November
12, 2003
KEEPING
YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE
"Keep
your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues
of life" (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV).
That
is, "Keep the mind" (see Proverbs 2:10, "When
wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your
soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep
you, to deliver you from the way of evil). It is out of the
abundance of the heart (mind) that good or evil comes into
our lives, "A good man out of the
good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil
man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil"
(Luke 6:45).
"For
as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
Since the issues of life spring from the heart, a man is defiled
by what comes out of him "Those
things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart,
and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man"
(Matthew 15:18-20).
Sin is
the indulging of the desires of the sinful, deceitful human
heart, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the
heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to
his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah
17:9, 10). Thus the need for diligence in keeping the mind
surrendered to God, who alone can keep it pure, "This
I say,-- that you should no longer walk as the rest of the
Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart,-- and be renewed in the spirit of your mind"
(Ephesians 4:17, 18, 23).
"Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy
- meditate on these things. --and the God of peace will be
with you" (Philippians 4:8, 9).
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