‘Keep your heart with all diligence…’ Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
We all have our battlegrounds; in some cases they’re things we surrendered to years ago that now lurk in our innermost thoughts. That’s why the Scriptures warn, ‘Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.’ Max Lucado writes: ‘I’m at a desk in a hotel room far from home. The voices that encourage are distant; the voices that entice are near. A placard on my nightstand invites me to the lounge to make new friends in a relaxing atmosphere. Another on top of the TV promises late-night movies that will make all my fantasies come true. In the phone book several columns of escort services offer Love away from home. Voices! Some for pleasure, some for power. The world hammers at your door; Jesus taps. The world promises fleshly pleasure; Jesus promises us a quiet dinner…with Him: ‘…I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.’ (Revelation 3:20 NIV) Which voice will you obey?’ You ask, ‘How should I handle tempting situations?’ In two ways: First, by filling your mind with Scripture so that your first response is always, ‘It is written.’ Second, by keeping your eyes on Jesus. Lesley Durkin writes, ‘My father used to put a bit of meat on the floor near his dog and say, No! The dog never touched it. But he never looked at it either, because if he did the temptation to disobey would have been too great. He just kept looking at my father’s face.’ Keep your eyes on Jesus. ‘Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.’ (Psalm 34:5 NIV)
SoulFood: Job 1, Job 2:7-10, Job 40:1-5, Job 42:7-17
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2013
