Change of Heart

I've wanted for some time to start my blog, but, this morning has brought such a rich time with my Savior that I feel I must write it all down...and so, today starts my journey into documenting the things that God is teaching me on my journey.

I started my time with Him by listening to the daily posts on http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/. The scripture was from Luke 6:6-11-one of many stories of Jesus in the synagogue with the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

As I listened to the scripture, I was reminded of the things we are taught to believe. I have found it very fascinating to listen to the many essays on the NPR broadcast, This I Believe. Through my own journey of life, I have found that many things that I was taught to believe have been challenged as God continue this transformation process. For example, being raised Baptist, I found that I had to overcome a lot of judgement that was deeply engrained.

I had the same thoughts about the Pharisees and teachers in this passage in Luke. They were taught from a very early age about things that should be done of the Sabbath- "They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they watched him closely".

While I would like to think that I would be more like Jesus in this passage-looking to do good, no matter what day-I'm afraid that most of much of my life might have been spent as the Pharisees and teachers-looking for reasons to accuse .

I know that God is working to change my heart. He called me several years ago to open the eyes of my heart. With that call has come a deep hunger for his Word. I am in the process of studying Shaped by the Word, by Robert Mulholland. It is a powerful book that calls us to approach the scriptures from a formational standpoint as oppossed to an informational one (another way God is opening my eyes).

As I Googled "Change of Heart", I found this wonderful story about Payne Stewart. I know that God had him on a similar journey as He does with all those who become believers.

"Although Stewart grew up in a Christian home, faith was not the focal point of his life. He was preoccupied--even consumed--with achieving success in the world of professional golf. He accomplished many of his goals. But as time went on, Stewart realized that fame and fortune didn't bring him the fulfillment he was looking for. As a parent, Payne wanted to give his children the solid values he had been raised with. Friends encouraged him to take a deeper look at his own faith.

Major league baseball player Orel Hershiser gave Payne some inspirational books to read.
"Payne and I started reading devotionals together," Tracey remembers. "But before long I noticed that he was much farther along than I was. He'd read the Scripture from the devotional every night before he went to bed. He also began reading the Bible. Nobody tried to talk Payne into what he should believe or how he should live out his faith; he simply set out on his own journey with God. The Scriptures themselves were the most powerful influence on Payne's life."Stewart once said, "I'm not a 'Bible-thumper'--I can't get up there on a rock and tell you what it all means, because I don't know. But I'm learning, and I like what I'm learning."

Tracey explains, "Payne was very much a 'Christian in process,' not someone who felt he had arrived spiritually. He never pretended to have the answers and probably didn't know what some of the questions were. But his faith was genuine, and as he understood the Bible, the issue wasn't about how much faith he had but whether his faith in Christ was real. And everyone close to Payne knew that his faith was real."

My prayer today is that God would continue to change my heart-David said it best in Psalm 51:10-

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

I know that can only come through the work of the Holy Spirit as I continue to surrender myself to that transformation of becoming more like Him each day. Amen