Having a Tender Heart

When the idea to write this blog on being a tenderhearted person came to me, I assumed I would just write it from the angle of the way we are to treat others.  However, as I was looking up scriptures for this blog, I realized this theme needed to have a dual message.

I will begin with the verse in Ephesians: 

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

This is an issue on which God has been dealing with me and this verse has been on my mind a lot lately. 

In general, I have a tender heart toward others. I desire to help all I can and am frustrated when I cannot.  We should all put into practice the words of James 2:14-20 (What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?)  and help those in need.  However, where I lack is in the area of my own pride.  The recent blog I wrote on pride and humility https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2021/01/pride-and-humility.html was written for me as much as it was for you!

As I have been going through my study in Psalms, I have begun the practice of starting each morning praying that God would take control of my day and that His Holy Spirit would enable me to produce the nine fruits if His spirit  (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26) as well as to be be fully clothed in the armor of God (Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:10-18). 

I cannot be the person God wants me to be on my own.  Also, I cannot be the Christian I should be unless I ask God to change me.  Therefore, I have been asking God to show me where I need to change and weeping in repentance of my sins while striving to better please my Lord!  (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2) God has been showing me for several months that I need to learn to soften my heart toward others.  To be less reactive and more forgiving; less critical and more compassionate.  I tell you this not to be self-deprecating, but to encourage any of you also striving to be more tenderhearted.

What I have been learning is that the biggest thing standing in my way of having a more tender heart is my own ego.  I am starting to let go of the need to be right or the need to be heard.  I am putting into practice the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:38-39 (Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.) and turn the other cheek when offended and walk away.  I need to pray more, forgive more, and be more compassionate. I desire to reflect the attributes of Jesus Christ, the peacemaker.  

This next verse brings me to the second part of this theme: 

Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake... and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. 2 Kings 22:19 & 2 Chronicles 34:27

Unless I allow my heart to be tender and humble, I will never be able to permanently change. I will never be a vessel God can use. 

So many pastors like to teach that we are all called by God to be used by Him.  While this is true, these pastors leave out a crucial part of what the Bible says.  In Luke 11:39 (And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.), Jesus tells the Pharisees (and you and me) that we cannot just look clean on the outside (or use the title, "Christian") if we are dirty on the inside.  Saying you want to be used by the Lord is honorable, but if you are backbiting, quarreling, getting drunk, having sex outside of marriage, dressing provocatively, glorifying the occult, or acting like the world in any other way (But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:15-21) you better clean yourself up first!  Yes, this includes me!  I am learning more and more to daily  (And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23) soften up my heart toward others and be clean inside and out so that I can work for God not as a hypocrite, but as a humble servant allowing God to  mold me into the servant He wants me to be.

May we all be tenderhearted t0ward others  in the name of Jesus Christ, but more importantly, we need to first be tender toward the Lord's correction and obey the principles of the Bible. (If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:6-10) 

Serving others won't mean much if we are denying the Father and living a Godless life. And serving the Lord will not please Him unless we can learn to love our fellow humans (Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. I Corinthians 13:1-3). 

The Lord of the Harvest, Written by my Husband

 

The Lord of the Harvest, Written by my Husband, Mel 

Luke 10:1-2 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

The entire world is a mission field and if you belong to Christ then you are called to share your faith with those who are perishing. You do not need to be a pastor or have a degree in theology to be a missionary for Christ, only faith. The Lord is looking for willing hearts who will be vessels that he can work through. God is not pleased with man made denominations or seminaries, because they tend to stifle the work of his Holy Spirit. God is looking for humble people who will reflect the love of Christ. Peter and John were uneducated men but they were vessels that God's Spirit could speak, as well as work through. 

Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 

Peter and John were not trained with the theology of man, but by the Master himself. God's Word teaches us that we need to study to show ourselves approved, a workman not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. This means that we are not to only just read God's Word, but to study it, so that we may interpret the scriptures correctly and teach others sound doctrine. We  should consume God's Word, because it is spiritual food that will teach us God's ways and lead us to Christ, our only hope of salvation. If a person is truly filled with God's Holy Spirit, then his Spirit will teach us his ways and open up our minds to understand scripture.

 John 14:25-26  “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 

All a person needs is the Holy Spirit to teach them God's Word, not the schools of man made doctrine which are Spiritless. 

If you pray for divine appointments, God will bring people to you so that you may share your faith with them. I have witnessed to people in Wal-Mart, on hiking trails, as well as to my neighbors. If  you make the most of every opportunity to share your faith when engaged in a conversation, you may plant a seed of faith in someone. You may plant the seed, then God may raise someone else up to water the young plant, then yet another person to reap the harvest. God's Word teaches that everyone who sows faith into another's life will share in the reward for their salvation. I have noticed that people get very defensive, as well as sometimes hostile, when you share your faith with them, this is because their conscience is being pricked by God's Spirit. Quite often you are getting through to them when they become agitated, so don't be discouraged by their reaction. We are living in a lost and dying world, and you may be the only reflection of Christ that someone will see, so always keep this in mind when someone is being offensive. If you were on a boat and saw someone drowning, wouldn't you throw them a life preserver, or even possibly dive into the water to save them? Or if you saw a young child playing in the middle of the road and a semi truck was heading their way, wouldn't you try to save them? True love warns people of danger even if they don't want to hear it. People all around us are dying spiritually, and it is up to us to share our hope of salvation which comes only from a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ with them. So I encourage everyone who is born again, to become a worker in the fields of the Lord, for they are truly ripe for the harvest!

Set your Affection on Things Above

 

I woke up this morning with the words, "Colossians 3:2" repeating in my head.  This lasted for several hours until I got out of bed.  I knew God wanted me to look up this scripture, so as soon as I got up I opened my Bible and read, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

My theme this month has been humility, and let me tell you, I was humbled by this verse!  Just yesterday I was complaining to my husband that it seems as if we are always struggling, nothing is ever easy, and blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine!

I know God was gently chastising me for my grumbling and reminding me to be thankful, number one, for my salvation and His amazing love! And then for my precious husband, and all the necessities of life that we do have.  My perception of lack and God's reality of lack are two entirely different things!  Materialism is not important, God's love and the love of family are what matter most! 

To add to this message of learning to be grateful for my spiritual life and not to focus on the world, when I went to Bible Gateway a few minutes ago to copy and paste Colossians 3:2, Matthew 6:19-21 were their verses of the day, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Wow! That is no coincidence!

And here is a third confirmation from God on where He wants my focus to be.  When I logged into Facebook about an hour ago, the first thing that showed up in the home page was a post by my mom listing the lyrics, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." And I just happened to be listening to Shane and Shane at that exact same moment singing that exact same song!  I am not making this up!  God is beyond amazing!  

I realize I could easily turn this into a holiness message on not having affection for the world and its sinful pleasures but for Christ alone.  This is also very, very true, but for now, that is all I will say on that angle.  However, please read the first 17 verses of Colossians chapter 3 posted at the end of this writing and you can read a good holiness message written by the apostle Paul!

Short message today but I just want to dwell on praising God for His goodness!  As well as to encourage any of you who are also struggling to keep your eyes on Jesus because of circumstances or worldly distractions. To me and to you, let's shift our affections off of materialism and off all that is happening in the world right now and just praise the Lord for the beauty of His holiness! It is always only about the love of Jesus and not about what He can do for you. Love Him no matter what and no matter where.  Our treasures lie in eternity with Jesus and that means more than anything or anyone.

I am so so deeply grateful to God for speaking to me today and reminding me to shift my focus off of what I do not have!  I love You, Lord, You are all I need, the air I breathe, the strength for my weakness, the light in the dark corners, and the joy in all things! 

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  Colossians 3:1-17