The Heart

God was so faithful to give me direction for my blog this week. This scripture kept appearing and after the third time, I knew it was one I would build from. Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Our hearts are the very depth of our souls. They are who we are. The heart can determine our life's direction. The heart either puts you on a positive path or a negative one. If our hearts are built up and encouraged, we posses an inner strength. However if they are broken, we struggle through each day.

The Bible has a lot to say about the heart. Let's take a deeper look and see how we can grow with God's word as our guide and guard our hearts. Psalm 51:10 says "create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me." I believe this to be a daily thing. The cares of this world will confuse the heart, break the heart,and harden the heart. However if we pray this scripture to God each day, He can renew our hearts. What does a pure heart look like? Purity is freedom from anything that debases (lowers in character, quality or value), contaminates or pollutes. I believe having purity in our hearts begins with love. Our Savior who depicts the ultimate essence of purity is a picture of love. God's word tells us "love is patient, kind, doesn't envy, doesn't boast, isn't proud, isn't rude, isn't self-seeking, isn't easily angered, keeps no records of wrong (forgives), doesn't delight in evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres". 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 When you read all these things that represent what love is, how does your heart measure up? Read over them again and ask yourself "where does the 'love' in my heart fall short?". "The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 You might be able to hide when your heart is unkind, envious or self-seeking from man, but God knows your heart and every hidden emotion. God's word cautions us about the heart. Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Our hearts can be deceptive. They can find justification for all kinds of behavior - the most famous, "don't I deserve to be happy". If you make decisions based on your heart, and not God you will be deceived. Be mindful our hearts have been scared & contaminated by life. Claim God's promise and renew your heart!

Once our hearts have undergone a cleansing, we can then focus on building them up. We can find direction for the confused heart, mend the broken heart and soften the hardened heart. Philippians 4:6-7 ""Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." James 4:8 "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Repairing the heart requires the Almighty Healer. If you seek to transform your heart, you can fill it with the love of Jesus - remove the impatience, unkindness, envy, pride, self seeking, anger, lack of forgiveness, evil, the desire to tear things apart and not protect them, lack of trust, hopelessness, and fear of persevering.   Fill it up with truth. Don't just read God's word, dig in and study it and apply it!  Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Draw near to God and He can provide for you a peaceful heart and begin to heal the hurts that have stolen your heart's purity.