the heart was made for living

As God is sovereign enough to rule the universe in one hand and lead us with the other, He is able to use anything for His glory. With that said, I came across an article today, Learning to Live In The Heart, which is written from an Eastern state of mind and philosophy, that The Lord used to remind me again of the importance of living out of my heart. It's all too common, with our busy lives, congested traffic, 9 to 5 work days, that we just live our life according to what we think. For example, we get irritated when driving because we think "WE" are more important than anyone else on the road, or we become resentful at work because we think "WE" should have more recognition, or we get mad at our spouse because we think "WE" should be waited on hand and foot. All are common mistakes we make as humans, yet none-the-less selfish mistakes.

When we come to understand what it means to live from the heart we find a peace that passes all understanding. To me I don't see a difference between living from the heart and living in The Spirit. Because when we are baptized in The Holy Spirit we are filled up with The Spirit and where does He make His home ... in our hearts. But that doesn't mean that all is well and good like this 1950's commercial for rice krispies. There are still things we must surrender and die to, but that is part of our faith being perfected ... so praise God for that.

In the article the author pointed out four differences between the heart and mind.

  • empathy
  • oneness
  • spontaneity
  • purpose

The one that really stuck out to me was the "oneness". And I think this is really the heart of God too; what His plan has been all along, to bring His Body together as one. If you have any experience in reading the Bible then I'm sure you know the story in Acts of pentecost where The Holy Spirit showed up and kicked some major ass. (did he just say "kicked some major ass" and Holy Spirit in the same sentence?) But now with hundreds of different Christian denominations in America and around the world we are more separated than ever before. To me this comes from a mindset that "WE" are right and "YOU" are wrong. But really more than just a mindset, there's a spirit of division that seeks to steal our hearts, kill our souls, and destroy the Body of Christ. So praise God that the enemy has been defeated.

Last night we were walking our dogs and there was a nice breeze in the air. And when the wind blows on my face I love to close my eyes, lift up my head, and breath deep the breath of God. Because I know in these moments my heart is rejoicing because it's alive.