How Jesus Changed My Heart When He Changed My Focus
You’ve heard it said that God wants to change your life.
You may have heard it said that…
God loves you just the way you are but He loves you too much to leave you that way.
That’s why He sent Jesus. He knew our hearts were broken by sin . . . we needed a Savior .
We needed Jesus so that we might have new changed hearts.
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
Ezekiel 36:26
I will never forget when I realized I was broken by sin. I had been so busy trying to check all of the “good Christian” boxes, I didn’t realize I was probably more of a good Pharisee than I was a good follower of Jesus.
He said:
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20
The Life Application Bible Notes add the following:
Our righteousness must (1) come from what God does in us, not what we can do ourselves, (2) be God-centered, not self-centered, (3) be based on reverence for God, not approval from people.
God cares about the attitude of our hearts!
I want to share with you the two things the Lord used to change my heart:
♥ He helped me understand that no matter how hard I try . . . I am a sinner!
Sinners need a Savior. No matter what we do to be “good Christians,” it is impossible for us to be good enough on our own.
When I realized that as absolute truth . . . I gave God my heart and asked Him to heal me and change me.
And that’s when…
♥ He showed me how much very much He loves sinners.
So much so, that He sent our Savior Jesus.
Who said, “Follow me and I will change you.”
He didn’t say, “Change and then you can follow me.”
He said that His perfect, complete, unconditional, unchanging, unending, victorious love has the power to change hearts and lives.
I realized that it was not about me. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
It’s about Jesus!
And when I changed my focus from me to Jesus . . . my heart began to change. I started to fear less and trust more, to compare less and love more, to worry less and hope more.
So…
Let us put everything out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect.
Hebrews 12:1b–2a (NLV)
Have you ever known someone who “tried” Christianity, but gave up because they didn’t feel:
- good enough?
- approved?
- accepted?
- like they fit in?
That’s an opportunity to tell them our story. Tell them how Jesus changed our hearts . . . not to make us “good Christians” but to show the world His love.
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
John 15:8–12
A Prayer for a Changed Focus and a Changed Heart
Father God, thank you for loving sinners, like me. Jesus, thank you for showing us the Father’s love. Spirit, thank you for revealing the Lord’s love to us.
Jesus said, that He didn’t “come to save those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:17) Please forgive me for ever thinking I was righteous . . . that I was “good.” I’m not and I never have been. I am a sinner in need of Your mercy and grace. I need Jesus.
Thank you for showing me the blessing of focusing my heart and mind on Jesus. Thank you for showing me that when I surrender myself and make Jesus the center of my life, You change me inside and out. You remove my guilt and shame, worry and fear, burdens and bondage and replace it with forgiveness and healing, courage and strength, freedom and peace.
I give myself to You. Please help me focus my all on Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
If you don’t mind me asking . . . where’s your focus?
Is it on…
- being good?
- being happy?
- being successful?
- being loved?
Is it on…
- your family?
- your career?
- your health?
- your finances?
- your problems?
There’s nothing wrong with thinking about any of those things as long as they are not your focus. Because when you and I want to have peace, joy, hope, love, and countless other blessings . . . we need to keep looking to Jesus the One who makes faith possible and perfect.
May He be with you and may He be the focus of your heart today, tomorrow, and always.
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Keeping my focus on Jesus today and every day, Deb.
Have a great weekend!
That is my prayer and desire as well, Martha! Thanks much and many blessings!
My Joy, Peace and hope have definitely increased since I asked Jesus into my heart.
Thank you so much for this blog! I live reading what you have to say. It’s inspirational!
I love that, Lisa! It is so true! That is exactly what He wants us to experience. Our Father so generously pours out peace and hope . . . I can’t imagine doing any part of my life without Him. God be with you and bless you!
Loving this all the way to the end. Christ the focus as the author and finisher of our faith. Be blessed for these deep insights. I will be sharing tomorrow on stewardship which unless you focus on the LORD AS YOU STEWARD YOU FAIL TERRIBLY.
BE BLESSED
Thank you, John! I am blessed by your kind encouragement. May we grow more and more in our love for the Lord as we focus on Him. God bless you!
Deb,
I’m having a real hard time understanding all of this, I pray to Jesus but maybe I’m doing that wrong too. I get desperate, I don’t feel him in my heart but I know he exists,feeling lost at this time,can’t find my way.Pray for me.
Hi Yolanda, I’m going through a period identical to yours. Most days I have more questions than answers and nobody to ask for guidance. I know, and believe in Jesus, yet my heart feels empty, silent, even reading the Word became difficult. There is no resounding in my soul. But Jesus said that He will be our Master and Friend and I must believe that He meant it.
But I think, it’s Satan’s attack because he knows that Jesus is working on your and my life, that the devil is losing the battle, so he makes as doubt our place with Jesus.
I heard a song this morning that is titled “Raise a Hallelujah” in the face of unbelief….I pray for both of us and in the meanwhile we both can raise a Hallelujah to Jesus Who promised not to forget about us, or forsake us. Keep the faith and the good fight ????????????
Hi, Yolanda. I think we all struggle with times when we feel lost and God seems quiet. That’s when my prayer becomes a desire to faithfully SEEK Him through His Word and prayer and repeating often His promises of love. I just finished rereading Brennan Manning’s book – The Ragamuffin Gospel. It is such a wonderful reminder filled with the encouragement of God’s grace, mercy, and love. God be with you and bless you.
You asked Deb where my focus is –
Is it on…
being good?being happy?being successful?being loved?
Is it on…
your family?your career?your health?your finances?your problems?
And if I want to be honest I have to say that while I don’t want it to be, my focus is on all of these….despite that I know it should be on Jesus.
I don’t know how to make the switch. I tried over and over, but in no time I’m struggling with the same issues. I think it’s because while I say I surrendered, I grab the wheel back each time something comes up. It’s a TRUST issue and I don’t know how to get over it. Johnny Cash said it right – “there is no fence between Heaven and Hell”…. I’m affraid that I spent a life sitting on the fence and now the time came that sink or swim, I have to decide if I trully TRUST Jesus or not. Pray for me..
Hi, Gaby. I think we all struggle with this. I want to focus on Jesus but the enemy and the world at large are constantly working to distract and discourage us. What a blessing that our Father is so clear about His grace, mercy, and love. He longs to forgive humbled souls surrendered to Him. And that is my constant prayer . . . to remain open and humble before Him. God bless and encourage you today and always.