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Heart Work, May 13
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden
part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Psalm 51:6
.
Truth must become truth to the receiver, to all intents and purposes.
It must be stamped on the heart. “With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”
(
Romans 10:10
). “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength”
(
Mark 12:30
). This is the service that God accepts.... The heart is the
citadel of the being, and until that is wholly on the Lord’s side the enemy
will gain constant victories over us through his subtle temptations....
Full and abundant is the provision that has been made that we may
have mercy, grace, and peace. Why, then, do human beings act as if they
entertained the idea that the truth is a yoke of bondage? It is because the
heart has never tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
The world is full of false teaching; and if we do not resolutely search
the Scriptures for ourselves, we shall accept the world’s errors for truth,
adopt its customs, and deceive our own hearts. Its doctrines and customs
are at variance with the truth of God....
It is a matter of the highest importance and interest to us that we
understand what truth is, and our petitions should go forth with intense
earnestness that we may be guided into all truth.
Truth is sacred, divine. It is stronger and more powerful than anything
else in the formation of a character after the likeness of Christ. In it there
is fullness of joy. When it is cherished in the heart the love of Christ is
preferred to the love of any human being. This is Christianity. This is
the love of God in the soul. Thus pure, unadulterated truth occupies the
citadel of the being....
When the truth as it is in Jesus molds our characters it will be seen to
be truth indeed. As it is contemplated by the believer it will grow brighter,
shining with its original beauty. It will increase in value, quickening
and vivifying the mind and subduing selfish, unChristlike coarseness of
character. It will elevate our aspirations, enabling us to reach the perfect
standard of holiness.
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