Follow Your Heart?

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

The term "follow your heart" is thrown around so loosely these days. Even the motto for the popular girls doll American Girl is "Follow your inner star". But should we really just follow our heart? Jesus talks about the heart frequently throughout scripture. Each time He seems to remind us of one thing: our heart is wicked. Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness [lies], blasphemies." Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it?" With these descriptions of our heart, it sounds like we should be extremely careful NOT to follow our hearts. Following your heart can and most often will lead us where we didn't plan to go, keep us there longer than we want to stay, and cost us a whole lot more than we want to pay. The verse in Proverbs says to "keep our heart with all diligence". Even though it may be easier to follow our hearts now than to seek God's will, in the long run we will be very thankful if we choose to walk in His will and not our own. The saying "You Only Live Once" or "YOLO" is taken too lightly. Yes, you only live once, so please don't waste the precious time the Lord has given you chasing after the world's passing pleasures.

                                                                                           

Only Two Times to Praise the Lord..

Psalm 113:1-4
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.

Psalm 34

I love Psalm 34! The Lord has used it to comfort me so many times. Especially on those nights I feel like my prayers aren't being heard. Then I turn to this chapter, and read the wonderful truths written there. The Lord does hear when the righteous cry out! He might not answer immediately, but He will always answer. Sometimes I think that maybe He doesn't answer immediately so I will continue to seek Him, and realize my desperation and hopelessness apart from Him. 

My favorite part of this chapter is verses 15-20, but I love the whole chapter.

Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
²⁰ He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
²² The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

It's Under the Blood

This song is very powerful, and personally one of my favorites. 

It’s Under the Blood

While walking down a memory lane oh not so long ago
Satan came by my way making me feel low
he brought up thoughts of hurt and pain when I had gone astray
he wanted to discourage me as I walked along my way
he said you’re undeserving, cause I know where you’ve been
I have a record of your life when you were bound by sin
I know your darkest secrets that you would never tell,
what makes you think you don’t deserve a place with me in Hell?
I heard the old accuser and this was my reply

you’re right for all the things I’ve done, I sure deserve to die;

My righteousness is filthy rags my goodness is unclean

there’s only one thing I can say to what you’ve said to me

It's under the blood, oh praise His dear name!
I'm not what I used to be, my life’s been changed.
Not shackled by sin and shame, it's already gone.
I'm happy reminding you, it's under the blood!

Victory was given me when I was born again
He washed my stained and sinful past and put new life within
no longer do I bear the mark that sin had brought my way
with happiness and peace of mind praise God I now can say

It's under the blood, oh praise His dear name!
I'm not what I used to be, my life’s been changed.
Not shackled by sin and shame, it's already gone.
I'm happy reminding you, it's under the blood!

What can wash away my sins; nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again; nothing but the blood of Jesus


It's under the blood, oh praise His dear name!
I'm not what I used to be, my life’s been changed.
Not shackled by sin and shame, it's already gone.
I'm happy reminding you, it's under the blood!

I’m happy reminding you, it’s under the blood!

Happy Independence Day!

The room was hot and sticky. Flies entered through the open windows and landed on the necks of the delegates. None of the men seemed to care. It was July 4^th, 1776, and thirty-four of fifty-six delegates had gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence. Their eyes were fixed upon John Hancock, seated at the front of the room. As he read the last sentence, each delegate seemed to repeat it to himself. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance upon divine Providence, we mutually pledge together our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Hancock laid the paper down carefully in front of him. For one moment, everyone was still. Crickets chirped outside the building. Then reaching for a pen, John Hancock slowly stood up, walked to the front of the table, and affixed his signature, large and bold, in the center of that precious document, though he knew it was like signing his own death warrant. After signing, he loudly exclaimed “There! Now King George can read my signature and not even need his spectacles!” Each of the other men stood and came forward to sign. On August 2^nd, 1776 the rest of the delegates who were absent in July signed their names to that document, and the course of a nation was set!

I am so thankful for these brave men, and the others who sacrificed so much, including their very lives, so that "Millions yet unborn" might be free. Happy Independence Day!

Combatting Jealousy

"Do not let thine heart envy sinners, but be zealous in fear of the LORD all the day...hear my son and be wise; and guide thine heart in the way."

                      Proverbs 23:17 & 19

For a split second you entertain the thought of missing out... Are you really doing the right thing? Then jealousy shows up. You wonder how you even got to this point! How could you think something so ridiculous?! The war rages in your head as you try to combat the fear and jealousy that seemingly came from nowhere. Then suddenly, there is a voice that whispers "You are such a hypocrite!". At this point you are ready to cry. Am I really a hypocrite?

The definition of hypocrite is: "A person who claims to have certain beliefs, but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs". There is a difference between being a hypocrite and battling the jealousy that arises. If we profess to be counter-cultural in the dating area, and then act against what we say, that is hypocrisy. However, if we are battling jealousy and trying to overcome it with truth - that is totally different. Sometimes it's easy to let jealousy creep up in us. Maybe we have a friend who went on a date, or maybe we have noticed a guy and we are jealous of the attention he is giving other girls. Whatever the case, jealousy is a problem. If we let it take the reigns, we will be tempted to do something we will regret. The verse above tells us not to envy sinners. I'm not saying dating is a direct sin. What I am saying though, is for us as young ladies who have been convicted and called to something higher, not following what God has shown us would be sin. (To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. John 5:17) When we are tempted to feel left out or envious of others, we should stop and think about what we are missing out on. When you put it in perspective, remember by "missing out" we will experience the joy of knowing we saved a pure, un-defiled heart for our future husband! This verse says to be "zealous in the fear of the Lord". We should be praying and delighting in the Lord. Use the springboard method! Every time you start to entertain thoughts of jealousy, pray or quote a piece of scripture. Pray for the girls you know who are compromising their purity. Thank Jesus that He has opened your eyes and called you to be counter-cultural. It won't be easy - fighting the flesh never is. I have to constantly pray and ask the Lord to strengthen me. I do know that we will never regret waiting. "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." Philippians 2:16

Take time to praise the Lord for what he has done in your life and ask Him to help you as you continue to fight the Good Fight and guard your heart.

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Psalm 27:13-14