One of the Bible’s main themes is the heart.
The greatest commandment is to love God “with all your heart” (Matthew 22:37) and therefore our top priority should be to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).
Did you catch that last comment from Solomon: “everything you do flows from” your heart. Really? Everything? Yes. Everything.
According to the book of Proverbs, all of the following are found in your heart:
wisdom (2:10, 14:3)
love and faithfulness (3:3)
faith (3:6)
planning (16:1, 16:9, 19:21)
discernment (15:14, 16:21)
purpose (20:5)
teaching, instruction, and knowledge (22:17, 23:12)
And on the negative side of human nature, Jesus confirmed Proverbs 4:23. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).
Yes, the heart is much more than the seat of your emotions. It’s everything that makes you who you are. It’s the real you.
We have a huge problem here, don’t we? How can I love God with all my heart when my heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).
Thanks be to God, there is a divine remedy for a heart that is “beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV). For the repentant sinner who trusts Christ for salvation, God provides a new heart.
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Our hearts need fixing, but we can’t do it. And we need much more than heart medication or a heart procedure. Spiritually speaking, we need a brand new heart. We need a heart transplant!
And that is exactly what God says he will do when he gives us his Spirit to live within us. This is the miraculous work of God – when he provides the Holy Spirit, he gives us a new heart, and now we have his power enabling us to live a new life.
With that in mind, here are ten things God wants us to do with a Spirit-led, Spirit-filled heart. These are ten ways we can love God with our hearts, in the order they appear in Psalm 119.
- Seek God with all your heart (Psalm 119:2)
- Praise God with an upright heart (Psalm 119:7)
- Hide God’s word in your heart (Psalm 119:11)
- Set your heart on God’s laws (Psalm 119:30)
- Allow God to set your heart free (Psalm 119:32)
- Obey God’s law with all your heart (Psalm 119:34)
- Keep God’s precepts with all your heart (Psalm 119:69)
- Allow the Word of God to be the joy of your heart (Psalm 119:111)
- Call to God with all your heart (Psalm 119:145)
- Let your heart tremble at God’s word (Psalm 119:161)
If you’ve ever wondered, “What does it mean to love God with all my heart?”, I hope you find the above list helpful. It sure helps me.
Over the next ten days, why not spend each day focusing on one of these specific ways to love God with your heart. This is what the Christian life is about. This is what the Christian life should look like.
If you’re like me, you’ll have room for improvement. That’s to be expected. This is what sanctification entails – the life-long process of increasing holiness and Christ-likeness.
As you work on these ten areas, keep in mind these powerful and comforting promises. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). “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” (1 John 4:4).
If you find anything in this post beneficial, please let me know by leaving a comment below.
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