Wow! I know what you are thinking, two posts in two consecutive days! After this they may be even fewer and far between for a few days.
The three month contract with Scott and White is up in one week. Can't say I am all too sad to leave that hospital. The experience has not been altogether pleasant--or even unpleasant for that matter but always enlightening. Negotiations are underway with a new company that just has a few more options that could be better for us.
I was able to sleep in my bed for the night. Most of it with the little furry friend curled up next to me. (Jack, unfortunately, not Trevor for most of the night) I have plenty to do today. As part of my devotion today I wanted to blog about a series I have been listening to in the car called It Came From Within by Andy Standley from Northpointe Ministries.
The series explains how to have a clean heart, from a biblical but different approach than I have ever seen.
The first message was on the condition of the heart and why we often say things that often surprise even us. Proverbs 4 :23 says, "Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." The first step to doing anything well in life, loving, leading,etc is to keep your heart clean.
Jesus talks about where those unexpected outbursts come from, your heart. Those things that come out and everybody, including you is thinking,"Where in the world did that come from?" Jesus says it comes from the heart. Due to time restraints I will reference where the Pharisees question Jesus about not washing his hands before he ate ( not eww gross he didn't wash at all but the ceremonial bla,bla,bla the Pharisees did for show). Jesus replies it is not what comes out of a man that makes him unclean but what goes into him. Meaning what is on the inside matters more than what is on the outside. Those little outbursts come from an unclean heart. Andy says these things get through our filter. Our filter is what we learn from an early age to maintain relationships,etc to keep what is in our heart hidden. The filter comes from when we learn at age 5 we can't say that certain word ( for me it was butt, thanks Mom) or we get in trouble. When we say things uncharacteristically for us those things just make it past our filter. Doesn't mean they weren't always there, just means we learned to filter. I have discovered my filter often gets broken at work, when all the stress brings our rotten things from my heart.
The second message was on guilt and how unchecked it can weigh us down and ruin all our relationships, not just with the person we have wronged. Andy explains how we have to go to the person we have wronged to rid ourselves of guilt. Confession does no good if we only confess to God since he already knows. We have to go to the person we have wronged to truly make things right.
In the next message that Hideous Thing, Andy describes what envy can do to a person. Its not what you have always heard preached either. (I couldn't do his description justice so if you are interested I can get you the sermon series). In short we treat others who have more____ whatever better because of envy. Our problem is not with them but with God. "God why didn't you give me____?"
So far I have a long laundry list for my own heart, people to confess my wrong doing to and it won't be easy. I have to, though, to make my heart clean.