Saturday, August 6, 2011

Lead your heart!

I posted a quote a while back from J. Murphy which said, "Don't just follow your heart - LEAD it. Don't let your feelings & emotions do ALL the driving." A friend posted a great question: "If you are not leading your heart, then who is?"

There are 7 passages of scripture about the heart that we need to explore:

1) 1 John 3:19-21 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. (20) For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
2) Jeremiah 17:9,10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
3) Psalms 26:2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.
4) Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
5) Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
6) Psalms 37:30-31 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. (31) The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
7) Proverbs 3:1-6 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, (2) for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. (3) Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. (4) So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. (5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Summary

1) God is greater than our hearts. Our hearts which carry feeling and emotions can leave us feeling uneasy and condemned. But during those times we have to remember that GOD is greater than our hearts and therefore we must allow God to lead us.

2) Our hearts left alone are wicked, selfish and decieving. Our hearts need to be surrendered to examination by God to ensure that our ways are pleasing to God. A heart unchecked will naturally default to self serving pursuits. The Lord the creator of our heart must be on board to keep our deceitful hearts in check.

3) God has made provision through the death of his son Jesus Christ to create in us clean hearts and give us new hearts.

4) A heart which has God's word and law written on it is lead by God's word. And we are reassured if we follow God's law none of our steps will slide.

5) If we yield our hearts to trust in the Lord versus following our own understanding on matters our paths will be clear and straight and our steps will not slide. Often our hearts are cluttered with emotions and feelings which if followed can lead us to come to conclusions that are completely false. We must surrender our hearts to be lead by God and God's Word.

Our hearts need to be Lead by God and his word. The Holy Spirit has been given as a gift to all that ask and surrender their lives to Christ. The Holy Spirit is deposited in your heart and will lead your heart when you yield to Him.

A person with a heart that is lead by God has the confidence to be exposed and open to love others freely. A person that follows the emotional undulations of a heart unchecked by God will often protect and preserve their heart leaving it closed and unable to freely love others. Conscious belief in what Jesus did on the cross for us empowers us to make decisions to love others that may not even be loveable.

There are some decisions that FEEL so right but are yet so wrong. That is why the heart needs a regulator and the Holy Spirit has been regulatiing hearts for centuries. God has a unique way of peeling back the onion and getting to the core motive of our decisions. The good news is that God does it with our good in mind so we can completely trust Him. So don't just follow your heart, LEAD it!

If you would like to receive email updates of my new post click below:
Subscribe to Jonathan's Blog by Email
Don't forget to check your email for confirmation

1 comment:

  1. This is so true and I wish more let God lead their hearts instead of their own fleshly desires.

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to leave your comments below