Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

It’s All About The Heart

PROVERBS 4:23-27 – Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

THEME OF THE DAY. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HEART. When it comes to being a Christian, it is all about the heart. From the very beginning, the time of our salvation, it is all about the heart. In fact, salvation is God giving us a new heart. Through the prophet Ezekiel, we have a good description of what God does in saving a sinner – And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Christians are not people who simply live a moral life, adhere to a religious code of conduct, or avoid certain behaviors. Christians are people radically changed by God by Him giving them a new life flowing from a new heart. Yet, that does not mean “Let go and let God.” Yes, salvation is of the Lord, but salvation is to be worked out by the Christian in his or her walk with the Lord (Jonah 2:9; Philippians 2:12). And the chief part of working out our salvation is found in today’s scripture. King Solomon commands, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

In the daily walk as Christians, we are faced with tremendous pressure from the world around us and remaining sin in us. This pressure we call “spiritual warfare” and the target of our spiritual enemies is our hearts. But it is important we understand the definition of this spiritual warfare. It is not being faced with difficult circumstances and relationships. Unsaved people encounter these, and they are not in spiritual warfare. Don’t be quick to call external activities and inconveniences spiritual battle against the world, flesh, and devil. They may contribute to the battle, but they are not the battle. Nor is a Christian to label “spiritual warfare” anything that upsets schedules and agendas. Again, unsaved people have these, and the Bible teaches those outside of Christ are already held captive by Satan so they are not in spiritual conflict (2 Timothy 2:26). So, what is this spiritual warfare we fight every day?

We may simplify the definition of spiritual warfare by stating, “Spiritual warfare is the attempt by the world, the devil, and flesh to distract Christians from keeping their hearts focused on the Lord Jesus and His Second Coming.” Take time and think this definition through. What would be the most effective tactic to render a Christian powerless and useless as salt and light in our homes, communities, and churches? Get their hearts attached to this world; distract them to let their hearts be more invested in this world than the next. If successful and the hearts of Christians are distracted, they live only slightly different than the world. Oh, they will be moral, but also religious, not spiritual. And a religious Christian is not attractive. It is the Spirit-filled Christian, filled in the heart, producing His Fruit from the heart that makes a difference. It really is about the heart. Keep it with all diligence for it will determine the spiritual quality of our lives and impact on other lives.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to put a guard on my heart – all the time – without such, sin will abound.”

QUOTE: “Our hearts are the sentry, the watch stander, who either protects from sin or opens us up to sin.”