Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:20-27

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
       listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
       keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
       and health to a man’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
       for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth;
       keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
       fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet
       and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left;
       keep your foot from evil.

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I have forgotten this.

My parents gave me a book a while ago titled I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris, which is actually a pretty good book with some good principles in it (ironic, I know, since I’m dating… but I prefer courtship. though technically it can’t be considered as such… w/e). One of the major principles in it was about guarding your heart. Now a lot of well-meaning people tell you to “follow your heart” as if it will make everything better, but if you really examine your own heart, you will find it full of sin and deceit and lust and evil desires. I know mine is.

My heart has been leading me astray with Pammy lately. To be honest, I think I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done, and said things that shouldn’t have been said. Not that things are utterly horrible, but they’re just not how things should be. That said and done, I’ve committed myself to guarding my heart again. When I first started this relationship, I thought that I’d be able to control myself and with my own power keep it healthy and pure. I was completely wrong about that… God is the only one who can strengthen me to do that. He is the one I need to depend on for my strength and will. I need to give everything up to Him and allow Him to control things for once. Hopefully then, things will start getting better.

Ruin My Plans

Proverbs 16:9

9 In his heart a man plans his course,
       but the LORD determines his steps.

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Every Wednesday, me, Joseph, and Daniel Kao meet at Starbucks to discuss leadership for the friday night house church groups and things like that. One of the subjects that popped up a lot was prayer, and related to that was the idea about making God God in your life. Daniel led us to this verse in Proverbs, and he told us to meditate on it. I have been doing so, and it’s really been great. I kinda talked about this same thing in the Ruin My Life post, and I’ve been continuing to struggle with this concept. I’ve been praying about it more, I guess.. and to be honest, lately my prayer life has gotten better, which is a good thing. I think the whole meditation on Revelations and the leadership conference has helped change my mindset on prayer.

Anyways.. I’ve come to realize that many times I make my own plans without any consideration for God. That is completely the wrong mindset.. since we can “plan our course” but in the end it’s up to God to determine what happens in our lives. It’ll be better if we live according to God’s will and His plan for us from the beginning. I’m just praying now that God will continue to reveal His path for my life so that I can follow it and live for Him.

Prayer

Revelations 4:2-11

At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

   In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
 11“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honor and power,
   for you created all things,
      and by your will they were created
      and have their being.”

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 This passage from Revelations gives us one of those rare glimpses into heaven and what God’s throne will actually look like. My first thought that I get when I read this is Wow, this is pretty intense. I mean, come on, lightning and thunder coming from the throne, four six-winged strangely awesome living creatures with eyes covering everything… If I glimpsed that I would probably be pretty terrified.

The speaker at the leadership conference in Fort Worth, Francis Chan, was amazing to say the least. He mentioned this passage and related it with prayer. If you put this perspective of God into your head before you pray, then surely, your prayers won’t be the same! Can you imagine standing before the almighty God in this state and asking Him to just bless you and give you a perfect life? I don’t know about you, but my first thoughts would be that I was too unworthy to even approach Him, and that all my dirty sins needed to be forgiven. After I got over the awe, I might be able to petition a few requests that are completely unselfish. This perspective really changes the way you pray. No longer is your main focus me, Me, ME~~ MONSTER!!! but it’s on God, and that’s the way it should be.

With that all told, I’ll confess I still have some selfish requests that I make to God. Perhaps they’re justified, but most likely they are petty in the eyes of God. I am hoping I’ll be able to change my view on prayer and how I pray.