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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Wednesday,
November 16, 2022
"Heart
Protector"
Message
summary:
There is
a great deception and
powerful delusion that
is sweeping our world. I
am even more convinced
of the absolute
importance of protecting
my heart from deception
and I believe that's
true for all of us!
"Above
all else, protect
your heart, for
everything you do
flows from it"
(Proverbs
4:23).
For many years I visited weekly with Rick, a mechanical engineer, in the course of our chaplain work. He is now retired but was a specialist in live animal traps and likely many of our readers have benefited from a product he designed. Like most engineering and design work these days it all begins on a computer screen. Of the thousands of people we have seen in our work Rick is the only one that I recall who always wore a distinctive accessory, his pocket protector. He actually had a collection and graciously offered me one but after wearing it a few times I decided I'm just not a pocket protector guy. Pocket protectors according to most sources were invented in the nineteen-forties. It is a sheath designed to hold writing instruments and other small implements, such as slide rules, while preventing them from damaging the wearer's shirt pocket (e.g., by tearing or staining by a leaky pen). The pocket protector is designed to fit neatly inside the breast pocket of a shirt. A flap overlapping the pocket exterior helps to secure the pocket protector in place. * Today's
verse speaks of
protecting something
vitally more
important than our
shirt pocket; protecting
our heart. "Above
all else, protect
your heart, for
everything you do
flows from it"
(Proverbs 4:23). We have a
personal
responsibility to
protect our heart.
We certainly seek to
do so physically,
being aware of how
vital our heart is
to life.
But when Solomon wrote these words he was primarily referring to the spiritual heart, our inner person. The CEV states, "Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life." The Amplified Version renders the passage, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." This must be our primary focus in life and of utmost importance as Solomon emphasized, "Above all else". Protecting your heart is of utmost importance because "everything you do flows from it". 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 Paul, using a lesson from history, "Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did" (1 Corinthians 10:6). 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 protect our hearts:
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews
3:13)
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 my
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
this 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
residency
within my
heart. Help
me, I pray, in
the name of
Jesus. Amen.
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) * Wikepedia article about the pocket protector
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