Talk about a difficult lesson to finds it’s way into the soul! Our group study of Waking the Dead has been drilling into that concept for weeks (chapters). You think John Eldredge and Craig McConnell felt a pressing on their hearts as to the difficulty and importance of driving this message home?
Our heart has been the Devil’s playground for far too long!
As I believe all of Ransomed Heart ministry is about, it’s the restoration of a person’s soul in and through Christ. We have been made right with God by what He’s done for us, the atoning work of the Cross yet for so many truly self-professed Christians, especially the ones painfully aware of their own shortcomings and battles with an unrelenting sin nature, the message of reconciliation remains muddied by the lies of the Enemy and we feel the need to continue to prove ourselves worthy of love and valid for service.
That’s crap; Our hearts are Good!!
Jesus pressed into Peters heart after his denial of Him. Peter’s shame had, in his mind, disqualified him from service to God. It had “undone” him and returned him back to the role of laborer, fisherman, invisible, alone. Peter let shame take himself out, Jesus didn’t.
This week yet again we will press into the critical need for us to desperately pursue Christ Himself for affirmation that the New Covenant was His to give us and never about our worthiness.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In fact, for those disciples with a growing awareness on the calling placed on them to serve God with whatever gifts He has given you, it holds more true than ever that our ministry will never be what it could be if we are still trying to offer God some type of exchange for His power and presence.
We simply need a stance of gratitude in Christ, awe of God and a deeply personal communion with The Holy Spirit and only then will we be equipped to respond to the Divine Appointments placed in our path each day.
But none of that matters if we can’t get to the place of KNOWING our heart is good!
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Don’t miss this Thursday as our shared journey of heart restoration continues as we learn to press into Christ and lean on others.
And why are we doing this? For the glory of God is man fully alive!
