Durruck
Pirate!
Maintaining a clean heart
By Jon Walker
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14 HCSB)
Discipleship — Have you ever carried on a debate with some one – for hours? Perhaps the debate lasted for days, an intense debate, where you made every point brilliantly, proving your position was right and justified.
And even though you win the debate, it still keeps going because the debate is all in your head – you against a phantom opponent who represents someone who hurt you in the reality of life. You go over the hurt again and again – in your mind.
Jesus knows about the human tendency to have these extended conversations in our mind – how we’ll go over a situation again and again, creating an ever-deeper rut of hurt and anger.
He also knows that these thoughts – as well as the things we say within our head or through our lips – are reflections of the landscape of our hearts. He says, “What comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.” (Matthew 15:18-20 MSG)
Our hearts speak louder than our words.
The Apostle Paul explains, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 MSG)
In other words, on the dashboard of your life, the gauge that monitors the condition of your heart is what comes out of your mouth: anger or acceptance, criticism or encouragement, bitterness or forgiveness.
God doesn’t want us to try to hide the condition of our hearts by being insincere in what we say or do – God forbid that.
He wants us to hand him our hearts so he can scrub them clean and heal our hurts.
The king of ancient Israel, David, confessed the sin in his heart, inviting God to change the condition of his heart: “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10 HCSB)
When you give God your heart, he will set a guard around it: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)
So what?
· Vigilantly guard your heart – Your heart will create the foundation for healthy, godly communications. Ask God to guide you as you maintain vigilance over your heart by dealing with issues immediately, instead of allowing them to fester for days, weeks, or even longer.
· Ask yourself questions – Each day, ask yourself: “Is everything OK in my heart?” “Am I waiting for someone to come to me to make things right?” “Any extended conversations in my mind with anyone lately?” (These questions were suggested by Andy Stanley, from North Point Community Church outside Atlanta. http://www.northpoint.org)
· Ask your family questions – Stanley also suggests you regularly ask these questions of your family: “How's your heart?” “Anybody broken a promise to you today?” “Anybody been mean to you today?” “Anybody hurt your feelings?”
© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.
By Jon Walker
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14 HCSB)
Discipleship — Have you ever carried on a debate with some one – for hours? Perhaps the debate lasted for days, an intense debate, where you made every point brilliantly, proving your position was right and justified.
And even though you win the debate, it still keeps going because the debate is all in your head – you against a phantom opponent who represents someone who hurt you in the reality of life. You go over the hurt again and again – in your mind.
Jesus knows about the human tendency to have these extended conversations in our mind – how we’ll go over a situation again and again, creating an ever-deeper rut of hurt and anger.
He also knows that these thoughts – as well as the things we say within our head or through our lips – are reflections of the landscape of our hearts. He says, “What comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.” (Matthew 15:18-20 MSG)
Our hearts speak louder than our words.
The Apostle Paul explains, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 MSG)
In other words, on the dashboard of your life, the gauge that monitors the condition of your heart is what comes out of your mouth: anger or acceptance, criticism or encouragement, bitterness or forgiveness.
God doesn’t want us to try to hide the condition of our hearts by being insincere in what we say or do – God forbid that.
He wants us to hand him our hearts so he can scrub them clean and heal our hurts.
The king of ancient Israel, David, confessed the sin in his heart, inviting God to change the condition of his heart: “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10 HCSB)
When you give God your heart, he will set a guard around it: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)
So what?
· Vigilantly guard your heart – Your heart will create the foundation for healthy, godly communications. Ask God to guide you as you maintain vigilance over your heart by dealing with issues immediately, instead of allowing them to fester for days, weeks, or even longer.
· Ask yourself questions – Each day, ask yourself: “Is everything OK in my heart?” “Am I waiting for someone to come to me to make things right?” “Any extended conversations in my mind with anyone lately?” (These questions were suggested by Andy Stanley, from North Point Community Church outside Atlanta. http://www.northpoint.org)
· Ask your family questions – Stanley also suggests you regularly ask these questions of your family: “How's your heart?” “Anybody broken a promise to you today?” “Anybody been mean to you today?” “Anybody hurt your feelings?”
© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.