By Brenda Cannon Henley
Having done a good deal of study on the heart the past two weeks, I was rather amazed when a speaker in our morning church service spoke on the human heart. He emphasized in his very good and timely message a Bible truth we have often been reminded of through the years. The heart is centrally important to the manner in which we live our lives every day.
What we put into our hearts comes out in daily living. He gave several Biblical illustrations of wrong thinking in the heart that caused often good men to go astray. They all first thought in their heart and then actions sprang or grew from the thoughts. What we think on, eventually we act upon, to our good or to our bad.
Proverbs 4:23 teaches that wise Christians must “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” This is one of over 50 verses I read that discusses the heart and its importance.
What we allow or invite into our heart takes root and our actions spring from those roots. Again in Proverbs 23:7, we are told “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” These verses should cause an honest Christian to give thought and serious concern as to what he harbors in his heart.
We may be so attuned to the world that we allow a little something to slide in, we don’t think the matter through balanced on the word of God, another little something comes along, and then another, and we find ourselves changing directions or course seemingly without our knowledge or approval. And then one day, bam, we hardly recognize where we are or what we are doing.
We cannot fill our hearts and lives with trash, filthy language, cursing, sexual wrong, hateful attitudes, jealousy, envy, strife, and pure ugliness, and then expect good, kind, and helpful things to spring forth from our lips, pens, and lives. A well cannot give forth both sweet and bitter water.
This is especially true with the effect our actions have on our children. As our hearts guide us, our lives guide those that follow us – Our boys and girls, our relatives, our employees, our coworkers, and our neighbors. They are ever watching what we do and they note changes in our examples and lives. We must keep our hearts pure and clean for our own lives, but for those we influence daily.
Give me a clean heart, O Lord, and let it be fixed on you.
Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at 409 781 8788, or
[email protected]
[June-29-2021]
Posted in 
