Tuesday men's bible study Oct 9 - prayer

Praying for open interchange. Operative word: open.

 

Let me be open to the opportunities all around me: Give me eyes that see clearly, ears that are open, and a heart ready to respond and feel and care. But also let me be open as a channel for others to see in my person and my example something of value that heartens them. This free flow helps each one to communicate better to one's neighbors and to God. It is instrumental in cultivating the central relationship of the living all across God's creation.

heart-ology (core of being as basis for God relationship)

Heart-ology: that subject of all Jesus' teaching

 

In discovering and building one's relationship to God the central location for hard work and "bottom line" is one's heart. But this choice of word brings up images of the body's pumping mechanism, of Valentines cut outs and stories of romance or feats of loyalty. So rather than say 'heart' perhaps a better word is "one's core or deepest center."

 

[emotional or moral center, as contrasted with intellectual response; one's personality or disposition]

 

Consider the many forms and expressions that include the word 'heart'.

 

Hearty, heart-felt, heart-rending, heartless, good-hearted, cold-hearted, warm-hearted (cold hands warm heart), take heart, disheartening, heart of the matter, heart-and-soul, big hearted, chicken hearted, tender (soft) hearted, hard hearted, in my heart of hearts (innermost heart), evil hearted, black hearted, heart weary, heavy hearted, heart sick, heart breaking, heart to heart, lose heart, play with heart, learn by heart, take to heart

 

In summary, the task before each person who seeks to know God's character and thus develop the relationship with God has to dwell on what lies in her or his own heart: are actions motivated for self-glory or God's glory, does one go forth to compare efforts to peers or to please God, when reflecting on the results of one's work is it to seek approval (trophies for one's moral scoreboard) or for another reason. As the story of the Widow's Mite tells us (and Paul touches in 2^nd Corinthians), the intention and habit of the heart to give to others and to God's glory is the goal. It is what is intended and internal that matters most to God, not the particulars of size or price tag.

 

So the biggest work while we walk the earth is to discover and then nurture one's affinity to the creator, mainly by attending to what is in one's heart: humble (meek), sincere, ardent and abiding in times that are good and times that are bad. As such the enterprise is about one's core being, one's identity, one's lifestyle (exterior) and approach to the lifecourse (interior)… these three remain: Faith, Hope and Charity [love]. But of these the greatest is Charity.

 

Each of these key words tie into one's core, one's essence, that which lies in one's heart. FAITH for that which cannot be directly seen or known calls for a calm and resolute heart. HOPE for that which is not yet present or arrived. And CHARITY or LOVE for those around you similarly so engaged in the work of the living of the world, to reach out and encourage (hearten) one another.

 

We need to be in the business of knowing our own heart, and those of our neighbors; maybe even that of God? In short, we need to know normal developmental stages and maladies that depart from that normal maturation. We need to know what nourishes and that what impoverishes a person's heart. We need to grasp how heart relates to mind; mind to spirit; spirit to soul; soul to body; body to heart.

M.O. (modus op..) (Motive + Opportunity)

From watching detective shows and "Mystery!" on PBS TV, I know that figuring out the context and events of a crime require both a motive and opportunity to bring the chain of events into action. Transferring this same way of thinking to action in God's world, it seem there are countless daily opportunities to be a witness or example, to apply your skills, time, care and money to small and long-term miseries. Maybe we need help to recognize or realize an opportunity when we see it (hiding in plain view; unintended consequences of comment or action we ourselves have set in motion), but probably the bigger ingredient that we lack is the motive. That is, with so many distractions and myriad details of complicated, wired and wireless, financially interwoven lives, there is a certain fatigue in one's waking mind. We fail to care or even perceive pain around us. As a result our eyes and minds skim past other people's problems and maybe our own in order to get to the next attention grabbing thing in our paths. So the way to bring motive and opportunity together to commit a Christ-like act is to explore our hearts until we discover something that causes (e)motion and moves us to react to the opportunities in our reach.