The Driving Force of the Heart

-



Scripture:

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

Observation:

Whatever springs from the heart becomes the driving force for life. That’s why this proverb reminds us that we have to guard our hearts. Far too many people and influences want to have control of the heart because we know that the motivating factor in life is transformative. This proverb was written far before the time of Christ, or the power of the Holy Spirit. At this point, all that they could do was study the laws of God, and strive to follow God in all things. This instruction just might make a difference in their lives because the more that they studied and absorbed the things of God, the more they became written on their hearts. 

When the law of God is in our hearts, we move away from manipulation through the use of words. Instead of hiding our eyes, we can look people directly in the face, because our hearts allow us to speak truth. The driving force of the heart keeps us on the right path, moving straight ahead with the purpose of knowing and participating in God. 

Application:

I can tell a marked difference in the way I respond throughout the day when I have spent time with the Lord. There is something about abiding in the presence of the Lord that transforms my heart. Bathing, or soaking in that holy presence pours the anointing oil of God’s grace into my heart. Suddenly I see the world differently, and I react with more grace and patience. 

When I don’t spend that time with the Lord, my heart can become unguarded and influenced by people and the world around me. Without thinking we can slide into thinking that we have to take care of God’s business on our own. Instead of following the driving force of the heart, I might just think that God needs my help to do his work. Even good Christian people can become engaged in manipulation when they feel insecure and think that God needs our help in getting the work done. 

Through the power of the Holy Spirit our hearts can be changed and the motivations turned in the direction of Christ. This is how we guard our hearts — by turning everything in our lives over to God. That’s when the Holy Spirit can get ahold of our whole heart and now, instead of heart of stone, we have a heart of flesh. It’s that Spirit-infused heart of flesh that becomes the driving force for life and transforms the way in which we live. It’s not out of our own power that we stop manipulating, or having coarse language, or speak truth, and follow the right path, but suddenly, we live differently. We need an experience of heart cleansing that results in outward transformation, and this because the driving force has been refocused on God. 

Prayer:

Lord, may I soak in you today and every day. Please, lead and guide in every part of my life.  Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more