“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.” -Proverbs 4:23
I remember when I first went off to college, how vastly different it was from living in the comforts of home. One of the first things I noticed was that I had this freedom as a college student that I had never had before. It was pretty amazing to do what I wanted as long as I attended class and studied. I also remember receiving notes and care packages from my parents. They lived twelve hours away four states over. In these notes that either my Mom or Dad would write, there was always this phrase at the end of the note that has always stuck with me…it would read: “guard your heart” 
Those three words were more than just a sentiment written from parent to child, it was truly the beginning of wisdom for me. It helped develop in me this notion that I was living for more than just myself- but for Christ. Since that time, this verse has always been special to me, and has helped me through some very difficult, even rebellious times.
The Truth:
The truth of this verse is evident in our daily lives. 
You and I will face discouragement, frustrations, trouble, and temptation! The Father of lies would love nothing more than to distract and destroy this faith that we have in Christ. That is why he works so hard to disrupt our lives. But we cannot give Satan all of the credit, we are to blame many times as well. We make poor choices, we stray from this faith journey…and we leave our hearts unguarded. There are some followers of Christ who have been swept away because of temptations and poor choices which have struck the unguarded heart. Today, know that what we choose to do, how we conduct ourselves, with whom we choose to associate – all matters. The content of our lives – the things we put into our brains through the things we see and hear -all matters! Be cautious and guard your heart from such trappings! This relationship thing that we have with Christ is an amazing thing! Don’t throw it away and exchange it for temporary pleasures and fleeting happiness. The joy and peace Christ offers to us all is everlasting!
So let me know ask you a personal question today:
Are there areas in your life right now that you are susceptible to the lures of temptation? Have you left your hearts unguarded? Get serious about this faith journey, and know that even Christians (especially Christians) can stumble and fall into temptation! Brothers and sisters in Christ – Guard your hearts!!
Prayer: Lord, I confess that there are areas of my life right now that I have left the door open to the trappings of temptation. These area include ________________(you list them). Surround me with other believers who can hold me accountable and challenge me. Remind me of your love and this hope that I have in you today! Help me again, dear Lord, to guard my heart ! In your name I pray these things. -Amen.
This intimate moment with Jesus, Nicodemus comes face to face with the Messiah – God’s chosen one who has come to deliver not just the Jews but the whole world. Nicodemus sought out Jesus for himself. He was curious, and he asked wanted to know more. This conversation was done one on one, a conversation that begged for answers, and Jesus gave them to Nicodemus. It doesn’t say in the scriptures if Nicodemus became a follower of Christ, but he was present after the crucifixion, and many have speculated that He did indeed become a member of the early Christian church…but it all started here at night with a conversation with a very personal Jesus.
Some of us only know Jesus when we are in large groups while at church. Some find worship to be the only encounter they have with Jesus in their week. But Jesus comes to each of us and longs for us to have that one on one time with Him. He wants to hear from us, and even longs for us to ask the hard questions of life. He comes to us willing to pour out His love upon us and to partake in this life with us. This is a very personal relationship. The corporate setting at church is wonderful, and we mustn’t discount that by any means, but we ought to crave those intimate moments with Jesus too. This is where we can begin to thrive as followers of Christ. This is where the conversation starts – in our silence and our prayers to Him. This is where life becomes transformed and renewed. Something mysterious and wondrous that words cannot even explain takes place when we specifically and intentionally set aside time to commune with Jesus. Oh that each of us encounter Jesus this way today! Find that time, set it aside…and seek your own personal Jesus.
Today is what they call “Ground Hog’s Day”. It’s a rather silly tradition here in the United States that commemorates a rodent and makes this ground hog a meteorologist for the day. It is said that if this rodent sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. It’s a big thing in Punxsutawney PA, as they celebrate and put cameras on this animal that looks somewhat shocked at the attention it is getting. But the real hope in this celebration is that we as people will finally see light at the end of this tunnel that is the season of winter. Many people struggle with winter blues and most just hate the cold weather typically found in the winter months, and so they place their hopes on this silly event known as Ground Hog’s day. All for a little bit of light and a whole lot more warmth.
In reality we all want more light. Winters are okay, even great for many winter recreational sports people, but these months often serve to remind us of dormancy and the hope of new life in the spring. In a very real sense, Christ came so that we could come out of the darkness of sin and death and into the light and warmth of new life! Once we have accepted this new life and light, our calling then is to become that very light for others, who are still in the dark, to see. Our light can shine, but we have to be willing to carry this flame of hope to those around us. The words we choose to say, the actions we choose to do – it all matters! How we conduct ourselves matters! We do not need Christians who only utter truths of the gospel, we need Christians who will live them and practice them. We are called to BE holy, and then do that holiness. It begins by embracing the light, coming out of the shadows and becoming a vessel of peace, love, grace and compassion. Our world needs less hate and judgment and more peace, compassion and love! Can we shine so that the world around us no longer lives in the shadows? Perhaps like Punxsutawney Phil (as silly as it is) we can shine so that others might not see their shadows anymore. The shadows of sin and hurt have held many for ransom for far too long! May we shine and do these good things so that others might find this hope that we all embrace.
While I was tending to this little cut that had become something more, it got me thinking that this is just like hurt and grudges. At the beginning when the wound is inflicted, it doesn’t seem like much. Sure, you feel hurt or wounded by words that were said to you, or things someone has done to you, but you “toughen up” and fight back. At least that’s how I work. I hit back. I respond, sometimes even lashing out. -It’s just a little cut.- But, maybe a few days later, or months later, you discover that this little cut has become a bigger issue that you originally thought. It has festered and become swollen, so much so that it has infected your heart and how you think about THAT person or group. Finally, you have a decision to make…will you allow this wound to continue to fester and eventually poison your whole body (spirit and soul too)? Or will you drain the wound and put ointment on it so that you can heal and move on…and not just live, but thrive?
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have to drain the wounds in our lives in order for us to become fully like Christ in every way, shape and form. We can declare that we want to be holy, and that we want to be the very image of Christ in our world, but it is only lip service if we haven’t dealt with these infected wounds in our lives. For some of us, these wounds run more deeply than we realize…and we need the Holy Spirit to help us sterilize and heal them. It may take us time to heal, but we must make this a priority in order for us to grow into this grace and knowledge of Christ.
hold you more accountable. I have witnessed people driving by me honking their horns, cutting people off and even giving someone the finger, only to notice that they had an ichthus fish (a Christians symbol) on the back of their car. What kind of witness is that? Will that attract people to Jesus? I don’t think so, in fact I think it will only drive people further from Christ.
removing the “Me first” mindset from our being and doing. When we have, in some small way, been able to let go of this self-indulgence, we can then allow others to be seen – as in for the first time – seen. In essence, removing the selfishness from our lives, which is in its nature a component of original sin, we are removing the scales from our spiritual eyes. When this removal takes place, compassion can flood in, and the capacity to truly love as God first loved us becomes finally possible.
“…Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…” Matthew 20:26 Jesus said these words to His disciples, and it has not lost its emphasis on His modern disciples today! In order for us to become great in the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to become servants of all. I should clarify that it is not our goal to become great with all that entails “greatness” in our culture today, e.g. egos, and ambition and selfishness. No, instead out goal ought to first be loving God and then assuming the very image of Christ so that we might fully embrace this removal of self. From this we will then have the great opportunity to love the world around us as Christ first loved you and me. 
It’s the daily routine. Every morning I wake up my children and get them ready for school. Then I shuffle to the kitchen and brew myself a nice hot cup of coffee. Most days my cup is clean but then there are days when my favorite cup was left in the car or in the sink…and it’s dirty. There is a dilemma that happens, do I wash it or just rinse it out. If I rinse it out I will know that the inside wasn’t clean…and I will be thinking about how it will affect the taste of my coffee as well as how it could affect my health to ingest bacteria from a dirty cup. I could drink from it, but I won’t.
Jesus addressed a very real spiritual health issue with these religious leaders.
The priority here is not witnessing. That might sound shocking to some of you. But the very first priority is being holy people. When we live up to being truly set apart for God, then the outpouring of our hearts will be our testimony and our praise to Him. Sometimes we are so action oriented and about getting things done and checking another item off of our “to do” list that we forget to simply be in the presence of God. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” This isn’t some egotistical announcement from God, instead it is a reminder of the very first priority of our life – Keep God first above all other things! Set apart in your heart a place for Him – in ALL THINGS! When we place this at the forefront of all that we do, we will find that everything is now viewed through the lens of God – and this will make all of the difference. Forget about what you will say to others about Jesus…that might sound funny. But stop worrying about what comes next in your witness to others, and BE in the presence of God – from this will flow your adoration and love so that others will see and believe.
Pastor's Ponderings 