by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\n
“You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections<\/em>” (II Corinthians 6:12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This follows Paul’s long list of situations he had to deal with as a disciple of Jesus. Discipleship involves the setting of our hearts (our ‘inward parts’ – the visceral emotion or compassion – not just modern “feelings”). The great commandment – love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This includes our loving Jesus.<\/p>\n
This doesn’t direct us as to what we should set our hearts on; this is about being controlled by what I love, what presses me towards my actions. Paul phrased a similar concept in Colossians 3:2: “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth<\/em>.” Or again in Proverbs 4:23: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life<\/em>.”<\/p>\n
How do you really prioritize your heart? Not <\/strong>what ‘should I answer,’ but what have you set your heart on? What matters most to you? On the negative statement of this: what do my affections keep from doing? Has my love for Christ changed me? Am I controlling my anger, wrath, speech, – my interactions with others? Be honest. Set out not just to change the ‘action’, but rather to change your heart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Hugh DeLong “You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections” (II Corinthians 6:12). This follows Paul’s long list of situations he had to deal with as a disciple of Jesus. Discipleship involves the setting of our hearts (our ‘inward parts’ – the visceral emotion or compassion – not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1375,495],"class_list":["post-98165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-focus","tag-heart"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88552,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/relationship-between-heart-and-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":0},"title":"Relationship Between Heart and Mind","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ\" (Philippians 3:8). There always seems to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86227,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/assurance-in-the-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":1},"title":"Assurance in the Heart","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Christians have some great things in their hearts that others lack but need. First, we have confidence that if we die, we are in a good place. We have a covenant with the Creator and Judge, and Jesus is the surety of the best covenant ever\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/have-you-hung-up-your-harp\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":2},"title":"Have You Hung Up Your Harp?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Psalm 137 speaks about the Israelite Levites losing heart because they were now removed from their homeland and in Babylonian captivity. The reason they were taken captive physically was because they let the forces of evil captivate them in heart and remove them from God. Now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44046,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/with-all-your-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":3},"title":"With All Your Heart","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 119:9-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is frequently stated that the difference between the Old and New Testaments is that the Old emphasizes the physical and the New the spiritual \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In part, it comes from passages like \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Romans 2:28-29 - The true Jew is inward, not outward\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-problem-of-private-lust\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":4},"title":"The Problem of Private Lust","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Connie Adams Lust has gone public in America. No subject is too delicate for a television or movie script. Pornography is big business. Absolutely nothing is left to the imagination. Yet, this business would utterly fail were it not for the fact that it feeds the private yearnings of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/hearts.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":88646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/has-the-glory-departed\/","url_meta":{"origin":98165,"position":5},"title":"Has the Glory Departed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton What's in Your Heart? The ark of the covenant in Israel was symbolic. It represented the presence of the glory of God, was kept in the center of the Israelite camp, and symbolized the covenant of Jesus Christ. 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