Teeth check, hair check, outfit check, breath check….dinner/lunch/brunch check… “check mate”…lol ok maybe not….but out of all of life’s little “checks” one of the most overlooked, yet, most important is…a heart check. While it’s good to physically monitor your heart (eat healthy, monitor cholesterol levels, exercise, manage stress) we are taking things even deeper…
“He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.””
Mark 7:20-23 NIV
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Excerpt from Luke 6:45)
At times the Bible can produce an “ouch” or offended response in my heart. It’s meant to make us feel a bit convicted and then a fairly immediate pause and reflection thereafter. The above verse gets me every time with a “heart check moment.”
I wonder how the world would be if we actually took hold of and put into practice regular heart monitoring? Asking ourselves the hard questions like am I showing bias or prejudice to others who may not act, look or think like me….and if so how deep in my heart is this issue? Am I acting on my “thoughts”… giving into anger and annoyance, etc. Guys we ALL have moments….let’s be very real….and moments are ok…it’s the part where we acknowledge those lapses and ask God “search my heart!” And then taking it a step further….By surrendering and letting God do a work in us. Truly the kindness of Jesus leads us to repentance!
So this week when we have “moments” (and trust me I know I will have more than a few) let’s pause and check our hearts. As we enter this new autumn season and for many a new school year, let’s dig deep to the root of things and lay all of our hurts, cares and more issues than any magazine at the foot of the cross! Jesus so cares about our hearts that He died in our place so our hearts could be cleansed. Now that is unconditional, wild love!
We love ya fam! Have a great week!
X ~ Janna & The Sibs
