the heart of man

<sup>Matthew 5:21-22

21</sup> “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 15:17-19

17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Jeremiah 17:9-10


9 “ The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10 I, the LORD, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

My prayers for the victims of today's shooting spree involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of AZ and at least 18 others, a number of whom have died.

Romans 8:18-25


18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Our Glorious Purpose

This passage is from the March 2010 Tabletalk (Ligonier Ministries) and is by Rev. Fred Klett in an article entitled "From Jerusalem, to All Nations, and Back Again":

"It is easy to get bogged down in mundane and parochial concerns. Dull details of the daily grind constantly scream for our attention. We must not lose sight of the glorious purpose for which we have been called: the restoration of all creation. Our witness, our prayer, our service to bind up the wounds of the suffering in the name of Jesus are all part of something spectacular and wonderful, something the prophets longed to look into (1 Peter 1:10). May God renew our zeal for His work in our own neighborhoods and for His worldwide missionary enterprise. May He revive us to pray and work in faith toward both Jews and Gentiles being restored to blessing. Messiah Jesus is still at work advancing the Father's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. The second volume of the book of Acts is still being written. Let us recommit ourselves to this gospel enterprise, from Jerusalem, to all nations -- and then back again."

We live in exciting times, working with Messiah Jesus to advance the Father's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a part of the second volume of Acts!! Glory! Glory! and Amen.

heartbreak and lostness

We believers have a constant heartbreak staring us in the face all the time, as we consider our unsaved loved ones. They have no idea of a heartbreak. They do not know they are lost and they revel in that ignorance ~~ we see that terrible lostness and fall on our faces before the Throne.

We have Paul's anguish in Romans 9:1-3

What about God's heartbreak at the time of Noah?

Genesis 6
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He has made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
In verse 22 we learn that...
Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Note Noah's OBEDIENCE.

We are told in Genesis 6:3b ...yet his [man's] days shall be one hundred and twenty years.

The witness of Noah and his family building this huge ark (what is that??!), when there had never been any rain on the earth up to that time, must have seemed ludicrous to everyone. We can imagine them shaking or scratching their heads whenever they happened by the ark-in-progress during those one hundred twenty years. But they never bowed the knee to their Creator.

What about Jesus' heartbreak as He looked out over Jerusalem?

Luke 19
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it
42 saying, if you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Matthew 23
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more, til you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

The people of that time, like our unsaved loved in this time were not willing to...

Romans 10
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will never be put to shame."

This is the only thing that will make for your peace!