SATURDAY July 29, 2023
God Knows Our Hearts
“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Acts 15:8-11
God’s plan of salvation was prophesied in the Scriptures. The Word of God came first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Our salvation cannot be achieved through the keeping of the Law of Moses. Listen to the Apostle John speaking of a new dispensation of grace: And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:16-17).
The Gentiles, through faith, came to a personal knowledge of Christ. They had received the truth, and God’s grace had been extended to them. We come to the Lord in the same way. All we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ. We are saved by placing our faith in Him. Understand, it is not an intellectually belief; we believe in Christ with a sincere heart. God knows the heart of man. He sees those who are truly searching for Him:
Jeremiah 17:10: “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
One night, I came home with anger and murder in my heart. God knew it. God divinely spoke to my tormented heart through a television program where Chuck Smith was sharing God’s Word. It was a Sunday night, and as I began to listen to him, the Holy Spirit began to convict me of my sin; and in a nice and gentle way, He led me to Christ. By faith, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and rule over my life. After I made a public confession, my whole life changed. God had heard my repentant prayer.
The heart that has really tasted the grace of Christ,
will instinctively hate sin.
~J. C. Ryle~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
