‘That generous man has a heart of gold!’ ‘That woman is so mean that her heart must be filled with the devil himself.’ Those are two statements we sometimes hear today that may align with the analogy used by Jesus in today’s Scripture. We may say the referenced statements and pass them off as a joke, but I don’t believe that Jesus was kidding at all in His teachings today. Let’s see how we might apply today’s Word to our lives for the sake of the Gospel.
DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-02-16
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL
BY: Ed Algreen
SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 12:33-35
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)
BIBLE TEXT: 33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. A tree from a select variety produces good fruit; poor varieties don’t. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For a man’s heart determines his speech. 35 A good man’s speech reveals the rich treasures within him. An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it.
APPLICATION: So, what is your heart filled with, and how did it get that way? I believe the people we hang around will have an impact on our attitude and our heart. I believe that greed and generosity each have an impact on our heart. I believe that hatred and love have a deep impact on our heart and on how we respond to life’s circumstances. So how might we improve the content of our heart and how might we respond more in line with what Jesus expects of us? I believe it might do us well to recall a popular computer saying, ‘garbage in, garbage out’. For so it is with the heart. We find that whatever we fill it with, we will also respond from. Anyone hanging around Christian folk for very long would have heard that we should read God’s Word daily. In doing so, we will fill our heart with the character and qualities of the God that we read about. Jesus Himself said that we will respond from the treasures within us. Logically this makes a whole lot of sense also. As we keep telling ourselves that our God is the image and original explanation of love and He wants us to be just like Him, then we will also ask for His guidance to help us love others just as He loved us. As we learn about His healing power, we will console ourselves, and regenerate peace and contentment in the fact that we serve a God who can heal our diseases and restore our health. As we learn about the great sacrifice God made for us by giving up His very own Son for the forgiveness of our sin, we will reinforce the principle of sacrifice and giving of everything we have for the benefit of others who need reassuring. Friends, if we fill ourselves with the miserable, selfish principles of this world, then we will respond to circumstances just like we see the world doing. When the love, wisdom and words of Jesus fills our heart, then we will respond in much the same way that Jesus did throughout the Bible. I don’t know about you dear friend, but I believe that it never benefits the world to see more of itself and its evil works. The world needs Jesus, and my prayer is that they will see Him in and through everything we do and say. When they see Jesus mirrored in us, they will know that He’s not just another fictional character that they read about. May our hearts be so filled with Jesus, that the overflow will overwhelm others with the love of Jesus as they encounter us.
BLESSING(S) NOTED: Our speech and our actions are a reflection of what we have allowed to enter our heart. I pray that Jesus will be the overwhelming factor effecting our output each day!
PRAYER: Precious Lord, please fill us with so much of Yourself, that You will spill out of us through our attitudes, our character, our words and our actions. May our circle of friends see so much of You in us that they will be convinced of Your existence and Your impact on Your kids still today. May they want to know You in a very personal and intimate way. AMEN!