Give Your Heart to Jesus

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life (Proverbs 4:23).

We guard what is valued. Obviously, God wants us to realize the most important part of the body. He mentions the heart over 826 times, with 205 specific verses about the heart. Everything we do flows from the heart! It is for that reason that God wants us to pay special attention to matters concerning our heart. Unconfessed sin trapped within the chambers of the heart creates a nasty buildup in our spiritual arteries, and in time, blocks the blood of Jesus, sickening and weakening the heart.

Sadly, throughout all segments of society, our culture does not take matters of the heart seriously. Instead of guarding our heart, we ignore what God tells us in His Word, living on the edge of a crooked cliff. Fact is, many do not care what God has to say. They honestly believe they can do whatever they want, devoting life to satisfying self. They say, “God is love and this makes me happy.” If we do not look UP, ask God to change our heart, repent and turn away from our sin, well … our purpose may die from a spiritual heart attack.

Because we live in a fallen world, and sometimes fail to stay connected with God, we become conflicted and our heartbeat out of rhythm with Him. Ephesians 3:16-19 reminds us of what is available when in His rhythm:

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

God cares about every detail in our lives. We can choose to guard our heart, and be strengthened through Christ, or be reckless and weakened. Since everything we do flows through the heart, the way we live, eat, drink, dress, speak, our emotions, the activities in which we participate, can have positive or negative impact on our lives. With our spiritual heart, the direct line of communication to God, a heart out of rhythm with Him can be like driving blind in rush hour traffic.

It is also our responsibility to care for our physical heart, by being intentional in how we treat it. We mistreat the gift God has given us by putting junk into it and choosing not to exercise. I know some good people who have passed away before their time. Without question they loved the Lord but ignored their physical body believing they would get a new body on the other side. The devil will do anything to keep you from realizing God’s purpose for your life. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, resist and he will flee!

Some people say, “We can do anything we want to.” But I tell you not everything is good for us. So I refuse to let anything have power over me. Some also say, “Food is meant for our bodies, and our bodies are meant for food.” But I tell you that God will destroy them both. We are not supposed to do indecent things with our bodies. We are to use them for the Lord who is in charge of our bodies. God will raise us from death by the same power he used when he raised our Lord to life.

Don’t you know that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? Is it right for me to join part of the body of Christ to a prostitute? No, it isn’t! Don’t you know that a man who does that becomes part of her body? The scriptures say, “The two of them will be like one person.” But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit with Him. Don’t be immoral in matters of sex. That is a sin against your own body in a way no other sin is. You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a price for you. So use your body to honor God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

We should also help stand guard over the hearts of those we love, especially our children and grandchildren. These cherished young people are facing demons in our culture we would not have even imagined. There are wounded, vulnerable, and lonely children living on the periphery. They become targets for the devil. He is a roaring lion looking for the kill. We need to be on guard, filling the void, praying, not preying on the children.

Prayer should never be the last resort; it is calling out to the Finisher of our faith. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Give your whole heart to Jesus, for yourself and everyone you love!