Matters of the Heart

Posted on June 26, 2021 by KD Manes under God's Call

I went to high school with a really neat young lady who habitually did random acts of kindness and stayed active as a cheerleader. It came as a complete shock when she died suddenly in her twenties.

The doctor’s examination reported she had Marfan Syndrome, which neither she nor her family knew about. This inherited disorder affects connective tissue. In her case, her condition became life-threatening as faulty connective tissue weakened her aorta — the large artery that arises from the heart, supplying blood to the body. Sadly, this led to an unexpected Aortic Aneurysm.

I’m not a doctor, but it’s no secret that if the heart stops functioning, your body begins systematically shutting down. The heart is the hardest working muscle in our bodies. According to The Library of Congress, it pumps out 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood at every heartbeat. Daily the heart pumps at least 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood. Our organs and tissues will die without the oxygen and nutrients our blood carries.

A healthy heart is vital to our physical well-being. In the Bible, the term heart usually refers to the inner person and the spiritual life in all its many aspects. Is it any wonder that God references the heart so often in the Bible? Like the human heart, we need to keep our spiritual heart healthy in order to live an abundant life.

While Marfan syndrome is rare, Coronary Heart Disease is not. It affects approximately 16.5 million Americans over the age of 20 (www.healthline.com). This disease often develops quietly over decades. One might not notice a problem until there is a significant blockage or a heart attack. But the good news is: We can take steps now to prevent and treat this disease. Healthy disciplines can make a huge impact.

Similar to our physical heart being damaged due to blockage of life giving blood flow, sin also blocks our heart’s spiritual flow.

First, what is sin? Defiance. When we willfully refuse to obey God, we are acting in defiance. Although there are times we make mistakes and are unaware of our sin, we are all born with this sin nature (Rom. 3:23). King David gave us a good example of how to pray: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” (Ps. 129: 23-24).

If we take the time to ask, God will bring to light any offense we may have inadvertently committed. At this point, if we refuse to confess and ask His forgiveness, and choose to stubbornly persist, then we are being defiant toward God.

There are times when we need to give God our hurt and anger. I remember going to a small worship event as a young college student. Although it had been a difficult year, I didn’t realize I harbored resentment in my heart. This man who sang and played the piano said, “God has laid it on my heart while in New York that there is someone here (in Oregon) who needs to forgive. God loved me enough to point out my sin blockage of unforgiveness as the Holy Spirit visited me that evening. After surrendering my stubborn will, I left feeling renewed and completely loved by my Savior.

Usually it’s the small things that trip us up. Our Enemy is an expert liar. He tries to persuade us that just a little won’t hurt. . . besides nobody will know. Well, God knows. He not only knows the number of hairs on our heads, He also knows our struggles and every time we give in to temptation. He knows that if we persist in our sin, or choose not to forgive, that it will eventually lead to our spiritual death. “For the wages of sin is death. . . “, (Rom. 6:23). If we take advantage of a friend, yell, or backbite, a part of that friendship dies. If we’re in the habit of exaggerating, it’s easy to cross the blurred line of a little white lie. Before we know it, lying becomes a habit and a piece of our reputation dies.

I am so thankful that we have a merciful High Priest in Christ Jesus. He not only endured an onslaught of temptation from Satan in his 40 day wilderness testing, but He also was the only one to triumph over sin. He is the perfect God-man who not only is perfectly able to help us when we’re tempted, but also provides a way of escape in the heat of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).

I am also extremely grateful that God’s love is unconditional and patient. He longs for the sinner to “come home” to Him. But He is a gentleman. He never forces Himself or His ways on anyone.

Four Sin Heart Blockages and Solutions:

Selfishness needing surrender
Bitterness needing forgiveness
Rejection of words of life
Evil thoughts needing cleansing

What Should I Do About My Sin?

Invite the Holy Spirit to show me, (Ps. 139:23-24).
Confess it and turn away, repent, (1 Jn. 1:9).
Invite the Holy Spirit to create in me a new heart, (Ps. 51:10-11).
Invite the Holy Spirit to fill me, (Eph. 5:18).

“But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and having been set free from sin, have become slaves to righteousness.”
~Romans 6:17-18

Without blood, there is no life. God has graciously chosen us by providing eternal life and His righteousness through the shedding of His Son’s blood on the cross. Now it’s our turn to choose. Will we accept this free gift of eternal life and forgiveness of our sins, or will we go our own sinful way in defiant denial of God and His standards of living? It’s an individual decision, which also affects each individual’s eternal destination.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Rom. 6:23

Prayer: “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” (Ps. 86:11-13)

Lot and His Daughters, Genesis 19:30-38

Posted on December 18, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

The inward area is the first place of loss of true Christian life, of true spirituality, and the outward sinful act is the result.” – Francis Schaeffer

I hate being a bad news bearer. But there’s no getting around it. This passage is the sad sequel to Sodom’s destruction (Genesis 19:1-29).

You may read Genesis 19:30-38 here: Bible Gateway.

The angels—who admonished Lot to flee to the mountains—granted Lot’s request to flee to a nearby town instead (Gen. 19:18-22). But fear prompted him to move further away from the burning sulfur’s ashes. With his wife gone—turning into salt for disobediently looking back—he and his two daughters finally settle in a lonely mountain cave.

Neither daughters’ future grooms from Sodom had believed Lot when he warned them to flee because of God’s impending judgment, (Gen. 19:12-14). They died along with all the others.

So out of desperation, Lot’s daughters (who also adopted Sodom’s morals) stoop to manipulation and incest with their father to preserve their family line.

And both daughters become pregnant. The older daughter births Moab, while the younger daughter births Ben-Ammi. These two boys’ descendants would become two of Israel’s greatest enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites. But interestingly, Ruth—David’s great-grandmother and ancestor of Jesus—was from Moab.

This section (verses 30-38) has similarities to Noah’s last days after his rescue from the flood.

Layman’s Bible Commentary observes: “In Noah’s case, he became drunk with wine and uncovered himself in the presence of his children. In both narratives, the act has grave consequences. Thus, at the close of the two great narratives of divine judgment—the flood and the destruction of Sodom—those who are saved from God’s wrath subsequently fall into a form of sin reminiscent of those who die in judgment. This is a common theme in the prophetic literature (Isaiah 56-66; Malachi 1).”

Reflect

We are more apt to sin when we find ourselves in a desperate situation.

Why didn’t Lot help his daughters find husbands? Abraham’s family wasn’t far away. But Lot’s lack of initiative and habitual compromise only complicated matters.

Jesus ~ The greatest gift of all!

Although this passage simply reports these events without openly condemning the sisters’ actions, Scripture elsewhere clearly condemns incest: Leviticus 18:6-18; 20:11, 12, 17, 19-21; Deuteronomy 22:30; 27:20-23; Ezekiel 22:11; 1 Corinthians 5:1.

We may never stoop to this kind of sin, but we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Compared to our holy God even our best efforts “are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). And the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23).

But the great news is that God remedied our sin problem through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. He stepped down from heaven’s glory into our dark, sinful world and offers us the gift of forgiveness and life (Romans 6:23), along with transformation of the heart.

Do We Really Need a Savior? (Genesis 1-3)

Posted on April 3, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

For young children, chocolate bunnies and colorful egg hunts mark Easter. But for many, Easter reminds us of the implications of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Questions arise as we sift through the facts, including:

Was Jesus’ death really necessary?
Why do people die in the first place?
And if God is so good and loving, why is there so much suffering in this world?

Genesis 1-3 brings clarity to these common questions, including our need for a Savior.

Summary of Genesis 1-3

God created a perfect creation in six ordinary days. There was no death. In fact, God looked at His creation and declared it, “very good”.

Then why did death enter the scene?

Our Great, Great, Great (many, many “Greats” . . . .) Grandparents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s command.

(irisheyes2490.deviantart.com)
As illustrated with the two trees in Genesis—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life—God repeatedly holds out two options for us throughout the Bible: life or death. Like our ancestors, Adam and Eve, it’s an individual decision.

Consequences of Sin

Knowing the consequence of their actions, Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate.

Enter painful childbearing (3:16).
Enter painful toil (3:17).
Enter thorns and thistles (3:18).
Enter death (3:19).

Alongside the good and beauty in this world exists suffering and pain. Sin, disobedience to God’s command(s), marred God’s good and perfect creation. And, “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now” (Romans 8:22). But one day, God will restore His perfect creation, banishing all pain and suffering (Rev. 21:1).

Adam and Eve started this downward spiral of sin and decay. As their descendants, we’ve inherited their sin nature. But before we point our fingers at them, we need to examine our own lives. We are free to make our own choices. And our perfect, holy Creator God—who searches our hearts—has declared: “We, all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way,” (Isaiah 53:6). Every one of us has rebelled against God’s commands at one point or another (Romans 5:12).

Not one of us is worthy to join the Creator of the universe. Romans 3:23 says, “the wages of our sin is death.” This gets uglier, because this death refers to spiritual death: eternal separation from God in hell.

Our holy God will not, (can not), dwell with our rebellious, sinful nature for eternity.

Of the tempter, Satan the serpent, God declared: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” (3:15). “You will strike his heel” refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Jesus during His time on earth. Fortunately, Jesus didn’t waver. God foreshadowed Satan’s demise and salvation offer through Christ with: “He [Jesus] will crush your head”.

Life in the Blood

After the Fall, God killed an animal(s) to clothe Adam and Eve. But animal blood (bulls and goats) can’t take away our sin. The Israelites later sacrificed animals repeatedly. Why? God gave this picture to summarize what was to come in His Son, Jesus: the Last Adam and final sacrifice (Hebrews 10).

Although God owes us nothing, the sinless Jesus—both God and man—stepped down into history and took the death penalty we deserved for our sin. “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” (Isaiah 53:6).

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive,” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Because of Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, God offers us His righteousness and new life through faith: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23.

It’s free for the asking.