Your heart...

You might not read this, I don’t know. I pray you will. Not because it’s anything all that great or profound, but because it’s just so important for us to stop and think. You know we have been talking about our hearts this semester and what we put them close to, how often we are not careful with where they are, or even worse- don’t even stop to consider our hearts at all. So let me ask you- stop and consider- where is your heart right now? What, in the past 24 hours, was it closest too? Let me ask you a few hard questions. What made your heart excited in the past 24 hours? What made it happy? What made it soar? What did it hope in for happiness? What did it dwell on, what did it wait on, what did it beat for? What made it feel alive? And did any of those things have anything to do with the Savior?

Im not trying to make you feel bad. Not at all. I just want you to see how tricky this is. Our hearts do hope in lots of things, and sadly, we rarely are hoping in Christ. The world offers substitutes. Listen to me- those substitutes will break your heart. And worse, they cannot save you. They will not. They will lead to your death if you give them your heart.

Really, now be honest with yourself: Have the last 24 hours shown you that you love Him most? Have you been consumed with thoughts of Him, and desperate to show Him off to the world, to let the world see your love for Him? What has the world seen of you? Do you look just like them, living for the same things? Guys- where is your hope? I ask you because I love you, and I want you to have your hope securely in Him, the only safe place to put it.

Understand that you have not in these 24 hours loved him like you should. But you know what? He has still loved you. While you did not consider him worthy of your hope, He loved you. While you did not think about how to show him off, he was caring for you. He loves you, deeper than you could understand. Jesus Christ loved you while you hated him, and died for you, taking your place on the cross, being punished for your lack of love for God. Through Him you can be right with God. You will never be punished for your wrongs, He will take them for you. He will do this to make peace between you and God. Do you want peace with God, so that one day you will get to see His face, and be with Him forever? These are things we need to think about. I pray you will.
He loves you. Think about these words from Tenth Ave North…

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life
Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go


You can not be right with God by being good, or saying a prayer, or knowing the right facts about God. Only if you put your faith in Jesus, asking Him to let all your sin fall upon Him, and all His righteousness to fall upon you, can you be made ready to enter God’s presence. Only when you understand that you are completely unworthy of any love or good thing, and unable to satisfy God’s anger at you, and unable to be good the rest of your life, will you finally be willing to ask him to satisfy the anger, and ask Him to be good for you, that His perfect life would count for you. And when you really see how much He loves you, how much He has forgiven you, you will love Him- and living with all your hope in Him, and living to show His worth, it wont be a chore, it will be a joy. So tell me- what did you live for the past 24 hours? Or how about this- thinking about how much he loves you, what do you want to live for in the next 24?