I believe it is truly important to get to know your heart - God has placed it within you, so we know it is a gift from him. But it is also able to be tempted and swayed by humanistic desires.

I believe it is truly important to get to know your heart - God has placed it within you, so we know it is a gift from him. But it is also able to be tempted and swayed by humanistic desires. We go through our daily lives often being motivated into action by our feelings, and while it is important to be a feeling person, it is also important that we do not allow our feelings to become our Lord. They can control us if we do not recognize them and honestly get to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses.

Jesus was a feeling person - he was not a stoic, disengaged leader as many people portray him to be. He was involved, emotionally attached and deeply touched by people's struggles and issues in their lives.

The heart is the governing center of the whole man or woman, emotional, intellectual, etc. We cannot ignore the heart. We need to look into it every day even though we'd often like to ignore it!

"But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do no consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

God, when evaluating the man, looks at the heart, not at the things we look at. As humans, even if we consider ourselves good judges of character, we are only able to see the outside. God sees so much more than that. Someone may look together on the outside, but inside their heart is not pleasing to God. This is a sad state for any person.

What does this scripture mean for you? Since our hearts lie to us, we need other people in our lives to help us be objective. Have you ever thought of your heart as not necessarily trustworthy before? Do you think people in general trust their hearts or question their heart's motivations?

"He went on: ‘What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.' For out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.'" (Mark 7:20-23)

The main point is that sins come from the heart, not from outside places. Just like there has to be soil for a seed to grow in, there has to be a vulnerable, unchecked spot in your heart if a sin takes root and grows.

"See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:12-13)

We can blow off sin and say "It's no big deal," but there are consequences. The heart can harden, lose its sensitivity and innocence and turn away from God

"But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up for yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5)

What does it mean to you to be persistent? Are you a persistent person? Our hearts can become stubborn and unwilling to change or recognize areas we need to change. We harden our capacity to experience Godly sorrow quickly. What’s the remedy to this predicament?

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:9-11)

The psalmist asks and answers the question of how we can keep our hearts pure: Hide God's word in your heart, become familiar with the Word

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Our own understanding of our feelings and hearts can mislead us! God made us and, therefore, thoroughly understands the temptations of our hearts. His boundaries in scripture are not to hurt us, but to help us. This demands that we trust Him and His ways, not ours.

What are some applications from our study?

• Guard your heart! Do not automatically go with what "feels right/good" - question your heart and step back often in situations.

• The state of our hearts is critical, we may make decisions we regret if we are not taking seriously the admonition to guard our hearts.

• Have someone/people in your life that can help you be objective about your heart and also will tell you the truth

• Do the righteous things and your heart will grow!