Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Watching over our Hearts with Diligence

 
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October 5  watching over our hearts with diligence

 

Praying for you this morning, in the Name of our matchless Lord. You are His beloved one.

He lives in you and desires your continual abiding in Him today.  

Since yesterday, I've been meditating on Proverbs 4:23.

"Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life." 

With all diligence

That means daily, continually, carefully, on purpose, we are to watch over our heart,

for everything about our life and the life of God in us flows out of our heart.

We are to watch over our heart.

Protect our heart.

Guard our heart.

We are to stay alert to carefully keep out the things that would defile our heart.
With all diligence.

We are to actively cultivate those things that will cause our hearts to stay pure before Him.  Remember Jesus' words, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." 

A continual diet of God's Word combined with a willingness to receive and obey it

keeps our heart right.

With all diligence

A habit of prayer is such a key in watching over our hearts.

As we go along the journey, we must not allow hard heartedness to creep in,

or lukewarmness, or coldness of heart. 

Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah about the heart of man. 

"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. 

In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men" (from Isaiah 29:13.) 

We can know all the right words, all the right songs................

but what matters is that our heart is close to God. 

That we know Him and abide in Him and cultivate a relationship

 with the Holy Spirit who is our Teacher and Helper.

During our days there are many things that can pull our hearts away from our Lord. 

He never leaves us or forsakes us, but our hearts can depart from Him. 

The great news is that as we draw near to Him He draws near to us. 

If everything about our life is influenced by the condition of our heart,

the diligent care of it must occupy our mind and we must be deliberate about caring for it.  Great missionary  to Burma, Adonirum Judson, had such a precious heart for God.

He was a man of prayer and consecration.

He arranged his days to devote the first 2 hours to prayer. 

Then seven times a day he withdrew from business and company

and  spent ten minutes communing with God. 

This habit would keep our hearts connected to Him! 

He rose a little after midnight every morning to devote some time

in the darkness and stillness of night to pray. 

Then at 6, 9 12, 3, 6 and 9, he stopped everything to spend time with God.

He made every sacrifice to maintain this pattern.

With all diligence.

How will the pattern of your days look, concerning watching over your heart with all diligence.   Your pure heart, your knowing Him, your abiding in Him

and everything that flows from your life will depend on it. 

Let's guard and  watch over our heart well!


 

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