Mindful Worship Meditation #15 – Guard Your Heart
My pastor recently finished a sermon series entitled Password. In this series, he talks about how we protect so much of our personal information with passwords, yet we don’t have a password to keep harmful things away from what matters most: our heart, our soul, and our mind. This meditation was inspired by one of those sermons. I hope it helps you to guard your heart.
You can download and listen to the four sermons in the Password series yourself in the Sermons area of the Rich Fork Baptist Church web site. These sermons were delivered between January 18, 2009, and February 8, 2009.
Scriptures in this meditation: Proverbs 4:20-27
Time: 20:30
File Size: 18.7 mb
Link to MP3: Meditation #15 – Guard Your Heart
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November 10th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I was enjoying this meditation, until the “my son” part. I think it is really insensitive to women to say that, whether they we are men or women, that all Christians are “sons.” It would have been better to be more generous to use inclusive language and say “my child” as in the NRSV, CEV, NET, NCV, and NLT translations. I know that it’s a theological issue in many Baptist churches, but I think especially in a meditation, it is really jarring. It upset me enough that it pulled me completely out of the meditation and I had to stop.
I’m not trying to start a theology war, just trying to be helpful.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Ulysses – Thank you for your comments.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I found Ulysees’ post to be a distraction from my attempt to listen to the voice of God. This is not the place to bring up this controversial subject, as it is hairsplitting. The use of the masculine gender has for centuries been understood to refer to both genders, and the original languages of the Scriptures utilize it in that way. I read his post before engaging in the meditation, and all I could think about was the issue, and not the Word. A private email would have been a more appropriate context in which to submit a complaint of this nature.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Donald – Thank you for your response here. I wasn’t quite sure how best to handle Ulysses comment. I certainly didn’t want him to feel slighted or ignored. I also didn’t want to get involved in a theological debate here on the blog–at least not a theological debate on that particular topic.
)
We’ll see what others think and if it seems appropriate I’ll remove these comments. However, I don’t want to stifle discussion about the meditations here; I really want to encourage it. I just don’t want that discussion to distract from the purposes of the work here though.
Thanks again!
March 6th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
I wouldn’t let Ulysses comment bother any of us. Let’s not let the enemy throw anything in to disrupt our precious time with the Lord.
Perhaps you could delete the post? See meditation # 14.
July 26th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Amen & Praise God! Ricky, thanks for continuing to be a blessing in my life.
November 6th, 2010 at 11:29 am
i love this meditation it is a beautiful exhortation
of scripture that benefits our lives.
thank you
April 27th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
I don’t think a request for inclusive language is the enemy. When we start calling each other the enemy, we stop loving one another. There have been many revisions of the bible, each revision using more and more inclusive language, so I understand how someone could be thrown off by the old way of referring to mankind. The meditation did not bother me though, because I know God and Jesus love women and men alike. I’m able to hear the inclusion. I want to note that I am grateful for all of these meditations. I have never been so soothed and uplifted by the words of the bible.
May 5th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Listening to this came at a good time for me. I’ve recently been thinking about how the messages of this world (that are the opposite of the messages of God) I’m hearing all around me through media, conversation and well-intentioned advice are influencing my heart against godliness.”True religion is to care widows and orphans in their distress and keep oneself unstained by the world” (James).I’ve never made the connection with guarding your heart and being unstained by the word before. Thank you for providing a meditation on guarding our hearts.
May 5th, 2011 at 9:45 am
I also don’t find the way the original texts were written as saying “sons” rather than “sons and daughters” to be offensive. I understand them as inclusive.
Galatians 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
October 27th, 2011 at 7:32 am
I had a very similar reaction to the meditation, i found the language jarring. Its a beautiful meditation but we dont live in times when language like this is helpful. Walking in peace and love should always be the outcome and i feel that using a translation that would avoid any hurt would be a good step in the right direction. As a female and a Christian i find that this is an ongoing struggle for us ladies, there is a strong root of pain in this area for many women so asking men to be very sensitive and supportive in making us feel equal and loved well i think is very important!!
January 6th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Once again i need to express my gratitude for your meditations, my life is often filled drama and delemas, these meditations connect me to Jesus in a profound and meaningful way, thank you and god bless. Your a true example of how the lord takes care of his children, your are a beloved brother.