The Heart Of The Matter...

Yesterday we continued our current series "Red Letters" - looking at "the heart of the matter." It's interesting when you fully examine Matthew 5:8 how wrong so many churches and religious systems are. To often churches, leaders and religious systems try to "fix" people from the outside in - "...don't do this...don't do that...start doing this..." and that's not what it's about. Here's the question we need to ask "...if you stop doing 'bad habit XYZ - aka SIN'...will your heart be right with God...or have you simply changed your habits?"

The problem is not with external issues OR habits...it's ALWAYS a heart issue. Always. And for the church world to place so much emphasis on externals is wrong. And what is saddening is that those who have yet to cross the line of faith...they see this and want nothing to do with the church because they think it's all about rules.

When our hearts grow cold...our values get inverted. It's that simple. When our heart grows cold - things that should matter don't. When we don't have God as our single-minded ambition...everything gets out of whack. The heart has to change...has to be renewed. It's the heart of the matter...it's the heart that has to change. And we are all in need of a new heart...a begging dependancy on God.

Hope to see you Sunday.