Heart Gauge
God has provided two important indicators that reveal the true condition of your heart. The first is your response to His requirement to devote 1/7 of your time to Him. The second is your response to His command to return 1/10 of your income. Together they form an equation I call the Response Equation: Gratitude (ALL OF ME)=1/7 Time+1/10 Income.
If your life pattern matches the response equation, you experience peace and confidence in God. The abiding presence of Jesus in the life draws this response: “Whatever you want I will do, wherever you lead I will follow, and whatever you require I will give.” OH MY! How do you get to the point where you can hear these words coming joyfully from your mouth? If you are honest, these are the most frightening sentences in the language!
Consider Zachaeus. Here was a man who had everything! He was very rich materially, but poverty stricken in spirit. In Luke 19:1-10 we find a man who came face to face with Jesus. After lighting from the sycamore tree, he stood a changed man. He had been transformed into a child of the King. Jesus came in search of Zachaeus, a man stung by hate and rejection--agony riches could not salve. That happy meeting with the un-condemning Jesus ignited the flame of gratitude in the tax collector’s heart! Note his response to Jesus:
1. He quickly came down to meet the master.
2. He received Jesus joyfully.
3. He made restitution, with BIG interest, for all the fraud perpetrated.
4. He gave sacrificially to care for the poor.
5. He became a devoted follower of Jesus, that day.
Gratitude is the key element in the response equation. It springs from an abiding relationship with Jesus. When you recognize your desperate need of Jesus, nothing He asks will be too much.
Won’t you commit your all to Jesus, today?
Father,
I see the mighty love you have shown,
and know I should respond to you with all of my devotion,
but there are things that hinder my gratitude.
Please remove the barriers that separate me from
the full expression of love and faith.
Plant that equation in my heart
so that I might experience the great value of Jesus.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
