Read Proverbs 4:20-23
Jonathan just turned forty. He's been in great shape all his life. He played high school basketball and tennis. He was all-state in baseball. In college he ran five miles three times per week. Since then, he's been exercising at least four days a week. He stays away from junk food and gets enough sleep.
But several weeks ago he started experiencing chest pains. He immediately went to his doctor and was given an EKG—a test that monitors the heart. The doctor wanted to see if Jonathan was having a heart attack. The machine revealed that he was fine. It turns out that the chest pain was only a pulled muscle. His heart was in great shape.
The Bible teaches that we have two types of hearts: a physical heart and a spiritual heart. Have you ever considered how busy you keep your physical heart? The heart pumps blood and beats more than 100,000 times a day! The heart pushes oxygen and nutrition through more than 60,000 miles of arteries and veins. When it gives out, the person dies.
Think About It
Your spiritual heart keeps busy, too. It is the part of you that causes you to act the way you do. Your words, actions, and attitudes all begin in this heart. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us that our heart is the source of our life. Because of this, Solomon gives us wise advice about the way we should take care of our spiritual heart. He says: "Guard your heart more than anything else."
The state of your spiritual heart will determine how you react to people and problems. It will also determine what words you say. Be careful, then, to guard it. Do your best to only allow attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are healthy for your spiritual life.
Pray About It
Lord, train my heart so that I respond to people and situations the way that Jesus would. Encourage me as I try to keep my heart pure.
Daily Reading Plan—Read 2 Timothy 4
God's Word for Students.
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1 comment:
I once coached Pee Wee football with a man whose son was on the team. One day when he was upset he spouted out, I don’t care about the kids I want to win. His wife, not him, immediately began t o apologize and to say that he did not mean it. The truth is he did mean it, he just didn’t mean to say it out loud.
In my own life, when I start to have a bad attitude or become angry or just have anything going on that God checks my spirit, I have learned I can’t just make myself stop. What can I do?
I stop right where I am. I ask God to forgive me and any person I might need forgiveness from (this takes humility). But instead of thinking I am going to try harder to not do something, I draw closer to God. The problem is not really the action, it is my heart. So to correct my actions, I ask for forgiveness and then concentrate on Jesus.
I do this through conversation with God, Bible reading and just allowing Him to work in me. I have learned to not seek the things of God, they are good, but to seek God. If I seek God in and with all my heart, life, then He will begin to change my actions.
How about you? Is there some action in your life you know is not from God? Next time ask His forgiveness, anyone else that you might have offended and then seek Him instead of trying to change yourself. Be honest, that isn’t working. SEEKING GOD DOES!
Seeking God,
PS
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