The Heart: The Core of Who We Are

By Laura G. Wolfe

Our actions and reactions in our life come from the core of who we are - our heart. It drives us every day, either towards good or bad. We can't deny or hide who we are. God is after our heart. He wants our heart to depend on Him and desire His truth. We all need to ask ourselves:
* How willing am I to allow God to transform our heart?
* Am I willing to let go of any blockers that stand in the way of God’s transformation of us?
If we are willing to change, then we will be open to see the role of our heart in a new way. As we understand God's relationship to our heart, we are able to grow and to live out the destiny that He has for us.

Laura G. Wolfe has a Masters in Education from Laurel University and a Bachelor of Biblical Studies from Logos Christian College. She attended Brownsville Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida, for her Practical Ministry Associate of Arts. She taught for 15 years in Christian schools and has been involved in ministry for over 20 years. Before being involved in ministry, she worked in the corporate world as a draftsman and estimator in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She resides in Northwest Florida with her husband and children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781304902245

Book preview

Chapter One: A Relationship with God

The Bible reveals that God created humans to have a special relationship with Him. Not any other creature is equal to humans in this regard, even angels. We need to be reminded throughout our lives how the Father sees us. There are many verses in the Bible that will do that. In Psalm 139 (TPT), King David, guided by the Holy Spirit, reveals how God is always present in our lives, how He is everywhere, and how He created each one of us. Just think about it for a minute. Every human born or unborn since Adam and Eve has been seen by God, as well as all who will be conceived from the time you finish reading this sentence and throughout the future. For each one, this is true:

Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. You have laid your hand on me! This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength. Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too! If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset,  you’re there waiting! Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. There is no such thing as darkness with you. The night, to you, is as bright as the day; there’s no difference between the two. You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something. You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book. Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me (TPT).

Have you ever considered that the God of the Universe is your author, the one who took the time in a moment in time to create you, form you, and plan all your days? God is love (1 John 4:8). If you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, you know what you will get - toothpaste! So it is with God - you get love from Him every time. This love is not made of feelings, does not come out of experiences with us, and is not based on any outcome that you and I produce that makes Him love us. This love is pure, perfect, eternal, and decided before the foundation of the world. From God expressing His character, He created every human. We may not see it at times everywhere in our life and in this world, but love made us, and love is everywhere because He is everywhere. The Father has always existed. He created everything that we can and can't see. Throughout the whole cosmos, He created those things that are fascinating to us and those things that we do not even notice. To God, however, all that He created in the beginning was good, until Adam and Eve decided to question God’s love for them by receiving the serpent's words and disregarding God’s. Let’s read how it happened:

And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9 ESV).

The Lord God gave him this command: You may eat from any tree in the garden. But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die! (Genesis 3:16-17 ERV).

The scriptures that you just read spell the words I love you from a loving God. He was not only saying to them, I will provide for you but also, I give you the freedom to choose me from your pure, perfect heart without forcing my relationship on you, even though I created you. Unfortunately, they did not choose God’s love, and their decision made our history what it is.

At the moment when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the Bible says, "Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves,