What Comes Out of Yours?

What Comes Out of Yours?
by David Brenneman

"After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’"
ACTS 13:22

    Can you think of any higher goal in life than to be a person. after God's heart? Although David was far from perfect, this is what he was commended for. I believe this was because of four characteristics David demonstrated, which we would be wise to emulate.
    The first quality that set David apart was that he prioritized his personal fellowship with God. If you need evidence of this, look to the Psalms. David made it a habit to commune with the Lord and mediate on His Word. Second, David exhibited a strong desire to obey God. Regardless of what the Lord called him to do, he did so
with reverence and devotion. Twice he could have killed Saul but refrained out of respect for the Almighty. Third, David had the courage to put bis faith in God. There's no more striking example of this than when he faced Goliath. Fourth, David demonstrated a servant's spirit, Even when Saul tried to kill him, David continued
to serve faithfully,
    By following David's godly example, you cn can be be a a person after God's own heart as well, Certainly, there's no higher calling than that.

Jesus, help me to be a person after Your heart. Amen.
-Trusting God with Today, Dr. Charles Stanley.

We have choices to make each day that are more than just what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, what we're going to do as far as a job goes.  These things most everyone in the world has on their plate.  The choices we make from the heart...these are a wholly different matter.

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. [19] For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. [20] These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Matthew 15:18-20

What is seen coming from your heart?   Do people see someone who's growing to become one who's after God's own heart or do they see someone who's no different than any other person on the planet?

It's out of the heart that come everything we both like and don't like about ourselves.  It's our heart that's despirately wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?".

The answer of course is Jesus through His Spirit.

The answer is in the next verse. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, to give to each person according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:10.

We read in James 3 of the kind of tool of the heart the tongue is.  The tongue brings to life that which is coming from the heart of mankind.

How often we hear in the world today of our 'rights'.   These displays of the heart are there for the world to see.   A Believer, in Christ Jesus, gave up their rights to Him for what He did to save them.

It would be very very good for Believer's to understand this before they gush from the mouth about what they will and won't do because of this person or that.  A popular example are those who put their political affiliation before their obedience to God's Word. 

In your home, your personal space, where does Jesus fit in?   In your schedule in your home from sun up to sun down, where does Jesus fit in?   Are you only giving Him certain time slots to produce something in you or is He a part of your entire day?  You see, King David was where he was with his walk with the Lord Jesus because of the truth that he lived since he was a boy.  That every morning starts with the Lord, the whole day is encompassed by the Lord and the day ends with the Lord.

Let's now compare him with the wisest man who ever lived next to Jesus.   While yes indeed when he became King, Solomon did ask the Lord for wisdom to rule the great people of the Lord.  But look at everything else that the Lord gave Solomon.  Everything that would put that wisdom to the test.  The result would be that wisdom isn't enough when the heart isn't fully devoted to the Lord.

Solomon failed with his great wisdom where his father David had not.  Scriptures record the only key failing of King David was with his planned murder of Urriah.  Solomon did not follow the Lord with all his heart.  He was walking in the ways of the nations around him.

We can be guilty of the exact same thing with regards to our walk with Jesus.  We can integrate into our lives the world around us just as Solomon did and we will reap the same results...a life divided, a heart that is not fully devoted to the Lord.  We will do exactly as this wisest man who ever lived apart from Jesus and WILL justify what we've added to our lives that has split our devotion to the Lord.

Our heart is desperately wicked and our tongue is our heart's weapon of choice.  Until we reach the shores of Heaven and enter those gates to step into eternity, we WILL have a fight on our hands concerning both our heart and our tongue.

There used to be a British sitcom called "Keeping Up Appearances" where the main theme was way more of this matter of the heart than it spoke of.  Most know what "keeping up with the Jones's" means.   The key person in this show was always trying to sound like high royalty than they ever were in real life.

We too can jump on the bandwagon with people from everything from what sports team that we HAVE to be fully into up to and including what political affiliation that we MUST get behind if we're truly on the right side of things to do with our country.

Jesus told those who tested Him:  render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

Our hearts will do whatever they can to ruin our testimony before mankind.  Our mouths will make a way for it to happen with all eagerness with our deceptive heart.

Only with our lives fully devoted to Christ can this battle be won over both. 

We choose who's ruling in our hearts in every moment of every day.   It's not a decision that's only the over-arching thing of our lives. It's in every way the moment by moment choices we make.  A painting doesn't become a portrait of high value until each stroke of the brush does exactly what the artist envisions it to be and where it ought to be.  All those decisions come together to form a work of art.   Our lives are supposed to be a work of art unto the Lord.

What is yours looking like?  Do you make moment by moment choices to ONLY let the world see Jesus in you our have you deceived yourself into believing that you are doing ok with how you incorporated the world into your life?

What is flowing from your heart?
Would God ever say of you that you are someone after His own heart?

Jesus taught of the absolute end result of what becomes of a house divided.  The same principle applies to the heart.  A heart divided will fall.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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