Healthy Hearts
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. ~Proverbs 4:23
The heart is one of the main organs of the human body. It is the means by which blood is pumped throughout our bodies. We cannot live without a healthy heart. Heart disease is one of the main diseases that results in modified lifestyles and early deaths. When hearts are not kept healthy, arteries are clogged with plaque and serious problems will occur. Spiritually speaking, the heart of man speaks of the real person. It refers to the seat of our emotion and will. It is the place where our thoughts and feelings are contained. We depict who and what we really are based on what comes out of our heart. This morning, we are looking at the importance of having a spiritually healthy heart.
There is the centrality of the heart.
Solomon said that out of the heart are the issues of life. Jesus said in Matthew 12:35, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” The extreme of emotions come forth from our heart. Love, passion, enthusiasm, bitterness, wrath, hatred, apathy: all of these are emotions that drive our thoughts, words, and actions. What comes out is a function of what goes inside. The outflow of joy, happiness, discouragement, and depression are all functions of what goes on in our heart. When Delilah relentlessly bothered Samson to tell her what was the secret to his strength, he gave in and told her all his heart. The heart is the place where the issues of life occur.
There is the sinfulness of the heart.
Jeremiah tells us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. No one really knows to what degree a person will sin. Jesus said that our heart brings forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Our heart has the propensity to sin and to sin very grossly. No wonder the psalmist asked God to create within him a clean heart. We need a daily cleansing of our heart. Sin can build up inside of us like how plaque does in a human heart, and it can be very fatal. What’s in your heart?
There is the safeguarding of the heart.
We are to keep our heart with all diligence. Safeguarding our heart involves a spiritually healthy lifestyle. Keep your heart tender in the receiving of God’s Word. Make company with people who have good and clean hearts. Give God your problems and challenges. Take time every day to be holy. Hide God’s Word in your heart. Be a soulwinner, and give the gospel to the unsaved. Spend time in earnest prayer. Be humble.
There is the security of the heart.
Keep your heart secure by trusting in God with all of your heart. Don’t let anxious cares and concerns have the throne of your heart. God keeps us in perfect peace when our heart and mind is stayed, or fixated, on the Lord. Let the peace of God rule your heart and mind.
Your spiritual heart is important. Don’t let it become hardened and filled with sin. Keep it with all diligence.
Have a heart-healthy God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Genesis 16-18