Check Your Heart

Today I started reading for the study of the Book of James that was prepared for our church for the Book a month club that we are working on this year. Thank You Laura Dodd for your contribution for this month’s study. I read James chapter 1 this afternoon and a set of verses stood out. It of course is along the same topic of discussion that we have been having on this blog for the last 2 months, but this time it is scriptural and not just my long winded ramblings that makes the point.

“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law—the law that sets you free—and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1: 21-25

Our belief in Jesus needs to transform our lives into action for Jesus. We need to obey, and not obey part of the message or most of the message. We need to obey all of the message. Jesus showed us how following God is a lot harder than following the law. The Pharisees had perfected the way to follow the law. They turned it into a check list of items to do and not do to make sure they were pleasing God. And let us not forget that they were trying to please God. People like to criticize them and make them out to be evil, but they wanted to make sure they were following the law as they were instructed in the last prophecy that the Jews had been given. Malachi Ch. 4 lays down some harsh words for the evil people of the world and then instructs the Jews to follow all of the laws. So Jesus comes into the scene and tells the people they need to live to a higher standard. It is not ok to just have a checklist of right and wrong. The focus spreads to what our hearts are like. There is a passage from the Gospel of Luke that hits the idea of being called to a higher standard and also hits this same point that James made in the passage that I included above.

In Luke Ch. 6 Jesus gives the Beatitudes and then goes on to teach about loving your enemies and not judging others and then talks about having good fruit in our lives. All of these statements were counter-cultural. They went against the teaching of the day. And then we get to the knock-out punch. He hits with a jab, jab, jab, one right after the other and in verse 46 he hits us with the right cross that drops us. Or it should. It does me when I think about it. But I don’t want to think about it. I want some Osteenish make me feel good religion today. I don’t want to be knocked on my butt by this statement.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46

I have said that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. I believe that he is God. I proclaim to the world (at least the world that comes to my church with me on Sunday) that he is my King. And then Jesus comes into my life, looks at all of the garbage and says, “What’s the point? Your heart isn’t even close to where it needs to be”

Hold on Jesus! I do a lot of what you say. Isn’t that enough? Let’s look at the list Jesus. I didn’t do that, I didn’t do that, I did all of those things. Come on Jesus.

“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Matthew 7: 21-23

It is time to obey. We need to be transformed. I need to be a different man than before I met Jesus. Let us pray to recognize when we are living a watered down feel good version of the Gospel and ask God give us strength to change our hearts. It is hard for someone as wicked as I am.