“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.“–Proverbs 4:23

I heard about a king who lived in a castle in Scotland many years ago that was seemingly invulnerable from the back side. It was built on a cliff and there was a huge gorge behind it. So it was practically impregnable because no army would attempt to scale the cliff behind that castle.

One day the castle was attacked and the king put his entire army on the front side of the castle. Knowing he would do this, the enemy sent a small band of soldiers to climb the cliff and attack the back side of the castle. Once they were in, the king’s army was divided, the attack came full-on from the front, and the castle was taken.

How could that have happened? Well, the king protected their weakness – the front – but he didn’t protect his strength. In much the same way, men and women of God today see themselves as impervious to some sins. “I’d never cheat on my spouse,” they say. Or, “There’s no way I could ever…” fill in the blank. Yet these same people get caught up in those very sins because they leave them unguarded.

Don’t leave your strengths unguarded.  Keep watch at all times as temptation comes you way. Guard the castle of your heart and you’ll be equipped to fight off every sin. (Daily Word)

Not only is this sinful, it is stupid– the dumbest thing you could ever do! What could be more foolish than to reject God’s forgiveness, refuse God’s gift of eternal life, resent the grace of God, rebel against the command of God, resist the Spirit of God, and remain in your lost estate? Why would you do that? God’s grace is freely bestowed upon all who believe. It is there for the taking. Don’t refuse it. His grace will meet your deepest need, bring your greatest joy, provide perfect peace and bring about a glorious transformation. To refuse amazing grace is amazing! Think about it!

“…the exceeding riches of His grace….“Ephesians 2:7

JEHOVAH glories in His grace. It is His riches, His wealth. All its riches is intended for us, to be expended upon us. They are all treasured up in Jesus to be received by us. They are promised and presented to us. They exceed our thoughts, our expectations, our faith, we do not believe that God has provided and promised so much for our good as He has; and therefore we do not ask for, and expect so much. Let us this day think of ” THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF GRACE.” Jesus was the gift of grace, so was the Holy Spirit, and so are all spiritual blessings. Grace includes, and is the source from which flows all the church has received, is receiving, and will receive throughout eternity. Grace freely gives, but never sells. It has a bountiful eye, a tender heart, and a liberal hand. We are not straitened in God, but in our hearts. Oh, that we did but believe what God has revealed in reference to the riches of grace, and expect to receive according to His most liberal promises! There is an abundance of grace, and it is for us; for us this morning, for us whenever we apply. Let us therefore have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.(James Smith)

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

Sometimes we know what we ought to do and we express it— reluctantly. We do it because we know we should and we want to leave a good impression, but we are not totally committed to the idea. Far too often when our testimony is put to the test and we fail. Oswald Chambers gave this warning:

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”–2 Timothy 2:2–4

The Christian life is not referred to as warfare in the Scriptures symbolically. We are engaged day after day in a real life-and-death struggle with an enemy who is intent on our destruction. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). The devil will do everything that he can to attack us at any weak point he can find. It is absolutely certain that difficulty, trials, and hardship will be with us until we reach Heaven. That does not mean, however, that we must be defeated by them. God calls us to be overcomers, and that requires that we properly respond when things go wrong.

An unknown poet wrote:

All the water in the world
However hard it tried,
Could never, never sink a ship
Unless it got inside.

All the hardships of this world,
Might wear you pretty thin,
But they won’t hurt you, one least bit
Unless you let them in.

There has never been a case in all of history in which anyone improved a situation by complaining and griping about it. Sitting around moping and asking “Why me?” inevitably leads to discouragement. Instead, God calls us to treat difficulties like a reality that must be dealt with rather than as an indication that we should quit. The good soldier does not quit fighting just because it rains or snows or because there are a lot of enemies. Our love for God and our commitment to serve Him should endure any difficulty that comes our way.( Daily in the Word)