“Hearts Made Large (the Indwelling of the Infinite)”

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

"Hearts Made Large (the Indwelling of the Infinite)" 

      Endurance athletes typically have larger hearts than most people.  Increased blood flow in the upper and lower chambers of the heart results in their expansion, along with increase in the muscle due to exertion.

    The Psalmist knew and expressed such truth in spiritual terms many centuries ago.

      

     "I will run the way of Thy commandments when Thou shalt enlarge my heart" (Psalm 119:32).

     

     The ultimate fulfillment of the Psalmist's hope came through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, after the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death, resurrection, and ascension.  The mystery and the miracle of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" spiritually enlarges the hearts of all who believe by an infinite measure (Colossians 1:27).  Our knowledge thereof also provides a vital component as we access the grace of our Savior's living presence by believing the wonder that He dwells within us.

    "We have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Colossians 1:27).

    The entrance of the Spirit of Christ into our hearts changed who and what we most deeply are.  "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new" (II Corinthians 5:17).  After the new birth, believers no longer must navigate the paths of life as if alone.  We live Life as a we rather than simply a me.  Christ lives in us, we live in Him, and the potential for running the way of God's will results from our hearts enlarged to overflow with His living presence.  "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).  Our Heavenly Father made us for this hope that became factual in our being when we believed, and actual in our practice as we affirm with the Apostle Paul, "To live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).

   What if in this day we will enjoy the blessings of life with the Lord Jesus?  We will.  "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).  What if the challenges of life will also find Him nearer than our next breath?  They will.  "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).  This we must believe, first because it is true, and then because our role in running the race of life with enlarged hearts involves the faith that affirms our Lord's motivating, guiding, and empowering presence.  To be alive in God's life through Christ means we ever and forever journey with Somebody, namely, with the One who made us, redeemed us, and filled us with Himself when we trusted the Lord Jesus.  We need not live this, or any day, as if alone.  What a tragedy if we do.  But what "hope of glory" if we run with hearts made large by the indwelling of the Infinite.  This the gift given to all who believe, and the gift realized and accessed when we remember the magnitude of our spirits united to the Spirit of Christ…

"Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father."

(Galatians 4:6)

Weekly Memory Verse

       "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility."

 (Proverbs 15:33)

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