Above all else, guard your heart!

I think this is great advice we find in Proverbs 4:23-27.  I find the advice that follows the first sentence helpful:

1.  Think about and control what you say.
2.  Think about and control what you see.
3.  Think about and control where you go.

In other words, what we say, what we see and where we go all impact our spiritual heart health.

Right thinking over time

with God's help equals a changed life (Rodney Anderson).  There is power in changing or mind.

We DEMOLISH arguments!

Have you ever been in a real dark place mentally or spiritually?   Have you ever had to battle thoughts so hard that you weren't sure if you would live?  I am convinced that we need to be intense and intentional about guarding our hearts and our minds.  When the challenges of life come, we have got to feed our minds and our hearts with good food.  We have to work out our minds and our spirits by "...demolishing arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.  We must take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:5.

Here are a few suggestions how to do guard our hearts and minds:
1.  Listen to Podcasts/messages on line
2.  Memorize scripture
3.  State over and over sentences like, "To know His love that surpasses knowledge," "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," "If you hold to my teaching you will know the truth and then the truth will set you free," "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about these things."

What does repent mean?

Change the way you think.  Many people have no idea that is what repent means.  Many believe it means to feel bad about what you are doing and try to stop.

I am loving this message:
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/a-beautiful-mind

Guarding Our Minds: Tools of Thought

What tools do we use to guide our thoughts?  The following are a list of the tools we use to guide our thinking: imagination, stories we create in our minds, the conversations we have with ourselves and others in our minds, the ideas we create, the things we contemplate, what we focus on daily, the judgements we make, the conclusions we derive and the opinons we share all represent our thoughts.

Habitual Thoughts: What are They?

What thoughts do you tend to have when you:

• are hungry
• are full
• are happy
• are sad
• are angry
• are lonely
• are discouraged
• are encouraged
• are confronted
• are confronting
• are confused
• are enlightened
• are looking to purchase something
• want something that you can't have
• talk to someone "important"
• talk to someone who may not be "important"

Is it possible that the way we think in certain circumstances has become habitual?

What is the difference between guarding your heart and your mind?

In proverbs 4:23, we are told we should guard our hearts because it is the wellspring of life.  According to dictionary.com, a wellspring is "the original and bountiful source of something."

In Philipians 4:7, we are told "the peace of God will guard your heart and minds." 

What is the difference between guarding our hearts or minds?   How do we know when we are guarding our heart or our mind?  It seems that our hearts are where our dreams, desires, motivations and zeal for life are kept.  Our hearts are the driving force behind what we do, what we say, where we go and how we relate with one another.   To guard our heart would mean not to get discouraged, but to feed our hearts with God sized thoughts and actions.  Verses that are "heart healthy" are, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 and "For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline."  2 Timothy 1:7  What are some examples of spiritual junk food that may be harmful to our hearts?

To guard our minds seems similar to guarding our hearts.  Some may suggest guarding our heart and our mind would be guarding the same entity.  Psalm 119:11 states "I have hidden your word in my heart so that I might not sin against God."  At first glance, I thought this verse was referring to the memorization of scripture causing one to believe the mind/heart is where this type of activity occurs.  However, taking a second glance, I realize the word has already been memorized...it is being stored in the heart.  Luke 10:27 states to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind."  The mind and heart are written as separate entitities in scripture which means they have different spiritual purposes.

If the mind is a separate entity from the spiritual heart, I would imagine the mind represents the analytical and data gathering/remembering aspects of our existence.  It is with our minds that we work out problems, make decisions on the best options depending upon what makes most sense, memorize information and contemplate our being.  With our mind, we memorize His word and then we feed those thoughts to our hearts.

To guard our minds would mean to focus on the truth.  I believe to love the Lord with all our mind means to work toward learning and growing our thought processess as much as possible.  If we guard our mind, we keep "spam" from getting through our mental filters.  We fill our minds with powerful information that leads us to greater understanding.