by Pastor Mark Cowart
Part of guarding your heart is being alert to the schemes of the enemy intended to deceive you. He knows that, as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you could walk in resurrection power all the time, and he does not want you to know that. He works to blind your mind and to distract you from the true purpose of your life on this earth.
What exactly is this “heart” that you are instructed to guard, and how can it become so confused? As a human being, you are made up of a body housing a spirit with a soul. Your soul is made up of your mind, your will, and your emotions. Within your mind, images are formed from many sources. This is where your spirit and your soul meet, in your heart. The challenge of this guard duty is to refuse and reject any thought or image that does not align with God’s Word.
That kind of maintenance is only possible with the Holy Spirit, God with us, in intimate communication. Beware, you can be deceived that you are walking with Him, calling Him Lord, when you have not actually made Him the one and only Lord of your life by obedience. You cannot be half-hearted about this. You have to be all in. Jesus is not OK with lukewarm.
Remember, the Laodicean church in Revelation chapter 3 was deceived to interpret their abundant material blessings as signs of spiritual maturity. How could that happen? We have some clues in the words God spoke to Howard Pittman (see markcowart.org for his story) in his near-death experience. He said it is the “doers” who will be in heaven, not the “sayers”. He said, “You have to live it, not just talk it.”
Everything you need to walk in discernment and fulfill His will for your life comes through His Holy Spirit within you. This is what John the Baptist referred to as the baptism with “the Holy Spirit and fire” which only Jesus can do for you. And only through this baptism of fire do we acquire the “gold” referred to by the Lord in His message to the Laodicean church, the remedy for their blindness and other maladies listed.
As you embrace the Lord’s baptism of fire, walking by God’s grace through refining trials that bring conviction, you will receive the true baptism in the Holy Spirit. You will be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. You won’t give up. You won’t give in. You won’t go the way of the world. As you feed your spirit man the good Word of God, you will never be deceived, so long as you obey Him and follow only His leading to truth, life, and peace.
REFLECT
1) Have you been aware before now of Satan’s attempts to pollute your heart with lies?
2) How do you understand your role in combatting these attacks?
3) Can you see, in this context, how the hard road, the not-so-comfortable choice is often where the Lord is leading you for all the benefits to be found there?
PRAYER PROMPTS
1) Ask Holy Spirit to reveal anywhere in your heart that you have been deceived – to bring that to light and set you free with truth.
2) Pray for diligence to guard your heart and discernment to see threats for what they are.
DIVE DEEPER
• Jeremiah 17:9
• Proverbs 4:23
• II Corinthians 10:5
• Revelation 3 :14-22
• Matthew 3:11-12
• II Corinthians 5:21
• I Thessalonians 5:23
• Matthew 24:3
• Luke 6:46
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, SIGN UP FOR MY
