The Posture of our Heart

Revelation 1:12-18  I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,  (13)  and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  (14)  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  (15)  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  (16)  In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double- edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  (17)  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  (18)  I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

This passage, among many in the Bible, is a very vivid and clear revelation of who our God is.  He is the One who is among, or, in the NASB - "in the middle of",  the lampstands, a symbol of local churches.  Here is the grace and blessing of God for local churches, that He is among, in the middle of them.  

Sadly, though, we may miss this.  What happens when a local church, the communion of believers, recognizes the presence of the Most High God in the middle of them?  The description of God gives us an idea of what we will "see":

Dressed in a robe, with a golden sash around His chest - we are before our King.

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow - His holiness is revealed.

His eyes are like blazing fire - He is the One who sees all things, nothing is hidden from His sight.

His feet like bronze glowing in a furnace - He is firm and strong.

His voice like the sound of rushing waters - it is impossible not to hear it, a thundering voice

Out of His mouth comes a two edged sword - His word penetrating our hearts

His face like the sun, shining in its brilliance - He is too holy to be looked at, to stare at...impossible.

Now look at the apostle John's response:  (17)  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

I don't think there is any believer who, humanly speaking, can even compare himself/herself with the apostle John.  He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  He was at the foot of the cross when Christ died.  You would think he would be ecstatic, jump for joy, at the sight of His God.

But no.  He fell at His feet as though dead.

This is what the presence of God initially does.  Our King, holy, mighty, from whom nothing is hidden, firm and strong, who, with a thundering voice, speaks with a two edged sword penetrating our hearts, shining brightly as the sun...there is no way for any one of us to be able to stand before such a magnificent, exalted One.

Oh, for every heart to bow in fear and holy awe before our holy and righteous One.  There is no other way to respond to such a great revelation of our God to our hearts.

Every time we sense His presence in our hearts, this is what His holiness and majesty moves our heart to do - fall at His feet as if dead.  This is the foundation of true worship.  This is how every heart should respond to our great and holy God.  We don't have to imagine what to do.  This should be the initial position, or posture, of our hearts.

The truth is, standing before a holy God, we should die.

But then, something beautiful happens to John:

Revelation 1:17-18  ... And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,  (18)  and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

There, clearly shown us, is His grace.  His right hand touching us, and His voice speaking - "do not be afraid".

This is what every true believer enjoys with Christ.  With Christ at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, He gives us the access to the Father's presence.  It is only in Christ that God our Father can reach out His right hand and tell us not to be afraid.

It is only because of Jesus that we can stand before God.

This is why, after falling before Him as if dead, John was able to stand and listen to the words of God spoken to Him.

And this is why, we, after initially responding in awe and fear, falling before Him as if dead, can now also stand before God our Father, and pray, fellowship with Him, sing and worship, and just sit confidently in His presence.  It is through Christ that the Father tells us "Do not be afraid".

Hebrews 10:19-22  Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,  (20)  by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,  (21)  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  (22)  let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 4:16  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

This is why we can pray.  This is why we can fellowship with God.  This is why we sing, praise and worship, our God.  All because of grace, poured out upon us through Jesus Christ.

But it all begins with falling before Him...as if dead.

It all begins with the right posture of the heart.

We bow down, we lay our crowns, we fall before the King, holy and mighty.

But, because of Christ, we stand, we sit, we pray, we sing, we fellowship with Him.

What a humble and gracious privilege given us.

May every local church keep this in heart and mind.

A Heart Drawn to God

Psalms 141:4  Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.

Delicacies are hard to resist.  It's interesting how the psalmist describes the sin of this world as "delicacies", things we cannot resist.  

A sister in Christ blessed us with "bukayo", sweetened buko strips (I don't know if I translated that correctly), and as much as I have to watch what I eat so I don't gain unnecessary weight, I couldn't resist eating this home made delicacy.  It was the same with the pizza a brother in Christ brought to our men's christmas party.  He arrived a little late, after we had all finished eating, but when he arrived with the pizza a number of us couldn't resist eating a slice.

Each one of us has that favorite delicacy that tempts us everyday - sexual sin, bad words/cursing, pride, etc.  And the reason why we fall into these sins easily is that we deal with them at the moment it is presented.  That makes it hard to resist.

This is why the psalmist began with the heart, not with the circumstance.  David said "let not my heart be drawn to what is evil".  It begins with the heart.  It is our heart that matters.  If you look at the psalm, it begins with what should be filling our hearts:

Psalms 141:1-3  A psalm of David. O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you.  (2)  May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.  (3)  Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

A heart that calls to God.  A heart that prays.  And a heart that seeks to be guarded;  in this psalm David's request was for God to guard his lips.

Instead of having a heart drawn to what is evil, you will have a heart drawn to God. 

That's how you resist sin.  No matter how delicious sin may be, if you have a heart that is filled with God, that calls upon Him everyday, that enjoys sweet fellowship in prayer, you will have the strength and power to overcome the temptation, which comes from God.

 May our first delicacy be the goodness and love of our holy God, that our hearts will be drawn to Him, rather than the delicacies of this world.

The Secret to Long Life, Favor, Health, and Riches

Proverbs 3:1-10  My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,  (2)  for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  (3)  Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  (4)  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.  (5)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (7)  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  (8)  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.  (9)  Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;  (10)  then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

If you're reading this now you probably were attracted by the title of this blog. All of us are attracted to articles and posts that reveal the secrets of famous rich men who earn millions.  I hope this blog does not disappoint, especially if you are a believer in Christ.

Today there are many who claim they know the secrets to health and wealth, leading us to herbs, natural vitamins and minerals, natural foods, exercises, etc.  All of which are good...nothing wrong with them, even for Christians.

But so many Christians have automatically fallen into the "sales talk" of these products without realizing that God Himself promises us these things.  But He does not promise them with anything else apart from our walk with Him.  In reality, for believers in Christ, there are no "secrets" for anything - all there is in God's word is a "handbook" for maintaining our relationship with Him, which many of neglect with the hope of enjoying these benefits.

It all boils down to our walk with God.

You want long life and prosperity?

(1) My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,  (2)  for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 

...then do not forget His teachings and keep His commands in your heart.

You want favor with God and man?

(3)  Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  (4)  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 

...Love, and be faithful, first to God and then to others, is all God asks from us

Is it a smooth path in life you want?

(5)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  

...then trust in Him with ALL your heart, and not in our own understanding.

Praying for good health?

(7)  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  (8)  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

...fear the Lord and shun evil.

Is it financial stability you desire?

(9)  Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;  (10)  then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Honor God with your wealth - how you spend it, share it, give it, use it.  Especially with the firstfruits of our blessings.

Notice that when God promises to bless us He does not lead us to the right food, the right exercise, the right kind of work habit or attitude.  All these you find in the world.  This is why many of us unknowingly are following the ways of the world for all these benefits, and even asking God to bless them.

The key is in our walk with Him.  Does this mean we don't watch our diet, exercise, take herbal supplements, exercise and work hard?  Of course not, we are to do all of those.  But in our hearts, is it really God we glorify for whatever health, wealth and success we have in life?  Or is He simply a means to an end?

What these set of proverbs reminds us is that God is the ultimate end of our life.  He takes care of everything else - our health, our wealth, our favor with others.

Do we love His teachings, His word?  Do we live according to His love and faithfulness?  Do we really trust Him with ALL our heart, and not in anything or anyone else?  Do we fear the Lord, shun evil?  Do we honor God with our wealth?

That is the whole point of life...nothing else.

No One Does Good?

Psalms 14:1-3  For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  (2)  The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  (3)  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Some people may read this passage in Psalm 14 and ask "how can there be no one who does good?".  Or for anyone to say "there is no God".  If we look around we see a number of people who are good, who do good deeds.  There are millions of religious people, of various religions and sects, who profess a belief in God, especially in our country, the Philippines, which is called by many a "christian nation".  How can this psalm make any sense?

You will notice that the psalm begins by describing a fool - he is someone who says IN HIS HEART "There is no God".  He says it in his heart, not with his lips.  There are many who profess a belief in God with their mouths and practices, but in their hearts they say "there is no God".  And because in their hearts they do not have a belief in a holy God, no one checks their life, they can do anything they want.  Their sinful hearts lead them to a life that is not good.

But what about those who do good deeds, how can we say they don't believe in God?  The question is - for whose glory are they doing it?  Most of the time good deeds are done for our selves, to please ourselves, to get what we want.  At the least, it makes us feel good.  There is no God in the picture.

This unbelief of God in our hearts leads us to corruption, materialism, selfishness, pride, etc.  The word used by the Bible for this is "sin", or "sinful".

And this includes all of us...no one is exempt.

This why we need a Savior.  This is why Christ was sent - so that we would be set free from this sinful state of living for our selves, for our own glory, and not for Him.  If we remain sinners, there is no other outcome but death - not just physical death but eternal death.  This is why Christ died - He paid this consequence for us.  And all of us who put our faith in Him are considered righteous, because God the Father, our Judge, has considered Christ's payment enough to pay for our sins.  When we believe this, we are set free not just from the judgment of sin, but also from the bondage of sin.

One who puts his/her faith in Christ now has a cleansed heart, and we can now say in our hearts "there is a God".  It is our God who delivers us from our selfishness, our corruption, our materialism.  And it is He who enables us to do good.

So, yes, believers in Christ are able to do good, but only because of the working of God's grace in us.  We are a work in progress, we may still fall into sin once in a while, but the working of God's grace perfects us day by day, moving in us to conform us to the image of His Son.  Slowly but surely.

In ourselves we have no good.  When we are in Christ that is when good starts to happen, and it is good for the right reason - a good that brings glory to God both in our hearts and in our life.