A pure heart

Everyone knows you harvest what you sow. You reap what you plant. Yet strangely, what we know when we develop land, we tend to forget when we cultivate our hearts.

Consider for a moment your thoughts as seed. Some thoughts become flowers. Others become weeds. Sow seeds of hope and enjoy optimism. Sow seeds of doubt and expect insecurity.

"People harvest only what they plant." - Gal 6:7
"Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." - Prov 4:23

Suppose someone asks you to look after their house for a week. You promise to keep everything in tip top shape, but when the owner returns, the house is a complete mess. Your explanation is that some hitchhikers showed up and you gave them a place to stay; some guys wanted to have a party and you let them in. The owner then asks you, 'Don't you know how to say no? This is not your house. You don't have the right to let in everyone who wants to enter."

Ever think God wants to say the same to us?

Guarding our hearts

You have to admit - some of our hearts are trashed out. Let any nonsense knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, and we let him in. Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party, and we show him the kitchen. Lust rings the bell, and we change the sheets on the bed. Don't we know how to say no?

Many don't. For most of us, thought management is, well, unthought of. We think a lot about time management, weight management, personnel management, but what about thought management? Shouldn't we be as concerned about managing our thoughts as we are about managing anything else? Jesus was. He stubbornly guarded the gateway of his heart. Many thoughts were denied entrance.

Jesus guarded his heart. If he did, shouldn't we do the same? Jesus wants your heart to be fertile and fruitful. He wants you to have a heart like his. He wants you to 'think and act like Christ Jesus.'
We can be transformed if we make one decision - Submit our thoughts to the authority of Jesus.
If you give him authority over you, then your guilty thoughts are no longer allowed.

To have a pure heart, we must submit all thoughts to the authority of Christ. If we are willing to do that, he will change us to be like him. So guard the doorway of your heart. Submit your thoughts to the authority of Christ. The more selective you are about seeds, the more delighted you will be with the crop.