Above all else, guard your heart!

All through the scriptures, there is a lot of emphasis on the heart as it ought to be because the heart is the singular most important part in the human body and when the bible talks about the heart, it talks about both our physical heart and our spiritual heart.

The heart is the central point of our lives. If the natural heart ceases to beat, the body dies. The same goes for our spiritual heart. Our spiritual heart is where our will, our emotions, our thoughts and our personalities are formed.

Everything starts from the heart. Our hearts are truly who we are. We love from our hearts. We hold treasures there. We also hold grudges and bitterness there. Every action and reaction comes from our hearts.

The heart is also very important to God so much that in Proverbs 4:23, He tells us “Above all else, guard your heart [mind, inner being], for it is the wellspring of life”. Why? Because He searches the heart – Jeremiah 17:10, and only the pure in heart, will see Him - Mathew 5:8.

The bitter truth however is that many of us are not guarding our hearts. We have become careless with our hearts. We allow our heart wonder here and there. We feed our hearts things that don’t edify us, we allow people into our heart who don’t deserve to be there.

Can I ask you an honest question? What is the state of your heart? Who and what are you allowing into your heart that is messing you up? When God looks at your heart, what does He see? Have you brought your heart before God for cleansing?

We tend guard and take care of every other thing we treasure except for our hearts; we will lock the door to our homes to guard our lives and our valuables, we will guard our positions at work by doing everything possible to insure a lasting position however, we fail to guard what is considered to be the most important- our hearts!

The purpose of this note if for us to really examine ours hearts. What matters most is not what’s happening on the outside of us but what’s happening on our inside- our heart.

The state of our heart is never hidden. It is seen in our attitude, it is seen in our dressing, and it is seen in our character, it is seen in our words. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” - Matthew 12:34

What is the majority of your words saying? Do you talk about money most of the time? Is it power and position, it is career, it is appearance, or it is possessions? Are you constantly arguing, gossiping, worrying or stressing over something? Do you have a hard time saying positive things?

All these are symptoms of an unguarded heart. And it's no secret that an unguarded heart is a breeding ground for sin. Sin in not just expressed in the act alone it is first committed in the heart.

You see, if someone wants to pollute water, he pollutes it at its source. If he wants to purify water, he purifies it at its source. The content of our hearts form the core of our lives- either godliness or ungodliness. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” Proverbs 23:7

Who have you allowed into your heart? Who do you spend time with? Why are you surprised that you think and act the way you do when your friendships are full of people who don’t push you toward Christ?

Truth is, you will never know the reality of your heart until you bring it before God.

We must start guarding this precious commodity by bringing it before God for a "check-up" and thereafter guarding it. And if you don’t already have a relationship with God, then you need to first surrender your heart to Christ before you even talk of guarding it.

We need to stop opening our hearts up to things that perverts our heart. Cut out every distraction, turn off those stupid music, switch off those mindless TV shows, refuse any lustful conversations, do away with lies, turn away from gossip, flee any sexual temptation that's around you and don’t put up with people who disobey God and make excuses for sin.

The need for us to guard our hearts cannot be over emphasized so bring your heart before the Creator and allow Him to do a little surgery on it. Trust me; the surgery process is not even painful. He is an expert at fixing faulty, broken, and messed up hearts- a healer in every sense of the word.

When your heart is completely surrendered to Christ you will be conscious about guarding it.

It is my sincere prayer that God will give us the needed grace to adequately guard our hearts the way we ought to…

Above all else, guard your heart!

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Who has your heart? – Heart Check, Life Check

 

For a while now, GOD has been dealing with me on a whole range of issues. And one question that keeps lingering on my heart is does GOD still have our hearts?

JESUS in Matthew 15:8 spoke about a people. He said “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” Now I’m wondering if that in anyway describe you!

We live in world that in growing increasing godless and many of us (Christians) have wandered away from GOD. Our hearts have practically left God. We are no longer “falling into sin" but actively pursuing it.

We no longer admit our premeditated sinful actions and repent of them rather we’ve redefined sin to be “silly mistakes” we make every now and then… our hearts are so far from GOD and I wonder what happened!

Let's be real people. How many of us can say I (so and so) truly love GOD with the whole of my heart/life? Oh! You think attending church makes you a righteous person? The bible says a tree is identified by it FRUIT.

Although we confess CHRIST as our Savior; our Life demonstrates that our heart belongs to Satan.

I know you may not agree with that but then it’s the truth… we like Satan’s music. We date his sons, we date his daughters, we like his hate, we like his UN-forgiveness, we like his pornography, we like his clothes, we like his gossip,we like his greed, we like his lust we like his sex outside of marriage(fornication/adultery) and more.

We may not readily admit we like all these stuffs than we desire to please GOD but the way we prioritize our day and live our lives show what is important to us and what is not. It shows in whom/what we place our value. It shows what we are thinking about for the most part of the day.

It shows we no longer desire GOD instead we desire to listen to music that doesn’t edify us, watch mindless TV shows, gossip, have our boyfriend/girlfriend rub our back, build silly unhealthy relationships and more! It shows that we have replaced GOD with stuffs.

Why is it that though we claim we love GOD we HE no longer has first place in our lives? How come we don't talk to HIM, don't spend time with Him and aren't intentional about having a deeper relationship with HIM?

We only what to serve GOD when it is convenient for us and remember HIM only when everything else begins to fall apart- why? We need to realize that whatever we are chasing, if it is not GOD's will even when we catch/grab/get it, we still won't be satisfied.

Friends, we cannot hide from GOD. We need to STOP running from HIM. HE sees us and knows our thoughts even before we start thinking them. We don't have to continue living our lives feeling lost, broken,and ashamed.

This is an open rebuke and a wake-up call to us all. This isn’t a time to run from GOD but a time for us to run to GOD. We cannot continue to turn our hearts away from HIM. He is READY to take us back into His ever loving arms.

I encourage you to check yourself and see who/what has your heart! If there is something you need to repent of hastily do so. The spirit of GOD always convicts us of sin but if we fail to listen and repent, we won’t escape sins consequences.

In order for us to truly experience GOD we MUST seek after Him with ALL of our heart!!! He MUST be the ONE THING that drives us…Seeking Him must CONSUME our lives so get RID of anything that is hindering you; let go of whoever is pushing you around. Let go of the distractions. Let go of whatever is causing you to STUMBLE.

Forgive whoever has hurt you, HATE SIN, take time off facebook, twitter, and social media and bury your head in your BIBLE. Intentionally PURSUE CHRIST and seek a relationship with HIM.

Don’t look at where you have been or how much of a mess you have gotten yourself involved in and start looking unto CHRIST. You may not feel like it but when it comes to living for God, we cannot wait to feel like doing so before we do so.

Christ coming is imminent. Please don't miss out on RAPTURE for anything in this world. Scripture in Mark 8:37 ask this all important question! "What can a man/woman give in exchange for his/her soul?" I don’t know about you but I don’t want to go through HELL here on earth and end up in HELL. God forbid!

My concluding thought is; if God doesn’t have your heart; you better give it to Him right now! I urge you to fully embrace CHRIST with the whole of your heart and intentionally pursue HIM daily!!!

Just Sharing My Thought

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Its May Eleven and Dazzle's Birthday!

Today is indeed a blessed and a special day for me because on this day twenty something years ago my friend - Miss Blessing Oluwaseun Bolaji aka Dazzle was born.

 

Her birthday is as much a celebration for me as it is for her and maybe more! On this her special occasion, I choose to express how special she (my friend) really is to me…

From the first time I heard your voice to the first time we met and even till this day, my happiness have known no bounds. Our friendship has blossomed, like a rose and we have become very close.

You came into my life when I really needed a friend. And no! It wasn’t a mere coincidence that we met. It was destiny… Getting to know you has been an awesome joy! The fun we have talking to each other, the confession sessions we share together, the laugh, and every moment spent with you I will forever treasure.

You and I are different and in many ways the same. The more I get to know you, the more I get to know myself better. You have so much blessed my life that whenever I count my blessings, I count you twice.

You possess qualities that represent the qualities of the woman described in Proverbs 31 and I have no doubt in my heart that you will indeed be a virtuous woman. You are already on that path.

You are an embodiment of wisdom, your great sense of humor, your godly heart and your strong desire to be a godly woman stands you out. God bless the man that gets your hand in marriage (I hope ……*some text missing*……)

You have given me so much-- supported me, encouraged me, cared for me and prayed for me. You are a gem of a person; a rare diamond to find. If I could make this day any special for her, believe me, I would.

I don’t only hope, I know all your dreams will come true so close your eyes and wish for all that you desire. God will grant you whatever you want and GIVE YOU REASONS TO SMILE ALL YEAR LONG.

Perhaps I haven’t told you this before and even if I have, let me reiterate that whenever you need me I will always be there standing by your side... your friendship is very important to me and I wouldn’t want to lose it for anything.

Dazzle with Julie - Her bestie! 

May each birthday of yours be better than the last! You will achieve success and prosperity in every phase of your life. Your days will be filled with happiness, joy and pleasant surprises and may your nights be filled with comforting dreams…

As you celebrate this special day of yours, my three wishes are that you will be as happy as you have made me, we will remain friends forever and you know the third!

I celebrate you Miss. Blessing Oluwaseun Bolaji. Do have a blessed and a happy birthday dear… 

Love and care loads!!!

Easter Reflections

As we enter and move through this Easter season, it is a good time for us to reflect on the reason for this season. I want us to focus our attention on Jesus Christ and not on the season. I don't want to preach but I desire to magnify Christ and edify you as we all draw closer to God during this special time of the year.

Our society puts a lot of emphasis on Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus and His coming to the earth with so many activities. Certainly Christmas is essential, for it is the beginning but there was a greater day - EASTER! 

The birth of Christ was a wonderful day to mankind but without Easter, Christmas would be meaningless. Easter is the apex of the Christian faith. Without Christ’s death and resurrection salvation would have been nothing but a pipe dream.

You see, in the beginning, God made man in His image. He created man in perfect innocence and placed him in a perfect environment. Adam was given dominion over all the Lord had created and he was presented with a perfect companion- Eve.

Adam and his wife lived, free from pain, disease and sorrow. Every need they had was met and they enjoy unbroken, unhindered fellowship with God Himself.

The only restriction they had was one tree which is located in the Garden of Eden “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" which the Lord warned Adam not to eat from, for to eat its fruit will bring death.

Things went well in the Garden, until one day when Eve finds herself confronted by a serpent controlled by Satan. The serpent tells Eve that God does not want them to eat the fruit because God knows that when they eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they will be like him.

Eve fell for the lie, succumbed to the temptation of the devil and eats of the fruit and gives Adam also to eat.

In an instant, they lost their innocence, man became a fallen being and everything changes! The rest of the story is found in Genesis 3.

After Adam and Eve sinned and became aware of their nakedness, they attempted to cover themselves by making aprons of fig leaves. But, their efforts were insufficient and God killed an innocent animal to provide a covering for their bodies.

God wanted to show them, and us, that we cannot save ourselves and the works of the flesh can never atone for, or cover sin. It requires the death of the innocent in the place of the guilty. Sin is taken away only through the shedding of innocent blood, Heb. 9:22.

In the midst of man’s greatest tragedy comes the revelation of man’s greatest hope- Christ Jesus! Gen 3:15

Sin brought separation as a result there was a need for reconciliation and restoration so God sent Jesus into the world primarily to come and die to restore the relationship that was lost as a result of Man’s sin.

Jesus came as a baby but he did not remain a baby. He grew up and became a man. He learned obedience, he was wise, and how can I forget about the many miracles He did.

He was unjustifiably hated by men though he was innocent of everything these men said of Him.  They pronounced a death sentence on Him to be carried out on a cross and He was brutally executed between two thieves.

Christ death wasn’t an odd event. It was God’s will that He will die as His death will be the permanent payment for sin no wonder Jesus on the cross said “it is finished.”

Easter really is about a resurrected Christ not about a bunny, merchandise or many festivities! Easter is not just another holiday but a holy day for it is the holiness in Christ that gave us a new life.

Though we don’t buy new outfit, give out gifts or sing Easter carols, Easter is when the greatest miracle in the whole of human history (Christ death and resurrection) happened.

Let me ask even ask you; do you know for sure the real reason for the season? Do you know Jesus as more than a baby in a manger? Is He your personal Savior? Or is He just a story in a book? You need to be sure!

You see, there is more to live than earth. There is eternity where we will be after we have done our time here. You need to know where you will go when Christ comes or when death calls. And truth be told, where you go hinges upon what you do with Jesus Christ.

Are you saved? If you are then praise the Lord! But if you are not then there is no better time to ask Christ into your life than now. Make this Easter a memorable one.

Happy Easter fam! Keep being God’s pride…

Just Sharing My Thought

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