Imagine your significant other or someone really close to you never showing they love you with their actions but constantly says things like “you’re always on my mind, I love you.” How would that make you feel? Does that make up for the fact that their actions say otherwise?

“And so the Lord says: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.” ~ Isaiah 29:13 (ESV)

The phrase “God knows my heart” gets thrown around often by some Christians and if we’re being honest, it is typically used as an excuse for not doing something they know God requires of us. For some reason some of us have convinced ourselves that we can trick God with our words, but God cannot be fooled. We fail to understand that our actions matter more, and they usually determine the state of our hearts.

“But I the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards according to what their ACTIONS deserve” ~ Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

“Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your ACTIONS” ~ 1 Samuel 2:3 (NLT)

“Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually DO the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” ~ Matthew 7:21 (NLT)

Our actions usually stem from our thoughts. Therefore when we avoid something that God commands us to do (aka when we disobey God), the decision to do that stems from the fact that our hearts are far from God.

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. WHAT YOU SAY FLOWS FROM WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART” ~ Luke 6:45 (NLT)

Today I pray for the grace and strength to do an honest heart check. Let us ask ourselves if we truly love God or if we just say we do but our actions say otherwise. I pray that by doing this, we can grow 2gether as we obey God. Grace and peace 🙂