Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "heart". I was surprised to see that we have never used that word before! There are only two different words translated heart in the New Testament. (A third reference is for the phrase "hardness of heart"). One of these two is only found once and is translated "soul" in other instances. Of the other one, we'll be looking at these verses:

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. KJV

Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. KJV

1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. KJV

This is the Greek word "kardia". Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: 1. that organ in the body which is the center of the circulation of the blood. 2. universally denotes the seat and center of all physical and spiritual life. (this includes: the vigor of life (that which gives us life) and the soul (the mind, emotions and will). We know that we are triune beings, just like the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). WE are spirit beings, we have souls, and we live in bodies while on the earth (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 1 Peter 3:4 (above) tells us that there is a hidden man in the "heart" that is the spirit of a person. By this we can see that the heart is actually a combination of the spirit (in the image of God for a born again believer) and the soul (mind, emotions, and will). Knowing this, we can see from Romans 10:9-10 that our believing must be in the spirit, which contacts God and our soul, which must be fed the Word of God in order to agree with God. When those two are in agreement, faith is there and we receive deliverance! (That is what the word for salvation means)! We can see this especially in Mark 11:23:

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. KJV

We KNOW that the spirit of man knows and recognizes spiritual Truths, but it is the soul that makes the choices. Doubt does not attack the spirit, but the soul! Our spirit ALWAYS agrees with God, but the soul makes the choices, so we MUST renew that soul (mind, emotions and will) with the Word until we agree with the Word! THEN doubt will NOT stand and our faith will work! WE will be praying in faith for YOU to have a safe, efficient, prosperous and profitable trip this week! Here is another new song from Hillsong United called "When I Lost My Heart To You (Hallelujah)":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!