NEWS The Heart of God
Christine and I have been reading Ezekiel and we were meditating on something the prophet said that is of vital spiritual importance. The Scripture is in Chapter 33 and begins with verse 31. Ezekiel says:
"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice." (Ezekiel 33:31-32)
In verse 31, we see the Lord admonishing His people for going through all the religious motions with hearts not properly aligned with His heart. Ezekiel tells God's people that they have greedy hearts whose purpose is for (unjust) personal gain. This theme of hearts disconnected from God's heart appears again and again throughout the Bible.
In verse 32, God tells Ezekiel that he is akin to a wonderful musician whose magnificent love songs fail to penetrate the hearts of people who hear them. What a powerful metaphor! Imagine a master musician singing incredible love songs to the deaf. That is the picture God is painting with Ezekiel in verse 32.
We know the state of man's heart is the central issue of the entire Bible. I've often wondered if there is anything worse in the eyes of the Lord than a greedy heart. When we read the Bible, we see clearly that hearts disconnected from God's loving heart are the cause of many tragic events in the lives of God's people. And it is not that God did not give warning. He gave plenty of warning. Being a prophet is a very tough job! That's why there have been so few in the past. But God does give warning. That's what loves does. Sadly, in many instances, God's warnings fell on deaf ears.
Hearts disconnected from God's heart is always and everywhere problematic. All spiritual growth emanates from God's loving heart. It has been this way since the beginning. God gave us all a free will to fill our hearts with His love. And from the very beginning, it is apparent that God's love is not enough for many people. They believe they need other things.
Of course, God knows this. It is the reason why Jesus went to the Cross - to demonstrate to all of humanity what happens when we put God's loving heart first. Try as man might to kill God's love, he cannot. It cannot die. It cannot be extinguished. It is eternal. The Cross tells us that Christ's heart of love is everlasting. The Cross is the gateway to His never-failing love. That is why we must all go to the Cross daily. It is the place where our hearts our filled with God's love.
The Lord makes it very clear throughout the Bible that a greedy heart in pursuit of its own gain can never enter His kingdom. God will not move in our lives until our hearts are properly aligned with His loving heart. It doesn't matter how often you go to church, how much Scripture you read, how often you pray, how many charitable things you do for the poor. None of these things count for anything unless our hearts are aligned with God's heart.
We see time and time again in the Bible that religious hearts are capable of doing a great many things in the name of the Lord. However, we also see that only a loving heart resonates with Him. That is the message Ezekiel is sending from the Lord in Chapter 33.
Greedy hearts focus on things other than Christ. They desire all the things money can buy in this world: Luxury homes, expensive cars, club memberships, exotic vacations - you name it. A greedy heart can purchase many, many things. But these things mean nothing in the eyes of the Lord. We can possess a great many things, but if we have not the love of God in our hearts, we gain nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The Lord's heart is a loving heart, not a greedy heart. His Church is built upon love. Love is who God is (1 John 4:8). Now, if you do not know what love is, open up your Bible and ask the Spirit to illuminate the Scripture found in 1 Corinthians 13. This Scripture is the best description of God's heart that has ever been recorded by man. The Spirit was working mightily through Paul when he illuminated the heart of God to the people gathered in the church in Corinth nearly 2,000 years ago. (Note to reader: Please do not read the words as if you are reading another book. There is so much light in that Scripture that you could well be blinded if you are not careful! Read each sentence slowly. Pray for guidance. Meditate deeply!)
After meditating on 1 Corinthians 13, examine your heart. Compare your heart to God's heart. Be truthful. How much of God's heart do you see in your heart? Do this little exercise and then think about this statement: The spiritual journey to His kingdom begins with a change of heart.
A heart akin to the heart described in 1 Corinthians 13 is the heart of Christ. There is no finer heart in the entire universe.
May you possess the loving heart of Christ.
Agape,
Steve
"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice." (Ezekiel 33:31-32)
In verse 31, we see the Lord admonishing His people for going through all the religious motions with hearts not properly aligned with His heart. Ezekiel tells God's people that they have greedy hearts whose purpose is for (unjust) personal gain. This theme of hearts disconnected from God's heart appears again and again throughout the Bible.
In verse 32, God tells Ezekiel that he is akin to a wonderful musician whose magnificent love songs fail to penetrate the hearts of people who hear them. What a powerful metaphor! Imagine a master musician singing incredible love songs to the deaf. That is the picture God is painting with Ezekiel in verse 32.
We know the state of man's heart is the central issue of the entire Bible. I've often wondered if there is anything worse in the eyes of the Lord than a greedy heart. When we read the Bible, we see clearly that hearts disconnected from God's loving heart are the cause of many tragic events in the lives of God's people. And it is not that God did not give warning. He gave plenty of warning. Being a prophet is a very tough job! That's why there have been so few in the past. But God does give warning. That's what loves does. Sadly, in many instances, God's warnings fell on deaf ears.
Hearts disconnected from God's heart is always and everywhere problematic. All spiritual growth emanates from God's loving heart. It has been this way since the beginning. God gave us all a free will to fill our hearts with His love. And from the very beginning, it is apparent that God's love is not enough for many people. They believe they need other things.
Of course, God knows this. It is the reason why Jesus went to the Cross - to demonstrate to all of humanity what happens when we put God's loving heart first. Try as man might to kill God's love, he cannot. It cannot die. It cannot be extinguished. It is eternal. The Cross tells us that Christ's heart of love is everlasting. The Cross is the gateway to His never-failing love. That is why we must all go to the Cross daily. It is the place where our hearts our filled with God's love.
The Lord makes it very clear throughout the Bible that a greedy heart in pursuit of its own gain can never enter His kingdom. God will not move in our lives until our hearts are properly aligned with His loving heart. It doesn't matter how often you go to church, how much Scripture you read, how often you pray, how many charitable things you do for the poor. None of these things count for anything unless our hearts are aligned with God's heart.
We see time and time again in the Bible that religious hearts are capable of doing a great many things in the name of the Lord. However, we also see that only a loving heart resonates with Him. That is the message Ezekiel is sending from the Lord in Chapter 33.
Greedy hearts focus on things other than Christ. They desire all the things money can buy in this world: Luxury homes, expensive cars, club memberships, exotic vacations - you name it. A greedy heart can purchase many, many things. But these things mean nothing in the eyes of the Lord. We can possess a great many things, but if we have not the love of God in our hearts, we gain nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The Lord's heart is a loving heart, not a greedy heart. His Church is built upon love. Love is who God is (1 John 4:8). Now, if you do not know what love is, open up your Bible and ask the Spirit to illuminate the Scripture found in 1 Corinthians 13. This Scripture is the best description of God's heart that has ever been recorded by man. The Spirit was working mightily through Paul when he illuminated the heart of God to the people gathered in the church in Corinth nearly 2,000 years ago. (Note to reader: Please do not read the words as if you are reading another book. There is so much light in that Scripture that you could well be blinded if you are not careful! Read each sentence slowly. Pray for guidance. Meditate deeply!)
After meditating on 1 Corinthians 13, examine your heart. Compare your heart to God's heart. Be truthful. How much of God's heart do you see in your heart? Do this little exercise and then think about this statement: The spiritual journey to His kingdom begins with a change of heart.
A heart akin to the heart described in 1 Corinthians 13 is the heart of Christ. There is no finer heart in the entire universe.
May you possess the loving heart of Christ.
Agape,
Steve
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