To Be Written On Your Heart

God's Word can't change your life if it is written only on a page in a book or a scroll. It must be written on your heart before it can help you, and it truly is the only medicine for the soul.

To Be Written on Your Heart is intended to help you begin the process of transcribing God's word from the written page onto your own living heart. God's word becomes truly sacred or holy when it is internalized by you, His greatest creation. The Bible is not intended to be a history book, although it does document historical events. It is not a poetry book, although it does contain poems and poetic language. It is not a philosophy book, although it does address the mysteries of life. It is really a "how to" or "do it yourself" book because it is all about how to do life, and no one is responsible for how you do your life but you.

Just like Snapshots of the New Testament, there are two things that To Be Written on Your Heart can never be. First, it can never be a substitute for reading the real thing. I The Bible is the real thing. This book is not. I hope that this book reflects the real thing, but just as your image in the mirror is not the real you, this compilation of outlines is not God's Word. You should not read this book and skip the Bible. To Be Written on Your Heart is intended to be used as an aid in your study of the Bible, not as a substitute for reading it.

Second, this book can never be about me; it can only be about Almighty God and His marvelous plan of redemption through his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the main character of the Bible. There are many understudies in the Bible and many sub-plots, but Jesus has the leading role. He is there from the first chapter of Genesis until the last chapter of Revelation. He and He alone is the author and finisher of our faith, and only He deserves praise, glory, and honor. In Philippians 2:9-10, God said that Jesus has a name above all names and that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. My prayer is that this book will help you to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior if you do not know Him now. However, if you know Him already, my prayer is that this book will help you to develop a closer relationship with Him and grow to love Him more and more.

As a law student, I relied heavily on my outlines because my success in law school hinged on a single exam in each class at the end of the semester. Before taking that one important test, I read pages and pages of case law and seemingly never-ending opinions and holdings written by judges that sometimes address only a single point of law. These holdings build on each other until all the elements of a legal cause of action are developed with the Constitution as the final arbiter. Outlines are an essential way for the law student to assemble and organize mountains of information into a precise summary of what the law is. These outlines are indispensable at exam time because there is no way anyone could review, much less remember, such massive amounts of information. Law professors encourage students to begin developing their outlines early in the semester so they can review the material and start thinking like a lawyer.