21 July 2021

I’m a big softy, always have been. The other night Bruce and I were watching a movie. Part way through it I needed to get up to get the tissues for the tears pouring down my face. As I looked across to Bruce, I saw tears in his eyes too.

Now I know that we are just watching a movie, often a storyline that is made up. But some of the stories hit my heartstrings and feel so real. The actors are so real. The way the movie is made makes it seem so real.

My spirit seems to connect with the mood or spirit of the storyline. The older I’m getting the more I seem to connect with this spiritual aspect of movies. The movie came to a close and I took a big shuddering breath and stated to no one particular in the room, “Wow, that was a great movie!”

My spirit felt uplifted by what I had seen. I felt the Holy Spirit was very present in the room and the scripture that came to mind was in Ezekiel.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekial 36:26 NIV

Our God wants us to have a HEART of flesh. Pulsating with the love, grace and mercy that comes from Him. Hearts that are moved to tears, moved with compassion when we see situations that are wrong. Circumstances where there is abuse, injustice, domestic violence, slavery we should be compelled to stop and do something. These all should cause us to weep, to take a stand, to feel our hearts broken for the atrocities. Jesus always reprimanded people, including the scribes and the Pharisees, when they did not stand up for the types of situations like this. Their hearts had hardened.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

Ephesians 4:18 ESV

“You will Hear and keep on hearing, but never understand; And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend; For this nation’s heart has grown hard, And with their ears they hardly hear, And they have [tightly] closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, And turn [to Me.]”  

Matthew 13:14-15 AMP

And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Mark 8:17 ESV

I really felt like the Spirit spoke to me. To remind me to keep having a soft heart for God and His purposes. That did not mean I had to always cry, or cry at all. But that I would be moved to do something about injustice, about abuse, about……. To not just cry over a movie but actually practically do something.

Maybe it would be to write to my Government representative about topics that arise in society, or to vote on situations that personally affect me and my beliefs, or to volunteer somewhere that is making a difference, or to pray specifically for individual circumstances.

We individually need to listen to the Spirit and see what the Spirit is talking to us about.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Are you moved with compassion for injustice?

Are you able to maintain a soft hard or has it become hardened?

What could the Holy Spirit be saying to you about what you can do?