Open Heart Surgery introduction
I am putting together a short series on a biblical view of the heart. I am going to try to be as exhaustive as I can possibly be. There are so many verses that deal with the heart, so I will be selective and use the ones that pertain to the overall plot.
I believe that Christian teenagers and adults alike have, for far too long, tried to cure a problem by attacking the FRUIT of the problem instead of the ROOT of the problem. We have disciplined our kids for a bad attitude or disobedience, but we have failed to get to the root of those problems: a sinful and wicked heart. I want to explore than innermost part of a person. The part of the body, both physically and spiritually, that makes us live and can also make us die. Here's my introduction to the series. Several lessons will follow.
Open Heart Surgery
Jeremiah 17:9 – "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
When a flower is withering and unhealthy, no landscaper will dump fertilizer on the flower petals. They know that would do nothing but harm and ultimately kill the plant. All landscapers, even the novice ones like me, realize that the true problem with that flower has nothing to do with the flower itself. It has everything to do with the root system not providing the water and nutrients needed to further the growth of the plant and ultimately the flower. That is the “root” of the problem: the root. It would be foolish for the lawn expert to focus on the fruit of the problem instead of the root of the problem, yet so often we do that with our Christian lives. You see, the problem that the root created was manifested in the flower or fruit. Many times the problems we manifest in our Christian lives are not the real problem. The problem has been an ongoing issue that began long ago at the root…..our heart. It takes time for a plant to show the problem that had been festering inside. It does not happen immediately. It is even worse for those people who have had problems developing from their heart. They are not manifested immediately. In fact, it sometimes takes years for your heart problems to be seen. If you wait until the problem becomes and outward problem to correct it, then you have made it difficult on yourself. Sometimes, it becomes impossible for the plant to thrive and grow again. No matter what you do to it, it will never grow like it once did.
When God gave me this thought, I struggled with which of the 765 verses that deal with the heart I was going to use during this series. The heart is talked about over 800 times in 765 verses! God was interested in the heart. There was a man who had the reputation of being “a man after God’s own heart.” David, the second king of Israel, made some mistakes (some really huge ones in fact), but God called him a man after His own heart. David wrote many of the Psalms, so I decided to study the word “heart” in the Psalms. “Heart” is mentioned 125 times in this book.
I learned quite a bit from this man David. I learned how the heart can affect me negatively. The heart, the Bible says, is desperately wicked. David gives us many occurrences of a wicked heart throughout his writings in Psalms. I also found how the heart can affect me positively. “With my whole heart, I will seek thee” and similar statements are found over and over again. The heart is so important and has such an enormous say in how we live on the outside.
As we take a short journey on this study, I hope you will make this a personal examination time. See what the Bible can teach you about your heart.
I believe that Christian teenagers and adults alike have, for far too long, tried to cure a problem by attacking the FRUIT of the problem instead of the ROOT of the problem. We have disciplined our kids for a bad attitude or disobedience, but we have failed to get to the root of those problems: a sinful and wicked heart. I want to explore than innermost part of a person. The part of the body, both physically and spiritually, that makes us live and can also make us die. Here's my introduction to the series. Several lessons will follow.
Open Heart Surgery
Jeremiah 17:9 – "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
When a flower is withering and unhealthy, no landscaper will dump fertilizer on the flower petals. They know that would do nothing but harm and ultimately kill the plant. All landscapers, even the novice ones like me, realize that the true problem with that flower has nothing to do with the flower itself. It has everything to do with the root system not providing the water and nutrients needed to further the growth of the plant and ultimately the flower. That is the “root” of the problem: the root. It would be foolish for the lawn expert to focus on the fruit of the problem instead of the root of the problem, yet so often we do that with our Christian lives. You see, the problem that the root created was manifested in the flower or fruit. Many times the problems we manifest in our Christian lives are not the real problem. The problem has been an ongoing issue that began long ago at the root…..our heart. It takes time for a plant to show the problem that had been festering inside. It does not happen immediately. It is even worse for those people who have had problems developing from their heart. They are not manifested immediately. In fact, it sometimes takes years for your heart problems to be seen. If you wait until the problem becomes and outward problem to correct it, then you have made it difficult on yourself. Sometimes, it becomes impossible for the plant to thrive and grow again. No matter what you do to it, it will never grow like it once did.
When God gave me this thought, I struggled with which of the 765 verses that deal with the heart I was going to use during this series. The heart is talked about over 800 times in 765 verses! God was interested in the heart. There was a man who had the reputation of being “a man after God’s own heart.” David, the second king of Israel, made some mistakes (some really huge ones in fact), but God called him a man after His own heart. David wrote many of the Psalms, so I decided to study the word “heart” in the Psalms. “Heart” is mentioned 125 times in this book.
I learned quite a bit from this man David. I learned how the heart can affect me negatively. The heart, the Bible says, is desperately wicked. David gives us many occurrences of a wicked heart throughout his writings in Psalms. I also found how the heart can affect me positively. “With my whole heart, I will seek thee” and similar statements are found over and over again. The heart is so important and has such an enormous say in how we live on the outside.
As we take a short journey on this study, I hope you will make this a personal examination time. See what the Bible can teach you about your heart.
Labels: Heart problem, King David, Open Heart Surgery, Striving Together
