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Shelburne Free Press https://shelburnefreepress.ca/?p=19090 Export date: Thu Nov 21 8:51:33 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Christian Perspectives: Biggest problem facing the world todayBy Rev. Gord Horsley Abiding Place Fellowship The biggest problem facing the world today is not terrorism, racism, global warming, religious differences, the economic state of the world, the push for alternative life styles or even abortion. It is the root behind them, the human heart! The Bible puts it bluntly: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9. Think about it a minute. If we could only get rid of our pride and selfishness, we'd have a better world in which to live. We'd live in harmony with each other, and we'd no longer have conflicts or wars. Hatred and jealousy would end, and instead, we'd be motivated by love and compassion and mutual respect. But, these destructive emotions have been in our hearts from the beginning, and no matter how hard we try, they still rule our lives, and our world. Terrorism, violence, crime, drugs, corruption, greed and broken relationships, the list is almost endless when it comes to the heart of man. The Bible says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?” James 4:1. This is why our greatest need today is what it's always been; to turn to God, repent of our independent nature, ask for forgiveness and allow Christ to transform our hearts by trusting Him and what he did for us on the cross. He came to earth, though he is God, humbled himself as a man, and died to exchange our hard hearts for new ones; hearts that are soft, humble, merciful, forgiving, and loving, even to the point of loving those who have hurt us (our enemies so to speak)! As we learn to submit to his Spirit and his standards - the Bible, the change of heart in us will lead to an abundant life full of love, joy and peace which Father God originally created us and the world to be like. We may not understand our hearts, but God does! That is why he sent Jesus Christ. He knows the secrets of the heart! (Psalm 44:21) Jesus points out to us the fallen condition of our hearts, “out of man's hearts come evil thoughts”; sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly, all these come from the inside of a hard heart, a fallen heart, an independent heart. (Mark 7:21-23). The heart refers to the soul of a human being that controls the will and emotions of a person, the inner man! When we are separated from God with hardened hearts we tend to move toward selfishness, rebellion and sin. God said, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 18:31, 36:26). Those who have given their hearts to Christ, have been given new hearts: God performs a heart transplant! This causes us to think and behave differently than before: our hearts are now being transformed to mirror God's heart. His thoughts and desires should be ours. That is the way we who have had heart transplants, should guard our hearts above all else, for it determines the course of our lives (Proverbs 4:23). Verse 24 of Proverbs 4 says, “avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.” In other words, “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). (Proverbs 18:21), “life and death is in the power of the tongue.” God's desire is for every human being to be like his son Jesus Christ, to be transformed into his image, only then will the world know true peace, love and joy. This attitude of the heart would bring much healing to this hurting world in so many ways! Let us pray it will happen sooner rather than later! I believe it will happen one day, when Jesus Christ comes again, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! May God richly bless you and keep you and give you a new heart. Only by the Spirit of God, and through new hearts, can we help change the world. Blessings to you all. |
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Post date: 2017-02-11 13:17:17 Post date GMT: 2017-02-11 18:17:17 Post modified date: 2017-02-11 13:17:17 Post modified date GMT: 2017-02-11 18:17:17 |
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