If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18
4. God looks at the heart
The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).
God looks at your life more deeply than anyone else ever can or will. You may not understand your own heart: Why do you love what you love? Why do you think and feel as you do? You may not understand your own heart, but God knows it completely.
5. The heart often contradicts the mouth
“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mat. 15:8).
What we say is an overflow of what we think and feel. Our Lord said, “Out of the abundance of the heart [the] mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). But here our Lord makes clear that this is not always the case. It is possible to come to church and say all the right things, but in your heart to be far from God. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).
6. The root of all unbelief lies in the heart
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psa. 14:1).
Why is it that two people can go through the same experience, and one comes out praising God, while the other comes out blaming God? Two people experience the same tragic loss—one sees the hand and the help of God, the other sees yet another reason for unbelief. Their experience was the same. The difference was in the heart.
Which of these is most surprising/hard to believe when you think about your own heart?
