The Heart of the Matter

Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life “ (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

I like to share a brief testimony that deals with the issue of the heart. I struggled as a Christian with various habits.  I knew I was free from these things in Christ but I wasn't experiencing that freedom. Until I realised that I was allowing things into my heart that don't belong there; Messages and images that reinforced such behavioural patterns. The admonition to guard your heart is key. The bible teaches that as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

Jesus tells the parable of the sower who sows the word of the Gospel in different kinds of hearts; not heads or minds. The reason some reaped a harvest and others did not wasn't because the word isn't powerful, but because the word had no space to sink into the hearts or was choked by other things. What you allow to sink in your heart matters a lot. What you focus on will determine your life. Paul advised that we focus on the things above (Colossians 3). He also said we should only think on lovely, worthy of praise things. Guard your heart and fill it with the Gospel and you will bear it's fruit effortlessly, fill your heart with the contradictions and principles of this world and you will work the works of the flesh.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE?

"He who gives you His Spirit and works miracles among you–does He do so on the ground of your obedience to the Law, or is it the result of    your having heard and believed"

(Galatians 3:5 Weymouth translation)

Belief is a powerful thing. To believe is not just to give mental assent to a fact. It is to have that fact be the platform from which you live your life. It is to have your heart so persuaded by this fact that it drives your life. This is what the apostles meant when they said believe.

Many people nowadays view Christianity as some academic exercise; We just know a bunch of facts in our heads so that we can go around arguing with one another based on bible verses. But that is not what it is at all. This life is much deeper. It is to come face to face with the God of the universe and to see him for who he really is. It is to realise that Jesus is the owner and supreme ruler of this Cosmos and to bend the knee and say "your will be done". It is to receive the Holy Spirit in yourself and become conscious of the fact that your body is now the home of God himself.

This means something.  This translates into a life that cannot originate from you; A life of fruit bearing; A life where the mundane and elemental principles of this world cannot hold you or rule you anymore. This is what is meant by believe. Your life cannot be the same when you believe this Gospel. This is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Right believing leads to right living.