How to Guard My Heart

4:23 Above all else is literally "more than all guarding." To guard something is to make sure that it doesn't get away and that it is safe from attack.

In Hebrew the heart is the location of knowledge and also the preconscious source of decisions (27:19; Mt 15:18). Your heart is who you are, the "true you" that directs all your thoughts and emotions.

 You can educate your heart (Pr 24:32)—consciously form and modify a worldview—after which decisions and actions flow from it (16:9,23; Lk 6:45;Rm 10:10; 2Co 9:7). This education can be worldly, carried out by yourself, or godly, carried out by the Holy Spirit (Pr 2:6; Jer 24:7; Ezek 36:26-27; Ac 16:14; Rm 2:29). The inclination of your heart directs your mortal life and determines whether you enter eternal life (3:22).

God’s Part - God gives ALL that which is necessary to change our lives and to enable us to follow Him.

1.      The Lord GIVES wisdom – it’s from Him. Pr 2:6
2.       God has (already!) GIVEN me a heart to know Him, to return with all my heart. Jer 24
3.       God has (already!) PLACED His Spirit in me and CAUSES me to follow Him carefully. Ex 36
4.       The Lord OPENS my heart & ears to pay attention. Acts 16:14 & Psalm 40:6
5.       The Spirit (not my actions) CIRCUMCISES my heart. Rom 2:29

My Part – His Spirit teaches me how (Titus 2)

1.      MEDITATE on and fill my thoughts with what is true of God. Psalms and hymns – the altar I’ve built in my heart, reminding me of His goodness in my life.
2.       MAKE every thought obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10:5
3.       RESPOND to the Holy Spirit’s guidance Eph 4:30, 1 Thess 5:19, Gal 5
4.       GUARD against any junk that wants to enter my mind, will, and emotions. Things that can take root in my heart. Reject every kind of evil. Even a hint.
5.      TRUST God to do His part. Know that He’s on my side, and has enabled me to follow through on what the wants by His Son, through the Spirit. Sense, Pray, Act. (SPA).