It Is Only the Heart that God Desires

Proverbs 23:26
"My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,"

There are outward works in your life and there are inward works.
The outward works are the ones that everyone can see. There is no real goodness in them unless it is coming from God's internal working in you.
Anyone can desire to look like a good person or even try in their own strength to please God and therefore give to the poor etc.
Mark 12:44
"For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all that she had to live on."

But when giving to the poor came from a place in your heart that originated from your love for the Lord the giving is a sweet aroma to God and fruit for all to enjoy.
But outward works have only as much spiritual value as they receive from their source. So when giving to others for your own benefit the value is what is obvious, the blessing you receive in giving and the recognition.
But when giving out of the outflows of Christ's life within you, the value is unending and carries over into your eternal rewards.

As Jeanne Guyon puts it
"The difference is that at the outset the activity was more outward; now the activity has moved inside; it has become deep, inward, hidden and outwardly imperceptible.

We are being drawn.

It is not our turning but it is a drawing of the Lord to us."

Our way is clear then. We must give our full attention to the activities that take place deep within our inmost  being. These are the activities of the spirit. These activities are what counts.
When you turn inward you turn away from outward activities and distractions.
Inward activity begins by simply turning within to Jesus Christ, for that is where He is, Within your spirit.

The lord is our center.
When you turn your attention within to the living God you turn your eyes upon all that matters.
forget the outward act of trying to love the lord and to be loved by him. Forget about the outward act of trying to be a good person acceptable to God and those around you.
Rather, turn your attention to him only and simply abide in Him. Draw to your center where Christ is and keep your focus on him...He will bring about the goodness of Him inside of you. It will permeate your whole life.
Psalm 59:9 "I will keep my whole strength for you."

Inner Abiding
Continuous inner act of abiding. abiding in love.
John 15: 1-7
"....He who abides in me and I in him, He it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Abiding in Christ is turing your attention to Jesus again and again. Having the energy of your soul centered on Him. He is the point. Not succeeding or being the best at what you do, or being the perfect parent. It is Jesus who matters for everything, in every subject of your life. When we turn our focus on Him everything else falls into sync. It is through Him that we are conformed to His will.

The more we turn inward to Jesus, to the center of our soul, to the very one that matters the more we sink into the beautiful inward depths of God. This is to know God beyond the surface of a new believer.
God has an unimaginable purpose for you. He shares His riches with you and reveals mysteries of ancient pasts, ancient creations and an existence of royalty because of His sacrifice for you.

Complaining? Stop and Enjoy the Lord’s Presence!

I'm moved by this picture to think these woman have so much more to complain about than I do in my lifetime and yet "God's presence is an absolute, and the peace of it is never to be surrendered to a situation." These woman can simply look within themselves where Christ dwells and not need anything else but Him, all else pales in comparison to Jesus the hope of glory inside them. ~ danae

October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells  

Leave a Comment

Deut. 28:47-48, Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

If we are complaining, we are not enjoying the Lord’s presence. This statement can take a lifetime to move from head to heart. However, as we dwell on it, it will make more and more sense. We did not become Christians to work for God or to please God; the work has already been done, and the Father is well pleased with Jesus. We became Christians for God, and God alone. As the understanding of our position in Him expands, we see that His presence is in us, just as it was in the Holy of Holies. Christ Himself dwells in us! We are temples of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16)! All of life’s experiences have been moving us toward that revelation, and once we have it, everything changes. We can enjoy His presence in heavy traffic, in a hospital room, at a birth or a funeral, waiting for a taxi, sitting before the banker, walking or riding, or whatever we do. His presence is an absolute, and the peace of it is never to be surrendered to a situation. If we are looking without, we will find much to complain about. If we are looking behind the veil and seeing His presence with us in the midst of what we thought was a place of discomfort, we can have great joy. Once again we see that on this earth we make our own heaven or hell.

A Touch and Go Follower

I watched a movie about Jesus life. In it there was a scene where a crowd of people would follow Jesus and get a glimpse of him or a smile or a touch on the shoulder and they would be content and move on with their lives.

I was annoyed by this and I said 'Lord, I do not want to be a follower that touches and goes. I do not want to be content with touching you and then living my life. I want more of you. I want to be as one and as united as a human can be with you. I want a oneness more than anything, a true oneness - and the Lord said to me - "You are my bride."

And it struck me, or should I say the Holy Spirit revealed what God said, something I have never thought of before.

The Lord is my Father and Jesus is my groom.

The Lord loves me and wants me for his son - the Lord allowed his son to die for me - His bride.

Do you get this with me?!

first of all I can't be any closer with Jesus He dwells in me and we are one, you can't get any closer in a relationship than a bride and groom.

I look at that picture of Dave holding our only son Oscar.

I cannot imagine Dave handing Oscar over to someone to be sacrificed for a future bride of his that is grossly sinful.

I would say, 'no way, she does not deserve him, she's not good enough for him.

Yet God saw me in my most wretched sin and said I love her, she is my son's bride, and He and Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for me. First of all, how deeply in love is our groom with us, and second how deeply in love is our father with us?!

We are the bride of Christ! All of us that surrendered our hearts to Jesus, that surrendered our lives for His life, we are his body, we are one with Him we are his bride.

I am Christ's bride and He dwells in me. I can't be any closer to Christ. We are already one.

A bride waits for her groom she keeps her lamp oil full for when he comes for her.

Revelation 19:7

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

I'm ready Lord, let's go home!