The Alpha of Dealing with the Issues of the Heart

3067/10000 The Alpha of Dealing with the Issues of the Heart
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 4 v 23

The human heart is naturally deceitful. Out of the human heart come the evil issues of violence, murder, covetousness, lust, pride, adultery, theft and other crimes, injustice and untruth. We are responsible for the maintenance of our own hearts to keep it free from all such evil and to keep it in tune with the will and word of God, our Maker and Redeemer. As our Maker, He knows our hearts and sends the Holy Spirit to help us guard it from evil. As our Redeemer, He gives us grace to resist temptation and lust and overcome evil. Good and evil are constantly knocking at the door of our hearts. It is our decision which one to let in. Studying the word and applying it diligently will help us consistently make the right choice and even when we fall or fail, to return as soon as possible to the God-intended and designed equilibrium.
The issues of the heart are related to our conduct, our motives, our attitudes, our emotions, our communication, our relationships, our priorities, our core beliefs. We are to align these with the word and will of God. Our motives should be kept pure. Our relationships should be based on love and not on selfish considerations of what we can gain from it. We are to be on our guard all the time for when we let it down, the enemy attacks like a prowling lion. We need to keep clearing our hearts of the baggage from our past like guilt, bitterness, anger, hatred and so on. Instead, we need to treasure the good things the Lord has done for us or spoken or promised in our hearts.
The new testament or covenant made possible by Jesus that draws us into a deep and intimate relationship with the Lord, the Triune God of the Bible speaks of the circumcision of the human heart. Our hearts are to be stripped of anything and everything sinful or displeasing to the Lord. The Word is the double edged sword that cuts away anything extraneous or superfluous or insincere from our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the surgeon who does the life-long surgery on our hearts. He plants or sows the seed of righteousness in our hearts. He begins the flow of the rivers of life –giving water or the eternal issues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control in our hearts. We do not allow our hearts to be hardened or set in our ways but to always be strong as well as flexible to keep changing so that we conform to the image of Christ. Like our physical hearts stay healthy and fit with much exercise, we need to undertake various spiritual exercises like meditation, prayer, fasting, celebration, giving, worship in order to burn any deposit of unnecessary life threatening and artery blocking factors like fat or cholesterol. These spiritual exercises need to be built into our daily schedules and not undertaken only once in away.