Introduction
There they were, sitting in front of me again. Sue’s pain was making the shift from fear and confusion to hardened resolve never to be hurt again. Looking at the floor, John hid behind silence and an occasional protest of his innocence. "Pastor, you don’t know what it’s like to live with this woman! She . . " and he proceeded to list Sue’s obvious flaws, then continuing his defense by justifying and minimizing his reactions to his wife. "I didn’t do anything wrong . . . You would have been angry, too!" At this point, I broke in with a reality check. "John, why did you physically hurt Sue? Can’t you see the bruises? You never have the right to do that." Trapped and fearing he would lose Sue, John sat silently waiting for his sentence.

Are you rising up in indignation? Before you throw the first stone, let me paint a fuller picture of John. John loves his wife, family and God. He knows the Bible and believes it to be true. He goes to church, faithfully reads the Bible, and prays. While there was a season of denial, John hates the anger that threatens to sweep away everything he treasures. He sees the dichotomy between the beliefs he affirms and the behavior he exhibits. Through counseling, John came to a clearer understanding of the motivation behind his actions, but he continued to be held captive by his destructive behavior.

Mary slumps down in the chair, hopeless. She wonders why she can’t shake these feelings of shame. Tom doesn’t ask her to be flawless or to do everything perfectly; yet she is driven to remove every speck of dirt from her home. She has an insatiable need to be the perfect mother, playing with her children and always responding calmly. The slightest slip of the tongue or discovery of a dust ball that snuck in behind her back leaves Mary surrounded by a thousand voices taunting her for her imagined failures.

From the first time that I met Serge, I was drawn to him. He had been assigned to be my interpreter in the Ukraine and he was eager to please and learn about America. Throughout the Convocation, Serge listened to the American teachers explain the truth about Jesus. With his mind he understood the teaching; it made sense. He would even say that he could accept it as truth, but he was not moved by it. The atheism that permeated his life refused to allow the new theology to penetrate any further than his mind.

Susan, a past parishioner, grabbed me after a sermon and with the proverbial finger in my face blurted out, "Roger, why didn’t you tell me before that God loves me!" I was dumbfounded. I had just finished a sermon series a few weeks before on the grace and love of God. That topic had not been the focus of this particular morning’s sermon, but something had happened and a truth that Susan had heard and affirmed all her life was now penetrating her heart for the first time. Not only had she heard the truth from me, but Susan had been in the Church for years. Yet, she had been unable to "hear" that God loved her, personally.

Susan is not alone. Many Christians talk of the love of God, sing songs of His love, and even invite others to receive that love as expressed in the gospel of Jesus, but deep within do not believe that God truly loves them. We tell each other that we simply have to affirm that God loves us, yet our hearts ache to experience that love. Although we quote John 3:16 and claim it, if we were honest with ourselves, we would say that even if God loves me that does not necessarily mean that He likes me. Personally, I had always pictured God in heaven looking down on me and frowning, tapping His foot and saying to Himself, "I guess I have to love that Roger. I did promise that if he accepted Jesus I would let him into heaven, but I sure wish he would get it together!'

George was living under the bridge when he first came to me for help. Alcohol had claimed his dignity, his marriage, and his family. He found forgiveness in Christ, and restoration of his marriage soon followed. George loved the Lord, strove hard to remain sober and please God, yet all of his good intentions failed to keep him from eventually returning to his addictive lifestyle.

The ardent believer loves to be at church. He is at peace when he is worshiping God and studying the Bible, but the sense of well being just does not last long enough. Occasionally, by the time he reaches the church parking lot following the Sunday service, all the old feelings of turmoil, dissatisfaction and frustration have returned. If the feeling of peace happens to last through the weekend, it is ambushed by work, spouse, children, or self. If only he could live at the church.

These stories reflect different perspectives of the same dilemma that we all face. We are like Paul, who said, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (Rom. 7:16,17 NIV) We have been taught to believe that if we fervently devote ourselves to scripture reading and prayer, we will see the desired change in our lives. Or perhaps if we just have that "religious experience" that our friend had, then we will be . . . healed . . . freed from guilt and shame . . . freed from haunting voices of the past . . . freed from addictive behavior . . . able to control our emotions . . . able to feel the love of God.

The key to true understanding of the human dilemma and how to bring lasting change lies in a proper understanding of the biblical model of the heart. We must become familiar with this concept - What is it? How does it function? What is the power of external influences to shape my heart, and what role do I play in influencing my [own] heart for change? We will start with a definition of the heart.

Definition
While the biblical term "heart" is used of the physical organ, its more basic and common meaning is "center." For example, the "heart of the sea" has this meaning. In keeping with this analogy, the heart of a person is their center, that place which integrates the whole person and all his/her activities: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. The heart processes all information, outside influences and personal experiences, and then determines what the person will believe and do in response. In processing external influences, the heart passes them through a grid formed from its personality, beliefs, goals, and sinful nature, all of which develop over the life of the individual. In addition, it is critical to understand that all human hearts are dominated by sin - they are fallen.

Unlike the mind and emotions, an important characteristic of the heart is its resistance to change. When the heart begins on a particular course of belief, it will stay on that course until a significant force diverts it.

Center
In claiming that the heart is the center of the person, we are saying that all elements that make up the person feed into a single place the Bible calls the heart. The heart then takes this input and after processing it, chooses a course of action. In Proverbs 4:23, we are told that the heart is the place that our life springs from: "watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." If we take "life" to mean the sum total of who we are and what we do, then the heart is the source of all we are and do. The heart ties all the elements of the person together, using them to form values and beliefs, and determine actions. In other passages, we are told that the heart speaks to itself (Deut 9:4) and is the seat of understanding (Prov 2:2; 4:21; 5:12). The heart experiences the full range of emotions (Fear-Deut 28:65; Joy-Deut 28:47; and Sorrow-Psa 13:2). Evil and salvation occur in the person’s heart (Gen 6:5; Psa 36:1; Jer 16:12). Even what happens to our body touches the heart (Psa 104:15; 109:22; 107:12; Prov 14:30). While the heart is not to be equated with any single element of the human make-up, it does interface with the mind, emotions, body and spirit of the person. Understanding the unique, unifying and central role of the heart is strategic for understanding how the person makes decisions, and why we do not change with the simple acquisition of information or the experience of a powerful emotional event. The Church has missed many of its God-given resources and misused other resources by confusing the heart with either the mind, the emotions, or even by completely rejecting its existence. While the heart uses the information gained by the brain, or the feelings experienced, it is the place of ultimate determination of how to interpret the mind and emotions’ input.

Processes
If the heart is the unifying center as the Bible claims, then it follows that the heart processes all input it receives. The same passages that reveal that the heart is the center also show the heart processing what it is provided by the body, soul, mind and spirit. The heart speaks to itself about what it is experiencing. It is the heart that comes to a place of understanding. Wisdom and godly understanding are the result of the heart processing correctly( Prov. 2:10, 4:4, 5:12). The heart has emotional responses like joy or fear. These emotional responses are the heart processing what it is emotionally experiencing. The receiving of wounds is a sign of a processing heart (Ps 109:22). The Psalmist’s heart was wounded because he interpreted what he was experiencing as a threat to his physical, emotional, or spiritual well being. Finally, evil in our hearts affects how we process {Jer 16:12, Psa 36:1). Without a proper understanding of the heart’s enslavement to sin, we might be tempted to trust its unregenerate ability to direct our lives, but though the Bible clearly warns against such uninformed trust in our hearts. We must deal with the fallen condition of our hearts before they can be trusted.

The need to draw a distinction between the heart and our minds and emotions is seen in the heart’s capacity to process. If the heart is the source of our life, then it follows that what my heart believes and feels will always determine my beliefs and actions. Some people equate the mind and the heart. If this was true, then we would act in accordance with the beliefs that we affirm in our minds; yet our experience reveals the opposite. We can understand and agree with a biblical truth, and not translate it into action. Such incongruity between our actions and emotions further demonstrates that the heart does not equal our emotions. As important as both mind and emotions, they are not equal to the heart. While related to both, the heart is a place of deeper beliefs and conditions than are seen in our emotions and mind.

Determines
The Bible is very clear when it comes to identifying the source of our actions. All actions come from the person’s heart: "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil." (Matt 12:34; see also: 15:18,19; Luke 6:45) Two observations need to be made about this important truth about the heart. First, when we do or say something that surprises us, we need look at it as revealing our hearts. It is not as Flip Wilson use to say, "the devil made me do it." Angry words or lustful thoughts do not just happen. They are the natural overflow of a heart full of beliefs that support and encourage anger and lust. We find ourselves surprised by our words and actions, and rather than humbly coming before the God who would help us understand our hearts, we respond with, "I do not know what happened. That just is not me." The truth is that it is us. Secondly, we need to make our heart’s condition our primary concern. Throughout scripture, God warns His people of using externals to cover the true condition of their hearts. In Isaiah 58, the prophet unveils the selfishness and injustice the people were trying to hide with their religious fasting. Jesus constantly confronted the religious leaders for their use of beliefs, behaviors and ceremonies to hide their dead bones.

Thirdly, our heart’s determination of all our actions requires that we take responsibility for all of our actions. We are in a culture that has shifted responsibility to the environment. We blame poverty, parents, movies, music, work environments, etc. for our actions. The Bible views the source of our actions differently. While it is true that our environment exerts influence on our hearts, it is our heart that chooses how to respond to that influence. The driver who cut you off on the freeway did not make you angry; your heart took in the encounter and, after evaluating it through the grid of its own condition, determined to be angry. Is there a habit that you have been excusing? Would you take a moment and, before God, accept responsibility for it? Do not hide from the Lord as Adam and Eve did in their denial. Come into the light of God’s word and presence, because that is the only place of real healing. God does not shame and condemn; everything in His heart is to heal us.

Resists
The heart’s resistance to change again highlights its distinction from the mind and emotions. A thought-provoking sermon may change my mental beliefs yet leave intact an opposing belief in my heart. I had heard that God loves me for my entire life; but my heart was not able to embrace this beautiful truth. As a result, I have lived in fear, trying to earn God’s love, but never reaching the goal. I have also experienced many powerful encounters with God through prayer and worship, and yet the old beliefs have refused to free my heart. The psalmist describes, "the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep" (Proverbs 20:5). While the thoughts of my conscious mind are easily discerned, the thoughts of my heart need to be drawn out and discerned.

Deep in my heart are beliefs that have formed over the years, blocking the message of God’s love for me. Growing up without the emotional support and affirmation of my father, beliefs were planted in my heart that I was not loveable or even valuable. It happened at such an early age and so slowly that it was not until I was much older that these saboteurs were revealed. In addition, as a five year old, I formed numerous self-deprecating beliefs as the result of the death of my brother. Then there was the influence of the Church which molded my heart, as well as the chaos of the American culture I attempted to survive. All of these influences, and I am sure many more, formed beliefs deep in my heart which determined my responses throughout my life. Because I was never taught to examine my heart, they remained hidden reefs causing me to run aground often. I thought and was taught that if I said a prayer of salvation and studied the Bible, I would be rewarded with godly character. It did not happen; my stubborn heart beliefs continued to control my life. Later, as I sought and experienced the presence of God, I thought that I would be instantly changed. Again, it did not happen. I was like king Saul who was thrown to the ground and prophesied for a day naked, but who arose with no permanent change. This is not to say that Scripture, prayer, worship and encountering God do not bring change, but we do not for the most part know how to open our hearts to the transforming resources that God has made available. We allow them to touch our minds and emotions, but hold our hearts captive behind walls of fear, pride and ignorance. To break the hold of resistant controlling beliefs takes time and all the resources God provides for His children: Scripture, prayer, worship, and accountable relationships; and we must know how to target our hearts with these powerful weapons.

The Church runs the full gambit of opinions on how or even if real change can be affected in the individual, but most of the resistance of the human heart thwarts its common strategies. For those who emphasize the rational study of the Bible, the answer is more study and memorization. Hit the problem with another verse until it surrenders. While I value the power of the Bible, believing that it is the inspired word of God, I do not believe that targeting the mind brings the deep growth and change we all long for. This is illustrated by the attempt of astronauts in the movie Armageddon to blow up the killer asteroid. As the story goes, the Texas-size rock needed to be split so that it would miss the earth. In order to do this, a nuclear bomb had to be placed in a hole deep in the asteroid. Nothing short would do the job. The same is true for the human heart. If the truth is not placed deeply within the heart, as powerful as the Word is, it will not change the course of the individual. God’s purpose for Scripture is that it would cut the person all the way to their hearts, and not just set in the mind as facts, doctrines and creeds:

Others would point us to supernatural encounters with God through worship and prayer, but these, and even an encounter with the Living God, will have little long-lasting effect if they are not allowed into the heart. Because the heart is not targeted by much of the Church, we continue to hammer on the mind and emotions of the person, hoping to produce the fruit we see promised in Scripture. The preacher threatens and calls to the altar, then is frustrated when the penitent is back at the altar week after week. We tell the congregation what they are to do and be, but choke when it comes to the ‘how-to’. We value worship and encountering God as tools to bringing about change, but we are left looking for the next worship or renewal service to feel good. If we are to break through the resistance of the heart, we must be willing to allow God to confront our hearts, and we must learn what our part in the process is.

While this verse states the foundational truth of humanity’s fallen condition held by the Church, we now live in a culture, which completely rejects this strategic truth. The heart is seen as the only reliable part of the human make up. It is held as having the ability to discern the truth when family, friends and culture are counseling otherwise. Whether it is determining to have sex or not, or to follow a dream; we are counseled that our hearts are up to the challenge. The Bible has a very different take on the intrinsic condition of our hearts. After the flood, which saved righteous Noah and his family and destroyed the wicked, God observed that even righteous Noah and his family had hearts that were bent toward evil:

God calls our culture’s blind trust in the heart foolishness: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26). Foolishness is seen in the stupid, dangerous and destructive things that are done under the guise of following our hearts. Children are abandoned so that parents can follow their hearts; spouses are betrayed in the name of the heart. Violence is on the increase as individuals are freed from all other restraint and told to do what their hearts tell them to do.

Now the news media and ‘experts’ would not draw this connection. They would say that society needs boundaries, and that the individual is not free to do as they please, but while we have some of the right words spoken, the truth is that there is still a priority given to the belief that the individual must follow his heart at every level of society. This is the message communicated in our movies, music, TV and pop-psychology talk shows. The truth is, we do not want to limit our hearts. We say the right words for the benefit of sounding right and controlling those whose hearts threaten us, but we have no intention of having our hearts bound by others, culture, the Church or even God.

What does it mean that the heart is fallen? First, it is not trustworthy. Its ability to discern and decide are not reliable. The teen couple in the passion of young love cannot trust their heart to discern what their emotions mean and what they should do in response. They find themselves having given a part of themselves away, unable to recover it. The relationship that started out with communication, caring and commitment degenerates into silence and a "user" mentality. The problem: the heart trapped by the self-centeredness of the fall is unable to see and accept the truth about our sexuality as established by God at creation. God established at creation. Not wanting to trust God to know the difference between right and wrong, the heart refuses God’s counsel, following its passions and darkened understanding (Rom. 1:18-32).

In addition, we know from the Jeremiah 17:9 passage that the human heart is deceptive because of its fallenness. While it is a frightening thought that the part of us, which evaluates and determine also actively hides itself through deception, we must acknowledge this biblical judgment, or risk incredible danger. Vertigo is a condition that attacks both pilots and scuba divers. When one loses sensual [sense] markers like the horizon or the surface of the water, you can no longer discern up from down. The result can be death by drowning or mountain. My scuba instructor gave us a simple way to accurately override our deceiving senses - "follow your bubbles." God gives a simple instruction to override our deceiving heart - "follow my word, Spirit and people."

There are three ways that the heart deceives the person. First, we simply deny or suppress reality. "I didn’t run that light!" "I am not an alcoholic!" "I was not abused!" The heart unwilling to face its sin, limitedness, or pain refuses to acknowledge its existence. Another form of deception is intellectualization. In this deception, the heart will address an issue, but refuses to see it in personal or emotional terms. "Alcoholism is a terrible problem in our culture.... did you know that there are X alcoholics in our country...?" There is no, "I am an alcoholic and it is killing me what I am dong to myself and my family.... I’m scared...." A third way the heart deceives the person is through blaming or rationalizing. "I am not responsible for being an alcoholic because I was abused as a child." This form of deception was seen in Adam and Eve when God confronted them after they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God asked the man why he had rebelled, and the man blamed the woman for his actions. When God turned to the woman, she in turn blamed the serpent.

How does this ability to deceive play out in our development of character and experiencing of healing? When we read the Bible, we have a choice. We can read the truths of Scripture and affirm with our minds their veracity, but not allow them to confront the beliefs we hold in our hearts. This is an intellectual deception. We believe that we have done what we were supposed to do when we learned and mentally affirmed the facts. We failed because we did not let the truth transform our hearts. This same refusal to allow the spiritual disciplines to go to the heart applies to worship, prayer, and even accountable relationships. I allow friends only so far in, letting them see only what I want them to. I love the emotional high of good worship, but will not listen to the voice of the Spirit revealing during worship what I need to confess.... The Church is confused and at the end of it resources because it has not given the truth about the heart it proper place in it’s theology and practice. It continues to detonate God-powerful weapons on the surface, and the asteroid continues on a collision course towards destruction.