Morning Musings...

There are many devices in a man’s heart;

nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

~ Proverbs 19:21

More morning ponderings...

musings while I gardened...

"Follow your heart," they say. And Christians say it, too.

Do what your gut tells you to do.

Do what feels best to you.

But God says...

The heart is deceitful above all,

and desperately wicked,

who can know it?

Jesus says whoever does the will

of His Father in heaven is

His mother, brother and sisters.

Isn't doing the will of God

directly against the choices our hearts

would make?

Isn't basing life choices on what 

our heart tells us dangerous?

Should we maybe not pick up the

lingo and actions of the world

which strokes the heart and 

allows it to rule,

and instead lay down our lives,

our wants, hopes, dreams,

ambitions, preferences, etc

and follow the Holy Spirit

which often leads us to something

that directly puts a sword

in the selfish heart?

I'm not talking about Ephrata Cloister style

sleeping-on=wooden-block-pillows type of

asceticism; I'm just simply saying

that do we know where we have picked up

the lingo of the world and of mixed religion

that does not recognize nor teach 

cross bearing?

Many times I have had a personal preference

but God hindered me from living it out,

and though it was hard on the flesh sometimes,

and I felt neglected

(see how the human heart is deceitful?!),

I later could see the blessing of obedience

to what God called me to do

and I was so thankful that I had not

followed my heart or listened to my gut.

We could argue that we simply mean

(by these phrases)

that we are going to do what 

God is telling us to do.

I ask then, 

would it not be better to acknowledge

Him in it and leave our heart out of it?

Sure, He gave us a new heart and a new way,

if we are born again,

but I don't think we mean that heart

when we adopt the phrase

"follow your heart",

simply because of how we say it.

What are your thoughts?

How can we live more fully 

the Way of the Cross?

Scriptures, thoughts, etc

would be very welcome.