open heart searchery

[Shmanu YAH]

shalom alychem, "ALL praises and glory to the most high YHWH !" and "baruka ha'bo b'shem YHWH" blessed your coming in the name of YHWH >>> YAHushua" I pray the best for each of you and your households.

 In this communication I'd like to address that issue that sometimes escapes many of us, that being the lack of desire for our own self-examination. In modern day terminology they often use the word "introspection" which can be defined: observation or examination of one's own mental and emotional state, mental processes, etc.; the act of looking within oneself..

We often have no problem evaluating others and trying to straighten them out spiritually but it seems the only time we look at ourselves is in the physical mirror to make sure our outer appearance is a desirable image (can any body say vanity?). There is no better examination we can give ourselves than to search our hearts, mind and soul to evaluate ourselves and keep things in order or as I call it - "open heart searchery" because you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO seek him will ALL your heart and mind and soul to know the most high YHWH.

If we truly desire to better ourselves by cleansing our hearts then we need to understand biblical references and continually put them into play. In the KJV alone - heart / hearts / hearted is listed over 950 times mainly not meaning blood pumping muscle (lebab) but rather the basis of of thoughts or understanding. Here are a few scriptural references of how man throughout the years with right-hearted intentions were looked on or delt with. In b'reshyth we read a situation between Abraham, Sarah and Abimelech (name meaning my father is king) in chpt. 20:1-6 we read, And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 20:3 But Elohym came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Master, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 20:5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the INTEGRITY of my HEART and innocency of my hands have I done this. 20:6 And Elohym said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the INTEGRITY of thy HEART; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. - now here is 1 example of how YHWH stayed his hand from destroying a man and his nation because of that man's heart!

 In shmote chpt. 35:4-9 the most high gave a command to those with a willing heart, And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the YHWH commanded, saying, 35:5 Take ye from among you an offering unto YHWH: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of YHWH; gold, and silver, and brass, ....." - the point is clear here >>> "willing heart" bring your vauables ( that you got from the Egyptians anyway ) to offer to your deliverer.

In another part of the torah w'yqra we are instructed 19:17, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him". - here is a plainly stated edict pertaining to your inner being, now ask yourself do you really hate any myshachym / messianic brethren deep down inside?

Also in torah we were instructed (not suggested) to display fringes / tzit tzit for a functinal purpose not a fashion statement! we read in b'midbar 15:39-40 "and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of YHWH, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 15:40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your Elohym. .... - now somewhere along the line we missed the warning NOT to follow our own heart and eyes that has constantly caused us to go whoring ... oh oh! (no wonder h'shatan says fringes are outdated).

A reference of prophecy from the torah told them in debarym 4:27-29, "and YHWH shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither YHWH shall lead you. 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek YHWH thy Elohym, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. .... - now this can't be misunderstood by anyone with half a brain! IF you really seek after the most high with ALL your heart ONLY THEN can you find and connect with him, but can that be done with a closed heart or does it require a open heart?

  As we continue sparingly through the tanach we see Joshua giving bnei yisrael instruction of focusing, in Joshua 24:23 we read, "now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto YHWH Elohy Israel"....- and this is instruction we need to apply this very day, meaning: before we can honestly claim to open our hearts to the most high, have we cleaned out all our idolitries yet? .... well?

Some of the wisdom from the scriptures have revealed to us as in Ecclesiasties 7:21-22, "also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: 7:22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others" ... - oh oh, you talk about wisdom and a warnng rolled into one! then there is wisdom pertaining to the submitting to righteous rulership, we read in chpt. 8:5, "whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment".... - nuff said if you have any wisdom at all! In some of the psalms of melek Dawid we have gleaned from excerpts like 24:3-4, Who shall ascend into the hill of YHWH? or who shall stand in his holy place? 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ... - well well well , I bet just about everyone that reads this would like to claim that description to themselves but SLOW YOUR ROLL!, have you searched you heart thoroughly enough to stand before YHWH and say "I have a clean heart".... really?

 One example of righteous examination we saw in psalms 26:2, "examine me, YHWH, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. and also in psalms 139:23, "search me, Elohym, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:... - these are pleas not dealing with a self-righteous self judgement, but a true search and testing from the most high and this can only be asked in sincerity! To see a example of self-judgement Dawid wrote in psalms 77:6, "I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search". ... - this is that introspection we defined earlier, something we MUST do as a part of our "open heart searchery". Many of us have skimmed over proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the candle of YHWH, searching all the inward parts of the belly. ... - WOW, he uses our own spirit to check our reins? ( better be careful mishpacha ).

The nabiym also had much to say but lets just peep at the prophet Jeremiah's offering, in chpt. 17:10 we have read: "I YHWH search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings". and the prophecy in 29:13, "....and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart". ... - even he spoke on the importance of heart focus.

In eykah / lamentations Jeremiah asked a question and then suggested a great answer, we read in 3:39-41:"wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 3:40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to YHWH. 3:41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto El in the heavens". ... - this is beautifully stated! If we jump back to melek Dawid and look at the pure wisdom he gave to his son Solomon before he began building the temple we see he was told in 1st Chronicles 28:9: "... and thou, Solomon my son, know thou the Elohy of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for YHWH searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever". ... - he let his son know what it took to build the house of the most high, and there is no other way to do it than with a perfect heart and mind and warned him of the consequences counter to this perfection.

 We wouldn't be thorough if we didn't look at a few scripts from the bryt h'chdsha aka "new testament", Paul wrote them in Romans 8:27, "...and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of Elohym. ... - this is a reference to power of the ruach h'qdesh and his ability to intercede for those that diligently search out their own heart .... hint hint!

 Paul also wrote in another epistle to those in Corinth something deeply revealing, he stated in 1st Cor. 2:9-10, "...but as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which Elohym hath prepared for them that love him. 2:10 but Elohym hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of Elohym". ... - now here is a very important question ALL believers need to ask themselves in this hour: has the things that the most high YHWH prepared for you entered into your heart yet? if not, is it because you have some type of heart condition? It is stated in this passage that the ruach has revealed to those that love YHWH his deep things. Surely we must have a uncircumsized heart to receive this and that takes some "open heart searchery", or as Moshe spoke in debarym 10:16, "circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked". ... - and we should know by now that doesn't take a scalple or doctor,

just HUMILITY! 

selah ... shalommmmm