Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

righteousness], if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:24-25).  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed … For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-11, 13). Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your heart is okay before God.Call (believe) on the Lord Jesus Christ today and be saved from your sins. Years ago, I believed on Christ and received Him as my Savior. God fixed my sin-sick heart and made me His child.  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). There was good news for me regarding my physical heart attack. I went to a hospital where the doctor installed two stents and opened up the affected artery. What I couldn’t fix on my own, the doctor corrected. Now I am guarding my physical heart, too, with diligence by eating much more wisely and exercising with more diligence. And I am taking the medicines that help correct my inherited physical heart issues. As a believer, I guard my heart from spiritual problems in several ways. One is by reading and studying my Bible every day. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word … Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119: 9,11). We also have the wonderful privilege of praying to our Creator God. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). God invites us to continually confess our sins to Him as we maintain fellowship with Him.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). And we can pray for others! “I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Also, being involved in a Bible-preaching, Bible-teaching church helps guard our hearts. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).  And, tell others what God has done for you.  “And he said unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature’” (Mark 16:15). So, keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life, as Proverbs 4:23 tells us.