49 Religious Lies Jesus Told Me to Stop Believing - #2 Distrust My Heart

Summary

Mark Virkler describes how, years into his Christian life, he came to believe that people should distrust their hearts. He says this belief led him to rely mainly on analytical, logical thought and to neglect what he calls the heart’s spiritual life.

In a journaled dialogue, Virkler presents Jesus as challenging his interpretation of Jeremiah 17:9: “the heart is deceitful.” In the dialogue, Jesus distinguishes the heart of a person who has not received God from the “new heart” and “new spirit” described in Ezekiel 36:26–27. Virkler takes this to mean that Christians can trust their renewed hearts, which he believes are joined to the Holy Spirit.

Virkler says learning to live from the heart meant moving beyond logic alone and attending to inward impressions, flowing thoughts, and mental pictures, which he interprets as ways God may communicate. He believes this practice can foster greater creativity, spiritual life, and a sense of God’s abundance. He also hopes churches will teach people to discern the heart and the Spirit’s activity within it.

Suggested Practice

• Revisit the relevant scriptures: Read Jeremiah 17:9 and Ezekiel 36:26–27, along with other passages discussed in the video.
• Reflect and journal: Note what the passages say, then ask God what he wants to communicate through them.
• Examine the belief: Identify the teaching or “lie” you believe you have accepted—in this case, that you must distrust your heart.
• Replace it with a new conviction: Virkler models affirming that a renewed heart, joined to the Holy Spirit, can be trusted and followed.
• Attend to inner experience: Practice noticing thoughts and images that arise, treating them as possible guidance from God.
• Speak the change aloud: Virkler recommends renouncing the old belief and declaring the truth he believes God has revealed.
• Seek personal insight: He encourages listeners to explore scripture directly rather than relying only on his interpretation, comparing the process to Jesus opening the scriptures to the disciples on the Emmaus road.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Mark Virkler — The narrator and presenter.
• Jesus — Appears as a character in Virkler’s account of a private journal dialogue; not a separately identified speaker in the video.
• The Bible — Jeremiah 17:9 and Ezekiel 36:26–27 are quoted or referenced; the Emmaus road story is also invoked.