Guard Your Heart

 Our son, Sam, performing in his senior play, "Murder Me Always."

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirti within me." - King David after the murder of Uriah the Hittite (Psalm 51:10)

David, in the days that kings went out to war, didn't. (See 2 Samuel 11 and 12)

Instead, he had his way with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and tried to cover his sin by killing Uriah. What started out as a lack of judgment quickly became sin on top of sin and David's heart grew hard and cold. What's more, he didn't even see it.  Then, Nathan told David a story about the rich man with many sheep who took the one ewe that belonged to a poor man and David burned with rage.  David said the poor man should be paid back fourfold and the rich man should be put to death.  Still, not knowing the story was about him, Nathan sounded his incredible rebuke, "You are that man!"

Up until that moment, David is the picture of a heart that has grown cold. He can't see the sin in his own life, but he is able to judge others for their sin. Perhaps you know people like this.  They are miserable to be around, bitter, angry, and judgmental. There hearts have grown cold and their relationship with God has been damaged.  

However, David is convicted by Nathan's story and realizes that what he wants more than anything else in his whole life is not the power and perks of being king, but a vital relationship with the King of Kings. It is what we all want.  We have had those moments when God is more real and more present than anything we can see or hear or touch. We want more of that, but sin gets in the way; our hearts become cold and we become blind and judgmental. 

As Christians, we must be vigilant.  It is easy to justify sin because we aren't doing anything illegal. We think we are okay because we know that Christ has died for our sins and no one is hurt.  But we forget that Christ came to give us freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.  Little sins and big sins sneak into our lives and our hearts grow cold becomes distant, we become blind, and we don't even know it.

Guard your heart.

Guard your heart from the little sins so your heart doesn't grow so cold that bigger sins can enter in.  And if you do sin, big or little, confess it to God.  And just like David, God will soften your heart and, "restore to us the joy of our salvation." (Psalm 51:12)

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.