The Heart of the problem is the problem of the Heart
John 3:3-5 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Jesus said in Matthew 12:33-35, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”
A heart (motive) of love does good. A heart of self-gratification and getting does evil (selfish, self-first). I can't be of a good tree and a bad tree (one or the other). Jesus has made me new, perfect, holy, sanctified, 100% complete love. My new nature is because of God's grace. Saved = Changed.
"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:" (Colossians 1:13)
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (Colossians 1:22)
"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:" (Colossians 1:26-28)
What is not commonly known or taught is the kingdom of God is the kingdom of Love. Love is the kingdom (culture, environment, the way, the domain). To be born again means to be born of the Spirit or born of God, which is to be born of Love. Thus a man (or woman) has gone from sin to love. Sin is the absence of love (dark and hard heart). To be born again means that we are no longer a sinner or living with a hard heart (self-first, motive of getting, self-gratification, rooted in fear). Jesus came to give us a loving heart. For God has not given us a spirit (heart) of fear, but of power, love, and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 6:11).
In Matthew 13:15, when Jesus is explaining to his disciples about speaking in parables regarding a seed falling on the 4 types of ground (way side, stony, thorns, good ground), he explains why the people don’t understand his parables. He says, “For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
John 17:26, And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
As we Believe in Jesus and understand in our heart (born again, saved by grace, born of the Spirit) we have a new Identity, a new heart, a mind of Christ, and the nature of Jesus (holy, sanctified, perfect, and complete love).
Identity, nature, motive, choice, actions, and results (fruit) are either of love or sin. They are either of God or the devil. Christ’s identity is love. His nature is love. His motive is love. His choice is love. His actions are love. And His fruit is love. Same goes for you and me. It’s Christ who lives in me and has his way and being. Sin is the absence of love (self-first) which is of the devil. The good news is, I’m dead to sin completely and the old nature. My identity, nature, motive, choices, actions, and results are of love.
To live it, you must know it. Knowing without a doubt, with all your heart, mind, and soul. Colossians 1:13 says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” God has translated you and I into his kingdom, through His Son. You are holy, perfect, unblameable, and unreprovable (Colossians 1:22). You have the power. Some may think or have heard they have the power to change. Yet again, here is the great news of God’s Grace. You are changed. You have the power to choose … to know you have been changed.
You can stay angry, have self-pity, blame, escape, or give up. Or, you can realize you have been set free and given the power of Christ. To know it’s he that lives in you, and you can do all things through him (Philippians 4:13), through love, and knowing he has given you God’s spirit. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6) It’s Christ in you that lives and performs the loving way in you. You have it. Know it. Live it!
For me the most important thing in my life, is God’s love for me and my love for God. His love has given me life, power, and everything I need. I have the power to Do who I am (who I Be). I Do what is good and right because I love Him, which gives me joy and peace in my heart.
There is a reason why Jesus said the most important thing we can do is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and will. Jesus confirms the only way, is by loving God first in our heart, head, habits. In John 8:54, Jesus said to the Jews, “If I honor myself, my honor is nothing.” The only way we are designed is to love.
Let’s look at the meaning of “Christian”.
Christ ian
What does “ian” mean? To better understand let’s look at the word “Canadian”. The last three letters “ian” means: of, belong to, one of, or characteristic. Therefore, a Christ ian, is one of Christ, or of Christ, or belongs to Christ, or has the character of Christ. Now let’s ask who is Christ? Christ is God. Who is God? God is love. Therefore, Christ is love. Thus, as a Christian, I am of love. I am a “Love-ian”. I am of love, or I am love (Christ in me = Love in me). Who I am is what I do. John 17: 26 says Jesus came to put God’s love and himself in us (one in the same). This is so we can love. Our nature, heart, spirit, and way is of love. 1st John 4:17 “… as he is, so are we in this world..”
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (1st John 4:7-9).
Who I am and what I do, is based on Whose I am and my love for God. I am no longer a sinner. I can’t be a sinner and born of God. Love and sin cannot co-exist in my heart, mind, soul, or will. I am His. I am made new and perfect. Jesus makes all things new.
When you are broken to awoken,
and know God’s love for you,
you are broken to beautiful,
because He’s made you new.
BW Taylor
Love is the heart and foundation of marriage, where husband and wife unite for life, building a relationship of joy, trust, intimacy, and endless companionship.
Join us for profound insight and inspiration, not commonly taught or known, to strengthen and transform your heart, mind, and marriage. Learn how to have more joy, peace, and gratitude by deeply knowing the 3 most important things for your life.
Visit our websites to order our Videos and Books, to book a call for counselling and coaching, and to subscribe for more information and teachings.
👇👇👇
Or contact me directly 👇👇👇
📱 Phone: +1 (403) 816-5049 (Canada)
📧 Email: brent@hizandherz.ca
#love #marriagecounseling #counselor #couples #marriagecoaching #coaching #relationship #personalcoach #christiancoach #divorce #addictionsrecovery #marriage #marriageadvice #marriagegoals #marraigemotivation #healthymarriage #happymarriage #marriagecoach #marriagecoaches #marriagecounselor #marriagecounselling #husbandandwifeforlife #husbandandwife #husbandandwifequotes #faithbasedmarriage #marriagetherapy #marriagebook #lovefirst #why #whydoesmyspouse
Comments