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Thursday, May 31, 2012
This colorful carriage is in front of a gift shop here in Lancaster County, PA
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"Guarding Your Heart"
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
We
regularly mention our dogs Roxie and Mollie in this series. Both are
"mutts"; Roxie was "adopted" from a rescue league and Mollie from the dog pound (otherwise known
as the Humane League).
They are a lot of fun although Mollie has been far more demanding and destructive than Roxie ever was! Mollie's calling in life is to play. I can merely look at her with a twinkle in my eye and she will grab a toy, expecting to play without ceasing. I think she heard me quote 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and misunderstood me. She has been caught praying though (see here)
Of course we try to take good care of them and one medical concern we have been advised to look out
for is heart worms. One of the products available to prevent heart
worms is known as Heartgard, which claims to prevent these worms with
just one tablet a month.
Wouldn't it be great if there was a
tablet we could take once a month to guard our hearts in the way the
daily verse describes! The verse is surely not primarily referring to
the physical heart, although it is sound advice in that regard as well.
Solomon wrote these words he was primarily referring to the spiritual heart, our inner person. We have a personal responsibility to guard our heart. It must be our primary focus in life and of utmost importance as Solomon emphasized, "Above all else".
Guarding our heart is of utmost importance because "it is the wellspring of life". This is true both physically and spiritually. Jesus shared a similar teaching when He stated, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matthew 15:19). The apostle Peter states, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord" (1 Peter 3:15).
Blogger Michael Hyatt lists three reasons we must guard our hearts:
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
You made my heart to be the life-giving source for my physical
existence and You also made my heart to be the life-giving source for
spiritual existence. Create in me a pure and contrite heart, O
God, and establish a steadfast spirit within me. It is only in the
power of Your Holy Spirit that I can faithfully guard my heart from the
follies of the world. Fill me with the abundance of Your goodness
so that it overflows into the lives of others as my conversation and
conduct reflect Your presence in my life. Help me, I
pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The River Brethren, a Plain group who do not own church buildings but meet in houses and barns will be meeting in our area for their church service in several weeks. Several neighborhood River Brethren plain children walked alongside us on our walk last night and invited us to the service.
Stephen asked, "Are you sure we're invited?" Each of them assured us that we were. "Everyone's invited" they said but the young three year old added, "except Satan. He's an enemy of God." We sure agree with his theology!
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Guard Your Heart" Video Steve Green
"Slow Fade" Video Casting Crowns
"Three Reasons Why You Must Guard Your Heart" Michael Hyatt
"What does it mean to guard your heart?" (From gotquestions.org)
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Brooksyne
<Previous Message Next Message>
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Listen
to this
message on
your
audio player."Guarding Your Heart"
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
We
regularly mention our dogs Roxie and Mollie in this series. Both are
"mutts"; Roxie was "adopted" from a rescue league and Mollie from the dog pound (otherwise known
as the Humane League).They are a lot of fun although Mollie has been far more demanding and destructive than Roxie ever was! Mollie's calling in life is to play. I can merely look at her with a twinkle in my eye and she will grab a toy, expecting to play without ceasing. I think she heard me quote 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and misunderstood me. She has been caught praying though (see here)
Of course we try to take good care of them and one medical concern we have been advised to look out
for is heart worms. One of the products available to prevent heart
worms is known as Heartgard, which claims to prevent these worms with
just one tablet a month. Wouldn't it be great if there was a
tablet we could take once a month to guard our hearts in the way the
daily verse describes! The verse is surely not primarily referring to
the physical heart, although it is sound advice in that regard as well.
Solomon wrote these words he was primarily referring to the spiritual heart, our inner person. We have a personal responsibility to guard our heart. It must be our primary focus in life and of utmost importance as Solomon emphasized, "Above all else".
Guarding our heart is of utmost importance because "it is the wellspring of life". This is true both physically and spiritually. Jesus shared a similar teaching when He stated, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matthew 15:19). The apostle Peter states, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord" (1 Peter 3:15).
Blogger Michael Hyatt lists three reasons we must guard our hearts:
- Because our hearts are extremely valuable.
- Because our hearts are the source of everything we do.
- Because our heart is under constant attack.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
You made my heart to be the life-giving source for my physical
existence and You also made my heart to be the life-giving source for
spiritual existence. Create in me a pure and contrite heart, O
God, and establish a steadfast spirit within me. It is only in the
power of Your Holy Spirit that I can faithfully guard my heart from the
follies of the world. Fill me with the abundance of Your goodness
so that it overflows into the lives of others as my conversation and
conduct reflect Your presence in my life. Help me, I
pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.The River Brethren, a Plain group who do not own church buildings but meet in houses and barns will be meeting in our area for their church service in several weeks. Several neighborhood River Brethren plain children walked alongside us on our walk last night and invited us to the service.
Stephen asked, "Are you sure we're invited?" Each of them assured us that we were. "Everyone's invited" they said but the young three year old added, "except Satan. He's an enemy of God." We sure agree with his theology!
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Guard Your Heart" Video Steve Green
"Slow Fade" Video Casting Crowns
"Three Reasons Why You Must Guard Your Heart" Michael Hyatt
"What does it mean to guard your heart?" (From gotquestions.org)
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
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