I have always been one to say that I follow my heart. I guess what I was thinking is that my heart was really another word for my spirit. I have recently figured out that that isn't true. Jeremiah 17:9 NIV says that "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure..." What!? That threw me for a loop. I don't know why I never thought of it before because don't we say "I love you with all my heart?" Also we tend to say things like "I feel like the Lord spoke to my heart about..." These are contradictory as the Lord speaks to our spirit and we love people with our emotions - we are clearly dealing with two different things here. So after further study I began to realize that our heart is another name for our soul (our mind, will and emotions). I don't want to exhaust you with scriptural references but I'll give you one example of each so you know how I came to this conclusion...
Mind: Luke 2:19.... people ponder in their heart (think or meditate)
Will: 2Ch 6:7.... the heart that decides
Emotions: Jos 5:1...the fearful heart and Dt 6:5...the loving heart
The study of the heart, what it is and how we renew it is way too vast to cover in this blog post but maybe this tiny nugget of truth about what our heart really is will whet your appetite for more... here are a few more scripture references to get you started...
Ps 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Mark 7:21-22 (too long to type but it talks about the types of wickedness lodged in our hearts)
Ezekiel 11:19-20 ...I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
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