Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Excellence”
Our Bible verse for today: “The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God is most interested in the condition of your heart.”
I recently read a statement by an anonymous writer which said, “When God measures the greatness of an individual He puts the tape measure around the heart not the head.”
By that I believe the writer meant that God isn’t so interested in the amount of education and intelligence we have, nor the size of our bank accounts, nor our career accomplishments, and not even necessarily our religious rituals. Instead He looks to see what’s in our hearts.
This was the theme of the greatest sermon ever preached – The Sermon on the Mount. That sermon, preached by Jesus, is recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7. Jesus began the sermon, in Matthew 5:3-12, by describing the heart attitude God is looking for in His people. These attributes have become known as “The Beatitudes”, sometimes also known as the “Be-Attitudes”, or, “Let this be your attitude.”
In that passage Jesus calls us to be gentle and peaceful, to thirst for righteousness and to show mercy, to strive for purity of thought, and to be humble. These are all matters of the heart. From there He then explains that He also wants us to be active in our world by being salt and light (5:13-16), and He wants us to conduct ourselves according to the Law of God (5:17-20). He also wants His followers to make extra efforts to bless others by doing things for them (5:38-42). But first we have to get our heart right.
That is so much the case that although three small sections of the Sermon on the Mount address activities Jesus wants us to engage in, the entire rest of the sermon is all about what takes place in the heart, including avoiding sinful thoughts, not giving into anxiety and worry, not being judgmental, how to pray, and much more.
The point in all of this is that an excellent life in God’s estimation is much more a matter of what’s in your heart than it is a matter of the things that you do. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day did a lot. They were always busy with religious rituals and loud public prayers, as well as dramatic displays of charitable giving so others could see them doing it. But spiritually they were as lost as could be. What mattered to God was the condition of their hearts, not their showy religious activities.
Doing things for God is certainly important. But having a heart that is right with God is much more important.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 