Perfect and Complete

GOD KNOWS MY HEART.

It’s what we say when we know better but we’re not about to do better.

And lately, I’ve been asking myself, Why does God have to know my heart when I can just prove what I believe with action.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23, NIV

Everything we do flows from our heart – so in reality our actions prove more about our hearts than we let on.

"For whatever is in your heart determines what you say."
Matthew 12:34, NLT

And if whatever is in hearts, is what flows out of our mouths, then the truth of the matter is that our hearts are actually more aligned with our actions than we say they are. We just haven’t taken that moment of truth to admit it to ourselves.

It would be more honest to start with: “I know what I should do but for some reason, I’m just not doing that.” Because God can do more with an honest confession than He can with a hidden heart.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God." 1 John 3:20, NIV

Our hearts can condemn us. It’s best to bring whatever it is before the Father instead of hiding it from ourselves. The difference between hiding your sin and grace covering is Adam and Eve using fig leaves to cover their sin when God would rather cloth them in garments of skin.

God provides a covering better than anything we could ever come up with, even when we fall short.

HE STILL COVERS.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

He covers us because He loves us and we show our response to His love with action. And our actions should show that we love God and our love for God calls us to righteousness and to love others the way we love ourselves.

“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.” 1 John 3:10

"Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God." 1 John 3:19

Our actions are what sets us apart. If we say we love Him, then we should have a desire to continue choose righteousness. We can make the decisions to stop hiding the thoughts of heart, give God what we really feel and then actively decide to do and live out what God says is right in the eyes of our Father.

"In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome," 1 John 5:4

The more time we spend with God, the more our hearts change. The more our hearts changes the more our actions reflect the thoughts of our heart. I know it’s easier to just take what we consider as the thoughts as the value of our character but if the thoughts of our heart were enough, He wouldn’t constantly call us to action.

NO MORE HIDING

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 NKJV

We all have to start somewhere. We can be our full honest selves because we have a Father who covers us and loves us as we are ,not as we will be; but He can only cover what we are willing to confess. As long as you are breathing, you always have an opportunity to present your heart to the Father so that He can transform it.

"How can a young man cleanse His way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You." Psalms 119:9-11 NKJV

Self-reflection is key. At any point in time in this journey, we can find ourselves in a moment that causes us to make a decision that may challenge our integrity and we have to make a decision between doing the right thing or doing what we want to do.

Integrity is defined as: the state of being whole and undivided.

In the context of the heart, it’s if our actions and thoughts really reflect the heart of our Father and His love for us and if we can decide to do what’s right regardless of the outcome.