{"id":708,"date":"2012-02-14T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/02\/tearing-down-walls\/"},"modified":"2012-02-14T06:00:01","modified_gmt":"2012-02-14T06:00:01","slug":"tearing-down-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/02\/tearing-down-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearing Down Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Weekly Overview:<\/h2>\n<p>Honesty is more than the words we say. It\u2019s a posture of the heart. We weren\u2019t made to try and be something we\u2019re not. God never asks us to keep up appearances. He longs for us to have the courage to be vulnerable. He longs for us to be so founded in his unconditional love that we live honestly. May you experience new levels of peace and joy this week as we discover God\u2019s heart for honesty.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Scripture:<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cI always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.&#8221;<\/em> Acts 24:16<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"worship\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Worship:<\/h2>\n<h3>Firm Foundation (Live) by Hunter Thompson<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: auto auto 30px auto; width: 100%; float:left;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #484846; padding: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JcSQ4VXUarI?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Devotional:<\/h2>\n<p>In order to protect our hearts from the pain and wounds of the world we both consciously and subconsciously build walls. These walls take all sorts of forms. Some walls are built for appearance so that outward beauty covers up inward brokenness. Some walls are built to be strong and tough so that pride and strength cover up inward vulnerability and self-consciousness. Some walls are built in order to blend in so that people pass us by altogether and never try to know us. Whatever wall we choose to build, one thing\u2019s for certain: the walls might guard us from harm, but they also keep us from ever experiencing true life.<\/p>\n<p>Abundant life comes from being both fully known and then fully loved. We can\u2019t experience the love of God and others if we don\u2019t allow ourselves to be known. We can\u2019t experience God\u2019s grace and affection for us if we shield ourselves from him out of fear that he will see us and reject us. And whenever someone tries to love us fully we will always reject their love by saying, \u201cIf you truly knew me, you wouldn\u2019t love me.&#8221; Living with walls up isn\u2019t really living; it\u2019s surviving.<\/p>\n<p>God knows our pains. He knows our wounds. Psalm 34:18 says, <em>\u201cThe Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.&#8221;<\/em> God is for you. He longs to be near to you and save you. But in order for you to experience the fullness of his love and healing you have to let him in. And in order for you to experience true life you have to stop trusting in your walls to protect you and start trusting in the powerful, capable hands of your loving Father.<\/p>\n<p>In Psalm 57:7 David writes, <em>\u201cMy heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident&#8221;<\/em> (NLT). God is the one who protects our hearts. There is nothing we can do to fully shield ourselves from the wounds this world causes except allow our hearts to be fully open to God. Only in God can we have confidence. Only in God can we trust. And only in God will we experience true, abundant life.<\/p>\n<p>Take time today to tear down your walls brick by brick. Stop placing your hope in that which can\u2019t ever truly protect you. And look to God as your great protector that you might be fully known and fully loved today. May your time of guided prayer be marked by freedom and deliverance in the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<h2>Guided Prayer:<\/h2>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><strong>1. Meditate on the importance of living without walls up. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.&#8221;<\/em> Acts 24:16<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Where do you place your hope for protection?<\/strong> What walls have you built that you might not be truly known? In what ways are you guarding yourself?<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Confess to God any places you\u2019ve given your trust, and place your hope for protection in him alone.<\/strong> Journal about any walls you\u2019ve built up and respond to God\u2019s promise of nearness and healing by giving him your heart.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.&#8221;<\/em> Psalm 34:18<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cMy heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident.&#8221;<\/em> Psalm 57:7 (NLT)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It\u2019s important to take note when you begin to build walls around your heart. Run to God when you feel insecure. Rather than building up walls that have to be torn down again, seek to live openly and honestly. May you feel God\u2019s hand of protection around your heart today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Extended Reading:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm+57&#038;version=ESV\" rel=\"alternate\">Psalm 57<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weekly Overview: Honesty is more than the words we say. It&#8217;s a posture of the heart. We weren&#8217;t made to try and be something we&#8217;re not. God never asks us to keep up appearances. He longs for us to have the courage to be vulnerable. He longs for us to be so founded in his&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":636,"featured_media":711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first15"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tearing Down Walls<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weekly Overview: Honesty is more than the words we say. It&#8217;s a posture of the heart. We weren&#8217;t made to try and be something we&#8217;re not. God never asks us to keep up appearances. He longs for us to have the courage to be vulnerable. 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