Monday, March 5, 2012

Heart and... Eyes: Remember.

Beloved brothers and sisters,
"The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them,
not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
(Numbers 15:37-41 ESV)
It is entirely important that we understand the nature of our sinful hearts. I find that I am so quick to forget; so quick to think I am "getting pretty spiritual these days" or something like that. Thankfully, my God mercifully, graciously, faithfully and often painfully shows me, through the mirror of His word, (James 1) that my heart - though it has been regenerated and is being sanctified - is still quite a far cry from the heart of God. My eyes as well are all too swift to lead me not to God's but to so many "desires of the eyes" which are "passing away" according to  1John 2.
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?"
(Jeremiah 17:9 ESV)
"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways."
(Psalm 119:37 ESV)
 LET US REMEMBER our weaknesses, remember our inclinations, and MAKE WAR AGAINST THEM. Let us daily be in desperate prayer for God's grace to CHANGE our hearts and our eyes; for His word to be the thing that leads us!

Brothers and sisters, WE HAVE A MIGHTY, GOOD, POWERFUL, LOVING GOD, and He has given us HIS WORD as a weapon with which we can "put to death the old self"!

"The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
(Psalm 19:8 ESV)
I don't care if it's tassels or a 3x5 card in your pocket, we need to "REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD, TO DO THEM" 
"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."

-Cody  †

1 comment:

  1. Wow. Amazing, spirit-filled post right here. I love how you tied Numbers 15 in it as well.This is such a great reminder at how wicked we are and because of that, how helpless we are. Then, The climax you tie in at the end, There IS a merciful God full of saving grace! Amazing!
    Thanks for writing this. Keep seeking and writing them! :)

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