GodReflection: Power Words
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; – Psalms 95:6
A graduate class comes to mind.
The professor drew a circle on the board in front of our class. The challenge placed before us as students was to place the core words of Scripture within the circle and peripheral words on the outside.
I suspect until my involvement in that classroom exercise I hadn’t given a lot of thought about the weight of words in God’s communication with His children. I came to see that certain words and concepts are so crucial that they support both the core of what God is doing as well as the core of my response to Him.
A few posts back I spoke of heart as the vital link to worship in song. Heart is such a powerful word I feel the need to re-massage it—hopefully to a greater depth.
Today, the power word ‘heart’ would appear near the center of my classroom whiteboard circle. It would snuggled close to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
For it is only through a surrendered heart that I receive the benefit of God’s grace resulting from the cross, the tomb, and from risen life.
My heart is the fountain for the most significant decision of my life. I must give away its allegiance. Do I present it to God or give it to Satan? By its very nature, I cannot hoard it for myself. However, only I can offer my heart to another.
There is a quandary with my heart. I find that even when I present it to God, I am always on Satan’s radar as he works to change or weaken my loyalty.
Satan knows the importance of my heart. He knows it connects to my eternal destiny. To steal my heart is to strike at God.
My life’s purpose is to give my heart to God as a 24/7 gift of worship.
The Gospels and the Letters paint the contrast between fertile hearts loyal to God and hard hearts filled with deceit and rejection.
Jesus makes the case for importance when he reminds me, where [my] treasure is, there [my] heart will be also.
Once I present my heart to God, I accept His gift of grace and in gratitude flowing from my heart I pledge to love him with all [my] heart, with all [my] understanding and with all [my] strength, and to love [my] neighbor as myself . . .”
In that state I become one in heart and mind with all believers. As one raised with Christ, I set my heart on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Here is what I think.
In God’s time, my soul will live on a new and perfect earth under a newly created heaven. God will clothe my soul with a new and perfect body.
Both my heart and my mind will make the journey.
I anticipate the joy of receiving a renewed mind and a pure and perfect heart.
To my heavenly delight I will live forever free from Satan’s advances.
God’s future will be mine as long as my earthly walk keeps my heart true to the center of God’s power circle. It must remain ever close to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, while I attempt to live out His gift of grace.
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells – a GodReflection on the Power of the Word Heart.
God Reflection 