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.

Francis Chan's "Forgotten God" (brand new book)

One of the most powerful preachers, writers and leaders of our time, in my opinion, is Francis Chan. His first book, Crazy Love , revolutionized my thoughts about God's love as well as my interacting with God. Now it is time for a brand new book from Chan being released tomorrow, September 1st. The book is Forgotten God . This is a phenomenal book about the power that Christians and the church can and must tap into. All of it is within the Holy Spirit. Francis talks about the power that was seen in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit began to move among people. It is true that many have avoided or maybe forgotten what the Holy Spirit is all about. And like the Savior who poured out His life and blood so we have reason to rejoice, we were made to lay down our lives and give until it hurts. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and ac...

inspiration from C.S. Lewis

There are many people, past and present, who get our attention by what they write or say or share. For me C.S. Lewis is one of those. He was a prolific writer who continues to grab the attention of thinkers from many different points of view. Lewis first grabbed my attention when I was in 5 th grader, and our teacher, Mrs. Foy, shared The Chronicles of Narnia with our class. It was a powerful time that this dreamer opened doors to thinking like I had never lived before. He wrote of faith, of far off places and of strong figures who found their character rooted deep in God. C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963, 7 years before I was born. It wasn’t until his 30’s that under the influence of his friend Tolkien that he came to be a Christian. He was raised in a traditional church going home, turned away from God as an Atheist in his teen years and through trying to stay away from God and faith returned to God with...

Catalyst ticket arrived

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

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Search This Blog