keep on guarding your heart

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

There are so many situations that come up in our lives and each one points to our strengths or weaknesses. There are things that are easy, and there are things that are very hard. In all really this is always a heart issue.

Our heart determines the direction of our lives. It is our heart’s desires that guide us in the direction we chose to go. Think about the direction you are going or the direction you want to go in. Is that leading you to the place that God wants you to go?

If we guard our hearts as well as give God our hearts, we will go the way God desires for us to go. He will also open the way for us. We need to see what God sees and hear what God says. Our heart is the filter that we see and hear God through.

Exodus 18:21 NLT

But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

I am touched by this story. It comes from a conversation between Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro, when what Moses wasn’t doing the best things for the people he was leading, and he was literally wearing himself out. Moses needed to hear this truth, but if Moses’ heart was not in the right place or if he didn’t have the ability to hear Jethro, Moses would have missed what God had for him.

Moses would also have been in the way of the people hearing from and seeing their God. I want to make sure that my life is either a conduit for people to meet God through or that I am out of the way where people can see God. It really is a heart issue.

Jeremiah 17:7 NLT

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

We trust ourselves too often. Everyone one will fail us. We will fail. At least that is what humanity says. The people who follow Jesus know something different. We know that God won’t let us down. We understand that we have hope and confidence that is based on something that cannot lose, something much bigger than us.

Again, this is a heart issue. Until we see that it’s a big deal to take care of our hearts we will miss God and help others miss God. That is not what I want.

May God help us deal with our heart issue; it’s a big deal!

NOTE: this post was first shared in February of 2013.

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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