The Heart of the Matter

Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

There are several things I think of when talking about our hearts. Yet today I think I'll share only one idea that comes to mind. Hopefully we will be able to get to what really matters when it comes to our hearts and our walk with God.

     When I think about the heart this verse came to my mind, Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

     What does this verse mean? One way we can look at it is that our love for God grows as we seek Him with our entire body. This can begin in the heart. To have a healthy body you need a healthy heart, yes? Hopefully you do what you can to prevent a heart attack or other heart issues. To seek, to love the Lord with all your heart, you need to take care of your heart spiritually as well as physically. Here are a few steps we all should be working towards.

·         Develop right heart desires- Matthew 6:21

The simple truth is what your heart desires will determine the direction of your life. For all of us life will get busy and pressured. We’ll get distracted and the unending stream of enticements that appeal to our earthly desires will bombard us. This is a battleground that can take us away from our spiritual lives. It is crucial that we make time in all our business to align our daily lives with Jesus. That doesn't mean all distractions are bad for us. It is when we begin to neglect our time with Jesus that we begin to turn away from the Lord and our heart’s desires begin to turn away from Him. Take time to store your treasures in heaven.

·         Guard your heart from bad influences- 2 Corinthians 3:18

By beholding we become changed. How true a statement this is. You may not feel it or see it when you're around your friends, that may not be the best influence. And it won't happen overnight. But the longer you are around any influence, good or bad, you will start reflecting it by your words, actions, and even thoughts. Heart, mind, and soul; all should keep Jesus at the center. The more you study, pray, spend time with Jesus, your words and actions will begin to show Jesus lives in your heart. And yes, keeping Godly Christian friends will help lead you toward good influences.

·         Teach your heart to trust in God's wisdom, not man's- Proverbs 3:5

It takes a lot to trust someone, especially when we've been let down by people before. It's already hard to build trust in someone we can see and hear and know them by their words and actions. Yet we are asked to trust God's wisdom and trust in someone we can't see, feel, touch, or always hear. God has never failed in His words of care for us, yet it is hard to fully trust Him, over man. But if you want to protect your heart you must find and believe in your trust in God. The Lord created us for good, not disaster or destruction. John 10:10 tells us the Lord wants us to have a life of abundance. We simply need to trust in our Savior who is an all knowing, all wise God, like we trust our parents (more so as a child). This will help your heart stay spiritually healthy.

·         Develop a grateful heart- Proverbs 9:1

A happy heart is good medicine for the body. Smiling, laughter, joy over sadness. All bring sunshine to your soul. All the opposites of happiness that you can think of will wear on your body and could make you unhealthy over time. Yes, we will have sad times, and our heart will hurt at times, but pulling out of those times brings healing and is good for the heart. One of the best and easiest ways to keep your heart smiling is to be grateful. The Lord has blessed us with so many positive things that even in times of negativity we can find ways to be grateful and uplift the Lord and our spirits. Are you alive and breathing? Has the sun come up giving you another day to bring again? Do you have a home, food, power, a running refrigerator, a washer/dryer? Are your loved ones still with you? Start out small and simply say ‘thank you Jesus’. This is wonderful for your heart to stay strong and grow.

·         Seek God daily about your words and thoughts- Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Social media, a great platform to air out our grievances and thoughts. It is not all bad and there are some who use their platform for good. But, as of late, I've seen it go the other way. It's not good for our hearts to be bombarded by the negative so much. It's the cheerful heart that brings good medicine. Scripture talks a lot about our words and thoughts and how they can build up or destroy. For a good spiritual heart, we should seek God daily to help our words reflect positivity and spread goodness to others.

     There it is the heart of the matter. It begins by keeping Jesus at the center of your heart and life. Allow Jesus to grow your heart full of love in His goodness. When you allow Jesus in, He will give you a new heart and help you fight against spiritual disease. This is a wonderful thought. When we come to Jesus our hearts become God's love letter- 2 Corinthians 3:3, “Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.”

     Have a heart-healthy day!

The best way to keep Jesus in your heart daily is to spend time with Him daily. Spend time in prayer and take time to listen. Spend time in praise and worship and spend time in the Bible. There are so many ways we can read through scripture and Google is full of ideas. There is always something we can learn when we open the Bible. We are in the middle of a study in ways to personalize your devotional walk with Jesus. We are on lesson 3 of a devotional I have written where we can learn new simple ways to study scripture and make them personal to us. Today let's look at Ask, Answer, & Apply.

Lesson 3- Deepening our Devotions

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