Heart Study

RETHINKING JESUS….A STUDY OF THE HEART; Why Heartbeats Matter

 

The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live … the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others …  The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant. (CCC 2563)

 

MEDITATION 1

WHY YOUR HEARTBEAT MATTERS

 

If heartbeats did not matter, they would not occur. There is no doubt that our every heartbeat matters somewhere, somehow and to someone. Why are there so many beating hearts in the world? Why do born and unborn heartbeats matter and more importantly, to whom? 

 

If you have ever asked those questions or searched for answers, then this brief study is for you. If you found this website accidently or randomly or because you or someone you love is thinking about God, then please reexamine “accidents” and think again. This was no accident. The greatest, most loving heart in the world wants you!

 

Yes, that’s right. There is a lover of your heart, like no other, and He is waiting for you. His name is Jesus. Is it time to meet or get more acquainted with Him? Maybe it’s time to “rethink Jesus”? Maybe it’s time to rethink him according to who He says He is, not who you want Him to be or what you have thought about Him or His church in the past. 

 

What kind of heart are you? Are you a soft heart, a cold heart, a listening heart, an angry heart, a lost heart? Then you are not alone, at least not according to the God of the Christians. Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit talk endlessly about the heart in Sacred Scripture. The word “heart” is mentioned 577 times in the Christian Bible. More than fear, love or sin.  The words “a “and “the” are probably used more frequently, but that’s about it. According to your Creator, your heart matters.

 

For most of us, the word “heart” connotes a vague loving emotion found somewhere in the center of each of us. The heart is  universally  acknowledged by humans of all backgrounds and in all times: we all know we have one. We know when we have listened to our  hearts. We know when we have chosen evil and unkindness because of what is in our hearts’ as well.  We know when we meet a person with a good heart or a cold heart. We read each others’ hearts and Jesus reads ours. 

 

 Yes, Jesus is a seer of your heart, like it or not. And there is nothing you can do about this but acknowledge it. The Creator of your heart not only sees your heart but wants to love you and speak to your heart. As the truest of lovers, He wants your heart forever. The Jesus who created you, sees and longs for your heart. He longs to find a home in your heart. 

 

Because Jesus loves you, there are some truths about our world and about your heart and Jesus’ heart that He would like you to know. He wants you to know He is Himself loving and just. He is merciful, gracious, strong in  love and slow to anger. (Exodus 34:6) He desires you to know things about His heart because if you do, He knows you will fall in love with Him. Like romantic love, you will not be able to get enough of Him. YOU will never want to let Him go.

 

Because God’s heart is love and justice combined, He desires you to choose love from your heart. Because He desires justice in the world, you will also one day have to give an account to Him of your heart’s actions and choices. Jesus’ merciful heart is filled with love for you! He truly lived, He is living and He is coming back someday! These are facts, these are facts are discerned with your HEART.  This is why your heartbeat matters so intensely to Jesus!

 

 How many romantic sayings or songs mention the heart? They are too numerous to count. There is an immeasurable vastness to any study of the human heart that can be measured by any number of songs or proverbs. Some of them come close to describing what love feels like; what a good heart, a clean heart and a cruel heart looks like.  The Psalms in Sacred Scripture are filled with descriptions of all of the ways a human heart can beat!

 

 IF: .  

 

1. YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF JESUS

2. DESIRE TO BE CLOSER TO JESUS

3. ONLY KNOW WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT JESUS 

4. WHAT TO “RETHINK” JESUS ACCORDING TO HE SAYS HE IS…

 

THEN THIS STUDY IS FOR YOU!!

 

Jesus left us holy words (words set apart as different and perfect) , inspired by the God Himself. Jesus, say it best when it comes to himself and his world.  Jesus’ words about Himself to His followers, written down and preserved by His followers and His Church must looked at if we are going to “rethink Jesus” according to who He says He is.  So what is written here is based on his scriptures and His living, breathing church says about Him. 

 

If you are getting to know a person, you can find out what she does and says by what others say about them. But eventually to form a real judgment about her  or have any kind of relationship with her, you will have to encounter her for yourself. You will need to use your brain and heart to see that person.  Our heartbeats have heard of Jesus but we desperately need a reintroduction! Our world is suffering and we need the Savior.

 

Songs and sayings  can only go so far in showing our heartbeats the way! Songwriters and theologians alike can lead us to see that  there is an unreachable, intangible side to life that holds our hearts. They don’t have to tell us that we want the light but we live often in the dark in this world. 

 

In this current world, we grope around in the darkness to  find answers to life’s questions. We want to know the TRUTH  about ourselves and the world!  We know that love is the  way to truly LIVE and the only answer to the darkness of life. Our hearts want to know the WAY TO GOD. 

 

Did you know that the WAY, the TRUTH, and LIfe  has a name? It’s Jesus. (John 14:6 -Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”) He came to earth to capture our hearts and lead us to live the life our hearts are meant to live with Him now and forever. Jesus came so that we don’t have to live in the dark about His heartbeat and ours. He came so that we could, “know the truth and the truth would set us free.” (John 8:32)

 

Can we accept that it is the heart that gets us to where we long to be? Together, can we “rethink Jesus” to find our way? If so, join us in this “study of the human heart” to examine why our heartbeats matter. Join us in examining how your fragile human heart finds its way in an, at times, heartless world. Join us in examining the purpose and pulse of our current heartbeat and our final one. 

 

Let’s jump into the study,  “WHY HEARTBEATS MATTER: RETHINKING JESUS”.  There are 7 days to this meditation/study. Each Day you will have a quick reading followed by Sacred Christian Scriptures under the heading, “God’s Heart in Words”. Please   look them up in a Bible or online for yourself. This is part of rethinking what Jesus says about Himself. Each day you will have some suggestions to THINK ABOUT  and something TO DO!

 

THINK ABOUT IT: 

 

1. Ponder that Jesus’ heart and words are near you. “The word is near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart”. (Deuteronomy  30:14)

 

2.   Your Creator made you with a spirit and a heart so, “ If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”(Hebrews 3:15) Tell Jesus you want the real Him and the truth about Him. Are you willing to soften your heart and eyes to see Him?

 

3. Jesus sees YOU:  

Psalm 33: 13-15 “From heaven the Lord looks down and observes the children of Adam. From his dwelling place he surveys all who dwell on earth. The one who fashioned together their hearts is the one who knows all their works.”

 

DO IT:

 

1. Turn inward toward your heart. Ask God anything you want. 

2.  Be silent at least 5 minutes everyday of this study.  Look at Jesus and let him look at you.

3. Tell Jesus, tell your Creator, that if your heart matters to Him, you want to know it and ask Him to show you the way to His Heart.

4. Ask Jesus to show you His heart, your heart, His Father’s heart.