It Starts With Our Hearts

God has a lot to say about our hearts. Your heart reveals who you truly are; your authentic self. Everything you do flows from your heart (Proverbs 4:23). The things you treasure reveal where your heart is (Matthew 6:21). Jesus said that a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. The mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).  

God sees our hearts. When the prophet Samuel went to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the future king of Israel, he looked at Jesse’s son Eliab who has tall, handsome, and had an impressive appearance. We are told in 1 Samuel 16:6 that Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But God told Samuel to not consider his appearance or his height. What God said to Samuel next revealed a profound and important truth about how He views people, including you and me. God said to Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7. 

God knows our hearts. Isaiah 29:13 tells us that God sees through our lip service and heartless actions. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” God isn’t satisfied with empty words or empty actions. 

God tests our hearts. “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity” (1 Chronicles 29:17). In Psalm 139:23, David invited God to search and examine his heart. In Psalm 51 David cried out to the Lord, confessing his sin, and asking The Lord to renew his spirit and to create a clean heart within him. God didn’t only search and strengthen David’s heart; He sees yours too. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us that God searches the whole earth to find those whose hearts are truly His so that He can strengthen them.  

God wants our hearts. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus repeated the words of the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” His answer is recorded in Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27. 

Ezekiel tells us that God is in the business of giving His people new hearts. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” Ezekiel 36:26. 

As we train up our children in the ways of the Lord, we must not merely teach them Bible facts, and coach them to perform righteous acts…It starts with our hearts. – Chuck Peters Share on X

As we train up our children in the ways of the Lord, we must not merely teach them Bible facts, and coach them to perform righteous acts. We need to lead them to desire to know God from the very depths of their inner being; to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength so that they may be transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. It starts with our hearts. 

Chuck Peters is Director of Lifeway Kids. Before his role at Lifeway, Chuck had a prolific career in television and video production. He is a 3-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer and on-screen talent. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.