{"id":56975,"date":"2007-12-16T21:43:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-17T03:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=56975"},"modified":"2022-12-16T21:45:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T03:45:07","slug":"how-does-the-lord-open-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-the-lord-open-hearts\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does the Lord Open Hearts?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Greg Gwin\n

In Acts 16 we read: “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized and her household, she besought us, saying, if ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.<\/em>” (Acts 16:13-15). How did the Lord open her heart? Does He do the same thing to people today? Does this imply the necessity of a direct action of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible to know and obey the will of God without divine intervention in our lives?<\/p>\n

Look carefully at this immediate context. Notice that they “spake unto the women<\/em>” (Acts 16:13), Lydia “heard us<\/em>” (Acts 16:14), and she “attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul<\/em>” (Acts 16:14). It seems clear that the means by which Lydia’s heart was opened was by the Word of God. There is nothing mysterious here. Rather, it is a demonstration of the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16), and an example of God’s plan for “preaching to save them that believe<\/em>” (I Corinthians 1:21).<\/p>\n

Whatever the Lord did, and however the heart of Lydia was opened, it was the same thing that occurred in every other case of conversion in the book of Acts. Remember, God is “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34,35). On Pentecost they “heard<\/em>” and were “pricked in their heart<\/em>” (Acts 2:37). On that day many “gladly received his word and were baptized<\/em>” (Acts 2:41). Other examples abound in the book of Acts that directly link the teaching of the word with a heartfelt, obedient response (Acts 4:4; 8:12; 13:12; 13:48; 15:7; 16:32-33; 17:32-34; 18:8; 19:5).<\/p>\n

The Lord opens hearts today in the same way He always has – through the preaching of the Word.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Greg Gwin In Acts 16 we read: “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1506,451],"class_list":["post-56975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-hearing","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27487,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/obedience-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":0},"title":"Obedience to God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Paul Southern via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 10, August 1952. The subject of obedience is an important theme that should engage the thought of every responsible person. Rebellion against constituted authority seems to be a trait inherent with mankind. On every hand, we witness infractions of constitutional, statutory,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35525,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/infant-baptism-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":1},"title":"Infant Baptism (Tant)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant A well-known practice in various denominations is that of infant baptism. This would include Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and others. The question is, \"Is this Scriptural? Is authority for this found in the Bible?\" An examination of historical records indicates that there is no definite evidence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Infant-Baptism-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":55863,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/direct-operation-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":2},"title":"Direct Operation of the Holy Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Sharp In Acts 16, Luke relates what happened when he, Paul, and Silas arrived at Philippi on Paul's second preaching trip. Beginning in verse 13 he writes: \"And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/witchcraft-is-still-with-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":3},"title":"Witchcraft Is Still With Us","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Witchcraft has been around for a long, long time. Way back in Leviticus 19:31, Israel is warned about such: \"'Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.\" The KJV refers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Jamacian-Witchcraft-247x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-outward-appearance-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":4},"title":"The Outward Appearance of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Jesus \"had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him\" (Isaiah 53:2). Elsewhere, we have discussed the true beauty of Jesus, but here we are going to consider another facet of what the appearance of Jesus implies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84654,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/matthew-mark-luke-and-john-old-testament-or-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":56975,"position":5},"title":"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: Old Testament or New Testament? (Robinson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Garland M. 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