Should you follow your heart?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to tell if someone was telling the truth or lying? Would it be helpful if you could discern someone's character before entering into a friendship, a business relationship, a dating relationship or even marriage?

Years ago, when I lived in Texas, I found a publication called the "Christian Yellow Pages." It was like a regular phonebook, but each business claimed to be Christian-owned. Would you expect that to be a foolproof solution? Pick a business from the Christian Yellow Pages, and everything will go smoothly because you can trust Christians.

Unfortunately, The Christian Yellow pages had some problems. Some businesses preyed on naïve Christians in order take advantage of their misguided consumer confidence and make a larger margin of profit.

Not everyone who claims to be a Christian, runs a Christian business, or tells us what Jesus thinks about modern issues, is a genuine Christian. While these people may fool us, do they fool God?

We read at the end of John Chapter 2, that Jesus does not entrust himself to everyone, because he knows what is in a person's heart. He instantly knows a person's character without anyone having to inform him. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves.

We recently celebrated Valentine's Day. Have you ever heard someone give the advice, "Follow your heart?" The Bible helps us to understand why we might want to reconsider such advice.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" This should be a "life verse," but not many people quote this one.

Mark 7:21-23 says, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Many non-Christians enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy they see in so-called Christians. What they fail to comprehend is that our best attempt at righteousness comes across to Holy God as filthy rags. That biblical reference from Isaiah 64:6 is even worse than it sounds.

Everyone has a deceitful heart, and everyone needs to be forgiven, cleansed, and given a new heart or a new nature. Of course, we are born with a rebellious sin nature. We are automatically self-destructive. Scripture warns us that we have an adversary who is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

Is there any hope for us? Are we better off expecting deception from everyone including ourselves? We may have tried to change and found that it was impossible for us. The good news of the gospel is that God can change us.

If we understand the bad news, then we can accept the good news. The bad news is that we are sinners by nature and by choice. 1 John 1:8-10 challenges us to deal with this problem honestly. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

2 Peter 1:4 informs us, "He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." God's grace enables us to become like Jesus.

The Apostle Paul states in Colossians, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." In other words, a relationship with Jesus enables us to overcome, while living life apart from him is unproductive.

A final thought, 2 Corinthians 5:17 encourages us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come." Your sinful nature is not immutable. God' grace has the power to transform you.

Follow Jesus. You can trust him completely. You can have your sins forgive and a home in heaven.