Heart Keepers 05. 030914

Heart Keepers 05

5.  A constant and holy jealousy over our own hearts.

This is a tough one.  "Jealousy," isn't that a sin?  And yet shouldn't we be jealous of anything that would woo us away from the Lord?

Think of the power (albeit evil) of sinful jealousy.  It's the Great Green Monster.  It sparks anger and bitterness, even fury and odd behaviors.  Shouldn't anything that comes between our hearts and God be seen as an interloper, a seducer, a harlot attempting to lead us into adultery?

"My heart is God's, leave it alone!"  "It is His do not intefere!"  Even, "I hate you for trying to come between God and I!"  Should not this be our stance?  Should we not pray for this holy jealousy over our hearts?

Indeed God is jealous for our hearts.  He responds mightily when anything seeks to woo or win us.  He hates - yes hates - that which would come between you and Him.  We see it over and over again in the history of Israel.  God is a jealous God and will not tolerate our having any others.

Exodus 34:14 NASB
--for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--

Deuteronomy 4:24 NASB
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Psalm 78:58 NASB
For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.

1 Corinthians 10:22 NASB
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

James 4:4-5 NASB
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?

We need to be just as jealous for God as He is for us.  I know it seems odd and is quite a tough nut to crack but we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us insight.

These are His eyes, you may not enter.
These are His ears, you may not sound.
This is His mind, be ye gone.
This is His heart, there is no place for you here.
ms