Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

• Galatians 4:6-7

According to the NIV, the word ‘heart’ appears 725 times in the Bible, 576 times in the Old Testament and 149 times in the New Testament.  The word ‘heart’ appears in all but eight books of the Bible, four in each testament.  Those books are Ruth Esther, Micah, Haggai, Titus, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.  You might know from your own Bible study that most of these books are very short.  The last three on the list are a mere one chapter.  The eight books not containing the word ‘heart’ total only 29 chapters of the total of 1189 chapters in the Bible.  (Note: If you read three chapters per day, you’d be 94 chapters short of finishing the Bible.  So, maybe read 5 each Sunday?)

Now, don’t get the idea that there are 725 thoughts of love because of the 725 times of using the word ‘heart.’  Scripture tells us that the heart of man is bent on evil.  Pharaoh was not the only one to have his heart hardened.  And when we are sad or in despair, our hearts either sink or ache.

But the Scripture above tells us that God’s Spirit enters our heart.

In Mark Lowry’s comedy routine on Open-Heart Surgery, he talks about how he doesn’t think Jesus sits next to a valve in your heart and watches the corpuscles go by.  Ffft.  Ffft.  Ffft.

Why did I mention this?  As you read this Tuesday evening, I will be preparing for a heart catheterization tomorrow morning, Wednesday.  The doctor will take a probe and enter my heart.  They will take a bunch of pictures.  They will measure blockage here and there.  They will fix stuff, if it needs it and if it can be done then, by placing a stent to relieve an obstruction.  As a result, I may find out that I have no heart problems.  I may find out that other things must be done to fix my heart problems.  Or I may find out that they fixed my heart problems while they were inside my heart.

But the heart that really counts has already been entered and fixed.  God went inside.  He didn’t need to take pictures, because He already knew everything about me, down to the cellular level.  And the Holy Spirit might have needed a few stents to fix the blockage that kept me from hearing Him as He guided, counseled, and encouraged me in my walk with God.  That’s already done.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.