Resolution of the Heart

h2h1Psalm 51:10–12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

It’s the beginning of a new year and people everywhere are making New Year’s resolutions. Most people make goals of losing weight and eating right, exercising more, and being on time for school or work. While those things are important, we can’t neglect the most important thing of all. That is to renew our hearts to be godly women.

Beware of hypocrisy

We need to live our lives so that we are not hypocritical. What is a hypocrite? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary says it’s “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion; a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” The Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, 3rd Edition, says a hypocrite is a person “who pretends or is deceitful; actor, cheat, crook, fake, imposter, phony, pretender, two-faced, liar, pharisaical, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

It’s interesting to note some of the antonyms, or opposites, for hypocrite. They are: honest, just, real, reliable, righteous, sincere, truthful, and upright. The opposites of hypocrite are exactly how God tells us to be as a Christian. If these are the opposites of a hypocrite, then we definitely know that being hypocritical goes against God’s commandments. First Timothy 1:5: “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.”

I have heard Christians say, “We are all hypocrites.” Is that really true? If we are truly living our lives as God expects us to, then there is no room to be hypocritical. If we fill our hearts with goodness and love and live each day the way God tells us to live then that is not hypocritical. We all sin, sometimes unknowingly and sometimes purposefully, and perhaps we don’t mean to. Romans 7:19-20: “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”

h2h2We become a hypocrite whenever we know how we are suppose to live or we have secret sins and yet we display ourselves as a righteous woman of God. If people would be shocked by our actions, words, or thoughts done in secret, then we know we are being a hypocrite. We can’t act godly and then go behind closed doors and commit our secret sins. God warns us what will happen to us if we do those evil things.

Obtain a pure heart

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart (2 Corinthians 4:1-2). Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

We cannot teach people about God and how to live a righteous life and then read filthy novels that depict all sorts of wickedness. We cannot watch television shows or movies that show nudity, sinfulness, and evil. We cannot gossip or tell lies about others.

There’s a song we all learned as children: “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little mouth what you say, be careful little hands what you do, and be careful little feet where you go.” As a Christian, we have to continually be careful what we see, hear, say, and do because we show verbally and by our actions exactly what our heart is made of. “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speak” (Luke 6:45).

If we continue living against God’s commands, He will grow weary of us and our unrepentant heart. Remember, God and sin cannot dwell in the same place at the same time. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

h2h3We also cannot continue in the same sin and expect God to forgive us repeatedly. We must be sincerely sorry and repentant in our prayers when we ask for forgiveness. Repent means to change. If we are sinning, and ask God to forgive us, we need to make sure that we are truly repentant, because God knows our hearts. Romans 6:1–2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

Stand firm

We need to stand firm in God’s Word, to be immovable and steadfast. What does it mean to be steadfast? It means to be “firmly fixed in place; not subject to change; firm in belief; determination or adherence,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 1Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

A clean heart is unblemished, pure, not dirty. Like mopping a dirty floor, once it was grimy with flecks of dirt and dust balls all over it. Then we swept and mopped it all clean until it sparkled. “Create in me a clean heart.” Psalm 51:10–12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

While we’re making our New Year’s resolutions, let’s remember to always live our lives according to God’s Word and to always strive to be the women God desires us to be. We need to study His Word to know His instructions for us to live by and for it to be a natural part of our being; of who we are. It’s never too late to change our hypocritical heart and be the young women we should be and to make God proud of us.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help me to be the woman You want me to be. Help me to know my weaknesses and to not be hypocritical. I want to live so that You are proud of me. Help me to be careful what I say, hear, and do so that I may glorify You in my life.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

By Carol Gartman

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