His Heart, My Home

Holy Spirit, the Master Teacher, is mentoring us, directly revealing truth from God’s Word to our hearts.

I know I’m learning some things that I didn’t know before. And I pray that you will also.

HE SAID, “ALL”, Y’ALL!

Our foundational scripture is a familiar one:

“Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love Him with all that’s in you, love Him with all you’ve got!” (Deuteronomy 6:5, MSG)

I love that… simple…down-to-earth… easy to understand.

I didn’t even have to look up any Hebrew or Greek words in my Strong’s Concordance.

I understand the word “all”, y’all! In East Texas “all” means, “There ain’t no more!”

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS!

But I couldn’t help myself, so I grabbed the Concordance and looked up the Hebrew word that is translated as “heart“. And I discovered something new… the word for heart here is “LEBAB“.

Most of the time, another very similar word is used for heart in the Old Testament. It’s the word “LEB“. The obvious difference is that “LEB” has only one “B“, while “LEBAB” has two!

Now everybody say, “Whooohoo! But what difference does that make?”

Hold on, please. Here’s one more piece of the puzzle… the letter “B” in the Hebrew alphabet is “BETH“, which means “house, dwelling, or home.”

So the word “LEBAB” in Deuteronomy 6:5,meaning “heart“, reveals that God is talking to us about two “homes” when He calls us to LOVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEART!

Loving God with all my heart means I accept and embrace the eternal reality that HIS HEART IS MY HOME, and that MY HEART IS HIS HOME!

His heart is my heavenly home. And my heart is also His home… His earthly dwelling place!

It’s a “dual-residence-double-occupancy” situation!

“Just as you, Father, live in me, and I live in you, I am asking that they may live in us that the world may believe that you did send me.” (John 17:21, Phillips Translation)

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Questions for Reflection:

What does the phrase “in Christ” mean to you?

How can you be sure God’s Spirit lives in you? Do you always feel His presence?

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HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT

The Father gave us His best! He gave us His heart… all of it! He held nothing back from us!

“For God has proved His love by giving us His greatest treasure, the gift of His Son. And since God freely offered Him up as the sacrifice for us all, He certainly won’t withhold from us anything else He has to give.” (Romans 8:32, TPT)

If “believers” really believed this truth, with expectant faith, they would never have another unanswered prayer (if it is based on God’s Word).

We can never match the intensity and the infinite dimensions of God’s love, grace, and generosity.

We can only live lives that demonstrate our eternal gratitude for His
(2 CORINTHIANS 9:15):

“… indescribable, inexpressible free gift”
     (Amplified)

“… priceless gift” (Good News)

“… incomparable gift” (Lamsa)

“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be His sacred, living sacrifices, and live in holiness, experiencing all that delights His heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”  (Romans 12:1, The Passion Translation)

God asks that we respond to His limitless love by giving Him our love, even though it’s imperfect and incomplete. He invites us to surrender ourselves completely to Him, spirit, soul, and body.

FIRECRACKERS vs. THE BURNING BUSH

Each one of the millions of sacrifices in the Old Covenant was a one-time event. It was offered to the priests to be burned by fire on the altar, and it was gone… completely consumed by the fire.

Only smoke and  ashes testified that a sacrifice had been made. We could say that each Old Covenant sacrifice was like the brief bang of a solitary firecracker…”one pop, and done, Pop”!

In the New Covenant, we are called, not just to bring offerings, and not just to give sacrifices, but to actually be God’s sacred “living sacrifices”. We are to live our lives, with zeal, with holy passion, surrendered, dedicated, and consecrated to Him, day-by-day, and moment-by-moment.

And just like the bush that Moses saw in the desert, we too are to blaze with the glory of God… never consumed… never extinguished…
eternal flames… brighter than the stars.

We are to BE His living sacrifices. We are to BE living testimonies to our ever-living, and ever-loving God!

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LET’S PRAY:

Thank you, Father, for your unfailing and ever-faithful love and mercy. You gave Jesus, heaven’s best, to redeem us and deliver us from darkness. You bought us,  spirit, soul and body with the precious blood of the Lamb of God.

We are yours, totally and completely. In view of all your awesome mercy, we make the decisive dedication of our lives to you. Accept us, Father, as your living sacrifices , holy, devoted, and well pleasing to you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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Once again, Grace and I would like to ask all of you to please pray and give generously to
Student Life Organization, Inc to help them reach the precious people of the Philippines with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

SLOI provides educational opportunities to the many physically disabled and financially disadvantaged children of Cebu City, both declaring and demonstrating God’s to them and their families.

Would you please give today? If so, please use this link: paypal.me/anaferuiz

Thank you! We pray that you will experience God’s richest blessings throughout the new year, as you give generously in Jesus’ name!