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How's Your Heart? :)

Nowadays, people would no longer just ask, "How are you?" More often than not, they would ask, "How's your heart?" ("Kamusta ang puso mo?")

Most of the time, I would answer, "Tumitibok pa naman." (It's still beating.) :D

On a serious note, God is really asking us everyday, "how is our heart?" Because to Him, that is the thing that matters most. In the Biblical perspective, the heart is the core of the man, the seat of his intelligence and decision. It is what defines him. 

Photo Credit: Etsy.com
And because heart matters*, it also matters that we regularly check the condition of our hearts and assess if we still have the following: 

  • A willing heart like David's
    • After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22)
  • A trusting heart like Mary's
    • “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38)
  • A rejoicing heart like Miriam's
    • Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.” (Exodus 15:20-21)
  • A beautiful heart like Sarah's
    • Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.(1 Peter 3:4-6)
  • A surrendered heart like Ruth's
    • But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
  • A faithful heart like Lois's and Eunice's
    • I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Timothy 1:5)
  • A praying heart like Anna's
    • There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)
  • An obedient heart like Esther's
    • Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:15-16)
  • A compassionate heart like the People of Israel
    • “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt." (Exodus  23:9)
  • A giving heart also like the People of Israel
    •  “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give." (Exodus 25:2)
  • A listening heart like Mary's
    • As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. (Luke 10:38-39)
  • A worshiping heart like Lydia's
    • One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. (Acts 16:14)
  • A believing heart like Rahab's
    • By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. (Hebrews 11:31)
  • A sacrificial heart like Hannah's
    • Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” (1 Samuel 1:22)
  • A happy heart like David's
    • Fill my heart with joy w
    • hen their grain and new wine abound.
      • (Psalm 4:7)
*original text can be found here: Roy Lessin's Meet Me In The Meadow

Let's make it a habit to have a "heart check". 

Photo Credit: Shooting the Breeze

And the best way to do it is by prayer. :)

Photo Credit: AiLoveToSmile

So, how's your heart? How's your prayer life? :)
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