'Infantile paralysis,' replied the genial young man. One day a new student asked him what had caused him to become so severely crippled. Although not a handsome fellow, he had a talent for friendliness and optimism, and he earned many scholastic honors as well as the respect of his classmates. 4:23) Our inside will remain intact.Īmong the students at a college was a young man on crutches. If we safeguard our inside -our heart, our relationship with Jehovah, and our spirituality- no tribulation will be strong enough to harm us. It was well-protected with bubble wrap, so the outer damage didn't affect the inside. But when opened, the inside surprisingly is still intact. (1 Kings 10:2)Ī mail delivery might be all scratched and damaged on the outside. Which points are closer to his heart at this point in time? Sports, children, dating, marriage or something else? If we want to reach the heart, we need to address those concerns as stepping stones to know their motives and stir their emotions. Not all the stones are at the same distance. Visualize an image of a heart, and then stones around it.

When conducting a Bible study, think about the things that are close to the heart of the person. So it can be said that all mind is heart but not all heart is mind. The mind and the heart have a distinction, the mind refers to the thoughts, but the heart can be broader as it includes thoughts and emotions. The same if we trust the impulses and desires of our treacherous heart.Īll rice is food but not all food is rice. Will you hire a thief as your security guard? No, that will be stupid.

It includes both the concept of thoughts and emotions. What can we illustrate from this profound Bible gem? We can illustrate the conceptual meaning of the term 'heart' as used in the Scriptures.

Some used heart, others used mind, and others included both words. In fact, in some versions of the Septuagint, it can be seen that some translators of old faced this translation issue when translating this quote. Did Jesus misquote the Bible? No! What happened then? The issue lies in the Hebrew word translated ‘heart.’ This word includes both the Greek concepts of the mind and the heart. So Jesus mentioned four concepts but the Scriptures listed only three. Jesus quoted the Hebrews Scriptures saying 'you must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength.' (Mark 12:30,31) This came from Deuteronomy 6:4 which says 'you must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength'.

Jw illustrations for public talks