Matters of the Heart: Exploring What the Bible Says About the Heart

By Brandon M. Crooker

Every single one of us have wondered if there is more to our relationship with God that what we see. It is in Him that we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).

With the utmost assurance, this book will open your eyes so that you can see your relationship with God clearly and with a renewed sense of purpose and vision. Brandon M. Crooker a Pentecostal preacher, shares insights from the Bible so you can:

trust in the Lord with all your heart;
remain sober and vigilant against the devil;
assess your life with honesty and sincerity;
live life according to Scripture.

The author also emphasizes the power of our choices, a preacher he grew up listening to, who said that we do not just make choices, but we are made by our choices. That is revelatory! It is so simple, yet so profound. Whenever you make a choice, there is an intention and spirit behind that choice.

Arm yourself with biblical knowledge and embark on a journey that will protect your heart from strife, and in turn, your soul from destruction. It starts with Matters of the Heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664223462

Brandon M. Crooker

Brandon M. Crooker is a Pentecostal preacher. He is a student of the Word of God and seeks to find the glorious hidden truths in the pages of the Bible. A husband and a father, he lives in Eastern Maine with his wife, Kelly, and their five children.

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ENDORSEMENTS

"In his book, Matters of the Heart, Bro. B. M. Crooker reaches out to each reader, imploring us to consider the current condition of our heart, and challenges us through scriptures to become the sons and daughters that our Heavenly Father desires us to be. Each chapter explores a different facet of how our heart is at the core of our relationship with our Lord Jesus and its impact, good or bad, on our daily life. Beginning with an exhortation to know where our hearts are at, Bro. Crooker encourages the reader to obey the scriptures as God intended us to. One of the important and recurring Bible verses, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23, speaks directly to the overarching theme of this book. Written in an engaging yet direct approach, Bro. Crooker explores several influences and sources that impact the condition of our heart, for the good and for the bad, and answers each one with sound scriptural responses. Carefully follow along, prayerfully considering each chapter, spend time digesting each Bible passage, and you will be drawn into a closer and purer relationship with God."

Herbert Rea, Pastor

The Apostolic Lighthouse Church

Auburn, Maine

Every person has only ONE HEART! Yet, that spiritual heart of the soul is constantly pulled on from many contrary directions: temptations of the flesh, carnal idolatry, spiritual suffocation, bondage to sin, to name a few. This book should be seen as a sweet mix of Holy Writ with a personal instruction handbook filled with passionate advice as how to protect your heart from all riptides of the sinful flesh. This book will help align your sincere intentions into worthy choices of spiritual action.

John Brad Lambeth, Missionary

Apostolic Church of Brazil

Esteio, Brazil

Matters of the heart is an intriguing read. It combines a daily life and Holy Scripture. I believe it will impact all who read it.

Shawn Davis Jr., Senior Pastor

Pillar Of Faith Church

Clarksville,PA

MATTERS

OF

THE HEART

EXPLORING WHAT THE

BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE HEART

BRANDON M. CROOKER

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Copyright © 2021 Brandon M. Crooker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author

and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of

people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2347-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2348-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2346-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021902823

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/24/2021

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Chapter 1 The Heart Matters

Chapter 2 Idolatry

Chapter 3 The Issues of Life

Chapter 4 All Intents and Purposes

Chapter 5 Behold, All Things Are Become New

Chapter 6 The Heart of Salvation

Chapter 7 Overcoming Your Sin Nature

Chapter 8 Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart

Chapter 9 Cultivating a Teachable Heart

Chapter 10 The Endurance of Love

Chapter 11 Lest Any Root of Bitterness Spring Up

Chapter 12 Humility

Chapter 13 Tongue Trouble

Chapter 14 Scars and Overcoming Infirmity

Chapter 15 God’s Way or the Highway

Chapter 16 Lukewarm or On Fire?

Chapter 17 Rediscovering Your First Love

Chapter 18 My Soul Followeth Hard after Thee

Chapter 19 The Throne of Your Heart

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank the entire team at WestBow Press for their help with my book. What seemed like a distant dream, has become a reality. Without your help this book would still be an idea. Thanks to the editing team who made the language easier to read to have the greatest impact on every reader. Thanks to the marketing team for their thoughts and ideas for book promotion to get the book in as many hands as possible. They are a wonderful team that has been with me every step of the way.

I give honor and thanks to my Pastor Warren Heath, whom without his guidance and prayers this book would never have made it to print. His humility and faith reach beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual. He is a man after God’s own heart. He is a man that I love and respect. I also would be amiss to not give honor to my first pastor, David R. Smith. He taught me the greatest and most fundamental truths of Bible doctrine. He is the example of a life completely given to Jesus Christ. He is a man that has a love to see lost souls saved and now serves as a missionary around the globe.

I am also thankful for my mother, Nicki Baker, who has been a steadfast example of a Christian. She exemplifies a faith-driven life that ultimately led me to Christ.

Last but certainly not least, I am thankful for my wife, Kelly Crooker. Not only her words of encouragement throughout the publishing process but also her faith in the operation of God. She truly believes in what this book will accomplish in the kingdom of God. She is a woman of faith and vision. I am the luckiest man alive to be able to call her my wife.

FOREWORD

If you have bought this book, I want to thank you. If you are simply borrowing a friend’s copy to read, I pray that this book will bless you significantly. The purpose of this book is to shed light on the things many have kept in the dark, and unless these things are brought into the light, they cannot be dealt with properly.

I am no one’s judge, but the scriptures are designed to judge all of us. Anyone who reads the Word of God should be challenged, provoked, and ultimately changed by it. This study was originally created for a weekly online Bible study, which I felt led by the Spirit to host. In accepting this task and being obedient to the whisper of the Lord, I have come to discover the need and the hunger for this information to be out there. I created the Ministry Monday Classes and the book you now hold in your hands. I pray that you will allow this book to change you, your perspective, and the deepest crevices of your very heart of hearts.

God is looking for a church that is without spot, without wrinkle, and without any such blemish (Ephesians 5:27). When you read portions of this book that are not as sweet as much of the denominational world desires, I hope that you will allow God Almighty to speak to you through it. Do not fear being challenged by the Holy Ghost. Do not fear conviction, because God uses this powerful tool every day to draw His people closer to a relationship with Him through repentance. I believe in this power. We must desire so much of Him that everything else fades in comparison.

God has called all of us into a covenant relationship with Him, and we ought to desire to please Him above all else! Be encouraged, be challenged, and be changed. May the Lord bless you in your reading. Continue prayerfully.

Blessings,

Bro. B. M. Crooker

ONE

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The Heart Matters

A sincere study of Holy Writ reveals that the God who created the universe desires verbal communication with people and a close and intimate relationship with them. It goes all the way back to the book of Genesis (beginnings). Humans were created by God; He formed us with His hands and breathed the breath of life into our nostrils (Genesis 2:7). Everything else that exists God spoke into existence. When you read the biblical account of Adam and Eve, you will find that God walked with Adam in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8).

God desires the very heart of people. The Bible makes a statement in the book of Proverbs that says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). If your heart is right, then your life will be right. The issues of life stem from the heart. Therefore, the heart matters. The heart is deceitful above all things and is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).

There is a constant war going on inside us between the nature of