My Heart or my Life

Ask God to thrust into His harvest many young people ready to proclaim the “Good News.” Pray that they will learn from God’s Word to live in the light of His coming and be ready to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). Thank God for every pastor and teacher already laboring to perfect the saints, and ask Him to strengthen them to continue their work through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is one thing to give your heart to the Lord; it is another thing to give your life to the Lord. Even though I had given my heart to the Lord, I was not fully happy. Christ has become my own personal Savior; I was saved, and I knew it; but with it all there was something lacking.

Everything I did was done in the attitude of doing it because it was expected of me, and not out of a heart of willingness and love to the Lord. Saved? Yes, I was. But I was still yearning for real peace and joy which comes from a walk and fellowship with the Lord. How was I to find this?

One night, while I was attending a young people’s meeting, the Lord spoke to me through His Word. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). The Lord was speaking to me for my life. He wanted my all, not just part.

As the service came to a close, I realized that God was not satisfied with only my heart. He wanted my body – my life! “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Yes, my life was to become His life; my will, His will; my desires, His desires.

Clearly and vividly, I realized that if Christ, who knew no sin, had given Himself for me, how much more should I, a sinner saved by His grace, be willing to give my all to Him. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Before I left the meeting that night, it was settled once and for all – Christ was to have the preeminence! “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Joy and peace have been mine since that night when I made Christ not only Lord of my heart, but also Lord of my Life!

Young person (or adult), does this world hold much in worldly attractions for you? You may be saved and living a Christian’s life; but is there joy and peace in your heart, as you name the name of Christ your Savior? Is your love for Him measureless; is your love for souls limitless; are your desires for Him selfless? They can be if you yield to the One who bought you with His own precious blood. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13). Present your body as a living sacrifice to God that He may fill you with joy and peace. Then, life will be useful and fruitful for Him!

Prophetic Word
(expanded with verses)

March 1942

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Isaiah 52:7

Never wait for the lost soul to approach you and ask about the way to salvation. He or she seldom comes. The method of our Lord Jesus was to seek the lost. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). All around us are opportunities to witness about “new life” in Christ, if the believer will allow the Holy Spirit to assist him in sharing that marvelous message. People should be given a choice. Pray that all of the SMS missionaries will present the Gospel to anyone who is willing to listen to the “Good News.”