Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Transforming Tuesdays: If Our Hearts Hold Our Treasures & Desires, Then Who Is At The Center Of Your Heart?


Did you know that the first person that a child falls in love with is their parent?  However, did you know that your parents have loved you long before they met you? Interesting huh?! Well, God feels that way about us <3

Today’s reading focuses on possessions and their value to the heart.  Did you ever stop and realize how important your heart is for the body?   It is the most important organ because once the heart stops…you know the rest.  But here are some fun facts that I’ve gathered just to illustrate its importance:

1.     The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.

2.     Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back.

3.     The heart does the most physical work of any muscle during a lifetime.

4.     Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it tightly: that’s how hard the beating heart works to pump blood.

5.     Because the heart has its own electrical impulse, it can continue to beat even when separated from the body, as long as it has an adequate supply of oxygen.

(http://facts.randomhistory.com/human-heart-facts.html)

These facts are actually really interesting!  Although the heart is not as big as our other organs, its function to our bodies is probably one of the most important.  But, bigger than the heart is the creator of the heart: Jesus Christ!!!

Let’s focus on the functions of the heart.  The heart allows us to love, it allows us to be kind, and it allows us to have compassion among other things.  When you think about the heart you think about all of the treasures, which includes everything that we feel that is near and dear to us.  We store these things, thoughts, and feelings in our hearts because it is our sacred place.  I know for me personally, in my heart I hold my fears, loved ones, secrets, and my hopes and dreams.  It’s so easy to list the things that we can see and it’s also easier to forget the most important thing that we should treasure in our lives.


Does God hold a special place in your heart?  Is he your greatest treasure?  I know that when I was younger God was at the center of my heart.  Now that I think about it, I loved him so freely it was like second nature.  As I got older I struggled with keeping him at the center of my heart.  I’ve always known that God loves me and I knew that I loved him, but I struggled with showing his love in my everyday life.  Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (KJV).  I would party on a Saturday and then show up to church on Sunday; I would struggle with forgiveness; I would treat people the way that they would treat me; I would doubt God.  Everything that I used to do did not exemplify that God was at the center of my heart.  This was because actions speak louder than words, and my actions were showing that I was willing to serve the world rather than serving the God who would give me the world.

Fortunately, as I grew older I’ve grown closer to God and I have realized the extent of his grace and mercy in my life.  Honestly, I can say that today as I write this blog, God is at the center of my heart.  I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that he remains there because without him there is no me.  He comes before my hopes and dreams; before aspirations; before I love anyone else.  And I know that as long as he is at the center of my heart, I have nothing more to worry about. I am back at the place where I once was when I was a little girl.  I can talk about God’s grace and mercy freely, I desire to share his goodness, and I want everyone to get to know him like I know him.

I pray that everyone places God at the center of their heart like they place anything else at the center of their heart.  He is greater than money, gold, wealth, and anything else that the world places value on.  God’s love is invaluable…we can’t put a price on it. 

I challenge all of you to get back to that innocent love for Christ.  I challenge you to express that God is at the center of your life through one act today. This can include: praying for someone, reading the Bible openly, professing your love for Christ openly, witnessing, or even forgiving someone.


A Simple Prayer of Love:

Dear God,
I pray that everyone reading this blog today will learn to place you at the center of their hearts; that we will treasure your will in their lives. I pray that we all will learn to love you freely without limits.  I pray that you soften our hearts toward you and that you continue to guide our footsteps toward your ways.  I pray that just as you have given children the ability to love their parents effortlessly, that you give us that desire to exemplify that love towards you.  I pray that we will not stray away from your word and that you will keep us right where you want us to be.  Lastly, Lord I pray that because you WILL be and ARE at the center of our lives, I ask that you give us the passion to want to please you and be more like you everyday.  Thank you for your love, grace, and mercy; for anything we do in our lives will never amount to what you have done for us up on that cross.  Amen.



Here are some children who show that God is at the Center of their HEARTS:


Love freely like a child...God is at the Center of his HEART


Out of the mouth of babes...This little girl understands at a young age who is at the Center of her HEART


Children unashamed of the gospel...Can you guess who is at the Center of his HEART?


It's NEVER too late to Transform your Tuesdays :)
Transforming Tuesdays: Jamera

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