Issues of the Heart - Matthew 6:21

Sunday March 6

Issues of the heart - Matthew 6:21 (NIV)

"For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also."

As Jesus moved through a sea of humanity, he taught that the law of God is not to be placed on our external behaviors, but placed on our hearts.

Issues of the heart is where it all begins.  

In the Beatitudes, He says, “You heard it said of old that you shall not murder, but I say that you are in danger of hell fire if you are even angry with your brother.”  It is a heart issue, says the Lord. By the time it becomes an external matter, the sin has passed from the heart, to the head, and then to the final destination, our hands and our actions.

As we gaze into the Word, we see our fallen nature. As we gaze into the Word, we see the love and sacrifice that God has given to us - His Son, to pay for my sin and yours. As the Bible says, our hearts are desperately wicked above all things, who could know it? But God knows, and He shows us our hearts through His living and abiding Word.

As we work with some of our teens in our Alaska ministry, we are excited to see them graduating high school and setting off for college. But we are most excited to see how the Lord has created faith through the Gospel. They have come to believe that they are sinful and in need of a Savior. They have been Baptized, instructed, and received communion. They have come to know that God is the most precious treasure. And yet, they still struggle, they still need God to come in His Word and bring correction into the brokenness of their lives.

They also face many struggles in living out their faith.  Elemental voices of this world weigh heavy upon them. It may be an absence of healthy relationships in their past or some other thing that drives them to seek their treasure in something else besides their relationship with God. Friends become more important than Christ, or their destiny. But God, so lovingly, speaks to them, " Where your treasure is there will be your heart also."

And we repent, we receive the forgiveness of sin and His mercies are new every morning.

Lord,
We thank you for YourWord, and Your great love. The only true treasure !
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rev. Dave Sternbeck (Nuu–chah-nulth) - Fairbanks, Alaska