Pastor Lucy Paynter Daily Insights

We live in a world where everyone is trying to maintain an image of themselves. Whether real or imagined, I think we all want to be known or to be remembered for something. And I think we could agree that under the right conditions, who or what we are eventually comes out. Whether you’re a bad person pretending to be good or a good person pretending to be bad, the right circumstances, the right conditions eventually draw the real us out...

“Matters of the Heart.” You know, the heart, the soul contains layers of thoughts, feelings, and intentions; some are known to us, and some are not really conscious of.

The depth and detail of one's character are so far-reaching that we sometimes don’t even understand our motivations, interests, purposes, and plans. Sometimes we don’t even understand our own decisions...

Some of the most basic components of identity include language, values, customs and expectations of the world around you. You see, when you say you’re an American, there are those things that people automatically ascribe to you. When you say you’re an African, an Asian, there are those things that people, expect you to be familiar with or to be doing. Some biases and assumptions. Identity inspires in us a sense of who we are and who we relay to others that we are...

I don’t know if you have ever looked at someone; maybe they are being recommended for a certain position, or you have heard something about someone and you’re meeting them for the first time, and the moment you lay your eyes on them, you’re like they definitely look the part! You see, we often make the mistake of judging people by their appearances, or the uncommunicated impression they make...

We said a few days ago that the affairs of the heart are open to the gaze of the Lord. There is nothing therein that is hidden from Him. All the complexities and subtleties of our hearts are known to Him to the tiniest details. You see, the muddles and devices of the human heart when it is not rooted in God are not to be entirely trusted even by he that holds them. Our hearts are not just weak and frail, they are wicked and deceitful...

For the past four days, we’ve been talking about what we’re calling Matters of the Heart. You know, the heart, in this sense, is called the seat of emotions. It is the seat of will and intellect. The seat of understanding, intent, and thought. Now, if the heart is all these things, it only makes sense that it should be protected. That extreme care needs to be directed to this inner self. The heart, being the center and fountain of our actions, needs to be guarded. It needs to be protected...

One of the reasons why we are talking about matters of the heart this month is so that we may develop a consciousness, a conviction that will lead us to see the impurity of our hearts and nature. We have said over the past couple of days that the affections, the feelings and thoughts of the carnal mind are corrupted. They alienate us from God. And to rid ourselves of this veil, we would need to have our affections and thoughts made right...

Yesterday we read from the book of psalms where David prayed that the Lord creates for him a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. And we said that the reason for this prayer, was because he did not just want to simulate virtue or appear to do right before people. He wanted a genuine change of heart. That his morals and virtues may be founded in God. He wanted something we all wish we could have every time we mess up. A fresh start. A clean slate...

I’m sure we’ve all gone through that time when people make unfair judgment about us. You, know, you’ve been months without a job and people assume you’re just lazy, or you make a mistake and people assume it was intentional… it hurts. You wish people understood you. But are we any different from them?  We put people through the same thing every day. We make snap judgments and assumptions, we stereotype people even when we know nothing about what’s going on in their lives...