119 Proverbs 4:18-27 Garden of the Soul
JMD Devotional 119 Proverbs 4:18-27 Garden of the Soul
18But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].
19The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
If our only source of 'truth' is our own mind, then we have no defense against deception, and no help with our blind spots and no critical review of false information. We need trusted sources of guidance and mentoring and leadership outside of ourselves to keep us in check.
20My son (daughter), attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
All truth is God's truth. From good parental advice to select pithy sayings from Plato and Buddha, if it resonates with the natural world's inherent truth then it is good material. We should fill our minds with good stuff, to include the literary classics. Obviously, the Bible is at the top of the stack; but just because a keen observation or a friend's advice isn't packaged in King James English do not dismiss it.
23Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.
All actions begin with a thought. Behind our thoughts are impressions and feelings: we are emotional beings. Our internal mental dialog; how we interpret and file our daily experiences can be so unconscious and distorted without applying some mental discipline. We each need to take responsibility for our thoughts, filtering out and rejecting all but the truth. We need to be deliberately POSITIVE. You are what you think and believe. Don't let something so important be random and uncultivated: tend the garden of your heart and mind, pull out the weeds!
24Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you.
25Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you.
26Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.
27Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.
Be genuine, focused, thoughtful, a child of God without duplicity, committed to righteousness.
Dear God,
Your Word is rich! Help me to respond well to constructive criticism and correction; please give me the humility to accept it from any messenger You elect to deliver it. May the garden of my heart and mind produce the fruit of Your Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, steadfastness, truth, mercy, compassion. You are the well-spring of every kind of goodness, may I drink deeply and refresh my soul in You.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
18But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].
19The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
If our only source of 'truth' is our own mind, then we have no defense against deception, and no help with our blind spots and no critical review of false information. We need trusted sources of guidance and mentoring and leadership outside of ourselves to keep us in check.
20My son (daughter), attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
All truth is God's truth. From good parental advice to select pithy sayings from Plato and Buddha, if it resonates with the natural world's inherent truth then it is good material. We should fill our minds with good stuff, to include the literary classics. Obviously, the Bible is at the top of the stack; but just because a keen observation or a friend's advice isn't packaged in King James English do not dismiss it.
23Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.
All actions begin with a thought. Behind our thoughts are impressions and feelings: we are emotional beings. Our internal mental dialog; how we interpret and file our daily experiences can be so unconscious and distorted without applying some mental discipline. We each need to take responsibility for our thoughts, filtering out and rejecting all but the truth. We need to be deliberately POSITIVE. You are what you think and believe. Don't let something so important be random and uncultivated: tend the garden of your heart and mind, pull out the weeds!
24Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you.
25Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you.
26Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.
27Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.
Be genuine, focused, thoughtful, a child of God without duplicity, committed to righteousness.
Dear God,
Your Word is rich! Help me to respond well to constructive criticism and correction; please give me the humility to accept it from any messenger You elect to deliver it. May the garden of my heart and mind produce the fruit of Your Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, steadfastness, truth, mercy, compassion. You are the well-spring of every kind of goodness, may I drink deeply and refresh my soul in You.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 8:13 PM
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