The Head or the Heart?

“Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9)

Did you know that there are different kinds of knowledge?  It’s especially true spiritually.  How many times have you known someone who claims that they are a Christian, yet their actions do not reflect that claim?

On the one hand there are things that we learn and can know with our minds.  Facts, figures, words, phrases, how things relate to one another, these are all things we can learn naturally.  We know this stuff with our brains.

Then there are things that we know with our hearts.  The Bible says this stuff is spiritually discerned.

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  (1 Corinthians 2:14)

A true faith in Jesus Christ will lead a person to stay away from the things of this world that are not of God.  Instead, they will listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything they do.  And the Holy Spirit will gently guide and encourage the believer to follow the ways of Christ and to avoid the ways of the world.

Too many people believe that someone can accept Jesus, and then do whatever they desire.  They think that by proclaiming Jesus as Savior, they have salvation.  But there is another characteristic of salvation they overlook, He must also be Lord of your life in order for salvation to be true.

You must ask Jesus into your heart, not your head.  It is one thing to acknowledge that Jesus is the way to salvation.  It is still another to accept that personally for yourself.

There is head knowledge and then there is heart knowledge.  Knowing that Jesus is Savior is head knowledge. James 2:19 tells us, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.” 

Claiming that for yourself is heart knowledge.  For many people, the distance from their head to their heart is a great abyss that cannot be crossed due to pride or arrogance.

So where are you in this?  If you haven’t been using heart knowledge, there is no need to feel guilty or condemned. (See Romans 8:1)  Pray to God, ask Him to search your heart, test your thoughts, and guide you into understanding that what Jesus has done for you is very real and personal.  

Make a decision to become a follower of Christ today and realize that you are forgiven by God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.

Stairway To Heaven

When I was a child there was a song we sang in Sunday school that I will never forget called, “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.”  The tune and lyrics actually are an African-American spiritual which appeared sometime before 1825.  The subject deals with growing closer to God with each step we take on our journey to heaven.

The story in Genesis 28:10-22 tells about Jacob leaving Beersheba and heading for Harran.  “When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. . . . He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. . . . I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

What an incredible vision and covenant from God!  He will never leave any of His children and He will always keep His promise.  Therefore, we can go through life confident, knowing He is with us. The song describes us as “Soldiers of the cross,” marching toward the heavenly kingdom.

The first verse gives us hope for today and every day, “Every rung goes higher, higher.”  As we climb, we get closer to our Lord and Savior.  Each step of faith we take, no matter how small, takes us up the ladder. 

And there at the top stands the Lord Almighty, watching and encouraging us. 

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.