READ: PROVERBS 4; GALATIANS 5:13-26; EPHESIANS 4:17–5:20

Guard your heart Guard your heart Everything you do Flows from it through you From your lips Past fingertips Where your feet may go Every thought God knows Self-improve Won’t help you Let the Spirit lead God knows what you need So guard your heart • Savannah Coleman

• Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” What do you think it means to guard your heart?

• It’s tempting to try to do better and think better by relying on our own strength. This may seem to work at first, but the truth is, we all struggle with sin and none of us can livea perfect life. Thankfully, Jesus lived a perfect life on our behalf, then He died on the cross and rose from the grave so we could be forgiven and brought near to God. And 2 Peter 1:3 tells believers that Jesus’s “divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” God’s wisdom, spoken of in Proverbs 4, reminds us to rely on His strength, not our own, for transformation. The more we get to know Him, the more we’ll grow like Him. How could these truths free us to follow God, not out of fear, but out of love?

• Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Part of guarding our hearts includes thoughtfully discerning if the things and relationships we allow into our lives help us walk in step with Him. What we view with our eyes will affect our hearts, so will what we listen to, and where we go. This doesn’t mean we should avoid being friends with non-Christians or never watch non-Christian movies or listen to non-Christian music, because each person is different and each situation is unique. Instead, God invites us to talk to Him about all these things. He will help us discern how He is calling us to follow Him through His Holy Spirit, His Word (the Bible), and His people (the church). Who are trusted Christians in your life who can help you discern what to allow into your life, and when, and how?

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

READ: PSALM 34:17-18; ROMANS 6:6-8; EPHESIANS 4:26-32

Harper hid her head under the pillow. She couldn’t take another shouting match. Her parents were just warming up, and lately the fights had lasted late into the night before freezing into a contest of “whoever-talks-first-loses.”

Something was different. Usually about this time of evening, cabinet doors would slam before Dad made some quiet remark that made Mom explode. Not tonight. Suddenly the house was still. Harper ventured into the hallway just in time to see the front door slam. The car fired up and roared out of the driveway. Before Harper knew to stop her, Mom was gone. Just like that. Her nightstand was empty, and so was her closet. Harper didn’t see her mom a lot after that.

She tried to let it go—this ache and anger toward her mom that sometimes threatened to sweep her away. When she had to spend time with Mom for some unavoidable reason, Harper found herself unable to carry on a conversation without exploding in anger or freezing in stone-cold silence.

Finally, after an argument over hairspray that ended in the hottest words she’d ever shot at her mom, Harper locked herself in the bathroom.

She was glaring at her reflection when the thought hit her: “I’m turning into Mom.”

The realization sent her to the floor. Kneeling, she trembled as she prayed, “God, take this anger from me. It’s killing me. Remind me that I belong to You.”

Something melted around her heart, and she knew what she had to do. “Jesus, help me to forgive Mom. Thanks for showing me how she feels when she explodes.” Harper paused and then continued, “Give me Your love for her in the meantime...Because I can’t talk to her right now.” Sitting there on the bathroom floor, hugging her knees, she felt peace flood her. “Jesus, thank You for being with me even when I’m angry.” That truth gave her hope. • Rebekah Love Dorris

• What are some of the things your family struggles with? What are some of your sin struggles?

• Jesus invites us to bring all these sin struggles to Him. He is eager to help us through His Holy Spirit, His Word (the Bible), and His people (the church). Consider taking a moment to talk to Jesus now. And if you want to dig deeper, read Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Galatians 5:13-26.

• Anger is not a sin in itself, but sometimes we give in to temptation more easily when we’re angry. If your family struggles with anger, who is a trusted adult you could talk to about it?

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18 (NLT)

READ: PSALM 19; JOHN 1:1-14

Psalm 19 is a psalm of praise and a wonderful description of God’s magnificence. It opens with a declaration of the glory of God’s creation, which speaks a language that is universal to all. The heavens and the earth proclaim God’s majesty and creative power. Looking at creation gives us a tangible glimpse of the majesty and glory of God.

The psalm then switches gears and talks about delighting in the “law of the LORD” (verse 7). The writer, David, expresses how perfect God’s ways are, what wisdom can be found in following God, and what joy it can bring us. The law of the Lord is a guide for our lives, helping us and teaching us that God and His ways are more valuable than all earthly riches and pleasures.

Psalm 19 concludes with a response from David. He reflects on his own shortcomings and his need for forgiveness and God’s help. We all need God’s grace and help, both in avoiding unintentional sins and in resisting temptations to sin willfully. David’s concluding prayer expresses his desire that his words and the thoughts of his heart be pleasing to God, our Creator and Redeemer.

Psalm 19 reminds me of the opening verses in the gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is Jesus Christ. He was there at the beginning, and the heavens declare His glory. John goes on to say that “through him all things were made…In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (verse 3-4). Christ is God’s Word made flesh, the only one to follow the law of the Lord perfectly, and the only one who can provide the forgiveness we all need through His death and resurrection.

If we know Christ, we have been redeemed. We are a part of God’s wonderful creation, and like “the heavens declare the glory of God; [and] the skies proclaim the work of his hands,” we get to point to Christ and shine His light in the darkness. • Stephanie Mathews

• Have you ever seen something beautiful in creation that led you to praise God? What was that like?

• How is the way we point to God similar to how nature points to God? How is it different?

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1 (NIV)