Connecting the dots between the Old and New Testaments.
Obviously we all know what the heart is, in English anyway; but what of the Hebrew and Greek definitions.
Hebrew – the heart is defined as the seat of thought, the mind.
Greek – the heart refers to the seat and center of human life; personality, and it controls the intellect, emotions, and will.
These two definitions are what the Old and New Testaments are referring to, not the internal organ.
In Matthew 15:18 Jesus tells us, “What proceeds out of your mouth, comes from the heart.” If your heart is unclean, so will be your speech.
When Psalms 51:10 refers to, “Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me,” you are asking to become a cleansed being with proper speech and a yearning spirit for God.
Ezekiel 36:25 – 27 states ... “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.” Here God is not only referring to giving you a new heart to make you a better person, but also, He will put His spirit in you. God wants you to have a clean heart AND a clean spirit so that you will not only follow His commandments, but you will be an example to others.
Notice how Jesus in Luke 8:15 ties these ideas together: “But on that good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
When we read these four verses from the Old and New Testaments, we see that the common denominator is the cleanliness of the heart, which allows the Spirit of the Lord to reside in us; and the heart once cleansed, gives birth to righteous
speech. A clean heart allows the Spirit of the Lord within us to thrive so that the wiles of Satan cannot take root.
Up to this point if your flesh and heart have failed you, remember the words of Psalms 73:26, ... “but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”
You need not travel anywhere, take a class, read a book; you simply must ask God to help you have a clean heart, and then sit, be still, and let the Lord do His work within you and cleanse you.
Matthew, Psalms, Ezekiel, and Luke, which span from 1500 B.C. to 63 A.D., all knew of the importance of a clean and beautiful heart and were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about it; we should listen to these God‐inspired words.
Jesus sums this up in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
It is up to you to pause your busy life for a few moments and let the Creator of heaven and earth reside in your heart today and feel the difference.
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