Guard Your Heart and Mind

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

For whatever reason, some Christ followers do not guard the door of their heart and mind, and their lives are trashed out. Let any riffraff come to visit, and they throw the door wide open. Anger drops by, and they say, “Come on in.” Bitterness needs a place to stay, they’ll pull up a chair. Pity arranges a party, they’re all in, and they invite many friend to boot. Lust rings the door bell, and they change the sheets and fluff the pillows. Have we forgotten how to say, “NO!”?

And what about those pesky thoughts! The thought of thought management is, for some, unthought of — pardon the pun. Maybe it’s time to start thinking more about our thoughts. We think about time management, weight management, and some even bother with scalp management; so why not think about our thoughts and manage them too. 

Guard your heart! Guard your thoughts! Like a trained soldier at a post of duty, stand guard over your heart and mind. Be watchful and alert to every subtle tactic of the enemy to infiltrate your life. Dress yourself in the armor of God to resist the enemy in the day of evil [Ephesians 6:13]. I particularly like The MESSAGE Paraphrase of that verse:

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. 

Yes, you are up against a formidable enemy. But do not fear, dear Christ follower. Stand as a sentinel in strong faith, and make no room for the enemy. We are more than conquerers through Christ who loved us [Romans 8:37].

Be sober, be vigilant; because your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith… 1 Peter 5:8-9