Heart Check
Words of Faith 6-7-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

1 John 4
[20] If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Alright! It's time for a heart check. Hop up on the table, and let's connect the ElectroSpiritualGram (ESG).
The ESG measures your heart relationship with God. Wow! It's looking good so far. See these waves on the screen, which show different aspects of your relationship with the Lord. Right now, the monitor shows a really high level of good intentions. Good... good. The initial reading on God's love is great. The level of love for others is doing pretty well, too.
Oh... oh my. What's this? The part of the monitor that measures relationships with others is showing something. It wasn't showing up at first. Apparently, there is some... well... hate. Yes, hate. Is there someone that you have had trouble with? Whoa! There it is! The thing just went off the chart. Did I make you think of someone?
Oh, you had forgotten about that person? Well... not really. This thing doesn't lie. This stuff often festers deep inside. No wonder that reading on love for God was a little off. I didn't want to say anything.
What can be done about this condition? Well, most people try to work on their relationship with the person they hate. They try harder to love that person.
Does it work? Hmmm. No. Not really.
I suggest another approach. Spend some time with God. Let God love you for a while. Remember, we love because he first loved us. He is overwhelming if you let Him love you without reservation or condition. Then, talk to Him about this person.
The Lord may even help you to see this person in a different light. Some people are very hard to love, and the Lord knows that. Ask the Lord to put the love you need right into this spot in your heart. He is very good about that.
Does that mean you will have warm fuzzy feelings for that person? Probably not. But at least you will get rid of the hate. That is important. Real important. And then you will be able to make the decision to value that person as a child of God even though they may have many faults.
How important is this to take care of? Really important. Usually, people get stuck on this stuff and stay stuck. God can't do anything more in their lives or through them because of this condition.
Okay, you can hop down now. No charge today.

Doctor Jesus, Great Physician. Heal the condition of my heart. I choose to receive Your unconditional love for me. Fill me with that same love for those around me. In Your name, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.