Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cool and overcast on this new day and there’s a chance we might get the rain we so desperately need around here. The first order of Business for me on any new day is to give the Living God the Praise and Thanks He deserves. The next thing on the Agenda is to share what’s on my Heart. I make my Requests…I Confess my wrongs…and I ask for answers to things I sometimes can’t understand and can’t seem to find in His written Word. And then…I repeated the process all over again as if by repeating my Search I’ll somehow be able to understand the mind of God. I’ll bet the Living God smiles sometimes when we determine to make sense of Life from our viewpoint and not His own. I didn’t find the answers I was looking for this morning, but I found my Peace instead – and it’s that Peace that sees me through even when I don’t have the Answers. Passing through this Life with head knowledge doesn’t get us very far at all. It’s the passing through this Life with Heart knowledge that matters the most. Isn’t that the way it is for you too?

If there is one thing I’ve learned in this Journey called Life, it’s that when the Heart is where it’s supposed to be the rest of me will follow. If my Heart is Kind and Compassionate, you won’t have to utter a word and I’ll be able to feel your pain. If my heart is Calm and Ready, you won’t have to say a thing and I will be able to sense your fear. If my heart is Humble and Selfless, you won’t have to tell me about your needs, I’ll be busy filling them before you can. If my Heart is filled with Gratitude, you won’t have to worry about me passing judgment on you no matter what’s going on in your life. If my Heart is Patient, you can count on me to be there to help you work your way through….over and over again. If my Heart is Readied with Wisdom, you won’t have to ask twice and I’ll have the Words you need to help you find your way. If my Heart is filled with Joy, you won’t stand a chance of holding onto bitterness or a bad mood in my presence. When my Heart is Readied by the King of all kings, I’m equipped to Serve anybody, anytime, and anywhere. I don’t need to have the answers and I don’t need to be better at anything before I go to Work to serve Him. My Heart is the only part of me that He can use….so the condition of my Heart gets the most time and attention from me.

It’s easy to spot Christians more focused on their head Knowledge than they are on the Heart. They can put the best of us to shame as they quote Scripture on-demand for any circumstance, and they’re always ready to remind the world that those Words are what we need. But if they rely on head knowledge of the Word and they don’t have a Heart like Christ, they can’t be used by the King at all. God doesn’t need us to (just) recite His Word…He needs us to LIVE it. It’s easy to spot Christians more focused on their “reservation” for Heaven than they are on the lost people around them. They live as if they believe they were smart enough to “get it” and it’s not their problem if others don’t get it too. But if they rest on the Promises of Heaven and don’t do their part to get as many “travel partners” as they can, they can’t be used by the King either and there’s a good chance they might hear “I never knew you” on the Big Day.

It’s easy to spot Christians who are filled with arrogance and judgment as if they’ve been assigned the Judgment Seat right here on earth. Somehow they’ve forgotten that Christ died for them too and that without Him they’d be a pitiful (and eternal) mess, and yet they lack Compassion and they never seem to grow tired of judging others. All of these outward signs are a SURE sign that the Heart is not in the Condition it’s supposed to be in.. that is, IF being a Light in this dark world and a Vessel worthy to be used by the King matters to them at all. The Heart is the only part of us that He can use.

I began this new day determined to find some answers but I was put in my Place by the One who matters the most, and NOW my Heart is ready for Service. Instead of looking for answers to things I’ll probably never understand, I’ve set aside my need for head knowledge and I’m focusing on my Heart instead. My Heart is the only part of me that matters to Him.

How about you?