One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.    Acts 16:14 ESV

I want you to read the Scripture passage again because I want to point out a few things here. Luke begins by saying one who heard us. Have you ever gone to church and tried to listen to the sermon but been unable to hear it? By this I mean perhaps you are distracted, or the words just aren’t getting in. There was a time in my life when I went and spent my obligatory time at church and left out of there unable to tell you what the sermon was about that day. But this woman named Lydia heard them.

The next thing we learn about Lydia is her occupation. She is a seller of purple goods but most importantly she worships God. I don’t know that her selling purple goods had anything to do with the Lord opening her heart, but I am certain that her worshiping the Lord had everything to do with Him opening her heart.

Calvinism teaches that God saves the elect. In other words, we are predestined to be saved and spend eternity in heaven with God the father or go to spend eternity in hell. This is determined before we are even born, and we have little to do with it. When you come to understand that no one comes to salvation without being called to salvation by the Lord, it may give some credibility to Calvinists teaching. But this is just one of several verses that dispute this.

Scripture tells us when we actively seek the Lord, He will be found by us. He will open our hearts to His word which will lead to repentance, faith and ultimately salvation. We have to be active in opening that door. We have to do our part.

In Jeremiah 29:13 Jeremiah prophesied the Jews captivity in Babylon. He told them they would be there for 70 years. God told them through Jeremiah; they would find Him when they searched for Him with their whole heart. They had to wholeheartedly seek the Lord. We must do the same in order to be saved.

In James 4:8, James said if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. He goes on to say sinners must cleanse their hands and double-minded people must purify their hearts. Double-minded people refer to those who are trying to be in the world and be in the Lord at the same time. That never works out so well.

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Does Jesus have a standing invitation to come into your heart? Do you leave the door open for Him? Do you regularly ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart?

God wants to come into our heart but He won’t force His way in. He will only come in if invited. We invite Him when we seek Him with all our hearts. That opens the door for the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts.

I truly believe the time is coming just as it did in Noah’s day when God will shut the door (Genesis 7:16) just as he closed the door of the ark. Everyone who did not walk through the open door of that ark died in the flood. I beg of you to open the door. If the door has been opened, then walk through it and be saved. Trust in Him today before it’s too late.

Have a great day!