That God’s Word Is Opened Up TO Our Heart

George Herbert Quote – 7 Reasons Why We Need to Surrender Our Hearts to God | ChristianQuotes.info

“God sees hearts as we see faces.”

– George Herbert

Have no illusions about it, as smart as we may think we are, we can never really look into somebody’s heart and truly figure it out. We can make guesses regarding people’s character, but God is the only real judge of that. He can see things that we can’t see, and he can see us when nobody else is looking. That’s how well God knows us.

Reason 1: Our hearts are rotten

According to Book of Jeremiah, a human heart is completely depraved. There’s nothing redeeming about it. It’s deceptive. It’s cruel. It’s harsh. It’s prone to evil. That’s the human heart.

This might sound depressing but it actually sets the stage to salvation. If you have a disease, you need a doctor. If your heart can’t save you, then you need a savior.

Hearts of stone can only judge. Hearts of stone can only condemn. And worst of all, hearts of stone never grow in God’s love.

Reason 3: God sees our character in our hearts

We need to surrender our hearts to Jesus because despite what other people see, God can see our real nature. And if we don’t surrender our heart to him, then we’re basically only fooling ourselves.

People might see a person that returns the tithe fully, volunteers to all sorts of social charities, and does everything “right,” but deep down, God can see the rot.

Deep down, God can see the holes in our lives.

We can try to run away from this hypocrisy, or we can try the only solution, which is to surrender our hearts to God because he can turn our heart of stone into heart of flesh. He can take out our rotten heart and give us his heart, a pure heart.

Reason 4: God can write his law in our hearts

Many Christians have this mistaken understanding that the moment they give themselves up to Jesus and allow him to enter their hearts that they are completely new. This is not true.

God does justify you, and you are saved through God’s grace. However, God continues a sanctification process in you for the rest of your life. He needs to transform your heart.

And this is precisely the point many Christians over look. They think that by simple surrendering to Jesus, that’s all they need to do. No. You have to also let the Holy Spirit into your heart so that the Holy Spirit can change your life.

A key aspect to that is when God writes his law in our hearts. When God does this, it becomes harder and harder for us to sin. Why? It’s because our hearts contain the law. Do you see how this works? This is precisely why we need to surrender our hearts to God.

Reason 5: A Christ filled heart is more powerful than a nuclear reactor

The world can be a harsh place. There are times it can be hard to be joyful, with so many things to be depressed about. It’s very hard to love others when it seems that they hate you, ridicule you, and poke fun at you.

Regardless, Jesus said, “Turn your cheek. Love your enemies.” How is that possible?

The truth is that we can do all things if we let Christ strengthen us, and that can only happen when we surrender our heart to God. Your heart will have more power than a nuclear reactor. It would be able to do the impossible. It would be able to love those that hate you. It would be able to turn the other cheek and it would be able to find joy when there’s nothing to be joyful about.

Reason 6: God filled the hearts to light up the darkness

The last command Jesus gave to his followers is to go out to all the world and spread the good news. This is called the great commission.

There’s a lot of darkness in the world because there’re a lot of misconceptions regarding the gospel, regarding God, and regarding the character of Jesus Christ. The good news is that we can be powerful witnesses if our hearts are filled with God’s light. If we are just going to rely on our strength, it is too easy to get discouraged, feel defeated, and keep our light all to ourselves.

By surrendering our hearts to God, our hearts can be filled up with enough light to overpower the darkness.

Reason 7: A renewed heart is the best witness

You don’t have to become a missionary to spread the word about Jesus Christ. You only need to become a better Christian in front of your family. In fact, that should be your mission field. Forget about going to Africa to spread the good news when there are unconverted souls in your household.

The secret to converting family members is not knowing your Bible from cover to back, although that helps. The secret is when they see the gospel working in your life.

This is only possible when you surrender your heart to God, and he renews your heart and changes you fundamentally from an addict or smoker or alcoholic to somebody who lives a clean life. People are compelled to listen to the message you are saying because they saw the profound change in your life.

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Why Does God Want Earthen Vessels?

In 2 Corinthians 4:7, the apostle Paul refers to human beings in a very particular way—earthen vessels:

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not us.”

This verse not only says we’re vessels, but earthen vessels. Perhaps we’d rather be heavenly angels, not lowly jars made clay. Why did God make us this way?

Earthen vessels with a purpose

We can readily agree we’re earthen, made of clay—we’re easily broken and seemingly not worth much. Consequently, we might look down on our earthly state and not realize our value, how special we are in God’s creation.

But God made no mistake when He created us, not heavenly angels, but as earthen vessels. Before creating mankind, God already had myriads of angels. He wanted something new. So He made man of the dust of the ground, creatures to be on the earth, not as angelic beings in the heavens. He had a particular purpose for us, even in our earthen condition.

God created us to be weak, limited, earthen vessels so that in Christ, He could be the treasure within us that shines us. Instead of creating us to be strong, independent creatures to express our own wonderful characteristics, God created us earthen, desiring that we would express His excellency rather than our own.

And we can do this because we’re vessels, containers. Vessels can receive, be filled with, and overflow with something. Being earthen, we may be weak and limited, but God created us as vessels to contain Him. He wants to come into us lowly vessels and shine us. Angels can worship God, but only human beings can receive God, contain Him, and overflow with Him to express Him!

Filled vessels

Before we received Christ as our Savior, we were empty and our life lacked meaning. Being empty vessels, we were simply earthen, without a treasure within.

But when we opened our heart to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, the void within us was filled for the first time. Christ came into our spirit and filled our deepest part with Himself.

We finally received the content we were created for! This was the first step for us to live as vessels according to God’s plan for us.

So now that Christ lives in us, how do we express Him? We have to admit we often express more of our earthen selves than the precious treasure within us. Why is this, and what can we do about it?

As vessels, the most important thing is for us to be open so we can be filled with Christ. Picture a water bottle. Its purpose is to be filled with water, but if the cap is put on too quickly, only a small amount of water fills the bottle. It never reaches the point of overflowing.

If we pick up this barely-filled bottle, we might not even see the water in it. Now suppose the cap is removed again and again, allowing more water to fill it. Gradually, every bit of the bottle is filled with water, even to the point of overflowing.

If we were to pick up that bottle, we would get splashed!

Yes, we have Christ as the treasure within, but do we have just a small amount of Christ? Or, when others are around us, do they get “splashed” with Christ? He wants to fill not only our spirit, but also our entire being.

Then we’ll express not ourselves, but the Christ who fills us.

How to be filled

Every vessel, whether inanimate or human, has a mouth. As human, earthen vessels, we need to open our mouth so we can be filled with Christ. By opening our mouth to pray, to call on the Lord’s name, and to prayerfully take in God’s Word, our heart is opened up and available for Christ to fill.

By opening our hearts within and our mouths without to Him, we allow Christ to fill every bit of us until we overflow with Him, expressing Him as the treasure in us. This fulfills our purpose as an earthen vessel and satisfies God, who wants to be manifested as the unique treasure in this universe.

Paul as our pattern

In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul could write about being an earthen vessel because he experienced Christ as his treasure. Paul wasn’t a heavenly being; he was an earthen vessel, just us.

But he was a person who kept himself open and allowed the Lord to fill his entire being in all circumstances, whether good or bad.

We can look to Paul as our pattern by practicing to open ourselves to be filled with our glorious, excellent Christ.

We may be earthen, but we’re something so special to God. We’re the center God’s plan, of His heart’s desire, and we fulfill our purpose by being continually open to His filling so He can overflow from within us.

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7 Important Bible Verses About Purpose

Sometimes we can be so busy about our lives that we forget the purpose behind them. We are driven by the demands of life and not realizing that God always has a greater purpose. His purposes not only encompass our lives, but the lives of those around us—at home, school, work, and community. It’s important to know and live out the following Bible verses about purpose:

God has a purpose for everyone

“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16).

Pharaoh mistakenly thought that he was in control. However, God put him in the place of being an Egyptian leader for His purpose. God has a purpose for everyone—including those who resist Him. Ultimately God will get the glory no matter the person because He is the Giver of purpose in every life whether they live for Him or not.

God’s purpose can’t be undone

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

Once God has established His purposes for our lives—no one can change it. What door God has shut, no man can open and what door God has opened, no man can shut.

People will wear themselves out in efforts to make a situation turn badly for believers, yet God will still ultimately accomplish His plans.

Christians can take courage that He is working everything for our good even the most difficult life situations.

God’s purpose is the one that lasts

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

The lives of men and women are but a vapor; however, God’s purposes can be fulfilled throughout multiple generations. We can make our plans and set out to see them accomplished, but if we don’t pray and seek God’s direction—we could find ourselves drifting in an ocean of problems without a sail. Every plan should begin and end with God in mind first.

Every person is born with purpose

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5).

All people are made in the image of God. Each of us are born with a purpose and calling that we can discover or completely miss. The influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers gives us insight to His purposes for us. We find peace and courage when we sense the confirmation of the Spirit that we are in the right place at the right time of our designated calling.

God fulfills His purpose for believers

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

God’s greater purpose has to always be on the forefront of our minds. We may be offered employment, school, and marriage opportunities that may not fit in God’s purpose.

This takes wisdom on our part to wait on God’s peace before making presumptuous decisions that may have lifetime ramifications.

There’s great joy in the discovery of His purpose when we trust in Him rather than on our feelings or pressures from other people.

God works through all situations to fulfill His purpose

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Hard times can make it difficult to see God’s purpose especially when we only feel pain and grief. Many times we don’t want to be reminded that God is working our difficulty for our good. However if we practice living our lives with the mindset that God is working things out for us, we can have smoother transition of accepting this truth in the hard places.

God has a greater purpose in saving us

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9).

Salvation is only the beginning for Christians as we were saved to do good works in the name of Jesus. The promise of eternity and living free from the bondage of sin is a wonderful gift of salvation. These promised blessings free us up to be about God’s business every day. We need to start our mornings with a prayer asking God to reveal to us His purposes for that day.

Perfect Purposes

The Lord and His purposes are perfect, but we are not. We are assailed by doubts and fears that many times keep us from living out the purposes that He has established for us.

However, we can overcome this by consistently reading and studying His word so that our faith will be made stronger day by day.

As we learn of God and pray to Him regularly, we become more embolden to accomplish great purposes in His name.

Take a look at this great article: 5 Ways to Follow God’s Plan for you Life

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as: Bible Verses, God's plan for your life, God's purpose, God's Will, purpose

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The Power of Gratitude: 21 Verses of Thanks to God

We have so much to be grateful for in this life. Each and every day. But reality is that sometimes constant life demands, struggles, and worries give more room to defeat than to a heart of thanks. Or we forget, in the midst of busyness and pressures, just to pause and give thanks, for all that God has done, and continues to do in our lives.

Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise and thanks. We may not feel it. We’re struggling. We're weary. Or maybe, we feel He let us down. We think God seems distant, he's far away, or doesn't really care about what's troubling us. Painful life blows and losses might have recently sent us spiraling.

But here’s what can make a lasting difference. We have a choice, every day, to give him thanks.

And with a heart of thanksgiving, we realize that no matter what we face, God doesn’t just work to change our situations and help us through our problems. He does more. He changes our hearts.

His power, through hearts of gratitude and focused minds on Him, releases the grip our struggles have over us. We're strengthened by His peace, refueled by His joy.

God's Word is filled with many reminders of how powerful and vital a thankful heart can be in this world.

The Power of a Grateful Heart, 7 Things It Can Do:

1. It gets our eyes off ourselves, and helps us to focus back on God.
2. It reminds us we're not in control, but that we serve a Mighty God who is. It keeps us in a place of humility and dependency on Him, as we recognize how much we need Him.

3. It helps us to recognize we have so much to be thankful for, even all of the little things, which often we may forget to thank Him for…but they really are the biggest, most important things in this life. It takes our attention off of our problems and helps us instead to reflect on, to remember, the goodness of His many blessings.

4. It reminds us that God is the Giver of all good gifts. We were never intended to be fully self-sufficient in this life. A grateful heart reminds us that ultimately God is our Provider, that all blessings and gifts are graciously given to us by His hand.
5. A heart of gratitude leaves no room for complaining.

   For it is impossible to be truly thankful and filled with negativity and ungratefulness at the same time.

6. It makes the enemy flee. The forces of darkness can't stand to be around hearts that give thanks and honor to God. Our praise and thanksgiving will make them flee.
7. It opens up the door for continued blessings. It invites His presence.

   Our spirits are refreshed and renewed in Him. God loves to give good gifts to His children. He delights in our thankfulness and pours out His Spirit and favor over those who give honor and gratitude to Him.

21 Gratitude Bible Verses of Thanks from God's Word:

“O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  Ps. 95:1-3

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Ps. 100:4-5

“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” Ps. 118:29

“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Ps. 9:1

“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” Ps. 7:17

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Col. 2:7

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Col. 3:15

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Col. 4:2

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil 4:6

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed the eagle's.” Ps. 103:1-5

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thess. 5:18

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Ps. 107:1

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Eph. 5:20

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Ps. 28:7

“I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.” Ps. 69:30

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; …” Ps. 136:1-5

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:28-29

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 2 Cor. 9:15

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” Rev. 11:17

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Rev. 7:12

A Prayer of Gratitude

Dear God, 

Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are Able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us.

Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don't thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you've given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day.

 We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! 

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Debbie McDaniel is a writer, pastor's wife, mom to three amazing kids (and a lot of pets). Join her each morning on Fresh Day Ahead's page,//www..com/DebbieWebbMcDaniel, for daily encouragement in living strong, free, hope-filled lives. Find her also at //.com/debbmcdaniel and //www.debbiemcdaniel.com.
 

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