Wisdom - Proverbs 4:23

Don't you love studying Proverbs?! This has brought be so much joy! I did end up going down some rabbit holes with this verse, it had me wondering a lot.

Chapter 4 is titled "Wisdom is Supreme" - This verse is all about the heart.....

NLT - Guard your heart above all else

AMP - Keep vigilant watch over your heart

NIV - Above all else guard your heart

CSB - Guard your heart above all else

KJV - Keep thy heart with all diligence

Guard = Defensive state, the act or duty of protecting or defending. To protect from danger. To tend to carefully. A custodian, guardian, keeper, watchman.

Diligence = Steady, earnest and energetic effort. Devoted and painstaking work. Careful and continued work (I like that!).

Vigilant = Alertly watchful especially from danger.

Keep = To be faithful to, watch over, defend, take care of.

So this begs the question what does the Bible mean by the heart? What is the difference between the heart, the soul and the mind? I think I know, but do I really? So I went digging.

The definition from my well loved NIV Bible says -

The heart is the vital center of one's being, emotions and sensibilities.

A few other places said -

The core of a person's being.

Involves your entire person.

The seat of feelings and will.

The heart is where choices are made and intentions formed.

Our heart is the center of our relationship with God, it is also the doorway to our whole being.

The rest of verse 23 tells us about the heart too -

NLT - it determines the course of your life.

AMP - from it flow the springs of life.

MSG - that's where life starts.

NIV - for everything you do flows from it.

CSB - it is the source of life.

KJV - out of it are the issues of life.

That makes it very valuable wouldn't you say?

Get ready to be overloaded with quotes from smart people and also Bible verses....it is amazing how many verses there are regarding the heart!

1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Chronicles 28:9 - David is telling his son, Solomon - "And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever."

Proverbs 4:21 tells us that wisdom is kept in, resides in the heart.

Solomon is saying the heart should be kept for wisdom, guarding it against the way of the wicked.

Jeremiah 17 is titled "Wisdom from the LORD"

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve." - Jeremiah 17: 9-10

Matthew 15:19 tells us "from the heart comes evil thoughts"

Our heart - our feelings of love and desire dictates to a great extent how we live because we always find time to do what we enjoy. - My NIV Bible

The corrupt heart draws one down to the grave, but wisdom protects the heart from that corruption. - Garrett

"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." - Luke 6:45

We must keep our hearts with more care and diligence than we keep anything else. - Henry

Nothing in your life deserves more constant care and attention than your heart!

"As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person." - Proverbs 27:19

A neglected Bible is the melancholy proof of a heart that is alienated from God.

For how can we have a spark of love for Him if that Book that is full of His revealed

glory is despised? - Bridges

With all of this knowledge about the heart what do we do now? Doesn't it seem like a huge responsibility that is really heavy? Does this seem like an intense battle now? - For some reason I keep having the metal picture of the last huge battle in The Lord of the Rings.

How do we protect our heart with all diligence?

How do we guard our heart above all else?

"Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth." - Colossians 3:2

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." - Philippians 4:8

Fix your eyes! - Look straight ahead!

Concentrate on those desires that will keep you on the right path.

If you are like me, your mind is a crowded, tangled place - it was once very overwhelming and defeating, really. But years ago, I read a book by Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind - she said something in there that set me free. You don't have to think on or dwell on everything that pops into your mind! Read that again. I used to dissect every single thought I had....what good did that do me? It made me full of rage and got me medicated, that's what. After reading that book I trained my brain to be better - when a thought I didn't like surfaced, I would immediately replace it with one of my go to Bible verses or start singing a praise song in my head. It took a while, but I slowly became a more peaceful person. When you think on things above, that will happen.

Make sure your affections push you in the right direction.

Put boundaries on your desires!

Learn to say no thank you, I will pass.

Keep your heart under lock and key!

Cultivate a heart that loves wisdom!

Get in God's Word! - - I just can't say this enough! Two quotes from yesterday mornings devotion and yesterdays message at church -

Scripture is God's means of communicating with His people.

We need to hear the Gospel everyday because we forget the Gospel everyday. - Luther

Now go get your Bible and get you some wisdom!