Renewal of the Heart

God requires us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Mark 12:29–30(NLT) 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

The Bible also tells us to trust God with all our heart… Proverbs 3:5(NLT) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Loving God and trusting Him with all our heart… How can we do it? What does it mean to love God with all our heart? How do we know it?

First, we need to know what the Bible says about our heart. Jeremiah 17:9(NLT) 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? The Bible says that human heart is the most deceitful thing and wicked. No one can figure out what's inside. Why is it? When Adam and Eve sinned against God, evil and wickedness entered into their hearts. Sin has destroyed/contaminated their heart. Matthew 15:18–19(NLT) 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. Remember that in our relationship with God, our heart matters before Him because He sees our heart and its intentions. Jeremiah 17:10(NLT) 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Then if the God commands us to love Him with "all our heart", then it is critically important for us to know what it is. How do we know that we love Him with all our heart? Only God can change our heart! Ezekiel 36:26–27(NLT) 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. As we come to Jesus, repenting from our sinfulness and giving ourselves to Jesus, accepting His redemptive work on the cross for us, God gives us a new heart. A heart that enables us to connect to Him and to worship Him, to have relationship and intimacy with Him. In our new life in Him, God also takes us to the process of sanctification which requires us to respond to God's invitation to this process. Two things about God's sanctification:

We have been sanctified through Jesus' death and resurrection. (definitive sanctification)

Hebrews 10:10(ESV) And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Ongoing work of God throughout our life (progressive sanctification)

2 Corinthians 3:18(NKJV) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24(NKJV) 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. As part of the ongoing (progressive) sanctification, we need to respond through faith, obedience and submission to God's Word.

Examine your heart!

Psalm 26:2–3(ESV) (Забур 25:2-3) 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 51:10(ESV) Забур 50:12 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Hebrews 4:12(NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Guard your heart and watch out!

Proverbs 4:23(NLT) Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Luke 21:34–36(NLT) 34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

Questions What are the things that contaminates our heart from walking with God? How should we guard our heart? How did God test your heart?