Ron's Insights 2013

Guard Your Heart (Part #2 A Pick and a Path
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 by Ron Susek

Guard Your Heart

(Part#2 A Pick and a Path)

by Ron Susek

©Golden Quill Publication

Keep [guard] your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

 

      The TV show Cops exposes human behavior. Discovering drugs in someone's pocket, a policeman will ask, Are these yoursNo, sir.Then, whose are theyI don't know, sirHow did they get there?Honest to God, sir, I don't know. I borrowed these pants from a friend. Maybe he put them there. What's your friend's name and where does he live? Uh . . . uh, his name is Bob, sir. I don't remember his last name and I don't know where he lives, sir.

      Jeremiah described such behavior: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick [wicked]; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."1

      God has made each person responsible to garden his or her own heart. In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus said each heart has one of four kinds of soil. We will look at the first one today . . . a hardened path.

      What causes a hard heart? Obviously, it can be self-induced by pride or unbelief. It can also be hardened by others walking on it. How? By violating your dignity, verbally or physically abusing you, imposing social injustice . . . the list is endless.

      Know this, endless will be the stream of feet stomping on your heart. Life does not get easier with age. Just as a path is packed harder over time, so your heart will grow harder if you do not take the right divine now.

      Here's the only solution that works. God has handed to you a pick. He expects you, as the appointed gardener, to swing it at the first sign of hardness in your heart to keep it soft and fertile, capable of producing an eternal crop.

      Don't waste time blaming others for your hardness of heart. A police officer in Las Vegas asked a young prostitute, who appeared to be from a cultured background, why she would risk her health and life for such degradation.

      "My parents are religious," she replied, "and I don't want to live under their rules."

      The enemy was obviously allowed to snatch the seed of God's Word from her hardened heart, making goodness feel like bondage. Thus, whether her parent's rules were fair or not, she is fully responsible for her self-destruction.

      So, grab hold of the pick and strike into the hardened soil. Rip it up! Swing the pick of confession. Dig deeper with forgiveness and repentance. Loosen the hardness that demands your own way.

      Anything less leads to crop failure, and that leads to a malnourished soul. Place before the searching eyes of our God a heart in which He can produce a healthy, robust and productive crop.

 

Immanuel: God is with you!

Your friend,

Ron           

 

1Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV

 


Previous Posts

Creation and Christmas
Ron Susek

12/30/2013

Silent Night, Holy War
Ron Susek

12/23/2013

The Seasons are Changing
Ron Susek

12/17/2013

Big Rocks First
Ron Susek

12/10/2013

Thanksgiving: A Key to Fulfillment
Ron Susek

12/2/2013

Who Said Faith is Easy?
Ron Susek

11/26/2013

Guard Your Heart (Part #5)
Ron Susek

11/18/2013

Guard Your Heart (part #4)
R

11/12/2013

Guard Your Heart Part #3
Ron Susek

11/5/2013

Guard Your Heart (Part #2 A Pick and a Path
Ron Susek

10/30/2013

Guard your Heart (part1)
Ron Susek

10/22/2013

The Trampler
Ron Susek

10/15/2013

The Secret to Great Achievement by Ron Susek Gold
Ron Susek

10/7/2013

FaithWalk: Responding to God
Ron Susek

9/30/2013

Faithwalk: Knowing God
Ron Susek

9/23/2013

FaithWalk: Learning About God
Ron Susek

9/17/2013

Why Satan Wants You Back
Ron Susek

9/10/2013

Simple Faith
Ron Susek

9/3/2013

God's Footprints
Ron Susek

8/26/2013

Don't Blame Jesus for War
Ron Susek

8/19/2013

Questions of a Fool
Ron Susek

8/13/2013

Right Place, Riht Time
Ron Susek

8/6/2013

Slay Familiarity Now
Ron Susek

7/31/2013

The Wise Use of Freedom
Ron Susek

7/24/2013

The Peril of Impatience
Ron Susek

7/15/2013

America's Flag: Flying Belos Half Staff
Ron Susek

7/9/2013

Defeating this Snarly World
Ron Susek

7/2/2013

Jesus Confronts Dale Carnegie
Ron Susek

6/26/2013

The Measure of Commitment
Ron Susek

6/18/2013

The One Who Binds the Storm
Ron Susek

6/10/2013

Praying with an Angry Heart
Ron Susek

5/28/2013

I'm Here, I'm Free Now!
Ron Susek

5/21/2013

God's Answer to Worry
Ron Susek

5/6/2013

Crucified with Christ Part #3: Judas
Ron Susek

4/23/2013

Crucified with Christ part #2: Peter
Ron Susek

4/23/2013

Crucified with Christ Part #1: The Pharisees
Ron Susek

4/23/2013