This month we celebrate Ash Wednesday on Valentines Day.   Ash Wednesday is early this year.  Valentines Day always comes on February 14th.  I don’t know how you feel about Valentines Day, but it seems to me as though it is a day fabricated by the card companies to sell more cards.  Anyway, it does remind me of the way Jesus summed up the law.  Jesus said the law can be covered in two great commandments.  First, love the LORD your God with all your heart, and secondly love your neighbor as yourself.  When we think of love we think about hearts.  I want to focus today on our hearts.   Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart speaketh the mouth!

All sorts of awful things can seem to issue from your heart: anger, lust, fear, petty jealousies.  If you think it’s you, a reflection of what’s really going on in your heart, it will disable you.  It could stop your journey dead in its tracks.  What you’ve encountered is either the voice of your flesh or an attempt of the Enemy to distress you by throwing all sorts of thoughts your way and blaming you for it.  You must carry on with this assumption: your heart is good!  If it seems as though some foul thing is at work there, say to yourself, Well then, this is not my heart.  My heart is good.  I reject this.  Remember Paul in Romans chapter 7?  This is not me!  This is not me!!!  And carry on your journey.  Over time you will grow familiar with the movements of your heart, and who is trying to influence you there. 

We do the same with any word or advice that presents itself as being from God, but contradicts what He has said to us in His written Word.  We walk with wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit.  When I hear something that seems really unwise, I test it again and again against the Word of God before I launch out.  Your flesh will try to get you to use your “freedom” to get you to do things you shouldn’t do.  And now that the Enemy knows that you are trying to walk with God and tune in to your heart, he’ll play the ventriloquist and try to deceive you there.  Any “word” or
suggestion that brings discouragement, condemnation or accusation is not from God.  Neither is confusion, nor any advice that would lead you to disobey what you do know God’s Word to say.  Reject it all and carry on with your journey.  Yes!  Of course God needs to convict us of our sin, warn us of wrong movements in the soul, but the voice of God is never condemning (Romans 8:1), never harsh or accusing.  God’s convictions brings about a desire for
repentance, Satan’s accusations seek to destroy our hearts.  In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy.  But Jesus has come to bring us life and life in abundance.  Starting with a heart that is good!

Pastor Dave