GDLC Audio

The first Heart of the Matter is that our hearts were made by God and only work when aligned with His. He commands us not to worship anything else other than Him as our God. An idol is anything that replaces the one true God as the center of our devotion, focus, reverence or passion. Any “good thing” can become a “god thing” when it gets more of our time, money, energy, sacrifice, focus or passion than our God. Jesus says that we are to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-- so we can see that the first commandment really stands as a Matter of the Heart.  

The first Heart of the Matter is that our hearts were made by God and only work when aligned with His. He commands us not to worship anything else other than Him as our God. An idol is anything that replaces the one true God as the center of our devotion, focus, reverence or passion. Any “good thing” can become a “god thing” when it gets more of our time, money, energy, sacrifice, focus or passion than our God. Jesus says that we are to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-- so we can see that the first commandment really stands as a Matter of the Heart.  

We begin our Lenten journey going to the place where it all started. In Genesis we see Adam and Eve's hearts being led astray by the temptation to circumvent God and claim life on their own terms. God alone is life, and the consequence of sin is separation from God…death. Ash Wednesday is a day we remember that from the ashes we were made and because of sin to ashes we will return. It is also on this day we remember the mercy of our God who cleansed our forsaken ashes, in the waters of our baptism, and has claimed us as His very own. It's the grace of God that leads us to remember our sin, repent of them, and turn to our God for renewal again.

Last week, we were reminded that Jesus is our Leader.  We cherish that fact.  We want Him to lead us in this world and guide and direct us into the mission and vision He has for us.  In truth, though, that’s sometimes as far as we want it to go with Him.  Do we want to have Him lead us in our life?  Yes!  Do we want His guidance and direction every day?  You bet!  Do we want to take the next step and surrender our entire life to His complete control?  Oh…no…wait a minute!  Isn’t that kind of extreme?  No, no, it’s not. 1John 5:6-12 reminds us that in Jesus and in Jesus alone is eternal life!  But remember, as an inheritor of eternal life, Jesus is your life, both right now and eternal!  He’s therefore called us to submit everything… every single aspect, every single relationship, every single thing to Him and to His Lordship over our lives!  Today, we’ll remember, in everything, Jesus is Life!

Last week, we were reminded that Jesus is our Leader.  We cherish that fact.  We want Him to lead us in this world and guide and direct us into the mission and vision He has for us.  In truth, though, that’s sometimes as far as we want it to go with Him.  Do we want to have Him lead us in our life?  Yes!  Do we want His guidance and direction every day?  You bet!  Do we want to take the next step and surrender our entire life to His complete control?  Oh…no…wait a minute!  Isn’t that kind of extreme?  No, no, it’s not. 1John 5:6-12 reminds us that in Jesus and in Jesus alone is eternal life!  But remember, as an inheritor of eternal life, Jesus is your life, both right now and eternal!  He’s therefore called us to submit everything… every single aspect, every single relationship, every single thing to Him and to His Lordship over our lives!  Today, we’ll remember, in everything, Jesus is Life!

One of the most familiar words used for our Lord and God is “love,” and one of the most familiar statements about Him is “God is love.” People know that Jesus is indeed “love” and willingly say that out loud, but when they say that, they sometimes do so to justify sinful behavior. “God is love after all!” they say, and do so to insinuate or even flat-out say that the Lord of love ignores what they’re doing wrong, ignores their sin. But 1 John 4:7-12 reminds us that God takes sin seriously and, in taking it seriously, actually shows the true extent of His love! “Jesus is Love” is so true, but He shows His love not by passing over our sins but by paying the price for our sins! Today, we’ll remember Jesus is Love!

One of the most familiar words used for our Lord and God is “love,” and one of the most familiar statements about Him is “God is love.” People know that Jesus is indeed “love” and willingly say that out loud, but when they say that, they sometimes do so to justify sinful behavior. “God is love after all!” they say, and do so to insinuate or even flat-out say that the Lord of love ignores what they’re doing wrong, ignores their sin. But 1 John 4:7-12 reminds us that God takes sin seriously and, in taking it seriously, actually shows the true extent of His love! “Jesus is Love” is so true, but He shows His love not by passing over our sins but by paying the price for our sins! Today, we’ll remember Jesus is Love!