Tag: Acts 15:8-11
God knows our heart!
Scripture reading for May 24th: 1st Chr. 28-29, 2nd Chr. 1, Acts 15
Key Scriptures: Acts 15:8-11 “And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, and He made no distinction between us and then, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
At the Jerusalem Council, Jewish believers began to argue that circumcision must be added to all Gentiles who had come to believe in Jesus. Peter, a Jew himself, stood up and gave apostolic guidance. God gave the Holy Spirit and tongues as evidence to both Jew and Gentile. God alone knows the heart and He shows no favoritism.
1st Chronicles 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.”
Prayer: Lord, search my heart today, and help me to depend only on Your grace for salvation. Fill me with the Holy Spirit empowering me to live fully for You. Amen.
Rejoicing in a “Heart” Cure!
Scripture reading for August 22nd: Jeremiah 14-17
Key Scriptures: Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
God told Jeremiah and His people that their problem was a heart problem. Man’s heart is deceitful and cannot be cured through human effort. But God, alone, searches man’s heart and examines all his thoughts. He will one day judge mankind for the deeds that come from man’s wicked and deceitful heart. But God also loves mankind and has provided the cure for the deceitful heart! Praise His Name!
Rejoicing in God’s Cure: Hearts are made pure by faith in Christ! “God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we or our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:8-11)