TITLE: My First Line of Defense
SCRIPTURE: Prov 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
OBSERVATION: In this proverb a father was pleading with his son to take heed of the instruction the father was sharing with him. These instructions were the wisdom of God pasted down from generation to generation. Then nearing the end of this passage the father admonished his son saying, “above all else, to guard his heart, for it is the source of life.” The word ‘guard’ used in this verse, is also used in military terms to connote watching or protecting something of value or some prisoner. In this passage it suggests a continuous vigilance of one’s mind from the influences of evil.
APPLICATION: Apart from our relationship with God, our heart is the most valuable thing we possess. Because from it springs forth our attitudes, convictions and behavior. Our heart is the root of our character and ultimately defines our relationship with God. Therefore we need to protect it from the ungodly influences of this world and from the internal temptations that periodically confront us.
How can we best guard our heart? Our first line of defense should always be prayer. Through prayer we have a ‘hotline’ to our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who can help us to resist temptations and keep us from swaying away from his path.
Jesus in his ministry frequently proclaimed the power of prayer against temptation. One example was through a simple prayer he taught his disciples (Matt 6:9) to ask God “to lead us not into temptation”, while in another event Jesus, on the night he was about to be arrested, admonished his disciples to "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." (Lk 22:40b)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize the temptations surrounding me through the media, acquaintances, and even within my own mind. Please help me to guard my heart against these temptations and to use prayer as my first line of defense to live a life holy and pleasing to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment