The Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter

JAMES 4

The world might tell you to follow your heart. We have so many feelings, and God gave

feelings. He didn’t give them to us so we could chase them like the wind. We need to examine them and weigh them against truth. Feelings are not facts. I did a Bible study awhile back that said that feelings are indicators, not dictators. We should pay attention to them, but not let them lead us around or bully us.

In James, Chapter 4:1-3, he lays it out for us:

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What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

James 4:1-3

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He gets right down to the bottom, the heart of the matter. Where do troubles, conflicts and wars come from? Our hearts.

We are told several things about our hearts in scripture.

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The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,

and desperately wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9

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Who really knows how bad it is?

Matthew 15:19

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For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft,

lying, and slander.

Mark 7:15

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It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from

your heart.

Matthew 15:11

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We see that God is telling us that our hearts can lead us astray. They can lead us to do

things, say things or think things that can harm us and others. There is one answer to this. It is Jesus. We need Jesus to purify our hearts and to keep our hearts pure. Jesus cleanses us when we repent. His Word hidden in our heart will help us stay that way.

James tells us in verse 8

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Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and

purify your hearts, you double minded.

James 4:8

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Prayer: Jesus, you know us intimately. You know our innermost thoughts and feelings.

Examine our hearts. Cleanse us of anything that comes between us and you. Create in us a

clean heart, wash out the dirt and selfish motives. Help us stay connected to you. We

know that when we get tangled in our feelings and wants, we can be lead astray. Help

us continually purify our hearts with your Word and Spirit. Thank you for your love and

mercy. Hold us near.