One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Acts 16:14
“The Lord Himself must open the heart, to receive the things which make for our peace. He alone can put the key into the hole of the door and open it, and get admittance for Himself. He is the heart’s master as He is the heart’s maker. The first outward evidence of the opened heart was obedience. As soon as Lydia had believed in Jesus, she was baptized. It is a sweet sign of a humble and broken heart, when the child of God is willing to obey a command which is not essential to her salvation, which is not forced upon her by a selfish fear of condemnation, but is a simple act of obedience and of communion with her Master. The next evidence was love, manifesting itself in acts of grateful kindness to the apostles. Love to the saints has ever been a mark of the true convert. Those who do nothing for Christ or His Church, give but sorry evidence of an “opened” heart. Lord, evermore give me an opened heart.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Grand Rapids, MI: CCEL) evening reading for 10 December.
Do you have “an opened heart” like Lydia? Does it show by your obedience and love?
I have made it safely to Mumbai, India where I will speak to the first of four groups in four days tomorrow and encourage ministries to apply for accreditation with EFAC, the peer accountability group in India, like ECFA in the USA. Pray for safety and Spirit-filled speaking.
I will speak on “Governance and Accountability” and make remarks from two of my ECFA Press books, The Council: A Biblical Perspective on Board Governance and The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Pray for many people to attend with opened hearts.
Lord, evermore give me an opened heart that manifests obedience and love with grateful kindness.