Our Heart

"Jesus is kind."

SATAN KNEW the Word and misquoted it (Luke 4:10). This ought to sit us up. And it's WHAT he quoted that we must notice. A fallen angel quoted a verse about the legitimate work of angels to God who made angels. Who he’d known but did not recognize in that moment. Jesus wasn't fooled, but still, there it is.

We must see what Satan did in our own use of words. We misquote Truth, believing error, all the time. And in that thought, we see the reason why we gather in church services. To correct our understanding.

Church has become a party. It's less about learning who God is - His character, personality, methods, and principles. It's more celebration. And there is a place for that. God enjoys our praises. He gives us joy in His Presence. And for this thought, no genre of music is outside of Him. His Spirit writes all styles of music. There are artists, rescued from hell, now with great testimonies, who continue writing who they are. Brian Head Welch of Korn fame comes to mind. That man can quote the Word.

However, praise cannot replace worship. Minister Benny Hinn makes an informative comparison here because he uses specific songs and is known for them. There is something to be said for this. Our heart for the Presence, who is the Holy Spirit, will cause Him to move, another term I usually avoid. Because, for many, the "move" of God is preferred over knowing Him. Over learning about Him. For this, I must speak personally. I discovered, in my searching for a way out, that God who answered my cries is not Church-Jesus. We have a mental image of Him that is way wrong and a serious misunderstanding of Scripture involving the devil and unclean spirits. We need the Spirit, the Teacher of the church, to correctly see what is written in the Word. There are things said which must be seen through God’s eyes. The apostle Paul’s words about women keeping silent is an example. That was for a time in history and a particular culture. God has no problem with women teaching or preaching. It is arrogance in either gender and lusts, carnality, that He wants us to avoid.

Jesus is kind. We know this from reading the Word, He is the Word, but we don't really know how kind He is. He overlooks error constantly. Of John’s Revelation, to give an example, the Spirit said to me that no one fully understands it correctly. God is not violent. There is no end-times war. Despite this repeated error, God chastises no one for it. He will bring revelation to those who seek Him, but, and here is my point, usually we think we are right and so don’t seek Him at all. I had a friend reading through the Word from beginning to end, ask me for reading advice, and I said to set down all you think you know, even what you are sure of, and let the Spirit teach you. Only what we hear from Him should be our focus. And what we speak. Many a sermon has been written that came from the head and not the heart.

Our focus should be to show people Jesus, to continually speak of His character and the blessings of salvation He provided. We should show people the Father. This was Jesus’ heart in His ministry, for them to know who sent Him and the love of God so great it would rescue the entire world. He wanted people to know the Spirit, for His coming to earth to live in the hearts of men would change everything forever. Our focus should be God as Persons and not solely on expressing ourself or putting on a grand display. We must stop turning our Savior into what He is not and speaking of the Spirit as a thing and not a Person. We must show Them as easy to speak to and gentle and generous.

We must keep God responsible for us and stop taking all the care into our own hands. God is love. Let’s let Him be love and walk with Him as children, surrendered to Him. He is humility in us and our self-control.

Illustration by Mila Okta Safitri on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com