HEART MATTERS - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Our Daily Bread - Thursday, May 6, 2016
by RBC Ministries

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HEART MATTERS

READ:

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

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 21-22
Luke 23:26-56

Our hearts pump at a rate of 70-75 beats per minute. Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back. A healthy heart can do amazing things. Conversely, if our heart malfunctions, our whole body shuts down.
The same could be said of our "spiritual heart". In Scripture, the word heart represents the centre of our emotions, thinking and reasoning. It is the "command centre" of our life.
So when we read, "Keep your heart with all diligence" (Proverbs 4:23), it makes a lot of sense. But it's a difficult advice to keep. Life will always make demands upon our time and energy that cry out for immediate attention. By comparison, taking time to hear God's Word and to do what it says may not shout quite so loudly. We may not notice the consequences of neglect right away, but over time, it may give way to a spiritual heart attack.
I'm thankful God has given us His Word. We need His help not to neglect it, but to use it to align our hearts with His every day. - Poh Fang Chia
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day - Garrison

To keep spiritually fit, consult the Great Physician.

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