WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART TODAY?
There is a very common saying that is often given to people even by Christians when a person needs to make a decision about something that is “JUST FOLLOW YOUR HEART” it sounds so nice but is in conflict with the Word of God. Jeremiah tells us in Jer. 17:9-10 NKJV “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked”;
Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
N.L.T. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
MESSAGE “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
The wisest man in all the world Solomon tells us in Prov.4:23 AMP.O.T. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.
N.L.T. Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
PASSION So above all, guard the affections of your heart,
for they affect all that you are.
MESSAGE Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that’s where life starts.
I list various translations in my blogs so you can get a broad picture of the truth that I am seeking to highlight.
I have written for example numerous times how for example we need to keep a regular check on our motives and attitudes, and regularly ask the questions, “Is this for my glory or God’s glory”? “Will this extend my kingdom or God’s Kingdom”?
The Bible tells us when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, it resulted in them losing their innocence and receiving a sinful nature, and all mankind are now born with that sinful nature, we sure thank God for His “So Great Salvation” that he planned in eternity past, we must learn to lay hold of God’s Grace continually to reject the desires of our sinful heart, and continually choose to do the Will of God so clearly spelt out for us in the Word of God.
Jesus tells us in Matt. 15:17-19 NKJV Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
N.L.T. Is it hard to understand that whatever you eat enters the stomach only to pass out into the sewer? But what comes out of your mouth reveals the core of your heart. Words can pollute, not food. You will find living within an impure heart evil ideas, murderous thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander.
MESSAGE Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing.
So, I would encourage you not to say to someone “follow your heart” unless you ask the questions, “What is in your heart to do in relation to this matter”? Seek to discern if their desires are to do the Will of God, is the correct choice clearly spelt out in the Word of God?
Many great men of God have openly declared the longer they were a Christian, the older they became, they were ever more aware of the “depravity” of their heart and how they needed to both deepen their intimacy with the Lord, and to have their heart and mind saturated with the Word of God. I would add it is so good to have others around you who are spiritually mature and you trust them to speak into your life. Remember Solomon’s words in Prov. 24:6 KJV In multitude of counsellors there is safety. N.L.T. Victory depends on having many advisers. MESSAGE with many astute advisers, you’ll see the path to victory more clearly.
May the desires of our heart ever line up with the Word of God Amen.
