Heart's Cry

Well, I think the third post is a good time to explain why I decided to title my blog "Heart's Cry." There are many reasons, but the first and most straight forward is that it is the title of a song that I happen to like very much. I need to make it clear that this is what I want my "heart's cry" to become...because this is definitely not the state of my heart as much as I would like it to be. The lyrics go like this:

This is my heart`s cry
I want to know the one who saved me and gave me life
This is my heart`s cry to be so close to Him that all my life becomes
A testimony of my Savior`s grace and love
This is my heart`s cry

This is my heart`s cry
Much more than just a great desire - it`s like a fire in me
I hear my heart cry each time I think about the cross where Jesus died
The cross should have been mine but His love broke through time
And heard my heart cry - he heard my heart cry

Now every other hope and dream is lost inside of this one thing
To know the one who died for me and live my life for Jesus Christ
Is my heart`s cry

So let my life become a testimony of my Savior`s grace and love
Oh - this is my heart`s cry - to stand before the Father one day
And hear Him say well done - this is my heart`s cry

I want this to be my goal. I guess it could be said then that I would like the first cry of my heart to be for the glory of Jesus. It's all about Him. I want my heart to ache for nothing less.

I want the second cry of my heart to echo this, for the sake of my brothers and sisters in Christ:

And so, from the day we heard (of your faith in Lord Jesus, v. 4), we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Philippians 1:9-14

I want to always pray these things for those who trust Jesus. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in debates and criticism and forget the importance of encouragement. The only reason we should have for criticizing the actions/beliefs of a brother is to encourage him to know and love Jesus more. I think too often we debate more for the sake of being right than for the sake of the holiness of the body of Christ, and even more often we don't criticize (or rebuke) in love. I don't feel like I ever have the place to rebuke a friend that I do not hope the things above for, because if I don't faithfully pray these things on those who are part of the same body that I myself belong to, how can I say that I genuinely care for their soul? Before Paul rebukes or encourages any church in the New Testament, he makes it extremely clear that everything he does in regards to that church is so that they may be like Christ and may know His glory and power more. Every rebuke and encouragement falls into this premise, and I want the second cry of my heart to be like this: that my family in Christ would know him more and become like He is, because there is nothing better that they could attain.

Lastly, I want my heart to cry for those who are still dead in their sin. I want to imitate Jesus in this way:

Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and your have entered into their labor. - John 4:35-38

I want my food - what sustains me and what fills me - to be the work God has set before me, which is to proclaim His glory and salvation to those who don't know Him. I want my heart to cry out for this.

So, this is more than a blog, its kinda like a life project (that God is completing). I titled my blog "Heart's Cry" not because I hope to accomplish all of this in a single blog that only lasts a short time, but rather because I want my blog to be an outlet for my heart's cry.