Cultivate My Heart

By Vera LeRay Warner

My heart is not just a physical organ in my body, but it is also the inner being of me. It is my thoughts and desires and emotions. And yet, the Word of God says that I don’t know my own heart because it is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
The title of this study starts off with the word “cultivate” as does each of the chapter titles. “Cultivate” is a word used a lot in farming or agriculture and it means to prepare the land or the ground for use. It means to loosen or break up the soil. It further means to improve by labor, care or study. The heart is that ground that initially needs to be prepared by God to receive the seed of His Word. By His Word and the inward working of the Holy Spirit, He continues to weed (pulling out those things that would choke out the Word) and water and sow good things so that our lives will yield the fruit of righteousness.
God is the only one who can honestly show us the true condition of our hearts. It is the intent of this study to allow God to assist us in a true transformation of the heart, growing in His grace and abiding in His love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vera LeRay Warner
• Release date: Apr 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370498857

Vera LeRay Warner

Vera LeRay Warner is the daughter of a United States Navy veteran, the granddaughter of both United States Air Force and United States Coast Guard veterans and is married to a United States Army veteran. Having such a rich military ancestry instilled in her a sense of adventure at a very early age that caused her to develop an almost insatiable desire for reading. As a youngster she would take the city bus downtown to the public library and come home with an arm load of books and would have every one of them read before they were due to be turned back in. That sense of adventure would also lead her, upon graduation from high school, to enlist in the United States Air Force and it was during her tour, that lasted almost 12 years, that she first began to write poems and short stories. Her creative writing led her to enroll in the Community College of the Air Force, and the University of Maryland where she earned Associate degrees at both. Vera later attended Wayland Baptist University (Hawaii Campus) and eventually earned her Bachelors in Christian Education and later went back to school and earned her Master's in Theology. There were many twists and turns in her life but her greatest accomplishment was November 1984 when she surrendered her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and became a Christian. It was also during 1984 that she was selected and listed in "Outstanding Young Women in America." From that time onward she went back to her writing but it was not until 2000 that her first literary work was published: Creatively Reaping the Harvest: Using the Tea as an Outreach Ministry. Vera has since authored Embracing the Love of the Father, Cultivate My Heart and The Making. She was also a contributing author for Speak to Me Lord Inspirational Writings by Women for Women Volume 1. Her bible study books are currently being used for small group studies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. Vera currently serves as Founder and President of In His Image: Women of Excellence an international Spirit-led ministry whose mission is to encourage women to seek God as the primary source for healing and wholeness and to empower them to become so effective in "Kingdom" work that they will have an impact upon the world.

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CULTIVATE MY HEART

Includes Study Companion and Journal

Vera LeRay Warner

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2017 by Vera LeRay Warner

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, photographic including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament Copyright ©1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. THE AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT Copyright ©1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

ISBN 978-0-9713072-8-5

Published by:

In His Image Publishing

P.O. Box 236552

Cocoa, FL 32923

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to Holly McWhinnie, Lorraine Foster, Erica Reynolds, Patricia Framer and Yvonne Ford.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

How to Use Study Companion and Journal

Introduction

Chapter One. Cultivate in me…A Clean Heart

Chapter Two. Cultivate in me…A Healed Heart

Chapter Three. Cultivate in me…A Loving and Loyal Heart

Chapter Four. Cultivate in me…A Servant’s Heart

Chapter Five. Cultivate in me…An Obedient Heart

Chapter Six. Cultivate in me…A Praying Heart

Chapter Seven. Cultivate in me…A Benevolent Heart

Chapter Eight. Cultivate in me…A Patient Heart

Chapter Nine. Cultivate in me…A Joyful Heart

Chapter Ten. Cultivate in me…A Grateful Heart

Notes

About the Author

Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGeMENTS

I would like to thank God for the gentle nudging of His Holy Spirit, not only to start and complete the first edition but also for the added material for this revised edition.

I would like to thank Dr. Marilyn Chipman for the proofing of the first edition. The editing and or proofing always make the writers look like we know what we are doing!

Thank you to Dr. and Minister Andreas and Gabriele Haun. The prayer and many hours that it took you to translate this manuscript into the German language are to be commended.

And finally, to my wonderful husband Michael; honey you make it such a joy to be married and in ministry. Thank you for the years of love and kindness and support. What a mighty man of valor and integrity you are and I love you beyond words.

PREFACE

A few years ago, while serving as interim co-pastor at a church in Würzburg, Germany the women’s ministry at that church was in need of a bible study. My first thought was to go on line and find a study that would be simple, yet challenging and that would facilitate a small group setting. But, I hesitated in going to my computer. As I began to ask the Lord about it, the thought came to me that I already had the study in my possession that we were to use and all I needed to do was to sit down and write. Thus, began the first five chapters of "Cultivate My Heart".

In a few weeks, the new pastors (Greg and Dana Smith) arrived and the women’s ministries started the study. Pastor Dana Smith, in the coming year, would nudge me every now and then and ask me when the book would be completed. Her nudging served to get me kick started to complete it.

The first edition of Cultivate My Heart was published in 2007 and since that time the Lord has given me so much more that I absolutely had to sit down and revise the entire book. My prayer is that this revised and updated version of the original work would carry with it an anointing to truly change the hearts of all who, prayerfully, study and journal. May all who do; have an encounter with the Master Physician who is in the business of healing the broken hearted and binding up the wounds. This book is not for the faint of heart, but for those who are serious about change. If you open these pages with a serious desire to change the way you think and act and react; you will not be disappointed. Here we go; it’s time to be transformed!

Vera LeRay Warner

Mühltal, Germany

January, 2010

HOW TO USE THE study companion and journal

The Cultivate My Heart study companion and journal has been incorporated in this book. The study companion has been designed to assist the reader in discovering the condition of his or her own heart, and allowing God through His word and the inward working of the Holy Spirit to bring about the necessary changes needed to be progressively formed to the image of Jesus Christ.

It can be used either in a small group setting or by an individual during personal devotional and study times. It can be readily adapted to both.

Each chapter is formatted in the same manner as it will contain the following five sections:

Chapter Narrative and Commentary

The Seed (Study Questions)

Weed Time (Self Examination)

Seed Time (Memory Verses)

The Father Speaks/Journaling (What you gleaned from the chapter)

If you are the leader or facilitator in a small group setting it is suggested that you do more intensive study to be able to supply more information than is given in the narrative and commentary section of each chapter. You would then lead the group allowing them to voluntarily give their answers to the questions.

Before you begin please:

Pray that God would give you revelation and show you ways to apply what you will learn in a very practical manner.

Read the passages of Scripture suggested more than once to get a clearer understanding of what is being conveyed.

During the course of your study:

Write down your answers as it will aid in memory retention. When you read, then write and then recite, you are more apt to retain.

Don’t forget to write what you gleaned from the chapter in the journaling section. God will speak to you and it will be a joy going back at the end of the study and reflecting on what He spoke to your heart.

And finally, always remember that confidentiality is a must! Those very personal things that are discussed in your group stay within the group!

INTRODUCTION

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14

The human heart is that muscular organ in the body that, by its rhythmic contractions, acts as a forceful pump which maintains the circulation of the blood. This magnificently created organ beats 100,000 times a day, which equals 35 million times in a single year and 2.5 billion times in a normal lifetime. The human body has 6 quarts of blood which circulates through the body three times every minute. In one day alone, with the aid of the heart, it will travel 12,000 miles.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 KJV

The Hebrew word for heart is lēb and it means heart; mind; and midst. The word lēb as well as the synonym lēbāb appears 860 times in the Old Testament.

It is first used in Genesis 6:5 - And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

The word lēb (heart) also refers to an organ in the body. 2 Samuel 18:14 - Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. Psalm 38:10 - My heart panteth, my strength faileth me; as for the light of mine eyes; it is also gone from me.

The word lēb (heart) also refers to the middle of a thing or the innermost part of something. Exodus 15:8 - And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together and stood upright as an heap and the depths were congealed in the heart of the