I have been reading the Bible since I was about 17.  One of the scriptures that God has used to speak and deal with my heart throughout my life has been Psalm 51.  You may recognize this verse…”create in me a pure (clean) heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Under the direction of great Pastors in my life, I have been taught to approach God with reverence, a holy reverence.  After all, He is God of the universe.  I know some of my posts give guidance to just go to God, start talking to Him and do not be afraid.  And, while I believe strongly that we must start somewhere when approaching God but, I would be remiss if I didn’t also speak of His majesty, His holiness, His ability to offer forgiveness and all of the other characteristics that make Him God. 

Someone recently asked me, what is God most concerned with?  This is not something I had to think long and hard to answer.  I believe it’s quite simple.  It’s our heart.  He is most concerned with the posture of our heart.  If you surrender your heart to Him, wait…how do you do that?  Easy.  “God, I give you my heart.”  By doing this, you are giving God permission to dwell in you.  You heard me right, His Spirit will occupy space within you.  I’ve heard it put this way…although He is your Creator, He is a gentleman and will not occupy a space for which He is not welcomed.  He gives us a choice.  So, after you surrender your heart to Him, you are giving Him freedom to speak.  You are giving Him permission to bring all of Himself, all of His characteristics to you and within you. 

Now, from this point on, you have a very important job to do.  It’s your job to protect your heart.  To seek after the things of God.  To get to know Him more.  To read His Word that He has provided, this will help you learn and grow closer to Him.

I want to discuss one more thing.  Have you ever heard the saying, follow your heart?  I’m sure you have…it is on bumper stickers, decorative signs, key chains and talked about a whole lot!  God talks a lot about the heart in His Word.  Our hearts can be hard towards God (not wanting anything to do with God or His ways) or soft, moldable, pliable.  Our hearts can be like clay in a potter’s hand wanting to know more about Him.

Jeremiah 17, verse 9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”  Not expecting that, right?  The heart, deceitful?

Genesis 8, verse 21 says, ” …every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.”

Hebrews 3 verse 12 says, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”

God warns us that our heart can lead us astray.  So, be careful.  Ask God often to search and cleanse your heart.  This is our responsibility.  Why?  Because you’ve just asked the Living God to make your heart His home.  Should He dwell there with everything else?  Or, should we choose to protect what lives in our heart along with God?  I say, yes!  One way to do this is to line our lives up with God’s Word and if there is anything deceitful in it, ask God to cleanse it.

The good news is this…

Jeremiah 17 verse 7 says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”   Trust God to show you the way, He will direct your path.

Psalm 24 verses 3-5 says, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.  They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.”

Psalm 19 verse 14 says, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

How is your heart postured towards God today?  The posture of your heart is very important to God.  There are 725 references to the heart in the Old Testament and 149 in the New Testament.  It is also important to note that God is the only One who can see into our hearts.  He knows us intimately, remember.  This reminds me of some of the women of the Bible.  I think of Mary and how God chose her.  God’s Word tells us that Mary was “highly favored.”  After the angel revealed to Mary that the Holy Spirit will overtake her and she would become pregnant, her response was, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled.”  What would you say was the posture of Mary’s heart?  I would say that she didn’t doubt God at all.  She trusted Him because she already knew Him.  She responded immediately as if she knew He wouldn’t hurt her and had her best interest in mind.  She trusted Him whole heartedly.  Prior to this interaction with the angel, do you think Mary had other interactions with God to bring her to a point of trust?  I bet she did!

And the woman with the issue of blood.  Someone that was cast out by her community because she had been unclean for 12 years.  God’s Word tells us, “…that she was subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.””  Did you catch that?  She said to herself.  Guess what happened next?  Verse 22, “Jesus turned and saw her.  “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.”  And the woman was healed at that moment.”  God heard her.  God heard her say to herself.  It was within her heart that she spoke.  It was from her point of faith that she spoke.  And after 12 years of bleeding, she was healed instantly.  That is the God I serve and I hope you’ll choose to serve Him too.  He’s the God that hears you.  In the depths of your heart.  In the depths of your pain.  In the places where you think no one knows.  In the places where you think no one cares.  He knows, He cares and wants to respond to you.

So, this is Psalm 51.  My favorite.  If you open my Bible, you’ll see “my Psalm” hand-written next to Psalm 51.  In my time of prayer with God, there are many times I like to start by reading this Psalm as if I’m talking to God.  God, have mercy on me…have compassion on me…cleanse me from my sin…create in me a pure heart, O God…you are God my Savior…read on for yourself.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

    blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity

    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict

    and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,

    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;

    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins

    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence

    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

    you who are God my Savior,

    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 Open my lips, Lord,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart

    you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,

    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,

    in burnt offerings offered whole;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

What I like about this Psalm is that it acknowledges that I am sinful.  Period.  Only God has the power to change my heart.  He is a holy God.  He is the only God.  Asking God to cleanse me and dwell within me is not a onetime event.  I sin every day.  My thoughts, my actions, my ways are not His ways.  I need Him to stay close to me and teach me daily.  And this Psalm helps me do just that.

As a resource, do you want to spend some time learning about what God thinks of the heart, check out www.BibleGateway.com, type in heart and you’ll begin to see all the references, see for yourself my friend.