We have a choice of life or death - God says choose life!
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Proverbs 4:23
It's a Friday night and after a delicious supper, my family normally retires to the lounge to watch a movie together. Flipping through the channels and then the movie lists on Netflix, we eventually find a movie we can all agree on, 20 minutes later. We usually choose a movie that has some romance in, for us girls, and action for Dad. After about half an hour of watching, we switch it off and go back to square one. Why? Almost every movie we think looks good, ends up being too sexual, too gory or too explicit.
This is a classic example of what it means to guard your heart. There have been many times where I have had to remove myself from a situation where I feel a check in my spirit telling me to leave or stop watching something. A teaching I once saw used the example of a glass of clean water. Over time, black water is added to the glass and eventually, what once was a clean glass is now dirty. The world is the black water and what it brings can be very desirable things.
The word 'guard' means to shelter or protect against damage or harm. So to guard your heart means to shelter it from evil, unrighteousness and dirt that may cause you to fall. The sin of this world is the black stuff that enters your clean water. The enemy wants as much dirt to enter your heart as possible so that you fall away from meeting God's holy standard. Jesus said in John 16:9 that, "The world's sin is that it refuses to believe in Me." This holy standard is righteousness with God that Jesus had to restore. By dying for our sin and raising again, He offered us a new life in covenant with Him. Our sin has then been washed clean under the blood of Jesus, we have been healed by His broken body, and we have gained a place in His Kingdom when we believe in Him. How loving and majestic is our God! At all costs, Satan will try and bring you down to perish with him and he is using popular things humans enjoy to do it. Music, TV, social media and even people, among many other things, will be used in your life to separate you from God.
Matthew 6:22-23 says,"Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!" Jesus teaches here that whatever you see will take root in your heart and from it will pour out either light or darkness. You may even think it is light, but if it is not of the Word of God, it is pure darkness. This is the same for what we hear and who we fellowship with. Everything we allow in our eye and ear gates will bring forth a result that is either a sweet, pleasing aroma to God or a victory for Satan.
God encourages us to guard our hearts because what flows from it determines the course of our life. God doesn't necessarily say here that it only determines our life here on earth, but rather our life in eternity! How beautiful and good is it to see that when we first seek the Kingdom of God - that is with our whole hearts, mind, soul and strength - we experience the goodness of God! Our strength is the joy of the Lord (Neh 8), we gain peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4), and we bear the fruit the Holy Spirit offers (Gal 5)!
Psalm 34 is such a beautiful psalm! Verse 12-14 says,"Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it." How good and fulfilling is this? By coming into the Word of God, drinking from His cup and growing in His love, pours out a heart that overflows with blessings (Psalm 24:5). In God, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:9). We can't help but do good! Our lives start to follow a course that is blessed, that blesses others and more importantly, reveals God's glory and light to the darkness of the world.
So dear friends, guard your heart in all you do. Fixate on the Word of God, delve into His life-giving waters and saturate yourselves in prayer. We have a choice between life or death - God says choose life (Deu 30:19)! He has given us the Holy Spirit to warn us and lead us away from wrong decisions, unrighteousness and sin. We have Jesus, as our internal compass, leading us to rest in green meadows and beside peaceful streams (Psalm 23:2). Because of Him, we have everlasting life where there is no pain, no sorrow, no wickedness and evil, but only righteousness, joy, hope, peace and most of all love. Hallelujah!
Surely your goodness and unfailing love pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6
I encourage you to remove the sin holding you captive from experiencing God's fullness and freedom in His love. I pray that you seek Him first, above all else, and live a life as a holy and beautiful offering unto Him. Thank You Lord for Your unfailing love that has redeemed us from the captivity held in sin and for setting us free to live in Your arms and gentle Word. May You help us guard our hearts and keep us from falling into temptation and sin. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Fantastic thank you Amber 😊 🙏
Awesome. Thanks Amber.