"Look Within"

 "Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?" (John 18:34 KJV)

  "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider he appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT)

 There are several ways to consider how and why Jesus has asked this question, the personal side is the side that Jesus would have noticed the most, because Jesus could read his heart! Therefore, the things which could be made obvious, based upon the question, is regarding the threat against his position, or the fact that he needed to know who he was standing before, ready to judge! 

 Without getting too far ahead of this, I must divert to the personal side of what this really implies: We are the ones responsible for the condition of our hearts! Yes, though we cannot know it, we know what we do, or don't do, based upon the way we live our lives. We cannot change our hearts, because in all honesty, we do not even know how; and if we could, we would most likely not get it right; mostly because we would think that we ourselves did something to change it!  

 It is God that must change our hearts; but we are the ones who must allow Him to do it! Allow is not really the proper term in some of us; as I feel, for myself, that I need to plead for God to change my heart, and then rinse and repeat, each and every day! Seriously, I can pray for God to change my heart, setting out to be the kind of man that I think I should be, only to forget what kind of man I was, without even thinking at all. 

 It's too complex, so don't try to figure it out. Just know that you need to know, God's has to change you, but you must allow Him to do it! This much I know: Israel is an example of us, we that believe in Jesus and honestly want to be followers of Christ. Without much work, Israel is pictured falling away from serving God, making their journey in life about them, and no about the God that they serve. 

 It is pretty much the same with us, on a more personal scale. Every time we get on the right path, the path somehow becomes our own, and we work it, secure it, and then realize it is built on sand! And we start all over again, doing it again and again, hoping for some sort of different outcome. 

 As to the point I made yesterday, about the fact that Pilate might have connected the dots: It is really not ours to figure out, but to know that Jesus knew his heart! Whatever reason he had to ask, was most likely based upon his conscience and how he felt that the Man standing before him did not deserve to die! Other than that, Pilate was just a man that needed some answers! 

 Do you need to know if Christ Jesus is your KING? If you think He is just your friend, think again! He calls us friend, because He loves us; but He must be the KING of our lives, or we are not His friend, indeed...

"You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud and favors the humble." So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor." (James 4:4-10 NLT)