This week we’ll take a break from A Healthy Heart for some more Summer Thoughts ….....

Now school’s out, many of us will be heading off to the coast, to enjoy family time, relax on the beach, play with the kids, take long walks, explore rock-pools and a host of other sea-side activities. Let’s make sure we also make time to meet with the Lord, who waits for us there. The sea with its rhythms, and ever-changing character, can have a wonderful effect on our weariness; add to that the presence of the Lord who fills His creation, and we have a recipe for deep restoration.

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Because we live in a fallen world, living comes at a price. People wound us, unintentionally or deliberately; family, friends and strangers sin against us, in huge devastating ways, or needling pin-pricks; and if we neglect these wounds they fester and become a serious cause of ‘heart-disease’.

There are three words in the New Testament which can be translated ‘sin’: one refers to ‘that which is owed’; another to ‘falling beside or near, or deviating from a true path’; and the last to ‘missing the mark’. ‘Sin’ covers the whole spectrum, from murder and theft to the irritable motorist in the car behind. Sin is all about falling short – and if I am leaping across a ravine, it doesn’t matter if I miss by a yard or an inch. And just as we fall short, so does everyone else.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or from evil).

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
[Matthew 12:15]

Why was Jesus so unequivocal? Why is forgiveness not a matter of choice? It is important because we have all fallen short & need forgiveness from the Lord; but also harbouring areas of unforgiveness in our lives has a serious effect on our own spiritual well-being, on our prayer-lives, and  also on our physical health. Unforgiveness cages us in.

Despite this, many of us carry around unforgiven issues from the past and present. Some of these are to do with the recognisable and serious sin of others;  and sometimes we  carry wounds from the falling short of loved ones, things which we balk at defining as ‘sin’ out of love and respect for the people concerned; but which nevertheless have left their mark on us.

To be set free we have to name sin for what it is; and then forgive, which in the Greek means ‘to send away’, or ‘to set free’. Forgiveness is a choice, an act of obedience, rather than a feeling. We choose to send the sin away; we choose to set the person free.

I have found the following process really fruitful in my life and in counselling others:

• Speak aloud to the person concerned. They do not have to be physically present – we are spiritual beings, and our words have spiritual effect - and it is not always appropriate, or possible to speak face to face. (It is also really important to do this if the offender is dead.) Name the sin. ‘You sinned against me when you….’ By doing this we bring the issue into the open, recognise it for what it is, & allow the Lord’s healing light to shine on it.

• Then speak out how that sin has affected you. ’You made me feel…..’; ‘It caused me to….’ etc. Recognising the effect of others’ sin on our lives is an important part of the healing process.
  

• Now it’s time to forgive. ‘In Jesus name, I forgive you for….... I set you free. I send that sin away & declare it has no more power over my life.’ Sometimes feelings of forgiveness may follow immediately; sometimes it takes time and persistence as we choose to obey for our emotions to get into line.
  

 

• And then comes the cruncher; this is when we know whether we have truly forgiven or not – we release blessing on the person concerned (Luke 6:28): ‘I bless you, in the name of Jesus, with His love and grace and mercy…..’ or if the person is dead, on his or her family line.

 

• We then need to walk in this attitude of forgiveness. When thoughts of the person or situation come into our minds we need to declare ‘You are forgiven in Jesus’ name’, and ‘I bless you with….....’  

 

We also carry the effect  of  more trivial shortcomings; the pin-pricks,  petty irritations, and  throw-away remarks of people around us. Often we ignore them, or push them away, but these scratches can also have a negative effect, cloud our vision, nibble at our faith, and pull us down. And so they too need forgiving – sending away - as they happen, as it is good to keep short accounts with God.

He has promised to work all things for our good, even the trifling failures of others. And so we can be thankful, knowing that what the Evil One would like to use to oppress us,  in the hands of God, is an opportunity for blessing instead. And having received His grace – His unmerited favour - we can in turn shower it upon others.

It’s time to make the choice to be unoffendable, to walk as Jesus walked - in forgiveness.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
[Colossians 3:13]

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We all have experienced times when prayers have gone unanswered; personal words received from the Lord remain unfulfilled, and for some, times when it seemed as though He didn’t show up when He was needed.

The fact is, the walk of faith invariably includes disappointment. The issue is what we do with that disappointment when it occurs.

I have met many people who either crawl back into their spiritual shells & refuse to engage any longer with a faith-filled life, or those who wear disillusionment like a garment, and gradually lose their connection with the Source of Life.

Taking steps to deal with disappointment honestly before the Lord  is essential to our heart-health. I urge you to listen to the following sermon excerpt which deals with this issue:

My husband and I live in the beautiful borderland between Scotland and England. The region is dotted, on both sides of the border, with the ruins of castles and peel towers. These were fortified strongholds, built to withstand attack both from rival neighbours and cross-border advancing armies; and were good or bad depending on what side you were on!

Identifying strongholds is an important part of maintaining heart-health. And one of the key strongholds to demolish is unbelief. It was unbelief that stopped Israel entering the Promised Land; and unbelief which stopped many of Jesus’ hearers receiving what He was offering to them. In both cases the unbelief stemmed from a faulty world-view, and a faulty or incomplete understanding of the nature of God.

Belief – or faith (it’s the same word in Greek) – is a choice based on the revealed character of God, rather than an emotion. Faith grows as our revelation of our amazing God and Saviour increases. However, we have an adversary, who is the father of lies [John 8:44], and unwittingly we often pick up these deceptions which seriously affect our heart-health. These lies are described as strongholds in the Bible.

This quote is a life-changer!

It is a great spiritual barometer – and can be transformational if acted upon. Take time for a heart examination, and ask the Lord to show the areas of your life and circumstances which are not glistening with hope; then ask Him to reveal the lies that are at the root. You might well be amazed - I have certainly been shown deep-down wrong beliefs that I didn't know were there; and I am sure there will be more!

These lies need to be confessed as sin, because a lie attacks the very nature and integrity of God; and then they need to be replaced with truth. We anchor truth in our hearts by declaring it over ourselves [Proverbs 12:14, 13:2].

Confess aloud:

• I have been believing that……..
• I have sinned against You because…….
• Please forgive me & cleanse me now, through the precious blood of Jesus
• I release the truth that………. Over me and my circumstances

The fortified towers mentioned above were breached by two main methods: gaining access to the ground floor & building a fire – a speedy method of eviction; or much more slowly, by siege – the starving out of the garrison.

The strongholds in our hearts fall similarly. Sometimes they are dealt with quickly, other times it takes patience and perseverance to ‘starve’ the enemy out. If we persist in declaring truth over ourselves, eventually our emotions also get into line.

If lies produce bad strongholds, truth produces good ones – the place of security and rest. We read that….

The Name speaks of everything that God is – His whole perfect, wonderful nature.

If we destroy the stronghold of lies which are an affront to His nature, we can take up residence in the strong tower of His love, grace and mercy, expressed in the wonderful Name of Jesus.

We know we’re not perfect, and the knowledge of that brings shame; maybe because deep down we know we were made for something better. Shame makes us feel uncovered, exposed; and accusation nibbles at the core of who we are. The response can be drivenness, the urge to push away the negative feelings by ceaseless activity; the impulse to win approval – from parents, authority figures, God or ourselves. Alternatively we can sink into despondency, believing that these accusations are true and insurmountable.

We need to take stock, and take steps to rid our hearts of this subtle affliction; for accusation in all its forms comes from the Evil One, and has done so from the beginning. He is rightly named ‘Belial’ which means ‘worthless’, for that is what he wants to label each one of us.

Not only are all our sins, large and small, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but all of our shortfall is covered by His blood. He has bridged the gap once and for all between us and the perfection which is God. There is no longer any ground for accusation.

But if our sins and imperfections are covered by the blood, so we must allow those of our family members, and brothers and sisters in Christ to be similarly coated. The Accuser delights in accusing others to us, inflicting distress and destroying relationships where he can. Knowing that Jesus’ blood has also covered the mistakes and failures of the significant others in our lives, and that He works all these things for our good, sets us free from resentment, free to forgive and be at rest. (And it’s only from that place of trust, humility and forgiveness, that sins which need to be addressed in others can be effectively confronted.)

Not only does the Accuser attempt to bring reproach on ourselves and others, he also attempts to accuse God to us. ‘God is not good…….; He does not keep His promises……; He is a stern and unyielding Father…….’

We see this at the very beginning; ‘Has God said?’, asked the serpent; and the insinuation was there, ‘God is not good….. He is withholding good from you’. And if these allegations lodge in our hearts fear and unbelief follow.

These accusations are defeated by the word of our testimony; the declaration of God’s goodness and grace in our lives. Maybe there are things we don’t understand in our history or circumstances; destructive things which the enemy has sought to use to accuse the Lord in our eyes, and thus create a barrier. Choosing to trust that God is good to us all the time, and choosing to fix our eyes on all the evidence of that goodness, rather than the questions, silences the Evil One’s allegations.

There is a concerted assault on our hearts by the Accuser to poison us with shame, guilt, unforgiveness, resentment, fear and unbelief; let’s recognise his schemes and take up arms to counter.….. and overcome.


Let’s declare the power of the Blood of the Lamb, and the goodness of God over our lives and relationships. Let’s resist the Devil & watch him flee!

What comes out of us in thought, word or deed reveals the condition of our hearts, (see last post), whether they are diseased or healthy. But to accurately measure this we need a gauge or standard; and that of course is the word of God.

Anything which is not in line with God’s standard signals the need for repentance. And the core meaning of the Greek word for repentance is to change your mind. Repentance in essence is to align your way of thinking with God, and from that alignment will flow right speech and action.

Therefore, not only is the Word the gauge of the condition of our hearts, it also tops the list of the best heart-food available. By feeding on it, and storing it up inside we produce a treasure trove from which right thoughts, actions and speech will flow.

It seems I cannot afford to neglect this storing up of the Word. My brand new heart needs feeding with the right food. Remembering that my heart is the wellspring of Life, feeding regularly on this prescribed health-food is essential to my well-being.

And when I find evidence of disease?

• Non-alignment is sin. I need to face up to it & confess it as such. No excuses.
  
• But He is faithful & just to forgive me my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness               [1 John 1:9].
  
• I then need to start declaring the truth of what He says over my life and circumstances.
  

More on 'A Healthy Heart' next time.
Please note, next week's posts will be published on Tuesday and Friday

Back to our series on ‘A Healthy Heart’……..

Much has been done in recent years to alert people to the importance of caring for our hearts as physical organs, particularly in regard to diet and exercise. And the symptoms of seriously poor heart-health such as chest pains, shortness of breath, excessive sweating or changes in skin colour, are recognised by the population at large.

In the same way, we need to monitor the health of our hearts in the biblical sense; just as chest pains can be an indicator of a serious physical heart problem, so what flows into our thoughts, out of our mouths, and through our actions shows the condition of the inner man.
​

What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 
For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come 
– sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 
All these evils come from inside and defile a person.
​[Mark 7:20-23]
​

Perhaps we’re not troubled with thoughts of violence, theft or sexual immorality, but what about irritation, worry or shame? Maybe we don’t battle with fits of rage, profanity or malice, but maybe what comes out of our mouths is negativity, grumbling or criticism? Perhaps we have never drunk too much alcohol, stolen or been physically abusive; but maybe we are impatient listeners, continually self-deprecating, or battling an addiction?​

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
​[Luke 6:45]
​

Some of us have been displaying these habits for so many years,  we hardly notice them any more. But just as physical heart disease has an effect on the health of our whole body, so does spiritual heart disease affect not only our physical health, but our general well-being - for from it 'spring the issues of life' [Proverbs 4:23 NKJV]

​We have been blessed with new hearts which need feeding with good ‘food’ [Ezekiel 36:25-27, Philippians 4:8]. But old habits and thought patterns linger on and pull us down; the Evil One leaps on them and whispers in our ears that nothing has changed; these aberrations are who we really are; the old nature is still alive and kicking.

Jesus says this is a lie: these diseased patterns of thinking, speaking and acting are no longer the real person, they are not the believer's true identity; for we have been bought with a price, translated from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God, and made brand new. However, we do need to take steps to deal with these things which stop us walking in our new identity.

We’ll explore some of these specific symptoms of heart-disease in later posts, but until then let's take time for a 'Healthy-Heart Check'; the first step to health is recognising a problem.......

• Ask the Lord to show  you any thoughts, words and actions which reveal some heart disease.
• Confess these to Him aloud. Aloud is important – to deal effectively with sin we have to name it, and thereby face up to it.
• Receive His forgiveness & cleansing [1 John 1:9] .
• Ask the Holy Spirit to begin to flow out of you with the opposite trait [John 7:38].  (This is not about trying harder, but allowing His life to flow.) 

And then speak over yourself these truths:​

Part 2 of our little summer diversion.......

It’s July, garden centres are busy, the sound of lawnmowers fill the suburbs, and the British passion for gardening is once again demonstrated.

What is it about gardens which evokes such a response in so many? I wonder if it is the call of Eden, a 'memory' deep in our spirits of that first garden, where the Lord walked in 'the cool of the day'? Maybe we know instinctively we can encounter Him there - if we take the time.

A garden is also one of the ways  where man's inspired creativity takes raw ingredients and develops them to create something new & beautiful.

We rightly delight in the glory of the 'unspoilt' natural world, but as well as treasuring and caring for the Lord's gifts to us, another element of our calling as children of God is to take our inheritance and develop it. A garden is a wonderful picture of that calling in process.

If you are not blessed with a garden, take some time out to visit someone else's - there are many private gardens open  for charity throughout the summer, in addition to the large public gardens & parks, open the year round. Details of UK gardens can be found in the links below:

If visitors to the site, from outside the UK, have information about similar opportunities in their own countries, please do share them via the GET IN TOUCH! button.

In addition The Quiet Garden Movement is also worth exploring.....

On Monday, back to the Healthy Heart.....

Last week most of the UK basked in glorious  sunshine which led me to pause in our theme of the Healthy Heart to think thoughts of summer…....

Beautiful July days, the countryside in glorious technicolour, and the air filled with the sound of creation; this is the time for singing, for dusting off the vocal chords & letting rip!
​
The Bible is full of musical references; from angelic choirs to jubilant forests, it seems the Lord intended His creation to be filled with  joyful sound:
​

Let’s take time to wonder and worship today. Let's listen with our spirits to creation's song......
And let's join in this great anthem of praise!

Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted;
His splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
[Psalm 148:7 -13]

​

​And there is another song, a song that sounds above them all. This song is a song of the purest sound, which pours over us like warm oil. It's a song just for you & me. It's the Father's song of love:

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet [you] with His love,
​He will rejoice over you with singing."
[Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV]

​

Matt Redman expresses it beautifully:

In addition to my recent blogs on gratitude, I have an article  on the same theme in The Plain Truth magazine. (This is a UK magazine, unaffiliated with the US magazine with a similar name.)

The Plain Truth is free to subscribers and can be read online, received as a PDF file, or as a paper copy (UK only); link below