Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Guard your heart.”
In Proverbs 4:23 Solomon warns his readers that we must be intentional about guarding our heart. The reason he gives us is that the heart is the source of life. In other translations that phrase reads, “the well-spring of life.” In other words, the heart is the place from which the rest of life rises up and flows.
Obviously we’re not talking here about that 11 ounce muscle located in the left side of the chest which pumps blood throughout the body. In Biblical terms the “heart” is the essence of the person. The Greek word is “kardia” and it refers to the seat of conscious thought, emotional states, and intellectual activities deep within a person. It is the well-spring from which flows all thinking, speaking, and conduct and it is the secret place within us where we develop, guard, and cling to the things that are most precious to us. It is that place that Solomon warns us to safeguard.
In Luke 6:45 Jesus tells us that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. What He means is that whatever is in your heart will eventually bubble up and break through to the surface. People often try to hide what’s in their heart. Deep within they’re full of thoughts of lust or anger or profanity or greed. Outwardly they might smile and be as sweet as honey but inwardly they’re harboring all sorts of sin. Jesus says that sooner or later what’s in the heart will make its way to the surface and show itself in words and deeds.
So we must guard what we allow into the heart to begin with. Everyday we make choices about the music we listen to, the things we read, the movies and television programs we watch, the conversations we engage in. All of those influences penetrate to the level of the heart. As the people of God we must make good choices about such things.
We must also guard what we dwell on in our heart. Even on those occasions when a bad influence makes its way into our heart, we still have a choice as to whether we will expel it or hang onto it, and whether or not we will dwell on it. The more we dwell on something the more deeply seated it becomes and the more a permanent part of us it is.
Then we must be truthful with ourselves about what is already in our heart. You know and God knows what’s really there. Denying it only makes things worse. The heart can be cleansed of all unrighteousness. We can flood the heart with large volumes of Bible reading, good music, and good conversation. We can also choose to dwell on those good influences and allow them to become what is deeply seated within us.
The words you speak and the actions you take are a direct reflection of what is really in your heart. So guard your heart, for it is the source of life.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 