10/24/12. Proverbs 4:1-27. Guard Your Heart-my devotional

 Proverbs 4:1-27                                                                                       Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Key verse 4:23                                                                                         10/24/12

“²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.”

    Dear Lord God, heavenly Father, thank you for breaking down walls in our hearts that hinder us from revealing you, Lord, to the world. There were walls in our family that only you could break down and that is what you did, by your power and grace. Thank you again. Help us to share the miracle that you gave our family. I pray that you also help me to study for and pass the oncology medication exam next Monday. Help me also to finish the theology homework. Grant me one word of God in my heart. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ holy and mighty name. Amen!

 Part 1: Wisdom Is Supreme (1-19)

Verses 1-19, “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. ² I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. ³ For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. ⁴ Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. ⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. ⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. ⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have,get understanding. ⁸ Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. ⁹ She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” ¹⁰ Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. ¹¹ I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. ¹² When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. ¹³ Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. ¹⁴ Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. ¹⁵ Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. ¹⁶ For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. ¹⁷ They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. ¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Look at verses 1-7. Solomon had a great Father. David exhorted his son to get wisdom and take hold of it with all of his heart. He needed to get wisdom, even though it would be costly. Good parents want to give their children everything, but the best thing a father can give his son is the word of God, for God’s word is the source of wisdom. I need to heed this teaching. The best thing I can give my kids is God’s wisdom in the word of God. Think about theHollywoodkids. They have it all. They inherit millions. But how many sad stories do we hear about when they end up in rehab. What can I give my kids? $5,000 each when I die? A house that has an upside down mortgage? I can give them my genealogy info. But they probably will not care very much. I can give them their family medical history. That is a little helpful. I can teach them how to focus on things and work hard. That is good. But truly the best thing that we can pass on to our kids is God’s wisdom through his word.

This wisdom is saving our marriage and changing it from, “Now” to “Wow!” God is setting up a relationship so that we can grow in love and unity for the next 50 years, God willing. With the wisdom of God all other areas in their lives will be blessed. It is the most valuable thing that a parent can pass onto their kids, or Bible teacher can pass onto their Bible students. But to take hold of God’s wisdom there must be sacrifices made.

To have wisdom, one must lay hold of God’s word with all his heart. (4). He must esteem wisdom and love her. (7-8). He must set his feet on the path of righteousness. I particularly like the words in verses 7-8, “⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have,get understanding. ⁸ Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.”  We need to get wisdom. We need to embrace wisdom. To do this will mean some sacrifice. It does not come through osmosis. It comes when we seek the wisdom of God. It comes when we make some sacrifices.

God has given us a good dose of marriage wisdom this past weekend. We were preparing for a talk at the West Loop UBF church about how God worked to save our marriage. We had to spend time to prepare. I needed to prepare a clear testimony. I needed to take time to make sure that it truly revealed Jesus and the grace of God. But I was so busy. I had to work. But, by the grace of God I was called off of work for two nights in a row. I was not happy at first. This cost me a lot of money (about $400). But I came to realize that God had his hand in this so that I could take the time to sit and reflect and truly seek and discover God’s wisdom in regards to my marriage. I needed to share God’s wisdom with others and God provided the inspiration and the time and the energy. But it cost me a lot. Not only were there lost wages but there was gas and time and entire evening. But it was worth it. God granted me his wisdom. It cost Jesus everything to impart God’s wisdom to us. I pray that I may honor God’s wisdom and pay the price to take hold of it.

There are so many benefits to the wisdom of God.  Then he can walk in the light, and his life’s direction will be clear (11,18) Look at verses 4b  to 22, “you will live… she will protect you… she will watch over you…she will exalt you… she will honor you…. ⁹ She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” ^…. the years of your life will be many. ^…. lead you along straight paths ….your steps will not be hampered …..you will not stumble….. it is your life….. ¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day… ²² for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.”

Wow! How can anyone live without the wisdom of God? They are so foolish. They forfeit so many spiritual treasures. If only people can come to understand that God’s wisdom is the finest commodity that they can take hold of. Lord, help me to not only grow in the wisdom of God, but also to share the wisdom of God to a world that does not know what they are missing.

 Part 2: Above All Else, Guard Your Heart (20-27)

Verses 20-27, “²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. ²¹ Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; ²² for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. ²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. ²⁶ Give careful thought to thepaths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

The point of these verses is that we should not be careless about giving our hearts away. Once the heart becomes corrupt, the wellspring of life is polluted. If we give our hearts to God and let his word in and dwell, then he keeps us from evil; he will help us to walk in the paths of righteousness.

I need to guard my heart. This means that I must keep my heart focused on Jesus. I must make meditating on the word of God a priority in my life. I must have a basic spiritual discipline in my life to meditate and pray that the seed of the word of God, may enter into the soil of my heart and stay there and prosper and grow.

My heart must not be corrupted by the things of this world. It must not be overcome with complaining and negativity and lack of hope or lack of forgiveness. It must not be filled with wit despair and depression. It must be filled with thanksgiving and praise to Jesus and the wisdom of God.

There are so many things assailing our hearts. Our busyness. Our sinful desires. We become reckless in how we think and we let our minds and hearts wander to where they must no go. This world and the devil are relentless to get us to drop the guard so they can knock us out. We need to be diligent. God made our hearts pure by his forgiveness and grace. We need to guard its purity. This is very serious. What happens if we let a fresh well become polluted. Then the well is useless for a long time. The value of the house plummets. The owners get sick and maybe even get cancer. It is a serious matter.

“Prayer: “Lord, help me to lay hold to your word with all of my heart so that I may have your wisdom. Help me to guard my heart with diligence so that the wellspring of my life may be kept pure.”

One word: Guard you heart.