KEEP YOUR HEART PURE.
MEMORISE:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23
READ: Proverb 4:20-23.
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.
MESSAGE:
The heart is one the most vital organs required for man’s continued existence both physically and spiritually. Physically, the heart is required to sustain human existence and spiritually, it is also required to stay alive in the Lord. A popular adage says “The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart”, meaning that the core issues of life are matters of the heart. This is exactly what our memory verse is saying.
The things that mould life come from the heart. The Bible says the heart is evil – deceitful, desperately wicked and who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). At conversion-when a person becomes born again, the heart is impacted and made receptive to the word of God. It therefore becomes a dwelling place for the word of God, so that it can be transformed to bring forth virtues, victories and so on. For this to occur however, God’s children must work constantly on their minds through studying, meditating on and memorizing the word of God.
Basically, a heart will be found in one of these states: (a) the roadside state (b) the stony state (c) the thorny state (d) the good-soil sate (Matthew 13:1-23). The state of an individual’s heart is determined by the fellow. The heart is the seat of knowledge but until knowledge is stored in it, the owner (of the heart) cannot benefit from it. Please ask yourself “What kind of knowledge do I receive and retain in my heart?”
It is also important to note that the mouth is the outlet to the heart (Matthew 12:34). Hence, a good relationship between the heart and the mouth determines the course of a man’s life- whether good or bad. In other words, the issues that mould a life stem from the heart through the mouth. Indeed, the state of the heart presents the true identity of a person. It is the first place God looks at before relating with man. We see this clearly in 1 Samuel 16:7 where God said:
“…….the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
What would God see if He were to look into your heart today?
ACTION POINT:
Examine your heart diligently today through the lens of Philippians 4:8 and pray for God’s help.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 10-14.
HYMN 21: ROCK OF AGES, CLEFT FOR ME.
1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.
2. Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
3. Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
4. While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
