Centered!

The word “heart” in the Bible refers to “the center of things” or the “inner man” or “the governing center” of man. There is no suggestion in Scripture that the brain is the center of our consciousness, our wills or our thoughts. In fact some Biblical scholars believe that the “First great commandment probably means ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart’ - that is with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” In other words, what is in our hearts is what comes out in our lives.

Looked at from this point of view that the heart is essentially where our thoughts and desires and goals and values originate, we can say that for the Christian, life is “lived from the inside out.” Sooner or later, if it’s on the inside, it will surface on the outside. Then people will know who we are and what matters the most to us. Indeed, seeing is believing.

The Psalmist gave us this truth when he wrote: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Jesus added His wisdom to this very basic truth when He said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart...For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

One of the most popular advertisements on TV is the one that asks, “What’s in your wallet?” But in the end the answer to that question is not really important. It’s “What’s in your heart” that matters most. If God’s Word is in our hearts He will be obvious in our lives!

Prayer: Help us, Father, to spend time in Your Word and with Your Word so others will see Your Word in us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.