To say I’ve been rescued by God means I have a new heart. The heart is where the intellect, emotions, and will coalesce into a holistic unity.  If God has changed my heart then my mind, emotions and decisions ought to reflect my new heart which is fashioned after Christ’s. 

How easy it is for my heart to leave its first love—Christ—and be fashioned after a framework of right-living without substance.  This happens when I no longer experience Christ as my heart’s first love but default to being comfortable with my knowledge about Christ.  It is in the heart that my knowledge of Christ must be translated into experiencing Christ as my intellect, emotions and will interact with him as my Lord and Savior rather than merely being busy for him.

But how do we engage our heart or as the writer of Proverbs says “guard your heart” (Prov 4:23)? 

• routine time of personal reflection and worship centered in Jesus who is the Truth and God’s Word the truth
• carefully thinking about my thoughts, emotions and decision-making processes rather than automatically going through life without such reflection
• ensuring our motivation is driven by God’s grace to us in Christ and not by self-promotion, self-protection or any other self-______________.
• paying attention to grow Christ’s character in us in the midst of the good and bad