There is a saying, “Your heart is where your home is,” but I believe your heart is where your faith resides. In this podcast, we discuss how “heart issues” may lead us astray and far away from our faith in what is right and holy in the eyes of God.

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An extended family member recently shared that after several traumatic experiences, she realized that all that mattered was God, faith, and family. It is somewhat of a hard lesson that we all learn and relearn from time to time. As our lives get busier, and we move to that speed of life that seems to break the sound barrier at times, we find that slowing down helps us finally see the light.

When we have a broken heart, we tend to fold into ourselves; it is hard to be objective or have clarity in the midst of a trial. Our hearts are a powerhouse; they keep us alive and functioning, and in this same way, our internal organ that God created to sustain life is often where we feel that hurt and joy. We are lost we don’t know where to go.

God asks us to follow him, and we read this in John 1:43-51 where Jesus called Philip and Nathanel to follow him. But that call is for each one of us. Do we say, “Yes, Lord.” Or, is our answer, “In a minute, let me finish this first.”

This is a question we all answer in our lives, and when trauma hits, depending on our heart and its inclination, depending on our faith, that is how we will cope with the situation. Our hearts will betray us if we are not grounded in the truth if we go on feelings alone, and if we are swayed by the enticements of this world. The pull of the world is strong, and the evil one works overtime on the young and the old alike to sway us from our path and our mission.

1. Where are we going?
   
2. How are we dealing with the daily struggles in our lives?
   
3. How is our mental health? We wake up each day often without direction.
   
4. What are the first thoughts that come to mind when you wake up each day?
   
5. Where does your heart lean?
   

Are we like Thomas, the apostle who said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where we are going, so how can we know the way?”

Friends, we are lost. Our hearts are broken, and there seems to be no way out from our thoughts and sometimes feelings of hopelessness. But there is good news, and there is hope. Without hope, we would be lost, but God gives us a clear path and a clear direction and that is to follow him. If you don’t have this scripture memorized, do it this week, and when you feel lost and forgotten, pray this verse out loud!  John 14:5-7 we read (Read on air).

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know^[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Do you hear that? We don’t have to feel lost — Jesus is …the way the truth and the life.

If we want to know Jesus, we can, and we can go to Him. He will then introduce us to the Father, for, “if you know me,” he says, ” you will know my Father as well. ”

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We should say this again. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Never lose hope! 2 Corinthians 4:1-3

Therefore, since through God’s mercy, we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

Following Jesus is opening our hearts to the love and mercy that He gives us, and where the heart is, so is our faith. We have faith that God will not let us down and that he will answer prayer, not as we want it but in His time and the way he ordains. We know that we can have a clear conscience and sleep well at night if our hearts are united to His.

But it is more than that! God is calling you and I to dig deeper. How can we do this? By realizing that we are more than what we do, or try to do in this case for the sake of righteousness. The Pharisees complained that Jesus and his apostles were not following the Jewish ritual of cleanliness — which was for a time at the temple. But these men decided they should carry on the letter of the law, by the ritualistic wasing even before meals. But Jesus took them to task explaining that it is rooted in the heart that evil results.

Mark 7:14-23 — (Read on air)

 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him, but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.”^[a] 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?”^[b] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”

Friends we want our hearts to be full of love, full of compassion, we must fight against the vices that plague our world. How many of us listen to that verse or read it and say — well, I’m not that bad. Maybe not with theft, murder or adultery — but what about envy, slander, pride and foolishness? I know I’ve suffered and confessed those things.

When we look at what the Lord offers, life with him or without him we will always choose Him!

Friends, what else could we want? This week examine your heart take inventory of your priorities and rearrange them to allow the Lord to come and grow you and bless you, today and always.

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