WHAT'S THE CONDITION OF YOUR HEART?

What if I told you that I just found out I have a heart condition… What would your reaction be? Most likely, you would respond with gasps of "Oh no!" You would probably feel sorry for me. But the truth is, I do have a heart condition… and so do you. Everyone reading this article has a heart condition of some sort. And the quicker you can detect a wrong heart condition and get it straightened out, the better off you are. The longer we leave wrong things in our heart unattended, the deeper they are rooted and the harder they are to deal with. GIVE YOUR HEART A CHECK-UP I get a medical examination once a year and they always check my heart. As Christians, we need to check our hearts a lot more often. Because many times, Christians can go through the motions and keep doing the "Christian thing," yet, something has crept into their hearts and it's hurting them and hurting other people. The things you allow into your heart form your thoughts and attitudes and shape the deepest part of your being. No matter what your circumstances are (the outside), if your heart (the inside) is right, you're going to be okay. You can have great circumstances and a stinky heart and you're still going to be miserable. We need to pay more attention to what's going on in our hearts. So how do we do that? The answer is in God's Word. HOW TO GUARD YOUR HEART Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life" (NLT). Notice that it doesn't say somebody else will guard your heart. It doesn't say God will guard your heart, your neighbour will guard your heart, or your pastor will guard your heart. It says you need to guard your heart. This is a responsibility that each one of us must take. Please understand that you are in charge of guarding your own heart - and it's pretty much a full-time job - because we don't know on any given day what's going to take place in our lives. You don't know what somebody may say to you that may hurt you. Suddenly, there's a wound in there that needs to be dealt with. You don't know when somebody's going to disappoint you, or betray you, or let you down. You just don't know, so you have to constantly be working with the Holy Spirit to keep the attitude of your heart right. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING There's nothing more important than your inner life (what's in your heart). One of the biggest revela-tions I've received from God is that my real life is the life that's in me. Life is not your circumstances. Life is not the kind of house you live in, or the kind of job you have, or how much money you have in the bank. You can have all these things and still be miserable! There's nothing wrong with enjoy-ing the better things of life. God wants to bless us. But that's not your real life. Your real life is the life that is in you! It's amazing how happy you can be in the midst of the lousiest circumstances, and how peaceful you can be despite all the turmoil that's going on in the world today if you know how to keep your heart in the right condition. Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (NIV). I love that! Do you want to hear from God? Keep your heart pure. Do you want to know God's secrets? Keep your heart pure. 1 Peter 3:3,4 tells us how important the inner man is to God: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" (NIV). Think about how much time you spend on your appearance - getting your hair ready and picking out your clothes, putting on make-up and various other things women and men do to make themselves look better… then, surely you can spend some time checking your heart? Taking time to check your heart is similar to taking the time to clean your basement or attic. Once you turn on the lights there and start looking around, don't be surprised to find some things you didn't expect! WHAT DID JESUS TEACH ABOUT THE HEART? Jesus said some pretty strong things about the heart. He said if you see a woman and lust after her, then you have already committed adultery as far as your heart is concerned. Lust has a tremendous effect on the heart, which is why we all must guard our hearts and keep lust out. Look what lust is doing to all the people today who sit and look at the pornography that's so easily available all over the Internet - it's alarming how destructive it is to people's lives! Another fiery dart the devil tries to shoot into our hearts is hate. The Bible says if you hate your brother, it's no different than if you murdered him. We must "raise our shield" to keep our hearts pure (see Genesis 15:1). I have found that if I can capture my thoughts for God early in the morning, through prayer and meditating on Scripture, then it's easier to protect my heart than if I wait until the afternoon, when I've already let the enemy use it as a garbage dump for a while and then try to get a handle on it. You must be proactive to keep your heart pure. HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE If you want to be a victorious Christian, guard your heart - even when you don't feel like it. In fact, you don't get to do what you feel like anymore. Actually, your feelings don't even get to vote. I'm not saying that you should totally ignore your feelings. We need to take care of our emotions too. I believe that people make a mistake in denying their emotions. I tell God how I feel. But then I also tell God what I will do through His strength and power. So, in this way, you develop self-control. You keep your commitments, you keep your word, and you do what you know God wants you to do. And every time you feel like doing the wrong thing - choose to do the right thing. I want you to understand this: Every time you feel like doing the wrong thing and you choose to do the right thing, you are growing - and God is smiling. That is victory. And that's what you get when you guard your heart! [Joyce Meyer, Enjoying Everyday Life, August 2010].