into his heart Helaman 13: 1-8

• An older gentleman with a weathered face and warm smile stood perplexed at the counter. His repeated attempts to get his YMCA card scanned kept failing. I looked into the eyes of his wife who watched over his shoulder. She seemed to be at a loss as well. "Help him out"... a clear message of what to do came into my heart. I reached over and gently helped him turn his card over so that the UPC code could be read. His eyes twinkled in appreciation. His wife

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giggled a measure of relief. And inside of me I felt myself smile. All because I let God's words come "into my heart".

"A handsome young man is waiting in the lobby to see you." I looked up to see the hostess of the Red Lobster where I worked as a waitress watching me. I wasn't surprised. I was decidedly overjoyed. Why? Because not more than an hour earlier a voice had come "into my heart" and told me.. "GolfGuy will be here soon". I pushed it out of my mind and decided I was too much in love to understand my own intuitions. I had somehow mixed up my desires with reality. When GolfGuy showed up (unplanned) I felt flattered, and emotionally prepared. Mostly I felt a calm assurance that this match was being guided by an unseen hand that kept putting cues such as these "into my heart".

• The cold air crept in around my ankles as I folded and stacked the laundry. My mind worried about my mother some 1000 miles south of me. Her health had recently taken a wrong turn and I was two days car drive away. My mind also turned to the difficulties our GuitarGuy was experiencing in his new middle school. I needed a plan. So I prayed. I prayed for guidance and ideas. The words "Call Jill" came into my heart. "Call Jill and talk to her about Charleston." When I called I told her I needed a five year plan. I couldn't see how we could move before GuitarGuy finished school. There was allot I couldn't see. But God could see and so Jill said.. "Come down and check it out".

We did and here we are in beautiful Charleston. Why? Because I learned to follow what God put "into my heart" and trust that I would learn to listen to his plan for me. God takes care of us. We need to learn like Samuel did to let his words find place "in our hearts".

Words and Phrases

vs 1 keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses ... Prayers have requirements. In order to hear the word of God we must live the word of God.

vs2 preach unto the people... When we stop letting the word of God into our hearts, God sends prophets to help us remember, to guide us, and to keep us close to him. Samuel was a prophet .. he kept the commandments according to the law of Moses.

vs 3 the voice of the Lord came unto him... How do we know when the voice we hear in our heart is of God or of our own thoughts. If it is of God, it is in our hearts as well as in our head. We hear it first with our hearts. We feel it pierce our souls. When we live the commandments we tune our souls to it so that we can hear it.

vs 4. whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.... The Lord speaks first to our hearts... and then he sways our minds with practical reason.

vs 5 the words of the Lord... are words of comfort, words of guidance, and words of warning. When we become hardened by the ways of the world, the Lord's love protects us by sending us words of warning.

vs 6. Repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ - Samuel was not about Samuel.. he was a prophet that taught of Jesus Christ.

vs 7. An angel of the Lord - Angels do the work of the Lord by declaring truths unto those who will hear.

vs 8. I will take away my word from them... - we hear his word when we listen and live his commandments. If we do not listen he removes the blessings that come from having his word.

His word is the greatest blessing known to man. His word comforts us. His word guides us and teaches us all that we need to know in this life. His word is the way back to our Lord Jesus Christ. His word is his love. It is there. We must

let it into our hearts.