Tag Archives: christianity

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Guard Your Heart

“Oh, that just breaks my heart!”

Lately I have found myself saying this frequently. When I hear about a young person ending their life, acts of racial hatred, persecution of fellow believers for their faith in Jesus, these all touch me to the core and break my heart. There is so much hurt and suffering in the world.

Our Women’s Community Bible Study has been studying “The Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the Historical Books” by Nancy Guthrie. One of the themes repeated in these Old Testament historical books is the pattern of ignoring God’s commandments and the resulting suffering that ensues. One of the ladies in our community Bible study said “where minds focus, hearts follow”. That struck me profoundly. When my mind strays from my first love – Jesus – my heart follows resulting in actions that are sin. As a follower of Jesus I must guard my heart.

That leads to the question – where is my mind focusing?

I can fill my mind with all sorts of things, some good, some clearly bad, and some things that start out good yet become bad as those things take up too much space. If I think of my mind as a container of thoughts and images, the content is constantly changing as I go through any given day. Thoughts and images are crowded out as new ones are taken in. As I make choices about what I focus on – consciously or unconsciously – my mind is forming ideas, attitudes, responses that ALL affect the disposition of my heart.

If I spend significant time on social media, podcasts, streaming news sites, on-line shopping sites, etc. – all these will fill my mind and take up room that could be filled with spiritually beneficial thoughts and images.

Paul cautions us in Philippians 4: 8-9 ESV

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Paul is encouraging the Christians in Philippi and says – “One final thing”… so it must be important! Paul asks us to “fix our minds” – focus – on what is

TRUE

HONORABLE

RIGHT

PURE

LOVELY

ADMIRABLE

EXCELLENT

WORTHY OF PRAISE

I found the Amplified Bible translation of verse 8 especially meaningful.

8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

How practical! For instance if my thoughts are “right and confirmed by God’s Word” then I can trust those thoughts. If I am anxious and worried, then I am certainly not focusing on things that are “lovely and bring peace”. Yet what about the reality of suffering the loss of a loved one, the pain of illness or accident? Am I expected to ignore the reality of that suffering? No.

Paul says in II Corinthians 10:4

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Paul challenges us here to “take every thought captive to obey Christ”. The suffering is real and suffering is the result of living in a broken and fallen world. Yet the TRUTH of God’s plan to redeem everything, including each of us, gives us hope. Until we eventually experience that full redemption our responsibility is to align our thoughts with God’s word to guard our hearts and minds.

This is the challenge for each of us moment by moment – day by day. As my friend said – “where our minds focus our hearts will follow.” My heart will still break at the suffering all around me. Yet when I fix my mind on God’s sovereignty and implant His Word in my mind, my heart will follow.

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Make Room

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This gingko tree has such a vibrant color each fall. The leaves are such a pure yellow and, as many Asian artists throughout the centuries have painted, they have a unique and pleasing shape.

The shape of this tree is also lovely. That is thanks in large part to my father’s recommendation that we remove a poplar tree that was growing behind it. The gingko tree was very small then, only about 3 feet tall. My father knew that the poplar would grow much faster than the ginkgo and the shade from the larger tree would cause the gingko to grow crooked. So, to make room, Phil cut down the poplar tree.

Now that decision was not automatic. Phil pointed out that the poplar tree was healthy, provided shade, and was also a desirable tree. Yet a choice had to be made – make room for the gingko – the only one we have on our property, or leave the trees to compete for sunlight.

We literally have hundreds of poplars on our mountain property so the decision was made to cut that poplar down. Yet it was not easy to remove a healthy tree that wouldn’t impact the smaller tree for several years to come. The issue was to make room for the future well being of the gingko tree. Something good was being removed to allow the growth of something better.

How like the decisions we make daily! I can easily fill my day with “good” things to do – but am I making room for the BEST things? We all know about the tyranny of the urgent. The pressure we feel to do the thing that seems most critical at that moment. Yet when I stop and consider what really matters – what is a priority for me as a follower of Jesus – my decision may change.

The real issue for me is not choosing between making a meal for a recovering friend or taking a walk on the Greenway. (I can take walk on the Greenway after I take the meal 🙂 The issue for me is recognizing the seemingly unimportant activities I engage in day to day that don’t make room for responding to the Holy Spirit. For me – these may include –

  • checking Facebook – (for me a bottomless pit)
  • checking my 1300 unread emails
  • finishing the zig saw puzzle
  • watching TV

None of the above activities are inherently wrong. Seeing grandchildren’s pictures on Facebook, catching up with old classmates, or reconnecting with friends from the past are all a blessing. I use Facebook to post this blog. I also need to check emails – ok – I can hear the AMEN now from several of you. Watching TV is a pleasure that can make us laugh, inform us, and entertain us when used thoughtfully. Yet all these things also use time, time that squeezes out room for the “better things.”

Luke 10:38-40 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Now making meals is important. We have responsibilities to our families, jobs, churches, and community that God has called us to. Jesus was admonishing Martha because she had not made room to listen to Him, and was worried and unset at her sister. Mary had a heart that desired to hear Jesus.

As with the tree, I need to choose what to cut out so that I make room for the Holy Spirit to lead me and speak to me. Then I will continue to grow in my walk with Jesus, making room to sit at His feet. Then we can become “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:2-3

#In My Garden with God

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Seasons of Change

I recently heard someone say – “The only person who likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper.” I have the blessing of keeping our great-grandchild while her mother is taking college classes. So yes, change is a good thing when it comes to diapers.

We all relate to that, don’t we. There are some people who seem to thrive on change, even chaos. Yet for most of us there is comfort in the familiar. We like to know what we may face ahead so we can plan accordingly. Yet change is a part of life whether that change is by choice or not.

I have learned in my almost 74 years that changes I sometimes fought against turned out to be blessings I would never have imagined. God knew. His ways are not our ways.

My father taught high school biology for 40 years. He taught 33 of those years at Wheaton Central High School in Illinois, took early retirement, and taught for 7 more years in Taichung, Taiwan at an English speaking mission school – Morrison Academy. Dad once told me that change at that time in his life was transformational in so many ways. Instead of “hanging on” during his last few years of teaching, he had a whole new set of plants and animals to share with students. The tropical environment of Taiwan was a new learning experience for him that challenged him to keep at least one step ahead of his students. How he enjoyed those years!

The change allowed my father to thrive in his final years of teaching in a way that staying in his comfort zone would never have done.

Change is hard. It challenges us to give up the comfortable and familiar for the unknown and uncertain. This can be especially difficult when the changes are imposed on us. Our own physical limitations, illness of a spouse, or a change in living situations can challenge us to face changes we didn’t anticipate or want.

Paul shares the “secret” to facing change in whatever circumstances we face in Philippians 4: 10-14

10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

The “secret” is that Paul learned to be content in whatever situation he faced. He accepted that situation – comfort, illness, abundance, prison – because he KNEW his life was in God’s hands and ultimately God was accomplishing His plan in Paul’s life. Paul suffered greatly at times, yet he knew God was faithful.

May we apply Paul’s secret to whatever we face today.