The Heart of the Matter
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Why is it that the heart is so important in our walk? Why do so many people talk about the heart of the matter? What are you really getting at? What does it all mean? Why did Jesus say that we should love the Lord our God will all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our mind?
Tonight in Church, which we call our Fusion Night, our Leaders talked about the word Servitude. While the Latin definition took this to a negative tone, we took it and redefined it as our own. We took it on two definitions: 1) Service + attitude = Servitude and 2) Service + Altitude = Servitude. The Scriptures also say a profound thing in that Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Another way to reflect on this word is to say what we put in is what we get out.
Why is it so import to guard our heart? There are many questions that can be answered through the Holy Spirit when we yield our lives in obedience with the true word of God: The Bible. When we find ourselves guarding our heart and leaning on God’s word and coming to him in daily prayers we can slowly move away from the old self (our sin nature) and put on the new self, which in God’s wonderful grace, is a place of peace and comfort and joy.
When we move away from (when we flee) from those things that used to own us and move toward a relationship with God, then He will come closer to us. When we ask for his guidance and deliverance in our daily struggles by yielding to his Word and to his commands we can find our hearts loving the Lord with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our strength.
Did you ever hear the expression that our eyes are the windows to our souls? If we are putting unclean images in those eyes then what goes into the heart? If we are drinking impure spirits that change our attitude then where is our heart? If we curse our brother and hate our sisters then what happens to our hearts?
Frank Outlaw has this poem that I love to quote:
Watch your thoughts: They become your words.
Watch your words: They become your actions.
Watch your actions: They become your habits.
Watch your habits: They become your character.
Watch your character: It becomes your destiny.
As Christians, as sons and daughters who are heirs to the King of Grace, we should strive to live a life worthy of God. For me, I cannot think of a better way to start then to approach my wife and children in the way that God has approached me. There are days that He meets me in my brokenness and completely delivers me from trials and tribulations and then there are days that just seem to completely take on a different direction and I do not know where God wants me to go. I want to crawl back in bed and just hope to start the day over, but that is not what God wants. We read in “James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” 
Guard your hearts and live a life full of Servitude!
Blessings,
Dante