January 4, 2009

Psalm 127: Unless the Lord Guards...
Kinson speaking about his son Nicholas building a fort for security.
Also the most secure places in the world
Air force one
Area 51
Fort Knox
...

in vain meaning not fruitful, not successful
guarding our souls.
1 Peter 5:8
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Jermiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Guarding
1) The integrity within our hearts
1 Samuel 16:7
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

The quality of our lives depends on the condition of our heart.

2) Boundaries surrouding our lives.
Things that distract us?

3) Welfare of our community
guarding our role. carrying each others burdens.
Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Ephesians 4:28 "He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."


Some thoughts and questions
1. What does the heart mean? Is this someone's will and feeling? How is this different from the the mind of someone?
2. What is the heart of God?
3. The verse in Jerimiah 17:9 indicates the heart cannot be trusted. Yet in verses 1 Samuel 16:7 and Proverbs 4:23 it indicates the importance of the heart. What should we make of our hearts then?