1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to 2 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: have you listening. Today's topic is about the dangers of 3 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: following your heart. We'll return with the devotional after brief 4 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: message from one of our sponsors, Forsaking following your Heart, 5 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: written and read by Emily Rose Massey. Trust in the 6 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,279 Speaker 1: Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your 7 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: own understanding. In all your ways. Acknowledge Him, and he 8 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: shall direct your paths. Proverbs, chapter three, verses five and six. 9 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: Shortly after graduation, I became a born again believer in 10 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. I repented of my sin and surrendered my 11 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: life to Christ, committing to take up my cross and 12 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: follow him no matter the cost. Yet I still wanted 13 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: to pursue my original plan of becoming an actress in 14 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. As a Christian, I believed I was called 15 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: to be a light in a dark place, so that 16 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: meant that I was supposed to use my talents for 17 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: Christ in Hollywood. I was receiving mixed messages from trusted 18 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: believers because they kept telling me to trust God with 19 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: the plans to pursue my dreams. This just led to 20 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: more confusion. Trust God with my plan and my heart's desires. 21 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: Again and again, the phrase follow your heart was echoing 22 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: through my mind. This phrase seems to be very popular 23 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: in American culture, even among Christian circles. You can find 24 00:01:55,480 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: these three words boldly displayed on T shirts, Instagram graphic, 25 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: and even heralded by some influential professing Christian leaders. Follow 26 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: your heart just a harmless motto. 27 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:09,679 Speaker 2: Right. 28 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: It sounds really encouraging, doesn't it. Yes, very encouraging, almost 29 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: disney like, but definitely not biblical. The Lord spoke these 30 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: words about the heart through the prophet Jeremiah. The heart 31 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can 32 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: know it? Jeremiah, Chapter seventeen, verse nine. As Christians, sometimes 33 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: we fall into the trap of getting man's words more 34 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: weight than the word of God. I wanted to encourage 35 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: us to look to the direction found in scripture. For 36 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: those who are God's children. A very familiar but powerful 37 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: passage found in Proverbs gives the believer wisdom. Trust in 38 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on 39 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: your own understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge Him and 40 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:07,959 Speaker 1: he shall direct your paths. Proverbs chapter three, verses five 41 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: and six, intersecting faith and life. If we are putting 42 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: our trust in everything or anyone but the Lord, we 43 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: will constantly be disappointed and led astray from God's perfect 44 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: will for our lives. We must trust in the Lord 45 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: with all of our heart, which should never be filled 46 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: with more of this world than God's word. I'm so 47 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: thankful that during that time in my life, while I 48 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: was faced with a major decision, I kept my heart 49 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: full of God's word, which helped me renew my mind 50 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: so that I was filled with faith to trust God 51 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: when he began changing my desires to follow and obey 52 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: him most of all. One month after I made the 53 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: decision not to move to Los Angeles, realizing that it 54 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: was pride that was actually driving the desire to pursue 55 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: an acting cad, I was introduced to my now husband, 56 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: and the rest is his story. My advice to you, 57 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: beloved one, is do not follow your heart. Follow God instead. 58 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: He knows what you need more than you do. Trust 59 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: Him with your entire heart and let him mold it 60 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: to look more like his. He will never lead you 61 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: down the wrong path. The culture around us is often 62 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: very loudly proclaiming how important it is for us to 63 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: pursue our dreams and destiny by listening to our hearts 64 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: and following it. But God's word is very clear that 65 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: our hearts can often bring confusion, and that the only 66 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: one who can be trusted to follow is the Lord. 67 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: If you are born again, God has given you a 68 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: new heart in Christ. Yes, but your flesh is always 69 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: at war with God's desires and longs to lead you 70 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: away from God's will. We find God God's will in 71 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: his words, so we must ask the Lord to help 72 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: us have a hunger to hide it in our hearts 73 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: so that we will not sin against him. God's word 74 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: is what we're news our minds, so that we are 75 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: able to walk in obedience and look more like Christ 76 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: to the world, so that they may know that His 77 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: ways and thoughts are higher and better than man's. The 78 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: Lord can help us to not lean upon our own 79 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: understanding and trust him above all, not our heart's desires. 80 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: Let us be diligent to ask the Lord to mold 81 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: our hearts to look more like Jesus. Further reading Psalm 82 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: one hundred and forty three, verses eight through ten. 83 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 3: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. 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