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Hello friends,

Some of you today may be walking through difficult circumstances. Maybe you have just broken up with someone. Maybe you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Many circumstances can cause us to be down.  If you are one of those people, let me tell you that you are not alone because God loves you. Jesus is always there if you will let Him be the one your heart loves. He will heal your broken heart and he will never leave you. I like to share with others that He saved me from a dark pit of depression. He gave me strength to find my way out of the darkness, many years ago.  If you find yourself struggling with depression, you have to fight it with all you have within you. God will help you be set free if you ask him.   

I want to talk to you today about the heart of the matter.

“The heart of the matter” is a phrase we often use to mean the main central point about a topic. As Christians, we often are asked to sum up the reasons we have faith. We say things like, I love Jesus because he first loved me. He saved me from the mess that was my life. Jesus summed up our duty as Christians to Love God with all our heart, soul mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves.

One of my favorite verses defines the whole duty of man as follows. Eccl 12:13-14  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

The conclusion of the matter, or the heart of the matter, is that we need to Fear God and keep his commandments. How do we keep his commandments?  Our heart has to be set on the right things. Our affection must be on Jesus and the things that are pleasing to him. God knows our heart if it is set on the things of this world or the things of His kingdom.

Psalm19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.  David prayed that his words and his heart be acceptable to God. With this attitude his affections moved the heart of God. We need to have a heart like David.

I am reminded of when God sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s son king. He looked at how strong they were physically. God told him that none of the ones before him was the one. They all were nice to look at and were physically strong. But strength of the heart is a better trait. Long story short he ends up anointing the smallest in stature.

1 Sam 16:6-7 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. 7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

God knew that Eliab and all of Jesse’s sons would be standing and trembling beside of the battlefield while Goliath mocked God and Israel. He knew that all of the men of Israel who were there would be too afraid of the enemy to go out and fight. Because they didn’t have their hearts set on the things of God. David spent a lot of time praising God in the fields with the sheep. In the quiet time of watching over the sheep, David found the shepherd of his heart.  He learned to trust and love the Lord with all his heart.

The Psalms are full of verses like:

Psalm 57: 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Although Jesus can heal or fix our broken hearts. This is not what David meant in this passage. He meant he had his heart set on doing the will of God. Fixed as in a set point, a determination to keep going even in the face of fear and danger.

We could learn a lot from David. As Children of the most high God, we are facing some giant situations. Witchcraft, devil worship and every kind of evil imaginable is running wild in our world today. We have power over the power of the enemy as long as we have faith. As long as our heart is fixed or set on Jesus and His word. We cannot allow fear to distract us from having our hearts fixed on Jesus.

I want to encourage you today to show someone you love them. Spend time with the one who created the concept of love, showing him how much He means to you. Hug those you love a little tighter and cover them with prayers of protection. Read and declare Psalms 91 over your house and family every day.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

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