Watch over your heart with all diligence,
for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23

It is day five on our 31 Day tour of Heart Matters in Proverbs. But, we are actually going to a continuation of the principles laid out on Day four. 

Here is another outcome from diving deep into our own hearts. 

From today’s key verse we can add the activity of watching over our hearts to those of keeping, trusting, writing and hoping. Again, this is a continuous watching, not a just now-and-then expectation. And why do we have to watch over our hearts continually, because from our hearts, and all that means, (see Day 1) springs all of our life! Whoa! Is this true? Yep! 

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit,
sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.

Mark 7:21-23

Jesus is teaching here, these are His words. He is explaining why we so desperately need Him. Why we need Him to die on the cross of His own free will. Why we need Him to rise again and defeat death and defeat everything that comes from death! 

We are created in God’s image, this is a fact. But, it is also a fact, that the image is distorted, it is mired because of Adam’s and Eve’s sin within the perfect Garden of Eden. Since then, we have all been born with sin…not just a propensity to sin, but born of sin and with sin down deep…deep within our hearts and all that encompasses. (See Day 1) Our very souls have to be rescued…cleansed…re-born! 

Jesus told Nicodemus, a very religious man…

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John3:3

We have to have a watch tower protecting our heart (This is cooperation with the Holy Spirit) because our own sinfulness wants to ever creep into our souls and keep us from all the richness of God’s promises and purposes for us. Satan can’t steal us from God’s Hand, but He can dwindle the God driven springs of life pouring in and through us and out from us. 

Satan is a roaring lion, but our watch tower is the Lion of Judah! 

It is all our choice though. We have the very power of God within as believers in Jesus the Christ, but that power is not forced upon us. It is God-breathed through His Word, the Bible, and through His communications, prayer, and through our submission, to the Holy Spirit!