| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Be smart, be strategic” Our Bible verse for today: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Guard your heart” Increasingly many people are feeling weary and overwhelmed by the never-ending flow of information we’re exposed to on a daily basis. We live in the “information age”. Sometimes that’s a blessing, but often it’s a curse. There’s the 24/7 news cycle with all the dramatic and often exaggerated headlines screaming for our attention. There are loud and angry voices coming from all directions demanding this, and protesting against that, and declaring their offense over one thing after another. There are computer screens, smart phones, watches that talk to us, and so much more. It really does become overwhelming. And … all of that stuff is making its way into your brain and then into your heart. Sometimes, personally, I feel contaminated, like I’ve ingested poison and it’s making me sick. My stomach gets sour, my head hearts, and I’m tired. The constant barrage of information, misinformation, lies, distortions, exaggerations, competing agendas, doomsday predictions, charges and counter-charges, make me jaded and edgy, and that has a negative impact on me. You too? Fortunately, there is an answer. Solomon warned us in Proverbs 4:23 that we need to guard what we allow into our heart because the heart is the wellspring of life. In other words, all the rest of life flows out of what’s in our heart. Jesus warned about this as well in Luke 6:45, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.” This is why we have to be smart and strategic about guarding our heart. We have to be intentional and we have to have control over what we allow ourselves to be exposed to. The fact is that we can turn off the news, shut down the computer, put the smart phone away, and unplug for a while. We can spend extra time reading the Bible, or a good Christian book. We can put the headphones on and spend an hour listening to soothing Christian music. We can go for a long walk in the woods, spend a couple of hours out on the lake, or just sit quietly doing nothing and petting the dog. We don’t have to remain constantly engaged with our loud and angry and deceptive world. The Apostle Paul had some advice about this. In Philippians 4:8 he wrote, “Finally, brothers, 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.” I encourage you to take control over your environment and guard your heart. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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