The State of the Heart

Today is Tuesday (I think), October 30, 2018. Yeah. Tuesday. Tomorrow’s Halloween. Tuesday.

Day 22,146

Fifteen days until Fallout 76!!!

“Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?”
James Thurber, American author, 1894-1961
BrainyQuote

The word of the day is caterwaul, “to make a harsh cry,” or, “to protest or complain noisily.”

I don’t know what to write about today. Baseball is over for this year. I don’t follow any other sportsing. I know I was still tired last night, so we were actually asleep by around 8:30! I feel better this morning, but still struggling to wake up.

A friend asked me, Sunday night, after congratulating me on the Sox winning, how many days until Spring Training begins. Hahaha!! I said I was going to savor this for a bit before beginning that countdown.

I’ll be cooking three batches of chili tonight. One to eat for dinner, and two to take to work tomorrow for our Halloween Chili Cook-off. I hope a lot of other people participate. I know one of at least one person who should be bringing venison chili, and maybe a couple others, as well. Then, tomorrow night, we’ll be heading to our pastor’s mother’s house for her annual Halloween chili, which is one of the best chilis I have ever had. We always enjoy that. It also keeps us from having to hand out candy at home.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

“O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us, thy humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
(The Book of Common Prayer, A Collect for Peace)

(From Power in Prayer, Andrew Murray)
With Your Whole Heart

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

“The fruit of our waiting depends on the state of our heart.” This sounds so simple, yet is so profound. And, yet, does it not seem that it should also be the other way around? But the truth is, the condition of my heart dictates how close I can be to God. “We can advance no further or deeper into the Holy Place of God’s presence than our heart is prepared for it by the Holy Spirit.”

We believe with our hearts and it is with our hearts that we come “into contact with God.” While it is true that we also believe with our minds, the deeper belief comes from the heart, and that is where God places His Holy Spirit within us. And in our heart, the Holy Spirit reveals “the presence and power of God working in us.” And here is where Murray mentions the mind. Even though we can believe things with our minds, “the mind is completely incapable of creating or maintaining the spiritual life. It is the heart that must wait on God.”

There is a sharp difference between knowing with our minds and believing with our hearts. This is where Proverbs 3:5 comes in. We must beware of “the temptation to lean on [our] natural understanding.” We must present our hearts to God and, even though we cannot see into them, know and believe that He is working “there by His Holy Spirit. Allow the heart to wait at times in perfect silence and quiet; in its hidden depths God will work.”

Father, again, here I am asking You to teach me to wait. I believe that You are working in my heart. I also believe that my heart needs a lot of work. Some days, my heart feels good; it feels kind; I feel compassion and peace. Other days, my heart feels wicked and mean-spirited. This ought not be so. Take my heart, God, and make it Yours. Mold it into what You need it to be, by the power of Your Spirit. May I yield it to You, 100%.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.