It`s about our heart

                            Photo credit: www.chaplainclutch.com

I was talking with some young people the other day that are not Christians and they were talking about how they love Jesus` sayings but that all religions say the same things, basically. One of the young men said, “It`s like they are all giving directions to a path around the same mountain…it`s a different path to the same place.” I stood and listened intently.

I`m learning as a young evangelist that I need to let others speak their mind, say their piece, or give their opinions before I use apologetic techniques to address their claims or questions. After the young men interjected their opinions about Christianity, and other religions, I said, “There is one big difference…all the other religions of the world, or beliefs, are `works’ based—redemption through Jesus is a gift from God.” I`m not a genius, I stole this line from Ravi Zacharias; however, it`s a very powerful truth about the Gospels that no other religion can make.

I then began to talk about how men—Christians—have hurt our faith more than anyone else has. Jesus was focused on one main point in almost everything he shared—the heart.  He made it very clear that we must worship the Father is spirit and in truth. He scolded the Pharisees because of their inner issues of the heart. He told them they were all clean on the outside but full of dead men`s bones and all corruption on the inside.  

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness” (Mathew 23:27, NASB).

The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I see the beauty of His ways. The more I feel the peace that only He can provide. The more I worry about my own “heart” and if I`m true to Him in my spirit—not just on the street corner. Cash register honesty is not enough!

I recently stepped down from a leadership position in a ministry I`m involved with. Some people were quite surprised at my decision. Others, I believe, were concerned if I was okay. I didn`t step down because I was in trouble or had a duplicitous issue, I stepped down because I have been in leadership positions in the “world” and it has not yet been long enough for me to forget the old “club” life I used to live. I want to be close to Jesus. I want Him to strip me down and make me a true disciple of His. I`m not quite ready to lead—I want to follow for a while. I want to stay mobile, simple, and free to move about and share Jesus. I want to work on my own heart and make sure it is as clean and pure as humanly possible through my Lord and His grace. I want to learn to make nothing in this world as important as Jesus.

I`ve been rich. I`ve been poor. I`ve been powerful. I`ve been weak. I`ve seen death, destruction, evil, and all the things this world has to offer—nothing compares to the love and peace of Jesus. Nothing.