THOUGHTS FOR THE ROAD....... LESS TRAVELED

Lessons learned for the Christian life.

Guard Your Heart

   Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
 
   No one ,besides you and God, knows what is really in your heart... at least for now. Eventually whatever is in a man's (or woman's) heart will come tumbling out through their lips. (Matthew 12:34b) I struggle with this, I sometimes say things without thinking, and they can be hurtful and down-right mean. The person I am talking to will sometimes stand their with their mouth gaping open and all I can say is " I am sorry, I didn't mean it". I know that when those words came tumbling out of my mouth it was because in that moment I meant it, my heart meant it, and that scares me because I don't know where it comes from.

   I have done some serious self evaluation over the last several weeks. trying to determine any one thing that I had done to get off track. I couldn't come up with any one thing, I think it was perhaps a lot of "one little" things (I read a great post about the "Slow Drip Of Sin" you can read it HERE). Let me ask you, how can we guard our hearts in this present day when violence, drugs, hate, greed and sexual immorality run rampant?

   We have to stop letting it in. That means reevaluating the television programs you are watching, the relationship you are having, the books you are reading, the places you are going, the music you are listening to. We are being desensitized to sin because it is made to be entertaining in the media. The devil has a marketing plan that targets your walk with Jesus. We have to stop him, we can't allow this any longer.

   I knelt down beside my bed this morning and surrendered every part of my life to God, as I do most mornings. I heard this small little voice in my heart say, except for that program on TV that makes fun of Christians and makes light of adultery and countless other things that I am supposed to stand against, or that next vampire book I want to read that implies that there is no God. These are some of the things that I have accepted as entertainment, even though they do not align with my beliefs and faith in the One True God. I realized that I have to do a better job of keeping my heart pure, that means not entertaining myself with impure things. Guard your heart friends, it belongs to Jesus.

   Father I am so sorry for ever thinking that sin was acceptable if I was only watching other people do it, or reading about it.  I wanted to keep those things for myself and not surrender them to you and I am so ashamed that I put anything before you. Help me to recognize the next time that I am under satans attack of entertaining sin. Right now I surrender everything to you, Lord. I am holding nothing back. I love you and I want every part of my life to reflect that. Thank you for your grace and mercy.
Amen

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