March 24 - Love The Lord With All Of Your Heart

Love The Lord With All Of Your Heart

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  Matthew 22:37

The late-great comedian Bob Hope once commented that he was astonished to discover:    “Today my heart beat over 103,000 times, my blood traveled 168 million miles, I breathed 23,400 times, I inhaled 438 cubic feet of air, ate 3 pounds of food, and drank 2.9 pounds of liquid, I perspired 1.43 pints… gave off 85.3 degrees of heat…generated 450 tons of energy, I spoke 4,800 words, I moved 750 major muscles, and I exercised 7 million brain cells.”  He said, “It’s no wonder I’m tired all the time.”

 You are an incredible person…and fearfully and wonderfully made. Dr. Scott Karrioson calculated, “Think of the human body composed of more than one hundred trillion cells. Think of the skin, while water penetrates the skin outwardly, it cannot penetrate inwardly. Think of the bones, capable of carrying a load 30 times than brick will support. Think of the liver, it breaks up blood cells into bile and neutralizes poison substances. Think of the blood, 10-12 pints of syrupy substances distribute oxygen and carry away waste from tissues and organs. It also regulates the body’s temperature.  But finally, think about your heart, weighing less than a pound. It’s a real work horse. On the average, it pumps a hundred thousand times every day, circulating 2,000 gallons through 60,000 miles of arteries, capillaries and veins.”

The Bible definition of “heart” encompasses a great deal more than we sometimes see physically. The view of the heart in relation to the human body was similar, but more, much more. The Greek word "kardia" is defined heart. We get our words cardiology, the study of the heart, and cardio, meaning an exercise for the heart from this word. The word heart in New Testament times was the seat of the will and conscience. It was the center of life itself. The heart was understood as the center for the moral, spiritual, and intellectual part of a person.  Here we find 50 truths about the heart and how often God speaks about the importance of our hearts in loving Him:

1. The heart can be proud - Proverbs 18:12
2. The heart can be pure - Proverbs 22:11
3. The heart can be heavy - Proverbs 11:25
4. The heart can be sick - Proverbs 13:12
5. The heart can be bitter - Proverbs 14:10
6. The heart can be sorrowful - Proverbs 14:13
7. The heart can be merry - Proverbs 15:13,15; 17:22
8. The heart can be fretful - Proverbs 19:3
9. The heart can be envious - Proverbs 23:17
10. The heart can trust - Proverbs 31:11
11. The heart can lust - Proverbs 6:25
12. The heart can be faint - Genesis 45:26
13. The heart can be willing - Exodus 35:5
14. The heart can be discouraged - Numbers 32:7
15. The heart can be trembling - Deuteronomy 28:65
16. The heart can be disquieted - Psalm 38:8
17. The heart can be hot - Psalm 39:3
18. The heart can be contrite - Psalm 51:17
19. The heart can be overwhelmed - Psalm 61:2
20. The heart can be smitten - Psalm 102:4
21. The heart can be wounded - Psalm 109:22
22. The heart can be broken - Psalm 147:3
23. The heart can melt - Ezekiel 21:7
24. The heart can be hardened - Exodus 8:15
25. The heart can be obstinate - Deuteronomy 2:30
26. The heart can be grieved - Deuteronomy 15:10
27. The heart can forgive - Matthew 18:35
28. The heart can love the Lord - Matthew 22:37
29. The heart can doubt - Mark 11:23
30. The heart can be troubled - John 14:1
31. The heart can be pricked - Acts 2:37
32. The heart can be anguished - 2 Corinthians 2:4
33. The heart can be condemned - 1 John 3:20
34. The devil can put thoughts into the heart - John 13:2; Acts 5:3
35. The heart must be guided in the right way - Proverbs 23:19
36. The heart must be kept with all diligence - Proverbs 4:23
37. The heart must be fixed to give praise to God - Psalm 57:7
38. The heart must be fixed to trust in the Lord - Psalm 112:7
39. The heart is purified- Matthew 5:8
40. The heart of fallen man is desperately wicked - Genesis 6:5; 8:21;Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 22:15; Matthew 15:18-20
41. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart of the child of God –                                     2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 4:6
42. God knows the secrets of man’s heart - Psalm 44:21; Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24; 15:8
43. God can create a clean heart in man - Psalm 51:10
44. The Lord tries the heart - Jeremiah 11:20
45. The Lord looks on the heart - 1 Samuel 16:7
46. The Lord ponders the heart - Proverbs 21:2; 24:12
47. The Lord gives understanding to the heart - Job 38:36
48. The Lord opens the heart - Acts 16:19
49. The Lord hardens the heart - Exodus 4:21
50. The Lord searches the heart - Romans 8:27

The Bible begins and ends with how we respond in our hearts.  Christ comes into our hearts, cleanses our hearts, renews our hearts, and reveals His heart through us.  May you live for Him with “all of your heart” today.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)    In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Bible says, “Man looks on the outward appearance and God looks on the heart.”  How does that impact how God wants you to live this week?

2)   Take time to let God cleanse your heart today.

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser