Jesus Christ taught us in Mark 7:15(NLT), “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” The heart is a part of the human soul. Some refer to it as the feeling center of the soul, and by the teaching of our Master Jesus, we know that the heart is also a container. It stores information, thoughts, memories, feelings, and emotions. There isn’t one event or experience that we’ve encountered in life that hasn’t been recorded in our hearts and minds.
The Words of Jesus in Mark 7:15 remind us to be extremely careful about what we allow to marinate in our minds and hearts. If the wrong things become rooted in our inner beings, they can defile us, and this is something we should avoid at all cost. In Proverbs 4:23(NLT), God also tells us, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Our Heavenly Father has instructed us to be careful observers of ourselves. With carefulness, we are to guard and make sure the wrong information doesn’t enter our hearts, and we are also to make sure the wrong emotions, thoughts, or words don’t flow from our hearts either.
God has designed life in such a way that we live it from the inside out, not the other way around. Whatever it is that exists in our hearts will make its way to the surface. It is eventually going to be exposed. So, if we’re storing negatives that cause us to feel bad about ourselves and about others, we are setting ourselves up for feelings like bitterness, insecurity, anger, jealousy and other remnants of fear and darkness. If we allow these to drop into our hearts, they will show up in our circumstances, and we will not be pleased when they do.
We go through trials and tribulations in this world, and many of them can be traced back to an attitude, thought, or emotion that is defiling us. It has not been birthed from God’s love, but from believing the wrong things about who He is and what He requires from us. In Philippians 2:12(NKJV), God tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” Our human spirit is perfected in Christ after regeneration, but our souls are different story. We must do as our Master Jesus instructs in Luke 11:9(NLT), “keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
We will probably never know the answer to all the ‘whys’ of the world. But to the extent that we choose to demonstrate the diligence God requires, we can release the thing that is weighing us down and embrace the newness in Christ that will propel us forward. God tells us in James 1:5(NLT), “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” We must appreciate that God is good, God is love, and He is perfect in every way. As we seek to please Him, we must come into consciousness about those things that do not please Him. We must pray in faith and ask Him to reveal our errors. He will lovingly guide us through His Spirit, and as we embrace His truth, it will make us free. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Appreciate the Privilege of Asking God for Answers”, written by Penny Brown for Springfield Fellowship, Inc., springfieldfellowshipinc.org© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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