“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45, NIV).

My patients come from all directions politically. One of my conservative patients left the room with the following comment: “My girl asked me the other day if Trump was still my idol. I told her, ‘My only idol is Jesus.’” He continued as if surprised, “It just popped right out of me. I didn’t have to think about it.”

What is it that “pops right out” of you?

In order to pop out of you, it must be in you to start with.

What have you put in your heart that is likely to pop out?

Paul tells us what to put into our hearts: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, NIV).

The psalmist tells us what to put into our hearts: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11, KJV).

Jesus tells us what to put in our hearts: “Abide in me and I in you…” (John 15:4, ESV).

Are we intentional about placing the noble and admirable and true in our hearts? Is that how we spend our time? Are we intentional about placing God’s Word in our hearts through study and memorization? Am I doing that this week, or am I just coasting with Scripture I learned as a kid or heard in last week’s sermon? Do I take the time alone each day to let Christ abide in me, and then do I walk with Him throughout my day?

None of us is growing toward the person God wants us to be in a vacuum. Surrounded by a culture that cares little for God, I must continually grow toward Christ, or the world will steadily pull me back toward its own design. As the Lakota Sioux chief Sitting Bull famously taught us: “Inside of me are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good, and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins, I answer, ‘the one I feed the most.’”

As long as we live on this side of glory, our natural self will be at war with our Christian self. Are we feeding the Christian self or are we feeding the natural self? One way to know is to watch and see what “pops right out of us” in our daily actions and conversations.

Somedays, that watching makes me sad. I want to pop out Jesus more, without even thinking, just like my patient above.

Dear Father,

Continue to change me into your likeness. Let me intentionally become more like you through the things I read, and watch, and do, and the time I spend with you.

Amen