Sunday, February 22, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Guarding the Heart: Proverbs 4:23
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” — Proverbs 4:23, Green's Literal.
The physical heart sends life‑giving blood throughout our body. In Scripture, the “heart” also speaks of our inner life—our thoughts, desires, motives, and affections. When our heart is anchored in love for our Heavenly Father, it naturally produces thoughts and actions that honor Him. Even though our fallen flesh may resist, a heart fixed on Jehovah will bear fruit that reflects His character and His ways.
But Scripture warns us that the heart must be guarded. The Hebrew word for “keep” carries the sense of watching, guarding, and protecting. The word translated as “diligence” can refer to a place of confinement or a guarded enclosure. Together, they paint a vivid picture: our heart must be protected more carefully than anything else in our lives. What fills the heart will eventually shape our choices, our habits, and our destiny.
It is not enough to acknowledge that sin is wrong. We must go deeper—removing every hidden desire for anything that is not approved by Jehovah. Many believers outwardly avoid obvious sins but inwardly entertain quiet sympathies for things God has forbidden. These unguarded desires become seeds of temptation. True heart‑keeping requires cleansing the inner life so thoroughly that no secret longing for what displeases our Father remains.
🌿 How Do We Guard the Heart?
We guard the heart through prayer, through fellowship with faithful brethren, and through daily discipline. We guard it by refusing to nurture thoughts or habits that contradict the spirit of our Heavenly Father. We guard it by feeding the good qualities He has planted within us—encouraging them, nourishing them, and allowing them to grow.
Every intentional choice shapes the heart. When we deliberately choose what is good, we take a step toward life. When we knowingly choose what is wrong, we take a step toward death. Actions done without intent—whether good or bad—do not carry the same weight. But whatever springs from the heart, whether pure or corrupt, counts deeply in the eyes of God.
Jesus taught that the mouth reveals the heart. “Out of the heart come evil thoughts… and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 15:18–19; Luke 6:45)
Our Lord’s words harmonize perfectly with Proverbs 4:23. The condition of the heart determines the condition of life.
🌟 God Looks at the Heart
Jehovah told Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) The Father sees the motives behind our actions. He knows what our lives would be if we possessed perfect bodies through which to express our devotion. His judgment is based on the loyalty, sincerity, and obedience He sees within.
This is why guarding the heart is essential. Jesus promised that the pure in heart shall see God (Matthew 5:8). We live in a world filled with influences that pull us away from holiness. Minds, words, and actions around us often encourage darkness rather than light. To remain faithful, we must arm ourselves with the mind of Christ and allow only those thoughts that reflect Jehovah’s character to dwell within us.
Paul gives us the pattern: Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report—think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
When we store such treasures in our hearts, they will naturally flow out in our words and actions.
🌱 The Issues of Life
The Hebrew word translated “issues” can mean “outgoings,” “boundaries,” or “sources.” Just as the physical heart sends life through the body, the spiritual heart sends direction through the soul. What fills the heart will either lead us toward righteousness and life or toward folly and death.
This is why Scripture urges us to guard the heart with all diligence. A protected heart becomes a fountain of life. An unguarded heart becomes a doorway to destruction.
May we choose daily to fill our hearts with what pleases Jehovah, so that the “issues of life” flowing from within us reflect His purity, His wisdom, and His love.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
* Matthew 6:34 - Don't Be Anxious
Our Lord assures us that if the main thought of our hearts is His service and the promotion of righteousness and an attainment of the Kingdom, which God has promised to them that love Him, then we need carry no anxious cares respecting the future. As His disciples we will have trials and tribulations enough, day by day, and will need daily to lean upon Jehovah's arm as we seek to walk our narrow way. Sufficient for each day will be the evil of itself; and thanks be to God also, we have the promise that daily His grace shall be sufficient for us. -- Based on excerpt from: We Cannot Serve God and Mammon. Watch Tower, February 1, 1898, page 42 (R2259).
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Philippians 4:8 - Honoring True and Venerable Thoughts
1. Opening Thought: What We Dwell On Shapes Who We Become
"As he thinks in his heart, so is he." — Proverbs 23:7, RLIV
Paul doesn’t start with actions or words. He starts with thoughts. Why? Because thoughts are the root. What we let live in our minds will eventually shape our character, our words, and our walk with Jehovah.
We can’t always control which thoughts come to us. Like Jesus in the wilderness, Satan still tempts with ideas that appeal to our flesh — hunger, pride, doubt. Thoughts of exaggeration, suspicion, or division flood in daily. But we can choose which thoughts we keep. Having a thought is not the same as making it our own.
Reflection: Today, notice the difference between a thought that passes through and a thought you entertain. Which ones are you inviting to stay?
2. Think on What Is True
The Greek word Paul uses is alÄ“thÄ“s — not just “factually correct,” but truth that aligns with God’s character and Word. This is truth with weight. John said of the apostles’ testimony, “we know that his testimony is true.” — John 21:24
So what does “true” exclude?
- Foolish fiction and time-wasting fantasies
- Evil suspicions and idle gossip about others
- Theologies and ideas of men that deny the Gospel
- Exaggerations we use to justify ourselves
Satan’s oldest tool is planting untrue thoughts: about God, about ourselves, about our brothers. Conflicts often start not with what someone did, but with what we assumed they meant.
Jesus modeled this when Satan said, “Command these stones to become bread.” The thought registered, but Jesus didn’t own it. He answered with Scripture and rejected the lie.
Reflection: Is it true, or is it false? Ask this before you replay a conversation, form a judgment, or share a story. If it’s not true, no matter how appealing, let it go. “Buy the truth, and sell it not.” — Proverbs 23:23
When we love the truth: We gain reverence. We gain wisdom. As David said, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day… your commandments have made me wiser than my enemies.” — Psalm 119:97-98
3. Think on What Is Venerable
Paul’s word here is semnos — grave, honorable, worthy of reverence. Ellicott notes it “claims a share of reverence due primarily to God.” It’s the kind of thought that belongs in worship.
This isn’t about being somber all the time. It’s about serious consideration of what honors Jehovah. It means weighing our thoughts with honesty and gravity:
Venerable thinking excludes:
- Deceit and hypocrisy
- Evil scheming or intrigue
- Slander, plunder, or deliberate falsehood
Venerable thinking includes:
- Honesty with ourselves before God
- Thoughts that reflect Christ’s mind in every situation
- Esteeming what Jehovah esteems — righteousness, mercy, purity
Jesus didn’t just avoid sin; His mind was set on the Father. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.” — Isaiah 26:3
4. The Heart Connection
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the
issues of life.” — Proverbs 4:23
“Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” — Luke 6:45
We can’t cover ignoble thoughts with noble actions for long. If we sympathize with falsehood or dishonor, we defile ourselves from within. But when we purify our thoughts — choosing what is true and venerable — we purify our whole character.
Jehovah covers our fallen condition with Christ’s merit. Yet we’re not to be at peace with it. We’re to desire nobility. We’re to hunger for honor in our secret thoughts, in how we deal with God and others when no one sees.
5. Personal Application: Training the Mind
This week, practice Paul’s filter in real time:
- Test it: When a thought comes, ask: Is this true? Do I know it for a fact, or am I filling in gaps?
- Weigh it: Is this venerable? Would I think this if Jesus were sitting next to me? Does it merit the seriousness of worship?
- Replace it: If the thought fails the test, don’t just empty your mind — fill it. Replace it with Scripture, as Jesus did. Meditate on one promise of Jehovah today.
Watch especially during this harvest period. Paul warned the Thessalonians that some would “believe a lie” because they did not love the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. With imperfect minds, we’re vulnerable. So we cling to what Jehovah has revealed and sell it not.
Holding fast to what is true will:
- Increase reverence for Jehovah
- Deepen devotion to our brothers
- Create more hunger for study
- Anchor the spirit of truth in our hearts
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, Jehovah, You see every thought before it becomes word or deed. Forgive me for the times I’ve entertained what is false or dishonorable. Train my mind to love what You love. Help me to test each thought by Your Word — to keep what is true and venerable, and to cast out what is not. Keep my mind stayed on You, that I may walk in peace and reflect Your Son today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For Further Meditation: Psalm 119:97-103; Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Philippians 4:6 - In Nothing Be Anxious
THE question may arise, Why will not God give us the things which He sees us to need without our making petition to Him and claiming His promises? Undoubtedly because we need previously to come into the proper attitude of heart to receive His favors and to be advantaged by them. Even as it is, we may be sure that we do not sufficiently appreciate the divine care bestowed upon us hitherto and now. Even in the attitude of prayer and thanksgiving we probably do not discern one-half of our causes for gratitude, as we shall see them by and by, when we shall know even as we are known. -- Charles Taze Russell, Excerpt from "Rejoice in the Lord Alway", The Watch Tower, January 1, 1903, page 5 (quote is from page 8, Reprints page 3128).
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If our hearts are overly-anxious about life's affairs we are surely being robbed of rest and peace, which, in turn, would indicate a lack of faith. In everything, in affairs in the home, in business cares, in guidance of wayward children, in poverty, in all trials, cares, temptations, wants, woes, disappointments, calamities, failures, etc., we should always cast our burden on Jehovah through prayer, and we are assured that He will sustain us. (Psalm 55:22) At the same time, we should constantly be thankful for whatever His providences may allow. The thankful heart of the child of God recognizes that He who favored us and redeemed us through His Son will even more so favor us and do for us now that we are His.
We doubt that any of God's people will claim that their lives are 100% without anxiety. Nevertheless, when we get any kind of anxious feeling, we should immediately take the matter to the Heavenly Father in prayer, and leave it with him. Doing so will alleviate the anxiety that might otherwise cripple our faith and servitude of our Father through Jesus. Additionally, we should always keep in mind what Paul stated: "Rejoice in Jehovah always! Again I will say, Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4, RLIV) While it may be difficult to have rejoicing in our hearts while undergoing unpleasant circumstances, such rejoicing will help alleviate anxiety and make all distressing experiences more bearable.
Sadly, many in the world make requests to stars, cakes, Santa Claus, and many other things. Paul tells us that we should make our requests, our petitions, known to God, our Heavenly Father. In whatever we ask of the Father, however, it should not be for the satisfaction of the desires of our sinful flesh. James tells us, "You ask, and don't receive, because you ask amiss, so that you may spend it for your pleasures." (James 4:3, World English) Prayers for fleshly desires may actually increase anxiety rather than alleviate anxiety. Our prayers should always be in harmony with what Jesus said to his Father: "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42, World English) Again, this should be from the heart, not just an outward expression, otherwise, our hearts may become subject to anxiety.
Paul also mentions thanksgiving. Heartfelt thanksgiving shows appreciation for the Heavenly Father's provisions, not just for any fleshy sustenance, but more importantly, for all help along spiritual lines. Such thankfulness, however, should be not simply a matter of words recited by the mouth, but it should come from the inner being of the child of God.
-- Ronald R. Day, Sr. (ResLight)
Related:
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Romans 8:3,4 -- Sin in the Flesh Condemned
As Adam was sinless before he sinned and brought sin into the world of mankind (Romans 5:12), the God and Father of Jesus (Micah 5:4; Ephesians 1:3) especially prepared a sinless body for Jesus (Hebrews 10:5) so that Jesus, while in the days of his flesh (Hebrews 5:7), did not inherit the sin of Adam and its condemnation. (Romans 5:12-19) Unlike Adam, however, Jesus, while in the days of his flesh, never fell short of the glory of his God (Romans 3:23), and thus could offer his body of flesh with its blood to his God for our sins.
It is only because Jesus was indeed a human being, having the full crown of glory a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), sinless -- never having fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5) -- that Jesus' obedience condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:30, and by his sacrifice of his humanity, made the way for God to remain just, while yet justifying the sinner. -- Romans 3:26.
Paul many times made it clear that one cannot be justified by keeping the Law Covenant, and he made it clear that the only way one can be justified in this age is through faith in Jesus. At the same, we need to remember that the Law Covenant is based on God's eternal righteous standards, thus the Law presents the righteous principles of God's law of love. Thus, Paul wrote, that Jesus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk after the law covenant given to flesh, but rather after the spirit, the law of love. Thus, the goal of a regenerated child of God is to cultivate the fruit of the spirit. -- Galatians 5:22,23.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
James 1:26 -- Bridle the Tongue
However, James applies this in the context of the use of the tongue, regarding the words that come forth from our mouth. One may profess to honor God with the lips, but words spoken in common usage reveal what is in the heart. -- Matthew 15:8; Mark 7:6; Luke 6:45.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
* Proverbs 3:3 - Don't Let Kindness and Truth Forsake You
Do not let kindness and truth forsake you; fasten them around your neck. Inscribe them on the tablet of your heart. -- Proverbs 3:3, RLIV