“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.”
Proverbs 4:23-25
The bigger someone’s fortune is, the more security they need to protect it. Lots of books and movies have been made about thieves who want to break into the toughest safes and get through all that security. The sad thing is that in real life many people don’t protect their greatest treasure, and leave it vulnerable so that any fool could come and take it. The greatest treasure we have, our real fortune, is our heart. Don’t open the doors to your life and offer your heart to anyone who wants to come in. Don’t offer it in exchange for some crumbs of love. Don’t sign your precious heart over to someone who wants to take it and deceive you.
Solomon said, “…whoever builds a high gate invites destruction” (Proverbs 17:19). When a person feels that they have lost their treasure, they feel miserable, and their heart becomes full of bitterness. As a result, the words that come out of their lips are loaded with negativity, pain, frustration, malice and desperation. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Jesus is the only One who can help us regain the treasure we have lost. The conditions that He set in place are simple and easy to fulfill.
• Guard your heart. Do not expose your emotions to a stranger. Give Jesus the key to the strongroomstrong room where your heart is kept, so that He can guide your decisions. If you stop focusing on your past frustrations or bitterness, Jesus will take them away from your life, and instead fill your heart with the treasures found in His Word.
• Only let words that edifyy, motivate, and comfort comes out of your mouth.
• Keep your eyes on Jesus, because He alone can perfect your faith.
• “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
We must allow the light of the Lord Jesus to illuminate all of our being. He will undo all of the works of the adversary. The serpent is clever and tries to subtly infiltrate our lives with his influence without us realizing it. Once he is inside, he will try to create havoc. A young lady was once talking to me about her bad emotional decisions. She said that her parents never approved of the relationship that she was in. They warned her, but she closed her ears because she wanted to have her own way and thought they would give in, but they did not. As a result she decided to have a secret relationship. I used this opportunity to read her something that Solomon had written: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8). After reading this to her, I asked the young lady, “Do you think your parents want the best for you?” “Yes,” she answered without a doubt. “Then why did you not obey them?” Then I said, “I will change the text a bit, ‘Listen, my father, to your daughter’s instruction and do not forsake your daughter’s teaching.’ Are the children the ones directing the parents, or is it the parents who direct their children?” As she heard this, the veil fell from her eyes and she repented. She asked her parents for forgiveness and she decided to submit to their guidance.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“In my mind and my heart there is only room for the Word of God, because my constant protector is the Holy Spirit.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Two.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
