I will give you a new heart

Psalms 119:33   Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.

Isaiah 54:13     All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.

John 6:45     It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Job 28:28     And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Proverbs 2:5-6     then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

John 7:17    If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

James 1:5    If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 3:13-18    Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Ezekiel 36:26-27     And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

God’s word profits the heart, mind, and soul of those who desire and seek to fully and humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God.  To others who reject it, it is nothing but a fairytale and those who desire and seek it are weak and powerless.

What is it that we want our children to know about life?  Do we want them to see the power of God through our lives? Or, do we want them to see?  A watered down version of luke warm service to Him.  A life that is neither hot nor cold for God?  A life without substance for Him?  A life that only comes to God when trouble or untimely circumstances arise?

Note the depth of the heart of this Palmist – “Teach me”   It is very hard to learn if you do not want to be taught.  It is even harder when you choose to believe the worldly understanding of what it means to follow God.

It seems as though the meaning of what a christian life should be continues to erode away.  When is the last time you heard “SIN” being talked about?  When is the last time  God was proclaimed as the LORD of your life?  When was the last time His word was hungered for knowledge and understanding of Him and not just for a quick refresher of His promises?  When was the last time He was spoken about freely, unhindered, unashamed?  When was the last time He was spoken about outside of the circle of church friends?

I was recently at a field trial and hunting dog training through the weekend with others from across the country.  12 of us and on Sunday morning the trainer calls us altogether out in front of the barn and begins to speak about His faith and what God has been doing in his life that morning.  His faith was not something that went back to some point in time and done, but rather was active and very real.  He spoke about how is heart and mind were in a very grouchy mood when he got an email from a friend who nearly died at his place a year ago.  He told us how God spoke to his heart about keeping things in perspective and to be thankful rather than grumpy or grouchy.

I tell you this because God was real in His life.  He wanted to be taught and he was listening for and to God.

Seek to be taught and choose to obey.

Teach Me

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths”

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

Psalms 25:8  Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Proverbs 1:20-23  Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:  “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 2:1-6  My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,  making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 9:6  Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Matthew 11:29-30  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Psalms 149:4  For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Ezekiel 36:27   And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

He instructs, He teaches, He leads, He draws us to Him, He makes known, He calls to us, and He gives understanding and wisdom.  Do you ever wonder how He does all of this?  Or how are these actions made active and real in our everyday lives?  Think about how you learned to walk, speak, read, ride a bike, drive a car, eat with manners, learn to cook, home repair, sew, etc……  For sure these just did not happen on their own.  Some of the basics came from someone who loved you and took time to teach you.  Others came from observing others.  And still more came from reading and understanding what was being conveyed through text.  When it comes to things of God, salvation, humbleness, kindness, faith, gentleness, love, mercy, grace, honoring and glorifying and obeying….. we learn these through someone telling us, watching others, or reading about it in scripture.  Like anything else our understanding and application will continue to grow the more time we apply to it.  Spend time in His word, listen for His voice, obey His leading and live to honor and glorify Him.