Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
What does it mean to guard your heart? Have you ever thought about that? Let’s see what Jesus has to say.
Scripture
Luke 21:34-36
So be careful. Guard your hearts. They can be made heavy with moral laxity, with drunkenness, with the hassles of daily life. Then the day I’ve been telling you about might catch you unaware and trap you. Because it’s coming—nobody on earth will escape it. So you have to stay alert, praying that you’ll be able to escape the coming trials so you can stand tall in the presence of the Son of Man.
Devotional
Have you ever thought much about that command from Jesus? Guard your hearts.
We aren’t doing very well as a society.
Description of what He said makes it heavy
Moral laxity
Drunkenness
Hassles of life
Drag by day after day with heavy hearts, what does it mean?
Sounds a lot like depression – listless, purposeless, everything hard
Anxiety – worry about everything, anything that can go bad will go bad for you
Frustration – things never work out the way they should according to your plan
Despair – never get there, never succeed, never accomplish your goals
Direct result of some of those warnings.
Think tolerance of all things would improve society, it hasn’t and it won’t
Drunkenness loosens judgment, leads to moral laxity, creates the same problems
Nothing good happens after midnight
Never lose control of mental faculties unless under a doctors care
Rut of daily life underwhelm and make us trudge through life
Military know how to guard things.
Put barriers in place, physical and electronic, to keep the enemy out
Put warriors in place to keep watch on all those barriers to make sure no one and nothing slips through
Trains almost daily, even while in combat, to make sure they are ready to face the enemy and repel him
Do we know how to guard our hearts against the enemy?
Do we even try in these days? Sometimes I’m not sure we do as I look at the state of the world and our society.
Back to Jesus warning – Guard your hearts. They can be made heavy with moral laxity, with drunkenness, with the hassles of daily life.
Moral laxity – rampant
Drunkenness – 20% of all drivers on the road are intoxicated, that means over the legal limits, with drugs or alcohol, but over 65% of all drivers are on the road with a buzz or some sedation from drugs or alcohol. Drunkenness? Here!
Hassles of daily life – road rage, gun sales, violence, hatred spring up everywhere
criticisms instead of complements
petitions instead of praise
complaints instead of thanksgiving
we live in a pessimistic, hate filled time surrounded by evil
How do we guard our hearts?
Spend time with God
Listen to Him from His word, hymns, devotionals,
Pray – a lot
Study His word, don’t just read it
Keep garbage out
Put up barriers to the things Satan would use to fill your mind
Be aware of your weaknesses and watch carefully in those areas
Did I say pray – a lot
By the way – pray – a lot
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
