weekly devotion-How is your heart?

‘ ….GUARD YOUR HEART…..’ Proverbs 4:23

Create in me a clean heart, O God

We think of the heart as the centre of our emotions. But it is more; it is the origin of our desires, imaginations, motives and intentions. That is why God says, ‘Above all… guard your heart…it is the well-spring of life.’

Just as low-grade fuel makes your car perform badly, Jesus says, ‘…the things that come…from the heart…make a man ‘unclean’…evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander’ (Matthew 15:18-19 NIV). And again He said, ‘A…person produces good deeds from a good heart, and…evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say’ (Luke 6:45 NLT).

So, how is your heart today? Do you get upset easily? Do you constantly compare and resent? When you hear gossip, do you silence it or spread it? What kind of thoughts do you entertain? Your answer depends on the state of your heart. Jesus said that those whose hearts are pure, will see God in everything and act accordingly (see Matthew 5:8 NLT).

Only by going directly to the source and cleaning out the pipeline, can you get a pure product. We reverse things by trying to clean up the outside first. But it does not work! If a tree produced bad fruit you would not just treat the fruit, would you? No, you would treat the root! Likewise, it is not enough just to try and change your bad habits; you must go to the heart of the problem – which is the problem of the heart! David realised this, so he prayed, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God’ (Psalm 51:10 NLT). Think maybe you should pray that too?

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