Father God, in Jesus name we honour and glorify You. We give You all the honour and glory and praise. You are God of heaven and earth and there is and never will be anyone like You! Glory to You in the Highest! Jesus Christ, we declare that You are Lord and reign on High. Holy Spirit, thank You that You come and live inside of us, the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior. Hallelujah! Amen!
Looking around me, I notice that there are so many people who do not know Jesus. There are also many who know of Him but they are not in a relationship with Him, making many wrong life decisions. Furthermore, there are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as there Saviour, but they do not necessarily realise the Power of God that is now inside of them. When I read the Word of God and based on my own experiences, once you give your heart to Jesus, you are transformed completely. Once that decision has been made wholeheartedly, then you can simply never ever be, think, choose and live the same.
When I gave my heart to Jesus at the age of 12, I understood not much of exactly what a personal relationship with Him would involve. What I did know was that I wanted Him, who loved me enough to die for me, to reign in my life. I prayed deeply and started reading and studying His Word, with the result that my relationship with Jesus grew stronger. Many ask me how I see Him, hear Him and how He speaks to me. Well, for me it is about spending time with Him firstly and then, seeing and hearing Him, with the eyes and ears of my heart. The more I talk to Him and read the Word of God, the more I hear Him and feel His presence.
He is always with me, no matter where I am. Remember, when you give your heart to Jesus, His Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. Therefore, He is always with you because He is in You. Have you ever said good morning to the Holy Spirit? I do, every morning. Every time I speak to Him, my heart beats faster and I have a warm feeling inside of me. He is in me and I am in a relationship with Him. I get to know Him better daily, because I choose to communicate with Him throughout the day, not just at an appointed time. Many say they don’t have time, well I don’t agree.
I believe we have more than enough time in a day to talk to God. People travel to work, shower, use the bathroom, watch television, read a book, eat a meal, spend time on the Internet, take tea and lunch breaks at work and yes even sometimes attend boring meetings, which does not involve much talking. We have time, it is just about wanting to communicate with God and then prioritizing and maximizing the time we have. How long does it take to say: “I love you Jesus?” God understands life, he after all gave it to us. He does not expect us to pray for 10 minutes continuously all the time. He sometimes just wants to hear you say thank You or giving Him praise for something you achieved.
This brings me to the topic of this article, Matter of the Heart. When you give your life to Jesus, you can no longer think, do and live the same. You just can’t, because you died to yourself and now your life is about Christ in you. Yes, we are human and therefore our lives are daily challenged with having to make the right choices, which in turn have an effect on ourselves, our loved ones and everyone around us. Do we sometimes choose wrong? Off course, we are not perfect. The difference is we identify the mistakes as the Holy Spirit convicts us, ask forgiveness from God in Jesus name and then learn from it, moving on. We should not fall into a hole of self-pity and break ourselves and others down. We need to get up and rise above the situation/challenge, because of Christ who are in us.
Many struggle over and over with the same things. This should not be, for Christ in us means that He came and renewed our hearts. You see, when we keep on choosing wrong, it is because of mind choices and not heart choices and therefore we should make sure that our heart is in right standing with God. Our minds are what satan attacks and our minds are what tries to convince us that something is right when in fact it is wrong. Sometimes it is not even wrong, it is just not the most suitable choice for the current situation. Remember, reasoning takes place in the mind and therefore it is critical for us in Christ to ensure that our minds are renewed as it says in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” How are our minds renewed? There is only ONE WAY, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Dear reader that is why I say that it is a matter of the heart. If we want to live, choose and be different in this very challenging world, there is only ONE way and that is to allow Jesus Christ to live in our hearts and for our hearts and minds to be transformed by Him. When our hearts and minds are transformed, we will start thinking and choosing differently. The reality is, it changes us completely in that the things of the world no longer fazes us. We are no longer intimidated by the things of the world, for we are no longer of this world. We are living here now, to fulfill God’s purpose, but we do not have to conform to the things of the world that are against Christ’s teaching.
We are no longer subject to this world and nor to this economy. We must be in such a close relationship with the Holy Spirit that when something happens and we need to make choices and quick decisions as well, we should automatically think and do what Jesus would do. Does it come with practice? Well I think it gets easier as you grow in Christ. However, if you died to yourself and Christ renewed your heart and mind, it should not be an issue to pause and use 1 second to say the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus you have forgiveness, freedom, peace, grace, power, strength, healing, authority, the ability to do anything, and to make the right choices. Let me give you an example of my own life. When the petrol and food prices go up, I don’t get angry. I don’t speak death and negative words over myself, my family, the government and the economy.
I praise God by declaring that He alone is our Provider and in Him alone we trust. For years, we planned the same amount on our budget for petrol and it never happened that we did not have enough. Did the price rise? Yes; many times, and from a worldly perspective it did not make sense. We serve a supernatural God who is, was and will be forevermore. He created the world and us living in it. He knows our deepest thoughts and He knows the challenges we face, which are in most cases because of wrong choices made by mankind. So yes, we all face the same challenges, but we are not all effected by it because if you are in Christ, you deal with it differently. In a relationship with the Holy Spirit, He even alerts you before you make decisions. Pray daily in the Spirit and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your thoughts, feelings, actions and choices. When you feel something is wrong, don’t do or choose it!
God’s Word is full of scriptures telling us to allow our hearts to be renewed and I will now share a few (reference: bible.knowing-jesus.com):
- Ps 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart of God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
- Jer 24:7 “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.”
- Ezek 36:26“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.”
- 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
God wants us to believe with our hearts. Remember, if your heart is in the right place and you believe with all your heart and not your mind, you can achieve absolutely anything. Mark 11:23 says: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
Dear reader, it is all a matter of the heart. Giving over to Christ, choosing right and believing. Has your heart been renewed by Christ? Have you died to yourself? Are you thinking and believing with the mind? If you have not given yourself over to Christ, do make the right heart’s decision today. Remember, your mind will tell you NO, but don’t listen to your mind. Listen to Christ, for he speaks to the heart. If you want to give your life to Jesus and start your relationship with Him, click here! For a prayer and for further information on how to build your relationship with Jesus Christ, click here!
Love in Christ, Princess K
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