The Changed Heart

The

Changed

Heart

By

Bob Palumbo

What does the Bible truly say

regarding God’s path of redemption?

And how do you know if you are on it?

Copyright © 2021 by Bob Palumbo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form

or by any means, without prior written permission.

All Scripture passages are taken from:

The New American Standard Bible

(Unless otherwise noted)

Bob Palumbo/Plumbob Press

Avon Lake Ohio

[email protected]

The Changed Heart

Self-Published by Plumbob Press.

"Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God."

- Jesus Christ

(Matthew 5:8)

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

If I Only Had a Heart

PART ONE:

The Heart of the Matter

First Things First

If I Only Had a Brain

If I Only Had the Nerve

Eat, Pray, Love?

PART TWO:

David: King of Hearts

A Man After God’s Own Heart

…Not Good to Be Alone

Truth and Consequences

Power, Power, Wonder-working Power

David and the Five C’s

PART THREE:

Of Cuttings and Joinings

Let’s Make a Deal

A Cut (From) Above

The Mystery of 1-2-1

Becoming One

Preparations and Adornments

PART FOUR:

The Secret Garden

My Heart...His Garden

Of Soil and Seed, Wheat and Tares

CONCLUSION:

A Life of Aliya

About The Author

Acknowledgments

As I begin the writing of this book, I want to first thank the Lord Jesus Christ who, by His grace through the Holy Spirit, leads and empowers us to do the things He desires us to do. And so it is, that I give Him thanks and praise for all things, just as we are encouraged in His Word to do.

I want to, of course, thank the parents God gave me, Robert and Edna Palumbo (who have now entered their rest) for their love, care, support, and encouragement. I was blessed to have such great parents and such a great environment to grow up in. There is a lot to be said regarding being planted in good soil, but more on that later. And I like to would add my dear sister, Barbara, to those worthy of thanks. She has always been a very special person in my life, to say the least.

I want to also thank my lovely wife, Lauri Lee, who shares me with the Lord by giving me the time and space to pursue such things as writing books and pursuing my other passion…writing, singing, playing, and recording music (which has been a lifelong adventure for me; and a fun one, to say the least). I love you, honey…and always will!

I also want to thank our four children, and our eight grandchildren (so far) for their constant love, support and encouragement that also fuels my desire to continue to do the things I believe the Lord is leading me to do; for as long as He gives me the strength and breath to do them. You are all great treasures.

And lastly, but not leastly (is that a word?), I want to thank the God-fearing, God-following, and God-serving men in my life who, through their ministries of preaching, writing, or just through their friendship, have helped shape me into the spiritual man I am today. I will include their names, not their titles, so as not to show one or the other preference in my heart or mind regarding their influence in my life. They all have impacted me greatly…and are all greatly appreciated:

George Loper, Watchman Nee, C.S. Lewis, Phil Keaggy, Keith Green, Michael W. Smith, Frederic Buechner, Chuck Swindoll, Ken Roberts, John Piper, Zola Levitt, Jonathan Cahn, Jim Mindling, Douglas Hamp, John Jacobs, Ken Bublinec, Matthew Miller, Brad Scott, Bill Cloud, Monte Judah, Baruch Korman, Joshua Aaron, Paul Wilbur, and many others.

THANK YOU ALL!!

SPECIAL THANKS

I would also like to take a moment to thank two special people who graciously lent their talent and support to the writing and publishing of this book: Chris Benavides and Debbie Slocum Jamieson.

First, I want to thank Chris for his wonderful work in creating the cover for this book. Chris is a good friend and brother, who is also a professional artist. I was blessed to have his help in capturing the spirit of this book in an eye-catching way, one that truly portrays a change of heart.

If you would like to see more of Chris’s work (his paintings are amazing), you can do so at his website:

www.chrisbenavidesfineart.com

I would also like to thank my editor, Debbie, who has faithfully volunteered her editing talents for this book and my previous two releases. Editing is not an easy job, to say the least, but she has a keen eye for finding the tiniest of flaws (and the major ones, too), ones that I have overlooked numerous times in my initial proofreading efforts. But what makes Debbie special, is not just that she provides a much-needed service, it is the way she does it. She is a constant source of grace and encouragement to me, as a writer. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Thank you both, and may the Lord return His favor upon you for your willingness to help.

INTRODUCTION

If I Only Had a Heart

How does one know if they are truly saved?

How can anyone find eternal peace with God?

These are ageless questions that have been asked ever since the first few moments following the fall of man," back in the Garden of Eden. If we look at the thousands of religions, denominations, and belief systems that pepper the face of the earth nowadays, it seems there are just as many ways to get to Heaven.

I am sure God’s path of redemption is not that complicated. As always, the problem is us…not Him.

For me, the answer to both questions is obvious:

God’s Word…the Bible.

If we look at the whole of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, can we find a linchpin regarding His designed remedy for our sin? Is there a common thread that holds it all together? Well, glory to God, that is precisely what this book is about. By picking it up, you have expressed an interest in joining me on this eternally significant adventure.

Welcome...and thank you!

This is going to be fun, and far too important to go it alone.

Allow me to kick things off by answering my own questions, Yes and yes. I believe there is a linchpin, a common thread, although it might not be what you think. We shall see.

MY STORY

First, a little background is in order. I was born, raised, and married Catholic. When I was twenty-five, I gave my life to Christ (along with my wife, Lauri Lee), I was baptized (by choice), and began seeking and serving the Lord to the best of my ability. Sure, there were plenty of bumps in the road along the way (because of my imperfect human condition), which led me to ask those same opening questions more times than I would like to admit.

Haven’t we all thought to ourselves at one time or another, Am I truly saved?

So, as a starting point, let’s retrace my steps to personal redemption through Jesus Christ, and see if we discover any clues regarding what true biblical salvation may look like. In my mind, it is an important topic, since our eternal life depends on it.

As a senior in high school, some friends invited me to attend a bonfire event at our school sponsored by Campus Crusade. I did not know who they were, as an organization, but I thought, Why not? Everyone is going to be there. And there was nothing else going on that night anyway, so I called a friend…and off we went.

Upon arrival, we noticed there was a large crowd and plenty of good music being played (always a plus for me). However, it did not take long to figure out this gathering was religious in nature, and it certainly was not Catholic. After the music stopped, a few people came forth to share their experiences in coming to Christ (that was a new phrase for me). And lastly, an exuberant young man who appeared to be around college age stepped up to the mike. I suspected he might be the closer, if you catch my drift. Yes…I was a bit of a skeptic.

In similar fashion, he shared his come to Jesus story as well, but this one was quite different. He was presenting more of a how to by mixing in a handful of thoughtfully (or prayerfully) selected Bible verses that seemed to prescribe a step-by-step method for securing one’s ticket to Paradise.

First, the plan identified the problem. One thing separates all of us from finding peace with God on our own: Sin. He told us that because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, we were all born with something called original sin. That made all of us sinners from birth. So, even before we took our first breath, we were at odds with God Almighty. My first impulse was, That doesn’t seem fair, but it relieved me to learn that God the Father, through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, has provided a way to wipe away our sin once and for all (original or otherwise). Good to know!

Next…another question, Do you believe that although we are all sinners, Christ died for us, and His shed blood paid the price in full for every sin ever committed? He backed up the question with a Bible verse, one that is quite popular (especially at sporting events these days): John 3:16 (you’ve seen the signs):

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

And the young man seemed quite intent on stressing the words WHOSOEVER BELIEVED.

Apparently, there are no exceptions…all are invited.

It occurred to me, right then and there, that deciding if I was a believer was the key to answering the larger question: Do I believe Jesus died for me (and for all who believe and put their trust in Him, no matter who they are or what they have done)?

To be honest, I had never really thought about it until that moment. I was raised Catholic and as such, I believed in God…I guess. Frankly, I could not think of a good reason to not answer, Yes, so when he asked all those who believe Jesus died for their sins to raise their hands, my hand went up without much of an internal struggle. There did not seem to be a downside to raising my hand. But alas, the downside came quickly thereafter. He asked another question, If you raised your hand, professing your faith in Christ as the One who died for the sins of the world, including your own, would you close your eyes and repeat after me as I pray?

My first thought was, Umm, this man is not Catholic. If I pray this prayer with him, am I doing something wrong, something contrary to my Catholic faith? But I mulled it over quickly in my mind and decided that this sounded more like something that was just between me and God. It did not sound like I was joining a church or changing my religion, so I prayed along with Him. What could it hurt, right?

Afterwards, there was lots of cheering and hugging, and some people even cried tears of joy. And then, the man on the stage said, Congratulations and Happy Birthday in Christ! Mark it on your calendar. You have just been born again (another phrase I was unfamiliar with). From this day forward, you are a forgiven child of God. Sin has no more power over you. I remember thinking, Well, that last part sounds pretty cool, although I did not have a clue as to how that could be true. Let’s just say, I believed.

Was that all there was to it? I wasn’t sure. Part of me was thinking, Oh, that just seemed a little too easy. But other than the follow-up pamphlet they passed out explaining the next steps, like reading the Bible, joining a church, and connecting with other Christians, I didn’t recall hearing anything else.

I woke up the next morning and it seemed just like any other day, so I went to school and carried on for the next seven years as if nothing consequential had happened. But on the evening of November 5th, 1979, I came to another major spiritual crossroad.

Since junior high, I had been playing in rock bands; and there was nothing in this world I wanted more than to be a rock star. I had seen the Beatles on Ed Sullivan back in February 1964, and they lit a fire that has burned within me for most of my life, at least until age slowly began to snuff it out. Age is such a killjoy, is it not?

Anyway, on that particularly wintery Tuesday night, having just been married fifteen months earlier, and with two babies in the house, I decided it was time to sell my small speaker system and take a break from playing in bands for a while. So, I put an ad in the newspaper (remember them) but did not receive many calls. However, when I got home from work this night, my wife informed me that someone was coming over to look at the equipment. That was good news. Little did I know, praise God, far better news was on its way.

An hour or so later, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, I heard a voice say, See, it is Bob. I told you it would be Bob. It was my old schoolmate and bandmate, George, who had come with a friend to look at my gear, not knowing it was me who was the seller. Amazing, right?

Plus, they liked the PA system and decided to buy it. Cha-ching! I invited them to stay awhile, so we could catch up. They agreed, and we sat down at the kitchen table to talk.

I asked George what he was doing with his life at that time, and almost fell out of my chair when he said. I am a pastor of a little church in Willoughby, Ohio. I did not see that coming. Knowing George from our high school days, he did not seem like the pastor-type, but he explained he had accepted the Lord in college (another phrase I was not that familiar with), became involved in a campus ministry, and one thing led to another.

I later found out the one thing was the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, I was about to experience a move of the Spirit, myself.

At this point in my life, I had lots of questions; and many of them had to do with God. You see, being raised Catholic, I was wrestling with much of what the Church teaches. So, I started asking George some questions and he would just say, Well, the Bible says this, and the Bible says that. He had a straightforward answer, directly from Scripture, for every question I threw at him. Since I never read the Bible (Catholics are discouraged from doing so), I was amazed that each passage he shared seemed to line up with what I believed in my heart (remember that word). But it was not what I had learned in Catechism, that’s for sure.

After an hour or so, George had explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ much in the same way the young man from Campus Crusade did seven years earlier, and he asked me the same question, Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins? By this time, my wife, Lauri Lee, had joined us and we both answered Yes. Which led to the same follow-up question, Would you like to invite Jesus into your heart (there’s that word again)? If so, repeat after me. We did, and again there were lots of smiles and hugs. It was truly incredible to think about how many dots God had to connect to bring us all together at that precise moment in time, just as Lauri Lee and I were ripe for the picking, so to speak. I know my faith was strengthened, to say the least.

But what made it even more special, this time…what came afterwards was quite different. I felt like someone had lifted an enormous weight off my back. I felt brand new. It was very hard to explain, other than to say, "God did it work