Christian Heart

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
1 John 3: 20-22

Our hearts can be filled with many things. It can be filled with rage, jealousy, desire, and envy. We can have the heart of a thief or the heart of the devil. It’s essential to live with the heart of a Christian. Having a Christian heart is crucial to our well-being. Living with a Christian heart entails following his commandments and doing what pleases Him. If we live with this heart, we gain confidence before God and receive anything we ask.

The first order of business is to live with a Christian heart. What is a Christian heart? First, we must obey His commands. In every situation in life, regardless of how hard or easy, we must keep His commandments. Second, in every situation, we must strive to please Him. Will these thoughts please God? Will these actions please God? These two things (obeying His commands and doing what pleases Him) present the core to a Christian heart. God looks at our hearts. Make sure it’s a Christian heart!

Once we live with a Christian heart, we must examine our lives using the two criteria of a Christian heart as the standard. We examine our past and present according to this standard. We fix and repent the times we did not obey His commands. We repent the times we did things that upset God. In other words, we search high and low for things our Christian heart condemns. We look at our past, present, and future. With our faculties and to the best of our abilities, we find what our conscience condemns, and we repent those things. The only to live in peace is to liberate ourselves from anything that might condemn us. Our hearts must be guilt-free.

Next, if we repent all those things our hearts condemn using the two criteria, we have confidence before God, and He listens to our prayers. Living with true confidence is only possible if our hearts do not condemn us. Three things happen once we have confidence before God:

First, we are no longer alienated from God. We are no longer estranged or standing on opposite sides. He is no longer our adversary! Even if we are on bad terms with a family member or friend or acquaintance, it can be trying and tough. Imagine how onerous it must be to be on bad terms with God! This adversarial relationship stops when we have a Christian heart.

Second, God is on our side. We have confidence because God stands by us. He is on our side. We have nothing to fear, nothing we cannot overcome.

Lastly, we have confidence because God protects and blesses us. Who could ask for anything more? So before we doing anything, we must check our hearts. Are we living with a Christian heart? If so, we have confidence before God.

He is not the enemy!
He takes our side!
He protects and blesses us!
There is nothing we can’t overcome when God is on our side!
No foe can defeat us when God stands with us!

The second thing we gain when our hearts do not condemn us is the power of prayer. God answers our prayers! Too many times in life, we expect God to answer our prayers without having a Christian heart. We need to do the work of having a Christian heart before gaining confidence and receiving the power of prayer. God is on our side, and He listens to us. There is nothing more to ask in life!

We must live with a Christian heart. We must follow His commands and please Him. We must look for things our heart condemns and fix them. If we do these things, God takes our side, protects and blesses us, and He listens to our prayers. If we live with a Christian heart, all our problems are solved.

Summary
1. Live with a Christian heart.
2. Having the heart of a Christian means doing 2 things.
a) Keep His commandments.
b) Please Him.
3. With our Christian heart, search and repent for things our Christian heart condemns.
4. If our heart does not condemn us, 2 things happen:
1. We have confidence before God
a) God is not our enemy.
b) God is on our side.
c) God protects and blesses us.
2. God answers our prayers.