Verses that inspire

One of the verses that I posted yesterday really stuck with me; it was so familiar, but it got me to thinking fresh thoughts about it.

Keep thy heart with all diligence;for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23, AKJV)

Watch over your heart with all diligence,For from it flow the springs of life. (same, NASB)

See that word "diligence"?
That means trying hard. Working at it. Hard work!
To guard our hearts takes effort!
There are some really important strategies to avoid sinful thoughts and habits. Some of them we have talked about before.The strategy we'll talk about today has some personal memories for me.
Just being honest here.
Truly transparent.
Let me rephrase that.
Embarrassingly transparent.
Here's what I'm talking about . . . I try to remember to use verses throughout my day. There are some that I use over and over and over.

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. (II Corinthians 4:5)

Why does that particular verse come to mind? Well, I have always had a pride problem. When I was younger, I had an ego the size of the state I live in, and I found it difficult to EVER admit that I could be wrong about ANYTHING. As I have grown older, I have received the help of the Holy Spirit to enable me to see myself as I am -- sinful, lacking in wisdom, and terribly needful of the grace of our Lord. The Spirit has shown me that I have a horrible tendency to overlook my own flaws and promote the "good" -- that tendency is so ingrained that it makes it seem like Kardashian must be my middle name.
We've studied before and listed ways that we can work to keep our hearts pure . . . filling our minds with God's Word is an important one. Keeping our minds clean and not packing them full of sinful images is another important strategy.
The strategy that has been most needful for me is to avoid temptation. There's a verse in Romans that hit me like a space capsule smacking down in the ocean one day (Yep, there I go again, showing just how old I am....):

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:14, NSAB)

We all know that wrong thoughts lead to wrong actions. Paul is saying here that we should not make it an easy avenue, a quick path for the flesh to win. Is there a pattern to temptations in our lives? Do we typically fall into sin at the same places, or with the same people, or in the same situations? I realized that in my life, that was true. I learned, too, that I could choose to avoid those places or situations that could cause me to sin.
We humans often make temptation easy for ourselves. Instead of trying to avoid it, we want to nudge up as close to it as we can -- and then we wonder why we fall into sin. If we want to avoid the sin, we need to avoid the situations that give us an opportunity to sin. We cannot play with temptation and then use the old line from Flip Wilson, the comedian in the 1970's, and say "the devil made me do it."

How do we bring temptation and sin upon ourselves? Are we beset with the sin of addiction? We must scrupulously avoid going to places that offer alcoholic beverages. Do we struggle with the sin of gluttony? We cannot bring "extra" food into the house -- the pantry will be calling our name and we will fall.  Do we have trouble with thoughts about sexual sin? We must not immerse ourselves in images that keep our thoughts in those channels. Are we struggling to maintain a Christian testimony? It's mandatory to choose friends wisely and avoid those who would convince us to  compromise.
The same God Who wrote Romans 13:14 into His Word will help us as we diligently "keep our hearts." As we watch over our hearts as in Proverbs 4:23, He will watch over us. He will help us, strengthen us, and comfort us.  There's no need to "stare down" the devil; it's OK to walk away (or even run from sin!).

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  (II Thessalonians 3:3)

Let's allow these verses to inspire us to keep our hearts with all diligence; let's watch over our hearts and avoid the sins that are our personal stumbling blocks. We can do this -- WITH HIS HELP!!