Highway to Heaven

Genesis 48-49 Matthew 15:29-16:12 Psalm 20 Proverbs 4:20-27

Above all else, guard your heart,
   for everything you do flows from it.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
   and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
   keep your foot from evil. – Proverbs 4:23,26-27

A few years ago, Rick Warren had a best selling book titled “The Purpose Driven Life”. Now I have not read this book, but I think the title is spot on. To live our lives with purpose means we think about where we’re going and how we’ll get there. Now, I don’t think this is a prescription to over think everything we do. However, I do think it is good to take a look at the general direction we want to go and then check to see if we’re actually making choices that take us in that direction.

If I decide to guard my heart from the things that will lead me away from God, it will then be easier to choose to steer clear of them. Identifying our priorities informs our decisions and our behavior. If I get in my car to drive to San Francisco, CA from Dallas, TX, it is easy to choose which direction to go. I would not choose the road that says it goes to Washington, D.C. because it will not take me to where I want to go. We know where we want to go, and we have God’s road map, the Bible. Now how will they guide our decisions today?

Father God, we want to follow You to Your house. Teach us how to guard our hearts from the things that will lead us away from You. Show us how to read Your road map, the Bible, and to understand which roads lead to You and which ones lead away from You. Holy Spirit, help us to be smart as we think about these choices today. Amen.