How's your heart?

Gospel of Mark and Your Heart!




Mr 3:5* He looked around at them angrily, because he was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Reach out your hand.” The man reached out his hand, and it became normal again!
Mr 6:52* They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves, for their hearts were hard and they did not believe.
Mr 7:7* ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’
Mr 7:19* Food doesn’t come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again.” (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)
Mr 7:21* For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
Mr 8:17* Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, “Why are you so worried about having no food? Won’t you ever learn or understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?
Mr 11:23* I assure you that you can say to this mountain, ‘May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart.
Mr 12:30* And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’
Mr 12:33* And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbors as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”


Your ‘heart’: 
(Definitions: Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)
a)  the centre and seat of spiritual life
b)  the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours
i) of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence
ii) of the will and character
iii)  of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions
c)  of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate


1.  A “hard heart”.   Hard is used metaphorically.  It means:
-to make the heart dull
- to grow hard, callous, become dull, lose the power of understanding

——

No amount of information from the Word of God, preaching, or Bible study will change you unless your heart is open and not hardened by rebellion, sin, and/or self.

There appears to be a calling in Mark’s gospel.  Lord make my heart soft!  Lord open my heart to receive Divine truth.  Lord, open my heart to take in ‘revelation.’ 

Being around Jesus—(read being around church/ Christians/ Christian activities) does not insure a soft understanding heart.

———


Prayer:
Lord here is my heart—the centre of my being—the me within me. Here is my inmost being—I lay it before You.  I desire a soft pliable heart.  I want to receive truth and revelation. I want to walk in Your ways.  My default position is MY way.  I am no better than Your own disciples in Mark who were dull—whose hearts were hardened.  Lord heal my heart. Lord soften my heart. My understanding of spiritual things needs a soft heart. I don't want a callous, dull heart—and yet too often I fear that's what my heart is like.  Lord give me a new heart, every day.

A new heart, according to Mark, will allow me to truly love you.  A soft heart will be filled with faith to move mountains.  All my sin, my sin choices, my sin attitudes, my sin actions—all those come from my heart.  Heal my heart Lord Jesus—deliver me from a sinful heart. 
Here is my heart Lord Jesus—take it—I give it to you.  

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