her life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Whole heart” … today’s Bible verse on my phone – Psalm 119:2 - happened to display in a translation (ASV) that used this same phrase:

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, That seek him with the whole heart.

 

This made me think of the song “Heart and Soul” (Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship Mass Choir, featuring BeBe Winans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA_fma5MhEo

… and God’s promises in Jeremiah 29:13 …

 

CJB      When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly;

NET     When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul,

Looking at other “whole heart” Scriptures, I see Jeremiah 24:7 (AMP) …

I will give them a heart to know Me, [understanding fully] that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

… and Jeremiah 32:27, 36-41 (NKJV) …

²⁷ “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

³⁶ “Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’: ³⁷ Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. ³⁸ They shall be My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹ then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. ⁴⁰ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. ⁴¹ Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

As I seek the LORD to know Him, and deep calls unto deep, think I’ll look up other Scriptures about all of one’s heart, or an undivided, perfect, and/or whole heart and see what (else) the Lord will speak …

 

… and my journey with my Lord continues …

Changed by Love

Found myself agonizing over a situation – battling negative “coulda, shoulda, woulda” thoughts with words of faith most of the night.  Finally, “How Awesome is Our God” (by Israel Houghton & New Breed, featuring Yolanda Adams) started playing in my mind’s playlist, and I was able to find peace enough to drift off to sleep.  The next day brought comfort as well as a rebuke for my doubt, fear and unbelief, leading to repentance and renewed praise to God for His tender grace shown in and through the strong correction. Soon afterwards, news came that the situation I feared had not materialized.  In His goodness, God had been merciful once again.

Lamentations 3:22 (AMPC)

It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.

After running around with and for family most of the day, I was just getting ready to rest a bit (finally!) when I received a text asking for help – again.  I must confess that at that point I was not really in the mood (even as the thought came that "God loves a cheerful giver” [2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV]), but I nevertheless sought the Lord as to what He would have me to do.  Sensing that I was to allow the Lord to provide the requested assistance through me, I asked the Lord for His strength to do so.  My attitude changed as I remembered my gratitude for God’s gracious blessings in my life – specifically with regard to the aforementioned situation.  I thought of the verse, that to give to the poor [needy] is to lend to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17) as I went on my way (and now, even thinking of David’s statement in 2 Samuel 24:24 that he would not give to the Lord that which cost him nothing).

Colossians 2:6-7 (AMP, NIV, AMPC, VOICE)

⁶ Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], ⁷ having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established and strengthened in your faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Once the task was accomplished, I was almost back home when “How He Loves” (by David Crowder Band) began playing on the radio.  I received the song as a gift, signaling God’s approval and acceptance of my actions.  I just smiled and thanked God again for the magnificent, penetrating brilliance and pervasive nature of His love to change a heart – even my heart.

… and my journey with my Lord continues …

Rescued!

"You came to my rescue, You came to my rescue ..."

Awakened today, hearing these lyrics (of the song as sung by Christy Nockels) ... and thought of Scripture I read the other day in a YouVersion Bible reading plan ...

Ephesians 1:3-14 VOICE

³ Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed—not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done for us. ⁴ God chose us to be in a relationship with Him even before He laid out plans for this world; He wanted us to live holy lives characterized by love, free from sin, and blameless before Him. ⁵ He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us. ⁶ Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved. ⁷ Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, ⁸ which He has poured all over us. With all wisdom and insight, ⁹ He has enlightened us to the great mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He laid out His intentions through Jesus, ¹⁰ a plan that will climax when the time is right as He returns to create order and unity—both in heaven and on earth—when all things are brought together under the Anointed’s royal rule. In Him ¹¹ we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will. ¹² As a result, we—the first to place our hope in the Anointed One—will live in a way to bring Him glory and praise. ¹³ Because you, too, have heard the word of truth—the good news of your salvation—and because you believed in the One who is truth, your lives are marked with His seal. This is none other than the Holy Spirit who was promised ¹⁴ as the guarantee toward the inheritance we are to receive when He frees and rescues all who belong to Him. To God be all praise and glory!

Selah.

... and my journey with my Lord continues ...