Guard Your Heart
Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Proverbs 4:20-27. Solomon says to his son, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the middle of your heart.”
These words are life to those who find them, and healing to their body. Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it is the source of life.
Put a deceitful mouth, and perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look right on, and your eyelids look straight in front of you.
Consider the pathway that your feet trod, and be sure all your ways are reputable. Don’t turn to the right or to the left: keep your feet from evil.
The heart is an organ in the center of the circulation system in our bodies and is regarded as the center of all physical and spiritual life.
Solomon warns his son to guard his heart. We have to be careful what we allow into our bodies through our eyes and our ears. These are gateways to our heart. What goes in our bodies will come out of our bodies eventually in one form or another.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
Have you ever noticed what comes out of your mouth when you stump your toe? How about when someone pulls out in front of you in traffic? Are they blessings or cursing? Usually the worst will come out of us when we least expect it or put our guard down.
In Matthew 15:18-20a Jesus says, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man.”
Guard your heart. Be careful what you watch on TV or read in books. Be careful what you listen to. Be careful who you hang around with. You may think these things don’t affect you, but what we let into our lives, both the good and bad resides in our heart, the center or our being.
Solomon not only says to guard your heart he also says to guard your mouth. Be careful about the language you use when speaking to yourself, about yourself, to others, or about others. Speak the truth in love. Don’t let perverse words flow from your mouth.
Solomon says to guard your steps, as well. Don’t turn to the right or left but keep on the straight and narrow path that leads to life everlasting. Stay away from evil or the appearance of evil.
By guarding our hearts, our mouths, and our steps we can keep our bodies pure and away from evil.
Daily Bible Reading:
Proverbs 4:20-27
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Things to think about:
- What is the importance of guarding our hearts?
- Why should we guard our mouth?
- In what ways should we guard our steps?
Prayer of the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this Scripture in the book of Proverbs. Solomon warns his son to guard his heart, his mouth, and his steps. Help us to guard our hearts, our mouth, and our steps as well. Help us to stay away from evil and keep our hearts, mouth and the path of our lives pure. Keep us on the straight and narrow path to righteousness. Protect us from evil. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Bible Verse for Journaling and Memorization:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. – Proverbs 4:23
Christian Music Videos: “Guard your Heart” – Steve Green
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Featured Book: Have you read:
The Book of Haggai: Consider Your Ways
by Deborah H. Bateman
About the book:
The Book of Haggai: Consider Your Ways is a Daily Bible Reading Study of the book of Haggai by Deborah H. Bateman. It is the twenty-fifth book in the Daily Bible Reading Series by the author. Haggai was one of the prophets from the Old Testament of the Bible.
In the book of Haggai, the LORD reveals a message to Haggai for the people asking them to consider your ways. The LORD also reminded the people through Haggai that He was with them, among other things. These are lessons that we can still use today in our lives.
The Book of Haggai: Consider Your Ways contains four Daily Bible Reading lessons consisting of a brief commentary by the author, the Daily Bible Reading Scriptures, a few questions to consider called, “Things to think about,” and a prayer of the day. It is a great Bible study for individual or group study.
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Have a blessed day,
Deborah
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