What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Can you remember a time when someone gave you some “wise counsel” to do something that ended up not being the best idea after all? You may not want to admit it, but you probably jumped into to something without thinking and regret that decision to this day.
Well, some of the worst advice I hear people doling out these days is to “follow your heart.” In fact, a friend got that advice in a fortune cookie this last week. “Follow your heart – it will never lead you wrong.” Is that a true statement? Do our hearts ever lead us in the wrong direction?
Mine has. I’ve gotten my mind so set on something that I start begging God for it. Pleading with God for weeks and months on end to give me this thing I want. Sometimes I’m sure that God gives me what I want just to show me that what I really wanted wasn’t what I actually needed. Because there have been times when I got what I wanted and it was devastating.
Our hearts are crazy things. No, I literally think they’re crazy. Sometimes they’re bipolar, other times they have multiple personality disorder. I’ve been in conversations with people who deeply want something for their lives like losing weight. Then a few moments later in the conversation they’re talking about wanting a cheeseburger. Wait a second, that was probably me talking to someone. I want to lose weight and I want a cheeseburger. Oh hey, I can just do Keto, right?
The prophet Jeremiah said: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) You’ve probably heard that verse before. Honestly, it’s one we need to memorize, because our hearts are not only prone to wander but we’re prone to following our hearts with all our hearts into disaster.
Prior to that verse the prophet says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord…but blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who’s confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends its roots out into the stream.” Then that verse about our deceitful hearts.
What’s the connection? Trusting in the Lord produces fruitfulness, trusting in man produces desert living. The result of one is vastly different than another for the tree. What kind of tree do you want to be. Do you want to be by a stream or by parched lands?
Okay, okay, that’s great. Don’t trust your hearts. So what? What’s that got to do with becoming love? Well, hang with me for just a second. You see, the tactics of the world are at work to short-circuit our brain and use either our hearts or fear to manipulate us in one direction. The news tends to use fear to try to affect the way we live our lives. Advertising companies and media moguls use stories to try to influence our hearts. Either way, the end result is often the same, bypass the logical parts of our brains to get us to make an impulsive decision.
In fact, smart devices (like smart phones) are running algorithms on us as their subjects all the time to determine the time of day when we are the least self-controlled versions of ourselves so they know when to pitch that product our direction that we might impulsively purchase. Supposedly, our storehouse of willpower is limited. With smartphones, we may even use up our willpower reserves very early in the day. So by the time we get into the afternoon and we’re tired or when we’re scrolling on social media at midnight, we’re more likely to make an impulse purchase because it tugged our heart strings in one way or another.
Well, not one way or another, three specific ways. But that’s for tomorrow. For today, let’s look at the problem of the heart when it comes to love. I mean, we want to become love right? Shouldn’t our hearts play a critical role in that process?
Well, kind of. Genesis 6:5 says that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Thus, God flooded the earth and started over with Noah. What is the “evil” that was taking place? Well, we would like to point our fingers at specific sins. However, that would be like the nail in the head video that was popular a few years ago. In case you don’t remember, there was a video with a man and a woman, and the woman had a nail in her head. “I can just feel it, literally feel it in my head, it’s relentless. I don’t know if it’s ever going to stop.” The guy says, “Well, you do have a nail in your head.” To which she replies: “It’s not about the nail, stop trying to fix this…” They go back and forth for a while about how she needs him to listen but he wants to take the nail out. But, she wants to keep talking about the pain the nail is causing. He finally concedes and says: “That must be really hard.” And she says with relief, “It is.” They go in to kiss one another and he hits the nail with his forehead.
My wife and I have gone back and forth over that video since it came out. “It’s not about the nail.” She will say, to which I reply, “But it is about the nail, because all the stuff she’s complaining about would go away if the nail was gone.” I guess that’s just because I’m a guy. Or, it could be that I’m right. 🙂
Now, I’m aware that I’ve probably ticked off any female listening to this podcast, but roll with me. The problem of our hearts isn’t that we do the sin, whatever the sin is. The problem is that we WANT to do the sin. We want the cookie. We know we shouldn’t, we know it would be better if we denied ourselves and didn’t follow through on that urge, but we want it a lot. And the more we think about it, the more we convince ourselves that we want it. And, because we are masters of our own minds and hearts, we’re really good at convincing ourselves that what we want is the right thing and that we should do the thing we really want to do.
So we do it. We give in to it. Because our hearts deceive us. Our wants deceive us all the time. The pain the nail causes is nothing compared to the damage the nail is doing to the woman’s head. The same is true of sin. The pain that sin causes is nothing compared to the damage that rebellion is doing to our hearts. Our constant giving in to our hearts only perpetuates, adds fuel to our desire to please ourselves. Our hearts become hardened, stuck in their ways because we consistently resist God’s prompting away from our selfish natures and indulge in the nail one more time.
Becoming love can only be accomplished with a new heart. As we will see later this week, God’s definition of love varies greatly from the worlds definition of love. Becoming love sounds good and nice, but who’s love are we going to become, God’s love or the world’s love? The two are mutually exclusive.
What do we do? Well? We need a new heart. We need God to write his law of love on our hearts so that instead of being ruled by our heart of stone, the one we were born with, we can be ruled by God’s soft, beating heart of love. Primarily, this is a work that God does. God changes our hearts by his power. But we do have a role to play. We have to give him access to our hearts on a regular basis.
You see, it’s going to be hard to listen to God’s voice speaking to the desires of your heart if you never learn what His voice sounds like. That’s one reason why, we’re asking you to consider giving another 7 minutes this week to God. That’s a total of 12 minutes a day. And, It’s really important that we not try to squeeze an extra 12 minutes here or there. Because of our Lent journey, we need to actually deny ourselves something to make time for the most important thing.
Jesus isn’t something you add to your life. Jesus is your life. But Jesus won’t become our life by force. Jesus becomes our life by our complete surrender to Him. In other words, Jesus becomes our life when we deny ourselves whatever it is we think life is. Squeezing in 12 minutes a day with Jesus is possible for most. But, that’s only half the battle. We need to strength our denying muscles. We, as a society (myself included) need to remind ourselves what it feels like to be hungry so we know what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We need to deny ourselves instant access to everything so that we can remind ourselves what it’s like to seek the Kingdom of God. The convenience of our society has numbed us to the pursuit of God. We’ve so numbed our hearts with convenience that we need to start reminding ourselves what it is to follow hard after God.
So, what can you give up to find 12 minutes a day to spend time with God? If you do, you’ll start to notice the desires of your heart start to change. It may not be much. Just a few minutes surfing craigslist or a few less minutes perusing the deals of the day on Amazon. Maybe you give up 12 minutes of sleep so you can spend those 12 minutes with God to start your day. (By the way, the sun is rising about 3 minutes earlier every day right now, so if you just got up 3 minutes earlier per day you’d have 15 more minutes per week.
We have to let the Spirit retrain the way our hearts work so that we can become like Jesus who’s heart was moved with compassion on the pain and heartache he saw in the world. Our hearts don’t see it anymore. We’re numb to it. We need a fresh work of the Spirit of life to resurrect our cold, hard hearts.
cowboys sweater men wholesale detroit red wings hats new era nike nfl baltimore ravens 73 marshal yanda limited women purple team color jersey sale ultra boost cream 2018 moncler lans navy kate spade cream crossbody
fhmclinic http://www.fhmclinic.com/
white hiking hat uk white sale mens asics gel noosa tri 9 moncler lamoura nike kobe ad nxt black white yellow shoes retro tennis outfit north face womens 1996 retro nuptse jacket
puntohaber http://www.puntohaber.com/
philadelphia eagles throwback jersey pink crown ring adidas energy boost esm rosso nike air jordan 14 all black moncler ski jacket mens marcus mariota oregon jersey
suviedu http://www.suviedu.com/
adox louboutin adidas superstar mint green noir most flattering wrap dress polo cargo shorts big and tall black and purple top hat jordan retro 8 black chrome for sale for cheap
sinsumbar http://www.sinsumbar.com/
corner zip wristlet in signature canvas with snowflake print the north face summit series l6 salomon bindings moncler fur coat mens nike kobe 9 elite wholesale 2016 wholesale cowboys platinum hat
novaapk http://www.novaapk.com/
anfernee hardaway iii cheap all red shoes kith dad hat nike quest 3 black white new york yankees cap indonesia map nike air max 90 ez black michael kors nouveau hamilton medium
favagok http://www.favagok.com/
boston red sox navy 47 brand cleanup adjustable hat upgrade professional business casual attire prada logo stripe leather sneakers the north face albroz vest inayah modest clothing herschel walker signed jersey
bakirtesisat http://www.bakirtesisat.com/
texas ranger stetson hats fedora nike womens revolution 5 running shoes white elite bradley mcdougald womens jersey tampa bay buccaneers 30 alternate orange nfl pandora black sparkling crown ring black hooded body warmer party boy clothes
cepsarf http://www.cepsarf.com/
nike kd 7 blu and nero nike air max 90 atomic red for sale limited christian yount mens jersey cleveland browns 57 home brown nfl womens tartan dress boden anastasia dress red dunk high
salestraks http://www.salestraks.com/
air jordan 6 rings grey moncler ecrins navy titans clothing the north face merak triclimate childs knit hat pattern bulky yarn nz nike darwin svart buy
blturnerintl http://www.blturnerintl.com/
different michael kors bags new balance 996 mens shoes nike janoski max all white blue uk boston red sox new era mlb basic gold 59fifty cap guidelines sexiest bride dresses jordan 14 retro toro blanc
thinkeathealthy http://www.thinkeathealthy.com/
My spouse and i ended up being now relieved Chris could conclude his survey by way of the ideas he received using your blog. It’s not at all simplistic to just be releasing steps which often most people have been selling. And we do understand we now have the website owner to be grateful to for that. All of the explanations you made, the straightforward blog menu, the relationships you can assist to engender – it’s got mostly astounding, and it is leading our son in addition to us understand the content is awesome, which is certainly especially fundamental. Thank you for all the pieces!
My wife and i have been thankful that Raymond could conclude his researching from the ideas he discovered through the web page. It’s not at all simplistic just to choose to be offering tricks others may have been making money from. We realize we now have the writer to thank because of that. The type of explanations you made, the straightforward website menu, the friendships your site make it easier to engender – it’s got mostly wonderful, and it is making our son and us understand that subject matter is amusing, which is certainly seriously indispensable. Thanks for the whole thing!
I would like to show my appreciation to this writer for rescuing me from this type of difficulty. Right after surfing around throughout the search engines and finding views which are not productive, I was thinking my entire life was done. Existing minus the solutions to the difficulties you have fixed by means of your review is a crucial case, as well as those which could have negatively damaged my career if I had not come across your web blog. Your main competence and kindness in maneuvering every item was tremendous. I’m not sure what I would have done if I had not come upon such a point like this. It’s possible to now look forward to my future. Thanks a lot so much for the expert and sensible guide. I won’t think twice to propose the blog to anyone who needs to have assistance on this subject matter.
Thanks a lot for giving everyone such a pleasant opportunity to read articles and blog posts from this blog. It really is so ideal and as well , jam-packed with amusement for me personally and my office colleagues to visit your blog not less than thrice per week to learn the new secrets you have. And definitely, I am certainly amazed concerning the terrific hints you give. Selected two facts in this post are easily the most effective I have ever had.
nike air force one 07 san francisco giants world series champions hats new altra lone peak 4.0 mid wizard of oz coach tote predator 2018 football boots haiwee adidas shoes
tekstrens http://www.tekstrens.com/
Thank you so much for providing individuals with an exceptionally brilliant possiblity to read in detail from this blog. It is always so sweet and also full of a lot of fun for me personally and my office fellow workers to search your site a minimum of thrice in a week to find out the latest guides you will have. And indeed, I am usually amazed considering the splendid thoughts you serve. Some 2 points in this posting are easily the very best I’ve ever had.
I simply had to thank you so much once more. I do not know the things I might have implemented without the entire pointers documented by you on my area of interest. It was a hard case in my circumstances, but considering your specialised manner you dealt with it made me to jump for gladness. I’m just grateful for the support and as well , hope you know what a powerful job that you are doing training people through the use of your webblog. I am sure you haven’t met any of us.
hijab dress designs pandora 4 leaf clover charm dallas cowboys mitchell and ness jersey for cheap chicago white sox hats through the years reddit adidas ultra boost grau wool outlet silver black nike air max 2019 women shoes
umafiesta http://www.umafiesta.com/
jordan xiv supreme nike mercurial superfly hvit and blue womens fox racing hats zombies pink dolphin waves hat tricks chelsea jersey nike sb zoom blazer mid sashiko mystic navy blanc
adlimeira http://www.adlimeira.com/
ray ban cats 5000 sunglass hut nike vapor untouchable limited miami heat purple shirt reebok classic zig kinetica edge whirlibird watch cap pandora christmas charms 2020 preview
munoso http://www.munoso.net/
I simply wished to say thanks once more. I do not know the things I would’ve tried in the absence of those suggestions revealed by you relating to that subject. It had become an absolute distressing situation for me personally, nevertheless considering the very skilled approach you handled it forced me to weep with fulfillment. I will be happier for this support and hope you really know what a great job you have been undertaking teaching the mediocre ones through your web blog. I am certain you’ve never encountered any of us.
I wish to express some thanks to this writer just for rescuing me from this type of condition. Just after scouting throughout the world wide web and coming across concepts which are not pleasant, I was thinking my life was gone. Existing devoid of the answers to the problems you’ve solved by means of your write-up is a crucial case, and ones which could have badly affected my entire career if I had not come across your blog. Your own personal skills and kindness in controlling all the details was priceless. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t come upon such a point like this. I can also at this time relish my future. Thanks very much for the expert and effective guide. I will not be reluctant to suggest the blog to anyone who should have direction about this topic.
Thanks so much for giving everyone remarkably marvellous opportunity to read articles and blog posts from this website. It really is so amazing and as well , stuffed with amusement for me personally and my office acquaintances to search your web site really 3 times every week to read the fresh issues you have. And lastly, we’re certainly motivated with your tremendous concepts you serve. Selected 3 points on this page are easily the finest we have had.
My spouse and i felt absolutely lucky when Albert managed to do his preliminary research while using the precious recommendations he gained using your web page. It’s not at all simplistic to simply always be giving away tips which often people have been making money from. So we know we’ve got the blog owner to be grateful to for that. Those explanations you’ve made, the simple blog navigation, the relationships you can help instill – it’s most powerful, and it is aiding our son and us reason why the subject is exciting, which is really mandatory. Thanks for all the pieces!
new balance 574 nero leopard print moncler cluny navy youth nike new orleans saints 94 cameron jordan elite black team color nfl jersey sale arizona cardinals fitzgerald jersey texas rangers franchise hat map air jordan 1 flight black and white
nuttours http://www.nuttours.com/
I am glad for writing to let you be aware of of the exceptional encounter my cousin’s princess encountered studying your web page. She discovered a good number of pieces, most notably how it is like to have an awesome helping mood to have many people really easily gain knowledge of selected advanced things. You undoubtedly did more than visitors’ expectations. Many thanks for providing these good, safe, edifying and also easy tips about that topic to Ethel.
I together with my buddies have already been reviewing the good solutions on the blog and so before long got an awful feeling I never thanked the website owner for those tips. Most of the men were for that reason thrilled to study them and already have undoubtedly been taking advantage of them. Appreciation for indeed being very kind and also for pick out this kind of nice ideas millions of individuals are really desirous to be informed on. Our own sincere regret for not saying thanks to sooner.
I have to show some thanks to you just for bailing me out of such a predicament. After looking out throughout the world-wide-web and coming across ideas which are not beneficial, I assumed my life was over. Existing minus the solutions to the problems you’ve sorted out through your good short post is a serious case, as well as those that could have badly damaged my entire career if I hadn’t discovered your blog. Your good expertise and kindness in playing with everything was vital. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t discovered such a thing like this. I’m able to at this moment look ahead to my future. Thanks a lot so much for this expert and sensible guide. I won’t think twice to refer the sites to anyone who desires recommendations about this area.
I’m writing to make you know of the amazing experience my princess found going through your webblog. She realized many pieces, which included how it is like to have a marvelous giving style to let the rest without difficulty know just exactly several tricky matters. You undoubtedly surpassed readers’ expectations. I appreciate you for offering such valuable, healthy, edifying and easy tips on that topic to Evelyn.
nike air max fingertrap mens black yellow shoes limited brett keisel youth jersey pittsburgh steelers 99 road white nfl air max 90 size 9.5 blanc mustard shift dress mens short sleeve quarter zip pandora ring flower
ddukmani http://www.ddukmani.com/
I must show my appreciation to you for rescuing me from this problem. Just after checking throughout the search engines and getting notions that were not beneficial, I was thinking my entire life was over. Being alive devoid of the strategies to the issues you’ve resolved by means of your main write-up is a serious case, and the kind which may have in a negative way damaged my career if I hadn’t come across your web blog. Your own personal knowledge and kindness in maneuvering all the details was excellent. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t come across such a solution like this. It’s possible to at this point look forward to my future. Thank you so much for this expert and effective help. I won’t hesitate to refer your blog post to any individual who needs guidelines on this subject.
I wish to express my love for your generosity supporting folks that really need help on this one field. Your very own dedication to getting the message around has been particularly insightful and has surely permitted somebody like me to attain their aims. The valuable facts indicates so much to me and even further to my office colleagues. Best wishes; from everyone of us.
Thank you so much for giving everyone an extremely superb opportunity to read from this site. It’s usually so awesome plus full of a good time for me and my office friends to visit your blog the equivalent of three times per week to read the newest stuff you have. Not to mention, we’re certainly impressed considering the superb points served by you. Some 3 ideas in this post are essentially the most effective we have all ever had.
nike nfl atlanta falcons 54 stephen nicholas white limited road jersey sale nike jacksonville jaguars 14 justin blackmon white limited kids jersey nike air max 180 bright ceramic ltd mens la angels of anaheim 28 andrew heaney green salute to service jersey air presto soar stockx vintage style gown
marvslater http://www.marvslater.com/
ross formal dresses nike air max tavas premium rojo wtoo by watters effie skirt louboutin roller boat mlb jerseys st louis cardinals 51 willie mcgee white 2011 world series jerseys adidas x 16 review
tabamachine http://www.tabamachine.com/
mother of the bride dresses knee length with sleeves silver heart bracelet pandora pandora butterfly spacer charm nba snap backs nike tempo 4 fat face gilet mens
exledau http://www.exledau.com/
dempsey tote 40 in signature jacquard with patch pandora new job charm rip curl shaka hat womens sleep shirt short sleeve summit series 800 pro syracuse orange new era ncaa team front neo 39thirty cap
calimercado http://www.calimercado.com/
I wanted to write down a small note to be able to express gratitude to you for all the precious points you are showing here. My time consuming internet investigation has at the end been rewarded with excellent details to talk about with my classmates and friends. I would assume that most of us readers are very blessed to be in a useful website with many special individuals with interesting tactics. I feel really happy to have come across the website page and look forward to tons of more excellent minutes reading here. Thanks once again for all the details.
air max supreme cheap black and green shoes nike air force 15 chelsea away jersey meshki diamante dress pandora 788097npr readymade x nike blazer mid black
phudienco http://www.phudienco.com/
pandora edelweiss charm desert sage 350
pinmein http://www.pinmein.com/
nike air huarache run ultra gs owners manual versace red bottoms linen dress kids mvp baseball cap kate landry caftan covers samsung a71
etcshowchoir http://www.etcshowchoir.com/
christopher esber ruched disconnect dress red bottom loafers louis vuitton the north face down nike hyperdunk 2013 white black red kansas city royals franchise hat quizlet indubindu clothing
hdcamcrew http://www.hdcamcrew.com/
nike kobe 10 white black blue for canada air jordan future nero reflective jordan 12 gold wings fun baby hats to knit 53 adidas x 18.3 ag grey orange shoes bandage wedding dresses
energistech http://www.energistech.com/
Thanks for all your labor on this website. Ellie really likes engaging in internet research and it is obvious why. A number of us notice all about the compelling mode you create rewarding strategies via the web site and even inspire response from other ones on that area while my daughter has always been studying a lot. Have fun with the rest of the year. You’re doing a tremendous job.
I simply desired to thank you very much all over again. I am not sure the things I could possibly have tried without the aspects contributed by you over this problem. It became the frustrating matter in my view, but observing this specialized tactic you managed the issue took me to weep for fulfillment. Now i am happy for this work and then wish you know what a great job that you’re accomplishing educating others all through your web site. Most probably you haven’t met any of us.
I wish to express my gratitude for your kind-heartedness supporting those individuals that really need guidance on in this matter. Your very own commitment to getting the solution across has been surprisingly interesting and have continuously allowed men and women just like me to arrive at their desired goals. The insightful tutorial implies a whole lot to me and especially to my mates. Regards; from everyone of us.
I’m also writing to let you know of the excellent discovery my child experienced visiting the blog. She learned too many things, which included what it is like to possess a very effective helping mindset to have other people completely have an understanding of a variety of complex subject areas. You truly exceeded my desires. Thanks for offering those priceless, safe, edifying and as well as fun tips on your topic to Lizeth.