Joel M Bradshaw

23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.–Proverbs 4

1. The Old Testament “heart” is the inside person.
2. In this proverb, you are expected to pay attention to wise instruction from the Bible.
3. As your inside is influenced by God, that heart flows to your outside words, deeds, and attitudes.
4. The way of the world is to REVERSE this, to allow things outside of a person to influence their heart.
5. Now ponder your steps and where you set your gaze.
6. If you are INTENTIONAL about your thoughts honoring God, then they will direct your desires and motivations to stay ahead of you.
7. This means that you are satisfied where God is leading you and don’t desire to wander away.
8. When God expects you to follow him in a straight line, then a step off that path in either direction is selfish and wrong.
9. We guard or keep our insides with vigilance because doing so influences our outsides. The thoughts influence the feelings and motivations. They then affect our speech, actions, and attitudes.
10. I always have work to do regarding vigilance and my heart. How about you?–JMB