The Watchman's Diary

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What feelings manifest themselves in your heart and how, if at all, do you express them? The writer of the Proverbs cautions us to “Guard your heart diligently,
for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Yeshua (Jesus) instructs us that “the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and those things make the man unholy” (Matthew 15:18). What we speak and how we act says everything about what we harbor in our hearts. If therein lies any deception, it is first of ourselves and then to others.

One can never overstate the power of the two greatest commandments—”You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39). Truly believing and making these commandments the foundation from which we operate will always allow us to escape the corrupt nature of the flesh and to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Enemy (Satan) is always busy attacking the heart. If he can corrupt the heart and cause us to embrace deception, we may transgress these two commands.

The foundation of love does not have ‘self’ as a main ingredient. When we find ourselves overly focused on self we have strayed from the right path and a course correction is necessary. We are human beings and are susceptible to making mistakes. That does not reflect the true nature of the heart. It is how we proceed and deal with situations and circumstances that matter. How often do you express love for another? Have you ever really thought about what that means and if you are expressing the true nature of your heart toward that person? Love doesn’t mean you agree with everything another person say or do. Nor does it mean they will never do anything to annoy you. On the contrary, love stays the course when we disagree, get annoyed, and even when we are angry.

The Apostle Paul writes that love “does not seek its own way” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Love is not selfish and is not overly inward-focused. Love should always cause us to reflect on our own way but only with the intent to correct what is out of place within us, not to seek justification for our own actions. How can we understand Yeshua’s sacrifice if we do not understand how to love as God commands us?

This is not a one-and-done situation. We don’t go ‘aha!’ and think that is it. The expression and understanding of love must be intentional and continuous. It requires a conscious effort every second or every minute of every hour throughout the day. If we fail to guard our hearts against deception, we will find that even our dreams become corrupted. Yes, the enemy may intrude our dreams to plant seeds of doubt that will sprout in our waking moments.

Friends, guard your hearts diligently so that what flows from it will glorify our Father in heaven. Our love for one another is the testimony to the world that we are Yeshua’s disciples. How then shall we express it?