Heart Transplant!

Will you pray with me about this urgent need? The donor organ is ready, and timing is of the essence!

This blog is all about the heart of Jesus.

What a heart that is!

His heart said "No," to sin and to His Very Self
in order to say "Yes!" to the Father
and "Yes!" to us.

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me
and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No,"
but in Him it has always been "Yes." --2 Cor. 1:19

I want a heart like that.

He must want me to have a heart like that, too, because He says:
"Be transformed!" (Rom. 12:2a)
and again He says that:
We, who are His heart, His hands, and His feet,
"are being transformed into his likeness
with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

His heart loves :

A broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. --Psalm 51:17b

A cheerful giver. --2 Cor. 9:7b

The church. --Eph. 5:25b

His heart wouldn't let Him stay in heaven or let us perish
without a fight to the death, HIS death:

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. --Eph. 5:25b

He came to give us a HEART TRANSPLANT.

May our hearts, the hearts He died to give to us, love whatever He loves: a broken heart, a cheerful giver, the church, each other. HIM.

Now for the flip side (you know there's always gotta be a flip side). :)
What on earth are we going to do with our hate? I don't know about you, but I've got some! Most of the time it's misdirected (work in progress, you know). But I guess if I want to be like Him, I'm going to have to funnel that hate in my heart into hating what He hates:

Proverbs 6:16-19

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Praise God, all of these things will pass away! But until they do, He hates them. May we take each one of these things seriously, dead seriously, for they are death to those who live this way. Paul underscores this truth as he warns against the acts of the sinful nature: "I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:21b)

We, church, are His hands and feet. We must not have "feet that are quick to rush into evil." What a disgrace to the body of Christ! We must never have "a heart that devises wicked schemes," or "haughty eyes," or hands that work to the harm of those He loves ("hands that shed innocent blood.") We must keep our tongue from lies, and may He never count among us "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers," for all of this is detestable to Him. How we must grieve Him when we, who are called by His Name, live out what He hates!

Love came, and "love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Pet. 4:8b). Love will even cover those things our Lord hates:

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

That's some amazing grace, from an amazing heart. The heart of Jesus!

Be Amazed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2RmXBvmwUc

Pray... the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and all those crushed in spirit. (Ps. 34:18) Pray!