What is in Your Heart?

 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:8-10

Meditate. Focus on God’s guidance in scripture.

 

Ask yourself—what is in my heart? Is sin hiding there? Have you admitted your sins to God—and asked for forgiveness? That is the key to your relationship with the Lord. Listening to the Holy Spirit, you can be convicted of the things that are separating you from our Lord and Savior. That is sin. Recall Susanna Wesley definition of sin. “Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things, in short, if anything increases the authority of the flesh over the spirit, that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself.” That is pretty clear. Anything that comes between you and God is sin. Deal with it—sooner rather than later.

John reminds us that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. God wants us to be pure—but He gives us choice on how we live our lives, including making mistakes—or making good choices. When we goof up and sin, we can get right with God again—by choice. Choosing to ask for forgiveness. The book of James in the Bible gives us some good advice, although we may not be too happy about it during this joy seeking time of the year.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. James 4:7-10

Humbly ask God to forgive you for your sins—your digressions against Him, then you’ll have your joy restored. Rejoice in the Lord, always, as it is written in Philippians.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

 

Prayer – Lord – May God’s peace rest on all of us especially during this holiday season. Bless us all—and help us to be a blessing to others.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

 

© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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