Above all else, guard your heart!
(Charles Simeon) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time!” Genesis 6:5
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9
“For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you!” Mark 7:21-23
Our heart by nature is divided among ten thousand vanities–all of which are sought in preference to God. Whatever can contribute to the satisfaction of the carnal heart, becomes an object of desire. Our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows–are called forth into powerful and continual operation to obtain the fleshly desires of our heart!
But in order to have an acceptable walk with God, the desires of our heart must all center in Him. He will not accept a divided heart. God says, “My son, give Me your heart!” Proverbs 23:26, and it must be given to Him entirely. To Him it must be exclusively devoted, in all its faculties. At least, nothing must be an object of hope or fear, joy or sorrow–but in subservience to His glory, and in obedience to His commands.
Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money!” There is “a singleness of eye,” and “a singleness of heart,” that is indispensable to a right walking with God–to “Him who searches the heart and tries the thoughts!”
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for it determines the course of your life!” Proverbs 4:23
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends You,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life!” Psalm 139:23-24
