Search Me Oh God, and Know My Heart

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:11-14

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Jesus, Matthew 5:8

 

  • Good morning dear mamas! How incredibly blessed we are to have access to the Word of God! Highest truth is found in the pages of this living book. Yes! Think about this as you read today and surrender your heart to the
    Author.
  • Open up your Bible to read Romans 6:6-23. Pay particular attention to verse 11 and if you like, write it in your journal.

Often when the Spring season rolls around, I get an urge to clean thoroughly—walls, kitchen, bathroom cabinets, and closets. What an incredible amount of junk and clutter one can find while purging!

Most of us go into great detail to clean our physical bodies every day. We take showers regularly, wash hair, clip nails, brush teeth, eat healthily, and do many more tedious routines to smell good and keep our bodies presentable. However, cleaning our bodies on the outside is only a small portion of a much larger responsibility we have. The Bible says we should examine (inspect) ourselves. Our inner person needs a purifying too because we are the vehicle our spirit lives in and living a lifestyle of corruption leads to death. A list of sins of the flesh are found in Galatians 5:19-21.

Did you know God created you 3D? He ingeniously created us with a spirit, soul, and body. Our spirit man, the most important dimension of our bodies, needs to be lit with God’s Spirit in order to be saved. The Word calls this occurrence being “born again.” It is necessary for this to happen in order for us to have fellowship with the living God. We can only be made pure (holy) or cleansed by God himself! The perfect Spirit of Jesus needs to come in and replace our faulty spirits. Jesus says in John 3:5 (KJV): “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Sin contaminated every single person born into this world because of Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God (Romans 3:23). Jesus came for this reason—to save us (from spiritual death and hell). Once we understand our unsaved, spiritual state, we have a choice to repent and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus (Read John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). He took our place by dying an awful death that we deserved. He rose again and went back to the Father so he could send His own Spirit to dwell in us! How amazing! After we encounter this spiritual cleansing (repenting and turning away from sin), we have the incredible privilege to ask the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus) to come live inside of us. Hallelujah! Our true identity at that moment changes from 100 percent sinner to 100 percent saved! His Spirit abiding in us makes us completely pure and clean in our spirits! What a miracle!

Cleaning the soul (our mind, will, and emotions), happens as we surrender these areas to the obedience of Christ in the spirit realm. To effectively follow Jesus, we cannot be lazy! Our soul is kind of like a sponge that needs to be cleaned and squeezed out (self & sin) so the pure Holy Spirit (inside) can come out of us effectively. No one can do this job of cleansing the soul but us—it is our responsibility and it needs to come into agreement with the saved spirit part of us. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) says: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Since our emotions follow what we think, the imperative goal should obviously include filling our minds with Truth (The Word of God)—a replacement of wrong thoughts with right ones. This, my friend, helps us to overcome sin and temptation!

After our salvation experience, the evil desires and sinful habits we’ve formerly practiced occasionally try to rule or control us again. The Apostle Paul explains the struggle between his soul and spirit realm in Romans 7:15-20. Sometimes Satan tries to influence us. Our enemy gets angry when He no longer has authority in our lives, so he tries to control us like he used to! Other times, it may just be our old selves trying to kick up because they’re no longer in charge. You know, sometimes we feel like we’re not saved because our old lifestyles of sin want to pop up again and again. Many people get confused when this happens and become greatly discouraged, but let me encourage you. We cannot see what has happened in our spirit man when we become saved, but we are changed!

The Bible says old things have passed away and all things have become new! This is speaking of our spiritual dimension, so if we have truly believed, we should consider our old selves dead (Romans 6:6-23) and no longer listen to them. We need to agree with God about our new identity and live like we believe it! As we truly surrender to the Spirit of God (who lives in us now) and obey the Word, our “want to’s” change and those old passions and lusts eventually go away. James 4:7-8 (KJV) says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye double-minded.”

What an encouragement! The power and purity of God is stronger than Satan’s evil lusts! With the Spirit of Jesus living inside of us, we have the power to do what we once could not do: to live a pure life in body and soul!

Blessings and Love,

Mari Jo

Questions to Ponder

  • Are you making an effort to keep your soul (thoughts, will, actions, and emotions) pure and holy?
  • Your body is God’s temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Are there areas of your flesh or soul that you have not surrendered to His Lordship?
  • What temptations (unforgiveness, bitterness against someone, a lying tongue, sexual impurity, etc.) are you facing right now? Write them down.

Faith-Filled Ideas

Psalm 19:12b says, “Forgive my hidden faults.” Sometimes it’s good to kneel down as a symbol of complete surrender, to show we mean what we say to God. Release yourself completely to the Father as you pray and allow Him to reveal the secret places and motives of your heart. Repent and humble yourself. Turn away from the sins He has revealed, and make things right with others involved. Thank Him for forgiveness and new hope. Be aware of God’s presence in your everyday life and find Scriptures to fill your mind with His truth.

Mari Jo Mast
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6 Comments on “Search Me Oh God, and Know My Heart”

  1. Oh my goodness, Mari Jo! This is so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your heart! It’s so important to keep yourself pure. You are such a wonderful example to me in this area! Love you!

  2. Thank you for sharing this message, Mari Jo! I love how you remind us to keep our heart and mind clean and pure, with as much care or more than we take with our outer selves. Beautiful!

    1. Thank you Jennifer! Yes, it does take effort on our part to align ourselves with the truth of who we are in Christ.

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