Tag: Life

A Heart of Value

What if we had the imaging technology to see our hearts through God’s eyes?

Your heart is of great value to you. From a medical standpoint, it is of high import. As long as your heart is beating and your blood is coursing through your veins; all systems are go. A heart that stops beating typically results in death. We know to take care of our hearts for this reason. We even have the medical technology to see what our hearts look like, how they are functioning, and what might be blocking them or keeping them from functioning. We do everything we can to keep them going strong.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 KJV

As important as our heart is to our physical life, how much more important it is to our spiritual life!

The Darby Translation says to “keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded”. In addition to guarding (keeping) our heart we are also told to guard our mind (see Romans 8:5-6) and to guard our mouth (see Ephesians 4:29). All three are important. But the heart is of high import. I love the way the Living Bible puts it. “Above all else guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life”.

What you do with your heart affects everything!

 What if we had the imaging technology to see our hearts through God’s eyes. What would we see? Would it be well guarded as He advises us to do? Or would there be missing pieces, blockages, malfunctions or death?

Have we given our hearts to people it should not have been given to, only to be returned with pieces missing. Have we allowed things/sin into our hearts that have caused us to die a spiritual death. Have we held onto things we should have let go of that create blockages in our hearts. Have we let lies and doubts plant themselves in our hearts like seeds causing our hearts to malfunction.

Examine your heart. What you’re storing there comes out.

Luke 6:45 ” A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

 

No More Permissive Will

Proverbs 19:21  ” There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

How true this is! And oh the countless times I’ve chosen to learn this the hard way! God has a special plan for all of His children! If only we would choose to be obedient, if only we would choose to listen to His voice alone.

He does allow us His permissive will, but He desires us to be in His perfect will.

I started this blog six years ago. Then I was all about missions and going back to Africa. Though I am still very passionate about missions and still love Africa, God is moving me in a new direction. You will notice that those older posts have disappeared and the name of this site was changed four months ago from Mali Love to Write With Purpose. I do still love Mali, but I want my words to speak life. I want my words to have purpose. I want my words to lead you to Jesus.

God’s plan for me far outweighs anything I could ever plan on my own. My plans have slipped through my fingers like sand in an hour glass. But God’s plan/ God’s counsel will stand the test of time.

The Dwelling Place

Today in a moment of calm at church, I’m lead to what has become my go-to scripture. Psalm 37:4 ” Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Delight in Him, be joyful in Him, love Him, set your affections in Him. But then I see that word ‘also’. This implies that there’s more to the story, there’s more to this equation. It’s not just delight in Him but ‘also’.  My eyes go to the verse before. The verse that’s been sitting on my desk for the past week. I finally make the connection, this verse before is the ‘also’ in this equation.

Psalm 37:3 ” Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” Trust in the Lord and do good. That’s pretty straightforward, no explanation needed. But then we have dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Faithfulness speaks of promises kept, trustworthy, words spoken true, never failing. Feed on His promises! Feed on His Word!

We’re left with dwell in the land. What land are we supposed to dwell in? Dwell in the land of promise!

Trust in the Lord and do good, trust that God is who He says He is and let your actions represent that trust. Dwell in the land of promise and feed on His faithfulness. Delight also in Him, and then after you’ve done all that He will grant you the desires of your heart.

 

Surrender the Dream

” True dependence is not simply asking Me to bless what you have decided to do. It is coming to Me with an open mind and heart, inviting Me to plant My desires within you. I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your reach. You know that in yourself you cannot achieve such a goal. Thus begins your journey of profound reliance on Me. It is a faith-walk, taken one step at a time, leaning on Me as much as you need. This is not a path of continual success but of multiple failures. However, each failure is followed by a growth spurt, nourished by increased reliance on Me.” – Sarah Young – Jesus Calling.

This hits close to home. Too close. I have learned to do this and am still learning to do this daily. It is hard, so hard. But the reward far outweighs the hard of it. The pain of it, the heartbreak of it.

” The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto the broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Psalms 34:17-19

I surrender the will; surrender the dream. I lay all my plans, desires, dreams at the savior’s feet. And I say Your perfect will not mine.  And He takes them and places in my hands, my heart His dream for me, His plans for me, His desires for me.

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:4-5

I submit to His will. I learn to delight in my savior. I learn to fall in love with my savior. He is near to my brokenness. I surrender the fragments of my imperfections, the fragments of heartbreak. He takes them and fills the void and lavishes His love on me. And He gives me the desires of my heart. A piece of blue sky on a rainy day as a token of His affection. I take His hand and trust His steps, He guides my feet. And the courtship with my Savior begins.

 

The Morning Light

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Today I rose before the sun. I don’t do that often. I try to avoid it. I like my sleep. But today I enjoyed it. It made my day better.

The first thing I saw when I opened the front door was the morning and the evening star aligned one on top of the other. I’d never seen that before. It was beautiful. And then I sat at the table by the window at McDonald’s and watched the sun rise and watched the world around me come to life. It was worth it. If you’ve never watched the sun rise; do it. Make time for it.

Brush away the cobwebs of sleep. With hot cup of coffee in hand, watch the sun rise. Just sit there at your favorite vantage point and watch the night fade into glorious day. Watch the color spill over the horizon as it chases the darkness away. Listen to the orchestra of crickets, frogs, and hoot owls fade into a crescendo of bird song. Watch the birds flit about searching for the worm caught unawares. Watch the deadness of night turn into the hustle and bustle of the morning commute. Watch the world come to life. And then remind yourself who the Morning Star is, and thank Him for a new day with air-filled lungs and put on the armour of light. His mercies are new every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-24 KJV

It is of the Lord‘s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Romans 13:12 KJV

 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Revelation 22:16

 “I…am the Bright and Morning Star.”

Erase the Line

“I want my thoughts to move into actions that speak life.”

I have been listening to this song a lot lately. A lot. On repeat.

It’s one of those songs that really hits you right between the eyes and gives you a solid kick in the pants at the same time.

Broken Bread

“May I be broken bread, may I be poured out wine
May I incarnate, Your kindness Lord”

In saying this what we’re really saying is I want to sacrifice my will for His will. All of me for all of Him. And then letting it show for others to see.

“Spend my life Jesus, anyway You please
Whether on great things, or what seems small”

With this line, we’re saying Your perfect will in my life. No matter what it is. A complete and total surrender of our desire to have our own way. Giving up our stubbornness and selfishness. Breaking away the shackles of fear. Getting out of the boat and blindly stepping onto the water. Fully trusting that God’s got this.

“Your will done your way
Your will done your way
Your will done your way”

It couldn’t be said anymore plainer than that. His will done His way. We’d be foolish to stand in His way. We’re disobedient when we stand in His way. We miss out on blessings when we stand in His way.

I will not fight You
Take me past the line that my heart draws
I will not fight You
Take me beyond the laziness of my thoughts
I will not fight
Lead me further than I’ve gone before
I will not fight You
I’m abandoned to Your call

This is my prayer for myself. ‘Take me past the line that my heart draws’. I want to give Him every room in my heart. I want to be full of His Spirit. ‘Take me beyond the laziness of my thoughts’. I want my thought life to be on His word. On what He’s done for me. What He’s brought me through. I want my thoughts to move into actions that speak life. ‘Lead me further than I’ve gone before’. I want to go deeper. I want to go past the outer courts into the holy place. I want to drown in the Living Water. ‘I’m abandoned to Your call.’ I want His perfect will in my life. I want to live in a way that people know that I’m His.

“Do not let there be, any part of me
That’s untouchable, unreachable”

I don’t want anything to stand between me and my Lord. I want Him to have every part of my heart. I want to hear His voice. I want to be obedient. No barriers, no chains. I want to be completely free.

“Let my delight be, living out Your dreams
Washing dirty feet, and kissing yours.
God let Your dreams come true, dream through us
God let Your dreams come true through us ”

Humble me. Washing someone’s feet let alone kissing them, takes a great deal of humbleness. Feet are dirty, feet stink! No one wants to do that! But sometimes we have to go into the hard places, the dirty places. It’s there where you’ll find the people that haven’t learned to cry out to God as we Christians have. It’s there where you’ll find the people that need Him the most.

His dreams for us! What a concept! He has a dream, a purpose for each of us. His dream far outweighs anything I could ever dream of.

What’s in a Name

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about something a friend of mine once said. “Everyone’s name has a special meaning, and when you call them by their name, you speak that meaning over them.”

Thinking about what she said led me to research what my names mean. I have always known what my first name meant but I never knew what my middle name meant. I had to find out. Sarah means princess, also known as daughter of the King. Jean is the English equivalent of the Scottish name, Jane. Jean means the Lord is gracious.

I started thinking about everything those meanings entail. I had to ask myself, do I live up to those meanings?

Daughter of the King. The Lord is gracious.

My name is a constant reminder of who I am in Christ. I am a daughter of the King. He is my heavenly Father. I had to ask myself this question. Does my life show that I am a daughter of the King? Do people know it by my actions, my words? Not always. Words like disobedience, forgiveness, and just plain stubbornness come to mind.

But then I have my middle name. The Lord is gracious. A reminder that when I fail to live up to being a daughter of the King, my Lord is gracious. Oh the countless times I have needed his grace. It’s a reminder that I can call on the Name above all names. I can call on Jesus and He is gracious.

So now you know. When you call me Sarah Jean, what you’re really saying is Daughter of the King, the Lord is gracious.

Do you know what your names mean? Are you living up to their meanings?