November 2018 Newsletter!

The Human Heart. 

The human heart is in much worse shape than most people realize. In my daily Bible reading, I came across a verse that struck me. It is found in Luke 16:15. Jesus spoke this to the Pharisees:

“You are those who justify yourself before men, but God knows your hearts.”

The Pharisees were known for appearing righteous on the outside. In their days, many would consider them the example of morality. But God could see past the facade of outward morality into the depths of their dirty hearts, and Jesus often exposed them. In a surprising parallel, I have found that many college students are just like the Pharisees! They aren’t religious, most of them, but they certainly are proud. And they often boast about how moral they are! Sometimes it is quite difficult to convince them of the truth that ‘all have sinned’ and that ‘none are righteous, not one.’  But they are indeed sinful. So much so that if it were fully revealed to their mind how sinful they were before a Holy God that they would melt into a pool of wax like a candle before the hot sun. (continued below)

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What many fail to realize is that God looks at and judges the ‘thoughts and intents of the heart.’ In your life before Christ, how many evil thoughts and intentions did you have that, by the grace of God, you never carried into action? Indeed, you would have done them if you could or if you knew you could without consequences. All of these thoughts and intentions are counted by God as if the deed had been done (see Matthew 5:28 and 1 John 3:15). We need forgiveness for them all or we will be judged for them all. 

With that in mind, what do you think God sees when He looks upon mankind? He doesn’t see the outward appearance, but He ‘looks at the heart.’  God sees an outrageously large cesspool filled with every imaginable filth. He sees every fake and every liar. He looks into every church and sees every phony. He sees the rich that actually carry out their inner evil desires and the poor man who does so in his heart. He sees and knows what man would really do if he only had the opportunity. 

Yet, despite all this, God STILL loves people. Amazing! And He has the power to change every evil heart. He did so with mine! And He is doing so with many others all around the world. 

One such example is Chris. Chris has stopped to talk with me several times. He had many questions and was generally antagonistic towards what we had to say. But each time I have talked with him he has softened up a little. Just yesterday I talked to him again. I called out to him (he was impressed that I remembered his name) and said something like, “Chris, are you coming closer to giving your life to Christ?” His response gave me hope. He was humble and open. He had a few hangups still, but it was evident that God was working on his heart. Pray for Chris. God is calling him. Pray that he will answer.

The Chaffee’s

If you know me well, you’d know that I am DELIGHTED with my children. Being a dad is the best. Recently, I had a very proud dad moment. My girls were cast in the musical, Annie! They performed eight shows in front of a total of about 3000 people! And believe me, the shined like the sun. Daddy was very proud. 

Thanks for your continual support. Your gifts have made it possible to do what we do and raise a family doing it. Thank you! If you are not a partner with us and you’d like to be,  you can give automatically by visiting our giving page on our website: halchaffee.com/partnergive, or you are always welcome to give by check. Please make your check out to the address below. 

Have you considered a year’s end donation? We are a 501c3 non-profit organization and all gifts are tax deductible:

Hal Chaffee Ministries

P.O. Box 1546

Elkton, MD 21922