December 12, 2017
Proverbs 4:23-24
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.

New International Version (NIV)
               Peter Marshall once told of a spring-fed creek which supplied water for a town.  The city leaders decided to save money by firing the keeper of the springs.  Soon the water became murky and full of disease.  The whole town became ill.   Cities must keep the sources of their water clean.
                Proverbs points to our hearts as the source of life.  We often use the word heart as the place we feel emotions.  “I love you with all my heart,” we say.  So It may sound like Solomon is telling his readers to protect their hearts from being broken.  But the word “heart” in the Old Testament is more the seat of volition than emotion.  He is telling us, “Guard the place where you make your decisions.” 
                “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” Jesus said to the Pharisees (Matthew 12:34).  In other words, our words reveal what we really think and want.  God’s people keep our mouths free of perversity and corrupt talk.  When we hear the way people use and misuse language we realize that something has changed dramatically.  People talk differently than we used to.  Entertainment is filled with thinly veiled innuendo and double entendre.   We have planted the wind and harvested the whirlwind.
                An objective observer might say that we forgot to keep the springs clean, and now the whole world has become sick.  When we repent and turn back to God he will heal us.  It starts with our hearts turning back to God.  Our words will reveal what we have decided.  What will we say to God today?
Pray with me:
Father, at the risk of great pain, would you tell us the truth about our hearts today.  Show us the places we have compromised our convictions.  Change our minds and our hearts so that we may only speak words that build others up.  Revive your church Lord.  Start with our hearts.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.
I want to invite you to join me in memorizing 52 passages this year from the 2017 set of Fighter Verses.  You can find the Fighter Verses App at the App Store on your phones or via this link  http://fighterverses.com/the-verses/fighter-verses/As we study the Bible this year, let's look at each text and learn what it says about God. 
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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