Dave’s Monday Blast – May 19, 2025

I began writing this blog over ten years ago. I have addressed you as Men of INTENTION. In Joshua 24:15 we note that life is not determined by what you want, but by the choices you make: “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites (choose your god) in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Choices! I end the blog each week with this simple admonition: “Make it a good one…because you are fully aware that you can not get one moment of today back.” So choose well…redeem the moments…be Intentional about what you take in because it determines what comes out. To that end, the Lord left for us a clear path to making choices that honor Him; allowing us to fulfill His creative purpose for us. Image Bearing! So…before you continue reading, take out your sword and spend some time reading and meditating on the wisdom of Proverbs 4.

Over the next couple weeks I want to unpack five specific areas of our lives that we are to be actively guarding so that we are able to make good choices. We read in verses 10 – 19 the cause and effect relationship between listening and obeying. It also contains the first Guard Post:

1. Guard the Instruction of the Lord (v. 13). Take hold of it and NEVER let go as she is your life. The reference to wisdom as a she throughout the Proverbs is an interesting study, but one aspect of it is simply that using the female pronoun enhances the nurturing and relational aspects of wisdom. Verses 14 – 19 warns us to never enter the path of the wicked, i.e. be mindful of the companions you keep. Companionship with the evil man is to be avoided at all costs as it leads to darkness, but the path of righteousness is like the “light of dawn”. One does not stumble on a lighted path unless they choose too.

This admonition is all about accountability. Some companion passages from the Word bring greater clarity to this idea of guarding the instructed word of God with all diligence: (1 Corinthians 12:14 – 25; Hebrews 10:24 & 25; Proverbs 27:17; 9 & 10).

2. Guard the body (v. 22) When we guard the instruction of the Lord by keeping His words in the MIDST of our heart, they become health to our whole body. In Hebrew, the mind and heart are inseparable. So in verse 23 where that part of the body identified as the heart needing diligent monitoring because from it flow the very springs of life (life blood), it is also saying to guard your mind from all that might corrupt it by leading you down a path of destruction through poor decision making.

This admonition is all about purity. Some companion passages from the Word bring greater clarity to this idea of guarding the entire body with all diligence: (Romans 6:11 – 14; 12:1; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Proverbs 5:8; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Ephesians 6:11 – 13).

Next week we will tackle the three more areas that are in need of diligent sentry duty.