Above All Else...

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! 

Before diving into this weeks Happy Friday I would respectfully like to ask you all to be praying for those impacted by the fires in California. The devastation, the loss, is unimaginable. Thank you.

What a past 72 hours it has been! Thursday night was Senior Night for the University of Houston Football, it was the last home game of the 2018 season. With this, Payton ran out onto the field for the last time. My Beautiful Bride, my other two Tender Warriors and I were out on the field waiting for him, along with the other families of our seniors. While very emotional, I did not experience a feeling of sadness. I felt a sense of great gratitude - to God, to Payton's coaches & teammates - and an unexplainable admiration for a young man who cherished a dream in his heart since he was a little boy, who had the courage to pursue it and who gave fully of himself to attain it! His example has preached a powerful sermon to me and for this I am so very grateful! 

The other part of all that is we got home a little after midnight Thursday night/Friday morning so Happy Friday did not happen yesterday morning. So here I am now!!! :)

Last week during the sermon I watched, the Pastor made a passing comment about guarding our hearts. While it was only briefly mentioned it hit me, well, right in the heart. I have thought about "guarding our hearts" several times during the week. This week I want to talk about guarding our hearts, and give us some tools to do just that.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Please think about that for a moment. Why do some people look at things positively while others seem to only see the negative? Above all else, guard your heart... Why are some people always joyful, regardless of the circumstances, and others are often discouraged and crushed by circumstances? Above all else, guard your heart... Why are some people always willing to help and others seem to almost run away when their help is needed? Above all else, guard your heart... Why do some people fearlessly pursue the goals & dreams of their hearts while others are afraid to live? Above all else, guard your heart...

Faithgateway.com posted on August 3, 2018 a brief lesson that captures it beautifully.
"Have you ever said something and wondered where that comment came from? Or maybe an idea crossed your mind that you wouldn't tell your best friend about - and exactly where did that come from? Or maybe you did something completely out of character and ask yourself, What was I thinking? We read in Proverbs that everything - our words, our thoughts, our choices, our decisions, our priorities - comes from our hearts. When a heart is full of God's love, beautiful words and ideas flow from it. Are you paying attention to your heart? The wise writer of Proverbs warned us to guard our hearts. We need to protect our hearts against bitterness, impatience, and greed, against jealousy, idolatry, and anger. These traits will overtake our hearts if we let them."

Before sharing a few tools to actually guard our hearts, I feel compelled to also share 1 Samuel 16:7 which says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

That lines up completely with society, right? Hardly! We are so concerned with status, likes, etc. that we give very little thought to the heart of the person. And we wonder why things happen the way they happen, why there is so much evil in the world. Perhaps if we became more concerned with the spiritual condition of our hearts and less concerned with our status, this world would become a little better place.

Instead of simply saying, "Guard your heart" and wrapping this thing up, I wanted to give us some practical tools in how to do so. Mike Mobley wrote an article, which I found at beforethecross.com, titled, "7 Ways to Guard Your Heart." I am going to share some excerpts here and I would encourage you to go to beforethecross.com and read the full article. As for the excerpts:

"Vigilance is defined as the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger and difficulties. That's exactly what God calls us to do with our hearts. We are to pay extra attention to our hearts and watch them closely. There will be dangers and difficulties we will for sure face in this life, and we should be ready."

"The springs of life...where someone does all thinking, feeling, and choosing doesn't come into our hearts from external circumstances, but rather flows out of our hearts through the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day, what you do reveals your heart."

"Here are 7 ways to guard your heart:
1. Protect Everything That Comes In
     We need to use to use wisdom in what we allow into our hearts. We only have a limited
     time each day to make much of God, so what are we being influenced by, listening to, or
     looking at?

2. Persevere In The Face Of Difficulties
     There will be times that you don't feel the Lord's presence or feel like He is listening to
     your prayers. Persevere! Trust that He is always completing a good work in you. Believe
     that the Lord will prevail, in all things. As you persevere, you will continue to grow in 
     Godliness and your heart will be strong.

3. Follow What The Lord Is Leading You To Do
     What is God asking you to do? What do you desire and just can't stop thinking about?
     How do you want to serve the Lord with that desire? Chances are, that's the thing God is
     calling you to do. Trust Him and go for it! The longer you quench that desire, the more
     strain you are putting on your heart.

4. Cultivate An Atmosphere Of Community
     Your heart needs people constantly pouring into you, and you need to be pouring into
     people. There's a constant flow coming in and out as you love and serve others. People
     need to hear about Jesus and you need to grow in the Lord with your family that you'll
     be with for all eternity.

5. Keep Priorities High And Do Not Compromise
     Yes, we love and serve one another, but not to the extent of compromising the priorities
     and values the Lord has given us. Once you make a little compromise here or there, you 
     begin to add toxicity to your heart. The good news is that if you keep them, you heart will
     grow in wisdom.

6. Trust The Lord With Rest
     Whether you need to start observing the Sabbath, or just need to take a deep breath and
     let the Lord do the work instead of you, be encouraged to trust Jesus and rest. Let your 
     heart rest. The yoke is easy...the burden is light.

7. Preach The Gospel To Yourself Each Day
     This last one sums up everything above and couldn't be more important. The Gospel 
     isn't just a "one time" thing and a ticket to heaven, but something we all need each and
     every day...really every minute. The second we take our eyes off of the cross we forget who
     we really are. Our hearts need to be reminded that while we still sin, we are forgiven, 
     redeemed, and are children of God!"

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for your or your families. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev