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What Is A Contrite Heart?

By Mark E. Baker
A contrite heart, a broken heart, a humble heart, these are just different ways of saying the same thing, but they can also have different meanings and it's important to understand the difference, so as to avoid confusion. What is a contrite heart? What is true humility in the Bible sense?

I've heard Christians pray God break me and make me into what you want me to be. I understand what they are saying, but when you look at the Word of God, you see that God wants a whole vessel that can be used unto His honor. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption. He died so that we can be whole spirit, soul, and body. A broken water pitcher won't hold water, and can't be used for the masters use. So my question is, what is true Bible humility, what does the Bible mean when it is talking about a broken heart? Let's look to the Word of God as always for the answers.

Ps:34:18. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

In this instance the Word broken means,-- crush, destroy, hurt, quench, tear. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, or a crushed or hurt heart.
When the righteousness have been hurt the Lord is there to deliver them. The Lord is not the one doing the crushing and destroying He is the one doing the delivering.
Jesus said, in
John 10:10. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

In this instance there is deliverance out of the condition of brokenness. As vs. 19 goes on to say: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
This gives the sense of there being healing and wholeness in God's deliverance.

Psalms 51:17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart These, O God, You will not despise.
In this case contrite means, -- Grieving and penitent for sin.

God does not despise a broken heart, this is true humility, and it's the first step to real forgiveness and cleansing. Real forgiveness only comes when you humble your heart before God. God does not do this for you, the Holy Spirit will draw you to the love of God, but you have to receive it.

Micah 6:8. He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

In Micah it says walking humbly with, you see in this case it is not talking about a crushed or bruised spirit, it is talking about walking with God, or in cooperation along with God. When you are walking under someone else's authority, you have their full backing and support. One example of this would be a police officer who is directing traffic. He doesn't on his own have the power to stop a car but he has the authority granted him by his local govt. or municipality to stop cars, doesn't he? We all have authority we have to submit to, whether we like it or not, whether it be the traffic cop or our boss, without it there would be chaos. The highest authority we have to submit to is God. His authority is the ultimate authority we all have to submit to, either now or later! The Word of God tells us every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil:2:11).

When I think of humility, I think of submitting to a greater authority. Or putting yourself in a place of subservience to, as in

1 Peter 5:6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

This is not talking about a master and a slave, this is talking about walking under the authority of a caring Father. There's a huge difference! It is saying here to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, or putting ourselves under His authority. He is telling us to do this so that He can exalt us, however He can't exalt us unless we put ourselves in a place where He can do it. It's His desire to exalt us, but we must do our part. He's already done His part through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

How can we truly submit to God, what do we have to do? This is a straight foreword question that we all would like to know the answer to. We have to submit to His Word. His Word is His written will to us all. God's Word is God's will. You can not truly get to know God or know His will unless you read His Word. It is scriptural to ask God to give you a desire and a hunger for His Word, if you are earnest, you will get it. Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 5:6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
It didn't say they might be filled, it said they shall be filled.
It starts when you acknowledge you don't have the answers, but recognize He does.
I don't have all the answers but God's Word has all the answers, and as I learn of Him, and submit to His will, he will lift me up. It is an act of your will to submit, and it is also in your best interest. God always has our best interest in mind. His desire is to see us healthy and prosperous, as the apostle John wrote by the unction of the Holy Spirit,

3 John 1:2. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

This doesn't sound like the ravings of a mad dictator, this is the desire of a loving and caring Father. The Father always has our best interest in mind, always! If we can acknowledge that, it makes it a lot easier for us to submit to Him. Once you learn to trust God you will wonder why you never did in the past. He loves us more than we can comprehend.

Jesus said in Matthew,

Matthew 11:29. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.''

He is saying for us to take on His yoke, and learn of Him, He is gentle and lowly of heart, and that is the place where we find rest for our souls. If you only knew the true peace that comes when you enter into God's rest, you would never want to leave. His Word tells us to labor to enter into that rest.

Hebrews 4:9. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
10. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
11. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.

Entering God's rest is being obedient and submissive to His will. The Word is telling us to be diligent to enter that rest.

Rest is much better than works, rest is flowing with God, and walking with Him under His authority. I've been on both sides, and rest is better, even if it is a labor to get there, rest is better, learning of God and partaking of His fellowship and His life and His love is a life changing experience that you can only experience when you submit to Him. How about it?
Are you willing to take the first step. The first step is to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and savior.

If you don't know Him I would like to invite you to pray this prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to you in the name of Jesus.
Your word says, "...and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Jn.6:37),
So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in,
And I thank you for it.
You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13).
I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now,
You also said, "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. " (Ro.10:9,10).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
And I confess Him now as my Lord,

Because Your Word says, "... with the heart one believes to righteousness..." and I do believe with my heart,
I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),
And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!

Glory to God!!!! Amen.

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The Least is the Greatest

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By Mark E. Baker
Lk:22:24. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

Mk:9:34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

The disciples were always arguing over who should be called the greatest among them, but God sees things from a different perspective, not necessarily the way we see ourselves.

My question is what does God call great?

I would like to start off by examining the parable of the talents.

Matthew 25:14-30. For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your lord. He also who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them. His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. Therefore you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.

Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We have each talents and abilities given by God. Yet it is up to us to do something with those talents and abilities. You will notice in this parable that the lord did not tell the servants what to do with the talents that he gave them, but he gave them according to their own ability. They were equipped to deal with what they had been given. He did not give them more than what the were equipped to handle, so it is the same with our Heavenly Father. He's not asking us to do more than we have been given the grace or calling to handle. You will also notice that the servants were held accountable with what they had been given.

This is a lesson to us. God has given us each abilities, so that we can be a blessing to others. The more we do with what we have, the more responsibility we will be given. The servants who did something productive with what they had been given were given more, and the servant who did nothing with what he had been given, had what he had been given taken away. Jesus called the productive servants good and faithful. He called the unprofitable servant, you wicked and lazy servant. That hardly sounds like a compliment. The unprofitable, wicked and lazy servant was cast into the outer darkness. I am not trying to create fear, or bring condemnation on anybody, but I want to encourage people to find their God given purpose here on this earth and begin to be profitable with what they have been given. We have been called to do good works before the foundation of the world, God equipped us and preordained for us to walk in these works and to bear fruit.

Ephesians 2:10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Open your hand and look in it. What do you have. What has God given you. I can assure you, it is within your ability do so something with what you have been given. I want to encourage you to find your calling and step into it, if you have not already done so. If you do know your abilities and calling, then I would like to encourage you to begin to do something with them. What ever your gifts are, begin to use them to bless others. You might say I'm not a preacher or a teacher. You don't have to be a preacher or a teacher if that's not what God called you to be. Maybe He's called you in the area of helps to help others who do have teaching or preaching ministries. The pastor can't do it all alone, and He or she is not suppose to do it alone.

There are many areas within the body of Christ where people can be a blessing and a help. It takes all of us working together to fulfill the calling of God as a body, but it starts with us individually using the talents God has given to us. Those who don't use their gifts truly affect the whole body, not just themselves. We have to start looking at the whole picture and see what God is trying to accomplish through us collectively, but it starts with us individually. It is up to us to find out how to best be effective with what we have each been given.

Ephesians 4:16. by whom the whole Body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each individual part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up in love.

That's the way it works, your individual gifts and talents are important. You as an individual have to function properly if the whole body is to be strong. I can't tell you what your calling is but I can encourage you to seek it for yourself. If you aren't fulfilling your role then somebody else is going to have to fill in, in your place. If that somebody else doesn't do it, then it won't get done. We have a responsibility to the rest of the body of Christ to use our talents and gifts for the edification of the whole body.

We also must realize that there are eternal consequences involved. It not only effects us but our actions can have lasting effects toward others as well. If we don't walk in the good works that God has called us to walk in then, we won't have the rewards that God wants to give us. That's a pretty serious thing to think about isn't it.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There is a treasure waiting for the obedient. However, we shouldn't have the attitude that we are trying to earn something, or that we are trying to get something from God, but we should keep a good attitude and pure motives. There is much said in the New Testament about our rewards, and the consequences both good and bad for our actions.

Luke 6:35. "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Luke 12:42-48. And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware; and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

We have God's Word to tell us God's will, and we have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth. It sounds to me like we have been given a mandate to prepare ourselves to do the masters will. It is always in our best interest when we obey the Lord. There are consequences for our disobedience, as also there are rewards for our obedience. This is not to say that our salvation is earned, but that rewards are given for our faithfulness.

Blessings are always a result of obedience. God wants to bless us so that we can in turn bless others. You will find the more you begin to reach out and bless others the more you will be blessed. There is a spiritual law of sowing and reaping here, that we begin to walk in when we are giving of ourselves. This is not just money, but what ever talent or ability God has placed in your hand. This is truly the heart of the Father, for us to sow life into others. God gave the greatest gift, His only begotten son. If it wasn't for the mercy and grace of God we would all be lost. Just about everybody knows John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave... This is what love does, it gives. God expects no less from us. This is the greatest example there is! Let us be diligent in the things God has called us to do and reap the rewards for it, not only later but in this life as well.

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

1 Corinthians 3:8. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

It's never too late to fulfill what God placed into your heart. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Stand up and begin to walk into God's purpose for your life.

The greatest is the one who takes what God has given him and uses it to build up others.

The greatest will be the servant of all. Jesus is our example, He washed his disciples feet. Being a servant is an attitude we all should have. This is truly what God has called us all to be; the greatest.

Mark 10:28-31. Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."

So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, "who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life. "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.''

If you want to know for sure that you are a child of God, then I would like to invite you to earnestly pray this prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, "...and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Jn.6:37), So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13).

I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Ro.10:9,10).

I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, "... with the heart one believes to righteousness..." and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),

And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!

I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!
Glory to God!!!! Amen.

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What Is Precious To God

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By Mark E. Baker

We often look at things a certain way, or we may form opinions based on our own experiences, however, we must know and realize God knows all things and looks at things differently than we do. He has all knowledge and the wisdom to properly use that knowledge. The things He considers important we may not, so we have to take His word for it, when He says something is a certain way, then it is. What He calls precious, is precious. The Word tells us that the blood of Jesus is precious.
Peter said in;

1 Peter 1:7. that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That's pretty exclusive company isn't it? The Blood of Jesus and our faith both being called precious. We need to take notice and see that when God calls something precious, it is! We need to start considering those things precious as well. God highly esteems our faith, it is precious and valuable to Him, so if it is precious and valuable to Him we should consider it precious and valuable as well. Jesus tells us in; Luke.

Lk:6:45: "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

It says that there can be a good treasure in your heart or an evil treasure in your heart.
God is giving us direction in this area. What we put into our heart is what will come out of it.
If we put the Word of God in our heart, it is called a good treasure.

Proverbs 4:23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

Then after we put the Word in our heart, we are expected to guard it, as we just quoted Proverbs, the issues of life spring forth out of our heart. That's pretty important isn't it. Life comes out of your heart,
then how does it get there?

Romans 10:17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Every time we hear the Word of God, faith is created in our heart. We have a responsibility do something with that faith after it is born into our spirit, we have to guard it. It is precious to God and it should be very precious to us, we need to guard it. Guarding is another way of saying we are putting up a wall of protection against something. You might say well, if faith is produced when I hear the Word of God, why do I need to guard it, it is automatically there? Because if we are not guarding it, we will loose it. If we are not guarding our faith, cultivating our faith, protecting our faith, and developing our faith, so that it can grow, then we are not guarding, cultivating, protecting, and developing, the most important thing that any of us can have, Life, life is the most important thing. Without faith we will not receive that life, and without faith we will not guard and keep that life. The life of God imparted to us is the most important gift we can get. It is precious to God for us to maintain our faith, for without it, we won't receive or keep any of it. God went to great lengths to redeem mankind from eternal destruction, so He thinks it's important for us to receive His gift, and it is precious to God when we stand fast in our faith. Life is God's gift to us, and we have to stand in it.

Galatians 5:1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

1 Corinthians 16:13. Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

God would not tell us to guard our heart and stand fast in the faith if there wasn't a trial coming to steal our faith, would He? Jesus said in,

John 10:10. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

One of the most important things he has come to steal is the Word from our heart, it doesn't have to be that way if we choose to put the Word first. Stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you, it is an illegal act. Then how can he steal the Word from our heart illegally? The answer is he does it by putting pressure on you to back down from the truth of God's Word. You're the one who gives it to him, he can't take it if you won't let him. Satan has devices that he uses to try and get us to step down off of our stance on the Word. Satan is cunning and crafty in a deceiving kind of way, but he is not all powerful, only God is. His only real tool is deception, whether by bringing fear against you or doubt, he will attempt to get you to back off, and if he can do that, he wins, you loose; but that doesn't have to happen. Paul said we are not ignorant of his devices. So to be forewarned is to be forearmed so to speak, if we know he is coming and we know what His devices are, we can be prepared to meet him head on and not wait for him to sneak up behind us. Satan will try to rob us of the life that God has freely given to us. It is ours, it is a precious gift from God, and we must hold on to it with our most holy faith. Don't give up in the day of adversity, that's his plan, to get you so discouraged that you will just quit, don't do it, life is too valuable. It is so valuable that God counts the trial of your faith as more precious than gold.

James 4:7. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James said to resist the devil and he will flee, but first he said to submit yourself to God,
we can say submit yourselves to his Word, submit yourself to his will. His Word is His will.
When you are submitted to His will, then he gives you grace to stand against the wiles of the devil.

1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

When you are submitting to his will you are making the decision to stand fast on His Word.
God calls this precious, this is precious in His sight. The Word tells us He has given us exceedingly great and precious promises. But these promises won't bring us the blessing of God to us, if we won't use the faith that he has given us through His Word.
Jesus talked about that very thing in the parable of the sower.

Luke 8:11. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12. "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13. "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14. "And the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15. "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

In every case the seed is the Word of God and it is sown into hearts, and in every case Satan comes to steal the Word of God, and not just occasionally. Jesus said, Satan comes to take away the Word from their heart, 100% of the people heard the Word and had the right to receive the Word of God, but only ¼ of the people having heard the Word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. The other 75% failed the test, they let Satan take away the Word of God from their heart in one fashion or another, yet it didn't have to happen like that. These other 75% had the same opportunity to bear fruit as the 25% did. God is no respecter of persons. We can all bear fruit, nobody said it would always be easy, but the rewards are great. Remember Satan is a liar, the promises of God are true, stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made you free.

Ephesians 6:13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The first step is coming to a saving knowledge of Him, if you don't know Him and would like to know that you have eternal redemption then I would like to invite you to pray this prayer.

Because Your Word says, "... with the heart one believes to righteousness..." and I do believe with my heart,
I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),
And I am saved!

Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!
Glory to God!!!! Amen.