Living in God's Heart

Scripture:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:l7)

   As Christians, we have been very good at bringing the Gospel message for people to receive Jesus into a person's heart.  But we have neglected an important part of the Gospel and that is about living in God's heart. God's desire is that we would become united with Him. We are to dwell in Him and He in us...truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3) Fellowship is the Greek word 'koinonia' which literally means partnership and communion.  God desires that our heart becomes one with His heart.

   When we think about having Jesus in our heart we sometimes think of Him as about three inches tall and we sometimes treat Him as such.  People sometimes receive Jesus into their heart and then go on with their lives instead of living in His life. Some people wear Jesus as a good luck charm and only commune with Him when they have a need or an emergency.  But Jesus desires to live in more than just a part of our heart. He desires to fill our heart and our entire being. He desires to have His hands in our hands and His feet in our feet so that we will go and do what He desires.  Jesus says, 'I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides (lives and remains) in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing” (John l5:5).  Only what we do in Christ has eternal value.

   Living in Christ is where you are transformed into a new person.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The revelation of being in Christ changes our concept of who we are.  It is in Christ where His personality is united with our personality and we take on a new personality.  We become a new person with a new attitude, new behaviors, new likes, and dislikes. We do not really know who we are until we see our selves in Christ,  because our life is hidden in Him.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:2-3)

    Living in God's heart is living in His love. Jesus says, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you, abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John l5:19-11) We live and remain in God's love by following the commands that Jesus gives us.  All of God's commands have to do with 'love', loving God and loving others.

   When we are walking in God's love, following His commands, His joy is manifest in our heart.  We then do His commands with pleasure because there is no greater joy than the joy that comes from expressing love.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3-4)  We do God's commandments because we love Him, if His commandments are burdensome then our relationship with God is not in love, we are not living in Him.

    We are commanded to love God with all our heart and other people as our self.   And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment. And the second, like it is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)  When we are living in true love, we are living in God.

    It is good to take an honest look deep inside your own heart to see what changes need to be made for the sake of your relationship with God.  We all must depend upon God to make the changes in our hearts that are necessary for us to be more like Him. We even need God to help us in evaluating our own hearts in the 'light' of His word and by His Holy Spirit.  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)



    Jesus taught that we are defiled by what comes out of our hearts.  And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 'For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornications, and murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:2-23)

    Sin is a heart problem.  The actions of sin happen when an evil desire in our heart conceives with a temptation from the outside.  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)  Sometimes people have hidden evil desires very deep in their heart and they lay dormant until an outside temptation revives them.

    Remember that Jesus said that the ruler of this world, Satan, had nothing in Him, (John 14:30).  In other words, there was nothing in Jesus' heart that Satan could tempt. Jesus into doing against the Father's will.  Temptation did come and it comes to people that have a perfect heart toward God, but the temptation does not have much appeal when there is nothing in a person's heart to connect with the temptation.

    The Lord is always looking for people whose hearts are perfect toward Him.  For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. (2 Chronicles 16:11)

    I believe that as we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will change our desires and give us His desires, (He shall give you the desires of your heart).  As we commit our way toward the Lord, He will bring us into His righteousness.  The Lord can change what we love and hate so that we now love and hate what He loves and hates.

    God's word promises that if we deeply desire His righteousness He will fill us with it.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6).  The key is your desire, how much do you desire God's righteousness?  Are you willing to seek the Lord until He rains righteousness upon you?  Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12)

     Jesus promises to reveal Himself to those who love and obey Him, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (Matthew 5:8)

     We can keep our hearts perfect toward God by asking God to reveal and remove any thing in our heart that would keep us from loving Him with our whole heart.  “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.”

(Psalm19:14)

     What we think about is what is in our heart, and is what we become.   And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).  The word transformed is the Greek word metamorphoo.  It is where we get the word metamorphosis from, the word used to describe the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

     Another place that this word is used is in (2 Corinthians 3:l8), But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.  As we focus our mind and imagination toward God, His Spirit is transforming us.  Because when we set our heart toward God, He sets His heart toward us.

     Jesus prayed that we would be 'united' with the other members of the body, in Him and in the Father, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 'that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. “And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as You have love Me.”

 (John 17:20-23)


Footnotes:

 Google...God.net...'Life is about God and You'

 http://god.net/god articles/living-in-gods-heart/


    

   

   

 


 

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