Seeds Of Hope Daily Devotional: Proverbs 4:23

Showing posts with label Proverbs 4:23. Show all posts

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Guard Your Heart!

She was over eighty years old and still worked every day. Though old in years, she was young at heart. She made her way through life in a wheelchair and was very successful in several different business ventures. Additionally, she was known for being involved in doing kind things for others going through difficult times.

“What caused you to end up in a wheelchair?” asked a friend one day.

“Infantile paralysis,” she replied.

“My goodness! How do you cope,” the friend wondered, “and do so many kind things for so many people?”

“Well,” she said with a gracious smile, “the paralysis never touched my head or my heart.”

Our head is the door to our heart. What we see, think and dwell upon shapes our feelings and is expressed in what we do and the way we act.

It was the writer of Proverbs who expressed this so well. “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance,” he wrote, “for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Our heart, the source of our feelings of love and desire, dictates the things that we do and say. How we live and what we find time to do and enjoy all come from within. Wisely, Solomon advises us to concentrate on those things that will reflect God’s love to others. We must make sure that what matters most leads us in the right direction. We can only do this if we focus on God.

Prayer: Help us, Heavenly Father, to look straight ahead and keep our eyes focused on You. Keep us from becoming sidetracked by things that would destroy us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Guard Your Heart!

“What caused you to end up in a wheelchair?” asked a friend one day.

“Infantile paralysis,” she replied.

“My goodness! How do you cope,” the friend wondered, “and do so many kind things for so many people?”

“Well,” she said with a gracious smile, “the paralysis never touched my head or my heart.”

Our head is the door to our heart. What we see, think and dwell upon shapes our feelings and is expressed in what we do and the way we act.

It was the writer of Proverbs who expressed this so well. “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance,” he wrote, “for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Prayer: Help us, Heavenly Father, to look straight ahead and keep our eyes focused on You. Keep us from becoming sidetracked by things that would destroy us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Shop Carefully

“Supermarket behavior” is fascinating to watch. It seems as though people change when they enter the door, get their cart and begin to walk through the aisles.

The cart becomes a very special "space" that we fill with various items for our particular wants and needs. We would consider someone strange if they met us at the door and said, "Here, take my cart and fill it with what you think I want and I'll meet you at the check-out area."

Often, however, we do that with our minds. We become careless with what we read, what we watch, what or who we listen to or what we think about. It can be dangerous, just as it would be, if we allowed some stranger to fill our cart.

We are warned in Proverbs to "guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life." In the Bible the heart is the “keeper” of our feelings and thoughts, guides our decisions and provides solutions for daily living. The heart is critical in the battle between wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and evil. That’s why it is more important for us to set boundaries around our heart than it is to watch what goes into such a simple thing as a shopping cart.

Prayer: Help us, Father, to be very careful about the things that come into our minds and control our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Shop Carefully

Supermarket behavior is fascinating to watch. It seems as though people change when they enter the door, get their carts and begin to walk through the aisles

The cart becomes a very special "space" that is filled with various items for our particular needs. We would consider someone strange if they met us at the door and said, "Here, take my cart and fill it with whatever you want. I'll meet you at the check out area."

Often, however, we do that with our minds. We become careless with what we read, what we watch, what or who we listen to or what we think about. It can be dangerous - just as it would be if we allowed some stranger to fill our cart.

We are warned in Proverbs to "guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life." In the Bible the heart is akin to the mind and is the keeper of our feelings and thoughts, guides our decisions and provides solutions for daily living. The heart is critical in the battle between wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and evil. It is more important for us to set boundaries around our heart than it is to watch what goes into such a simple thing as a shopping cart.

Prayer: Help us, Father, to be very careful about the things that come into our minds and control our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.