The Wellspring Of Life NIV: Proverb 4:20-23 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTS: Solomon, having showed how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here declares how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God. Turn at his reproof. We do not make a right use of reproofs, if we do not turn from evil to that which is good. The promises are very encouraging. Men cannot turn by any power of their own; but God answers, Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. Special grace is needful to sincere conversion. But that grace shall never be denied to any who seek it. The love of Christ, and the promises mingled with his reproofs, surely should have the attention of every one. Let us hearken diligently, and obey the Lord Jesus, that we may enjoy peace of conscience and confidence in God; be free from evil, in life, in death, and for ever.
MY OBSERVATIONS: I think MH said it all. Gluttony is sin also. If our heart is the wellspring of life, then we want to be heart healthy. Let us turn from darkness to the light, listen to God's correction, conquer this area of defeat, and attain the victory in Christ that is held in store for us. God desires to pour out His grace upon us, to give us life and health, but it is up to us to have a sincere conversion. We must revert from our poor and over abundant eating habits. If we don’t and still expect to magically lose the weight, God can not pour out His grace upon us. If we think we became overweight or out of shape by accident, we are only deceiving ourselves, and again God cannot pour out His grace upon us. If we sincerely believe that we have strayed from God’s perfect plan for our bodies then we must label it gluttony and repent from it. That means to turn away from it once for all and let God instruct us what is good and right for us. We can take this as a literal admonition to be heart-healthy and guard and protect our heart. When you are overweight or obese, you add an extra stress to the heart. It has to work harder and pump harder to support your body. Everyone knows this, and yet, this is one of the least of reasons for dieting. Most of us diet to look physically better. Here we take warning to guard our physical heart for life springs forth from the heart. Without a heartbeat, it is called death.
Lord God, I ask You to pour out Your grace upon me so that I can start caring again for the wellspring of life. Make me mindful that my body needs to be fueled properly to keep it running appropriately. Help me to care for it as You do. Amen
NIV: Proverb 4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. If you haven't embraced a walking, jogging or running program yet or you are losing sight of the positive side of exercise let this be your motivational verse. Place this verse in your pocket or fanny pack and let the Word of God go with you as you walk. Get on your treadmill, cross country ski machine or glider and paste this scripture where you can see it. If God is with us, guiding those feet---preventing them from stumbling or failing---we can indeed endure a 30-60 minute trek with Him!
Almighty God, I ask you to forgive me and protect me from the foolish things I have done to my heart. I ask Your favor as I attempt to trim done my physical body so that the heart does not have to work so hard to support it. I come to You, knowing and understanding Your divine grace and forgiveness and ask that You create in me a contented heart in all things. Grant me the grace and stamina to start to exercise so that my body receives the type of activity that it was designed for. Amen
Today's Diet Tip: 4.- You should eat to live, and not live to eat.
Today's Positive Thought: If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got! Do something different!