"Heartfood"
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- Prov. 4:23 -
"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life"
You’ve heard the term "You are what you eat". It is so true. Us humans are told, what we are to eat to be healthy and to live a good and long life. We are as well told and warned of what to keep away from to be and stay healthy. Feeding ourselves everyday is as much a part of life as breathing. You don’t breath you die, you don’t eat, you die.
It’s the what we feed ourselves I want to talk about in this message the Lord has given us to share. We want to compare the natural verses the spiritual meals if you will. I need this as much as you do by the way. We will soon agree with the above that we are what we eat in both the physical as the spiritual. So, just what are we feeding our heart??? The Bible has a lot to say about one’s heart. It’s where our treasure is. It’s where our emotions live. In other words what we feed our bodies, determines what our physical health will be, so as the heart is fed determines the state of our spiritual condition. Do you agree???
Do I dare go back to ones birth to start??? I won’t but, I do what you to know that this point f life that sets the pattern for our (for the most part) intake of food. What we are fed then is pretty simple, but very powerful in both the physical and spiritual. Babies are new, we know by the pattern that to get the best, and for sure we want the best we feed them "baby food". My, that was a real revelation!!! When they are fed the right thing at the right time in the right amounts, check up time at the doctors goes well. As for the spiritual, we need fed right at the time we ask the Lord to save us, the Word of God. We need to pray all the time. We need to go to church when ever the doors are open. We need to get involved right away in ministry. We need to break and dissolve the old patterns that kept us undernourished.
Cats eat cat food, dogs eat dog food, on and on. We dare not feed them anything that would harm them, that would be crazy. Actually we wouldn’t even think about it. It’s just the right thing to do to keep them around for a long time. Why is it then we don’t feed ourselves correctly??? Well "chew" on this. There is our enemy, the devil who is out to kill, steal and destroy our very lives. He has his substitutions, his counterfeits, his oh, it won’t matter just one times...amen. Ice cream instead of an apple, McDonalds instead of (3) squares a day. And for you new parents especially, fast food for convenience instead of taking the time to bless them with a down home cooked meal. It seems just fine for the moment, but remember the patterns we start to set. So soon the devil has us thinking the world will feed us their "kids meal" or their "happy meal". Don’t fall into that trap folks. I did and regret it. Unhealthy and unwise. Nourished by the enemy, I don’t think so. I’m not bashing, just making aware, do you understand???
The devil as well has his idea of how we ought to feed our spirit man through our hearts. Let see, feeding it not at all is his ultimate, but he has his alternatives. Drive through church services, we show up, give a little worship, open our bibles for the first time that week, give our best show and see ya later God. Give me a break, you weren’t fed, the devil made you think you were by doing you "duty". You keep this up self satisfied thinking you are fat and fulfilled when you are nothing but "skin and bones".
Friend, let’s get serious here, there are spiritual forces that bring forth life and spiritual forces that produce death. Faith, love, & joy are some examples of spiritual meals that produce life. Fear, hatred, & bitterness, strife, & envy are examples of the devils food that can produce death. We all have the choice of whose dinner table we will sit at.
Our scripture for c42day is, Proverbs 4:23 says "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life". This text is not speaking about the organ in your chest that pumps your blood. But it is using the heart for an example to show us how important it is to guard our spirit, by feeding it properly.
Just as our natural heart furnishes blood and life to our body, the spirit maintains body and soul. The two have a lot in common. Keep your heart with all diligence! In other words, set a guard on your spirit from junk food!!! In verses 20-22 of Proverbs 4, "My son attend to my Words, incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health (medicine) to all their flesh".
Proverbs 23:7 says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. What do you think??? What are you saying??? What is you’re attitude??? What are you believing??? What are you feeding you’re heart??? What goes in comes out. Do we hear you saying, " I am more than a conqueror through Christ" or " I am always sick, I get the flu every year". What is in the storehouse of your heart??? What are your words??? God has given us the ability to bring forth from the abundance of our heart and the words of our mouth. " Romans 10:10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". " Mark 11:23. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith". Feeding, Believing, saying, having! Matthew 12:34. " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks".
Your faith won’t rise above what you are saying! Again friend, what are you saying???
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life". God tells us to feed our heart with His Words, His ways, because in His Words and way are life, peace, and joy. What is your T.V. dinner??? What kind entertainment feeds you??? What do your friends feed you??? What "reading restaurant" do you attend" I pray you get the idea here. Feed yourself the right things, the God things. You will be so full, so satisfied, so happy, so in control. You will be what God has always desired you to be. Hunger after the Lord, His Word, his Ways. Be satisfied with nothing less. God’s ways will bring and keep you in victory...amen. Feed on Him.
In closing let us pray for you my friend, Father, in Jesus name, bless these who have read "Heartfood". Lord, let this message penetrate their hearts and realize their need for you. You have a plan and destiny for their lives. It’s my and I know your desire Lord that they have been challenged to change their life. What they eat is who they are. I pray they change their diet.In Jesus Name....Amen
God Bless,
Mike & Carole
