Reading this verse, we can certainly hear the fatherly side of Solomon speaking to his son.  You can almost see the arm around the shoulder and the sincerity in Solomon’s voice as he advises his young son about this most vital and key issue in maintaining victory in his future life.  Solomon knew no matter how hard he tried to instruct his son in what was important, and how sincere that son might have been in wanting to follow that advice, if his son did not keep [his] heart with all diligence, he would have problems that would affect all the areas of his life.  He warns about this again in Proverbs 23:7: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...  Consider what lay ahead for the young man, probably falling in love, choosing life interests and companions, and forming all of his life value systems.  The hidden danger that most young people fail to see is that no area in our lives is separate from the others.  The people whom we associate with affect our spiritual life, whom we marry affects our career choices, our career affects our family, our attitudes affect our ability to make decisions.  That explains why parents are always so concerned about the person their son or daughter may be falling in love with, because they know that a decision of the heart will not be isolated.  A sincere Christian young person can be literally ruined in their life choices by wrong associations and hasty decisions of the heart.  On the other hand, proper heart attitudes will help to determine right choices in love interests and career goals.  Everything is intertwined like a lovely vine if the heart is right, or choked like an invading weed if the heart attitudes are wrong.  Solomon was right to warn his son, and God the Father would warn us in the same compassionate way.  Wrong heart decisions do not just happen in the lives of young people.  Adults, also, need to take care and keep their own hearts in all diligence.  It is so deceptively easy for us to fall prey to bitterness or unresolved anger or depression.  All of these will negatively affect our spiritual life, our careers, our family relationships and our every decision.  Right heart attitudes and commitments will positively affect each of these areas of our lives for the good.  We will be better wives, mothers, friends and Christians when we diligently keep our hearts.  All the issues of life go through our heart, it is the seat of our emotions.  That is why our heart must be given totally to the Lord for His control.  Some people feel that they can keep all their life on a logical level, or an intellectual level, and not involve the heart.  They are foolish to think this, it is not how God designed us.  That is why God’s Word refers to the heart so often, especially in the New Testament.  Romans 10:10 tells us, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness...  Luke 6:45 says, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.  Each one of us needs to take stock of the condition of our heart and where we have set our heart’s affections.  This is not only in relationship to salvation, but to our daily heart attitudes.  The Holy Spirit will help us to examine our hearts deeply and find if there is any thing that needs to be changed by His grace.  But we must be willing to be totally honest with ourselves and with God.  No self justifications, no excuses: just total honesty, in order for there to be success.  Pause for a few moments, or perhaps longer, and ask the Lord to help you search your heart.  Is there a root of bitterness there, or a harbored anger?  Have you let your affections go in the wrong direction away from what the Lord would desire?  Set the affection of your heart on the Lord and the things that He approves.  The deep heartfelt joy and love that will fill your being can change the issues of your life today!

Many of our verses have dealt with the path in which we need to walk and God’s provision for light upon that pathway.  These two verses admonish us in our responsibility regarding the way that we tread upon the pathway God has placed us on.  The first word is very important, Ponder.  To ponder means to deeply consider.  The dictionary defines it as: "to weigh carefully in the mind; to reflect upon; to examine carefully, to think; to reflect seriously; to deliberate."  Ponder contains that concept of caution and quiet seriousness regarding a situation.  Too many mistakes are made in our lives that seem to affect the remainder of the pathway when we jump too quickly in making decisions and do not pause to ponder the path of our feet.  Our spiritual feet are given to enable us to walk steadily and confidently upon the road of God’s choosing in the manner that He would have us walk.  When we launch out on our own, run ahead of God, or our ankles get weak and we fall, not only is our walk hindered, but sometimes even the course is changed.  At one time in my illness I had repeated periods of blindness and I had to think more carefully about the manner in which I walked.  It really became an evident necessity when, after stabilizing the condition, I was left with restricted peripheral vision.  I did not want to walk awkwardly, looking down repeatedly to see what was missing in my sight, so I had to teach myself to walk confidently, with good faith, by exercising certain principles.  First of all, I tried to be aware in advance about hazards.  If the weather was snowy or slippery, I had to exercise more caution or make certain I had a companion.  In life, when we know that we are going to encounter a "slippery" situation ahead, we need to especially place our confidence in the leading of the Holy Spirit, as our Guide and Companion.  He is the only One who can enable us to walk in an established way through trials and hazards.  What we can not see, He already knows.  In the midst of situations that might make us slip, we can trust Him to plant our feet firmly on solid ground.  I also found out that I had started to memorize pathways.  My co-worker realized that I was doing this before I was totally aware of it, myself.  If we went to visit in a tenement on the third floor, I would commit the stairway to memory as we climbed it and was usually able to descend in confidence, even if the landings were poorly lit.  If we went into a new place, I would carefully look around upon entering and then was able to concentrate on the people and situations to which I was to minister without undue worry about where I would walk.  All my normal living and working places were committed to memory and I could walk around those places without concern.  If we commit God’s Word to memory, our footsteps will be with greater boldness and confidence.  As He brings each command or admonition or encouragement to our mind, we will be able to walk the pathway with our head held high.  I can remember being completely surprised in a familiar room when I would run into something that had been rearranged, or that was put in an unexpected place.  But if I would stop to figure out what had made me surprised, I could be able to quickly discover what had been changed.  In one of our former churches, the pews had been rearranged during the week, and on Sunday I ran smack into a pillar that had always been there, but never in my pathway before.  Whenever something like this happens, it always reminds me to not become so self confident or set in my ways, that I could fail to see the new pathways and adventures that God would have me tread upon, taking new stock of that pathway and applying the same "old" truths.  I also started to exercise senses that I had not used so keenly before.  I noticed that I was unconsciously feeling with the bottom of my feet as I walked.  I was aware of this when I wore a pair of shoes which had thick soles that inhibited my newly acquired skill.  After we are saved, the Lord will give to us new abilities and gifts to help us be successful in our walk of life.  We must be careful to use them to full advantage and not be encumbered with the trappings of the world that would dull our new "senses."  We cannot walk the way we used to, relying on the limited senses the world gave to us, we have to walk in the power of the new creature that we have become in Christ Jesus.  I even noticed that somehow I could "feel" a wall or place of danger looming up in front of me, even before I ran into it or could see it.  I know many people of limited sight report this unusual sensation.  It is almost beyond the realm of simple explanation.  So it is with the new supernatural part of us given at salvation.  How often has the Holy Spirit warned you or laid a burden on your heart for which there is no other logical explanation than the true "supernatural," the power of God.  Every time that I fully heeded that warning about something I was not yet able to see, I was saved injury or stumbling.  I have also found this true one hundred percent of the time in my spiritual life.  Failure to obey that supernatural leading will only result in problems.  I also found great help in my "guide dogs."  My first "guide dogs" were my own children (this became a joke to us).  What a blessing they were to me as they would hold my hand or guide my arm or tell me ahead of time, "Be careful, Mom."  I can't tell you how much that meant to me and how very precious it was.  Not only was I helped on my way, but a special closeness developed that other mothers may never know.  Then there was, eventually, my dog, who so patiently walked by my side on country pathways as I practiced walking again, who would never let me go up and down the stairs without him and who licked my face if I did stumble or cry at being hurt.  For thirteen and a half years he never left my side.  God is like that in an even deeper way.  As we learn to walk this pilgrim pathway, He is ever so patient with us.  He is always there and knows our areas of weakness and that is when He draws even closer to us to guide and protect.  If we stumble, He is there to comfort and encourage us to get up and start again.  He will never leave our side.  I know that my dog would have died for me, Jesus Christ already has.  He gave His life and shed His blood so that we might walk with Him for eternity.  Among the so many other lessons I learned from my eyesight limitation, there is one more that needs to be shared.  I quickly learned the places that spelled danger to me, such as unfamiliar parking lots and uneven or rocky pathways.  I try never to tread those areas alone, but hold tightly to the arm of my companion, otherwise I know that my foot would surely find the only rut in the road and I would fall.  There are dangerous areas in each of our pathways where we need to hold even more tightly to the Lord or we will surely fall.  Each one of us has to find out these areas for ourselves, but He is ever there to lend support and help.  Also, there are those things that I know I can never do again, such as driving a car.  It would be too dangerous for me.  As a Christian, there are some things that we can never do again, they will result in sure disaster.  And yet, I have not lost out on a thing, for God has given me a special dependency on those He has given to me to be helpmeets: my husband, my family and my friends.  In our Christian life, God will give us the helpmeets that we need.  Do not be afraid to develop a unique dependency upon them to help your ways to be established.  Ponder your path today.  Walk carefully in the spiritual realm as I must in the physical.

In the novel, Pilgrim’s Progress, some of Christian’s biggest problems occurred when he turned to the right or left from the pathway.  He was warned not to turn, just like Solomon warns his son, but still he fell for the temptation to follow a by-path.  God warns us and yet the Devil will always try to get us to turn.  The warnings from the Lord are found throughout the Scriptures.  Deuteronomy 5:32: Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  Joshua 1:7: Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law...turn not to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  The side panel notes in my Bible call these verses, and similar references, verses dealing with "straightforwardness."  We know that the fastest route is that one which goes straight forward.  Notice in the two verses quoted that to be able to keep "the straight and narrow," we must observe to do all the law.  It is not enough to obey the Lord in just part of His desires for us, we must do all.  Some folks come to church each Sunday, but fail to follow godly ways during the week.  Some follow God in external ways, like dress and visible conformity, but have never submitted to the Lord the attitudes of their heart, such as envy, bitterness or self righteousness.  If we do not follow in all, then it will be easy for us to turn to the right or the left of God’s appointed pathway, because the false road signs already dwell within us.  We need to be strong and very courageous and truthfully examine our hearts and lives and see if there are any areas where we must follow the Lord more closely.  Also our verses tell us that the only way of being guaranteed godly prosperity and success is by being a "straight forward" Christian, always stepping one foot after the other in God’s appointed path walking towards God’s appointed goal.  The second half of our verse for today tells us to remove thy foot from evil.  Picture in your mind the Pilgrim stepping just off the roadway and having one foot sink deeply into the mud off the shoulder.  He must stop, plant his other foot firmly on the roadway and then "remove," even pull, his mired foot out of the mud.  In the spiritual realm, that mud is more like quick sand.  If we do not remove our foot from the evil it may have slipped into, with all speed, it will certainly pull us in and overwhelm us.  It is so easy to step off the path, just to slip a little.  We need to think of each temptation to step to one side or the other as an invitation to place our feet into quicksand.  That thought should make our hearts race with genuine fear of evil when we are tempted.  Yet if we stay in the middle of the path, on the firm and solid ground, we will have no need to fear.  Be a straight forward Christian today!  Move ahead on God’s path.  Keep moving with all diligence and don’t follow any detours that would slow your progress in Christian growth.

The commandment mentioned in this verse refers directly to verse 20, which says: My son, keep thy father’s commandment...  The law is also in that verse, and forsake not the law of thy mother.  Solomon is telling his son that the commandments and the laws of his parents are the lamps and light that will guide him in life.  There are so many ways that we can think of this.  The most obvious is that found in the spiritualization of the verse, thinking of the parents as God, and the commandments and laws as His.  Throughout the Scripture we are told that God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105), ...The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes (Psalm 19:8), The entrance of thy words giveth light. (Psalm 119:130), and that beautiful verse in the New Testament, II Peter 1:19: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts.  How true it is that the commandments and laws of the Lord give the light we need to walk life’s pathway.  We need to take heed to every part of that light.  Along with the Holy Spirit within, they are what we are given to light the darkness around us in the world, until Christ comes.  But also, let’s think of our verse in the literal sense.  We, as parents, have the responsibility to give those commands and rules that would be so godly that they would be the lamp and light to our children for the pathway that they must walk in.  Being a first generation Christian in my family, I was very aware that I could not give any rules or commands or guidelines to my children without examining them and making certain that they were from the Word of God, and that they conformed to His will and desires.  What a great peace we can have in our hearts when we know for certain that we trained our children in the love and admonition (commandments and laws) of the Lord, and not in human wisdom.  This may be one of the most important responsibilities that we will ever have in our lives.  The second half of the verse speaks strongly to us as God’s children.  Reproofs of instruction are the way of life:  The next verses warn that these reproofs will keep us from all manner of sin.  Spiritually we should be more than willing to take reproofs from the Lord and from those that love us in the Lord and desire our good.  Yet how sensitive we can become!  Something within us yells out, "Who do you think you are, telling me what I should and should not do."  Sometimes we literally yell that in our hearts to God and out loud to those we should love the most.  In fact, many people will continue willfully in ways of sin just because they were reproved.  It is that old sin of pride that dwells within, the sin that would cause us to fail to hear the instruction that can come with godly reproof and give us better success in life.  As parents, we must remember that the opportunity God gives to us to reprove our children is one of the most precious of responsibilities.  When we deal with them, we can either breed bitterness and rebellion or plant seeds of success and godly instruction in their lives.  How often the devil tempts us to be angry when our children fail or sin, instead of seeing it as the opportunity God has chosen to use, with us as His instruments.  Satan knows that if we fail in this area, much of what we have tried to build in other areas can be torn down.  It is the same between us and God, except God never losses control or patience.  We are the ones that can fail to gain from the opportunity of His reproof.  Just as when our children respond properly to correct instruction of reproof, we can all greatly gain.  Between us and God, the true success of Christian maturity may well depend on our response to reproof.  Next time we are reproved, let us take heed to realize the great benefits that can come in our ability to be successful on life’s path by heeding that which is godly and given in love.  The next time we have the opportunity to give a reproof of instruction, let us do it with a mind to the great responsibility that is given to us to be used of God for another’s growth.

Listen to God speak directly to you this morning.  He whispers sweet and clear, I love those that love me.  Then the Spirit seems to continue in our hearts, "Do you love Me, child, do you really love Me?"  The deepest need of our life is to have someone love us, and God can more than meet that need.  Oh, there are those that say they want more than anything else to be rich or successful or to have recognition, but if you were able to get them all alone on a dark and lonely night, their heart would speak for itself.  It would cry out, "I just want someone to love me."  We know that God loves the entire world, that His love extends to the sinner and saint alike, but there is a special and unique brand of deep, rich love reserved for those that truly love Him.  The love of God towards all mankind was the impelling force behind sending His blessed Son to die on Calvary’s cross to pay for the sins of the world.  His love extends to all men and invites all to come to Him.  But for those that do come there is a depth of love that causes God to abide with them, to dwell deep within their hearts, to stay ever beside them, holding them in His own hand.  That love is only given to those that love Him.  In a very limited way, we can compare that to our earthly lives and loves.  There are many people that I love.  As a Christian, I have a love for all men.  It is this love, given by the Lord that impels me to witness and pray for the salvation of others.  It is that love that gripped my heart to answer the call to missions years ago.  Then there is the special love that I have for the brethren, those who are saved, and especially for my church family.  There is the love of relatives and closest friends.  But then there is that unique quality of love that is deepened as I move into my inner circle.  There I find my children, grandchildren and my husband.  Focusing in upon my husband, I can remember how our love relationship began and developed.  First, we were attracted to each other and began to learn more about the other person.  Then we started to spend more time together and shared the more personal facts about ourselves.  Then came that wonderful day when we made a full commitment and said in essence, "I truly love you with a love reserved only for you."  In my relationship with the Lord, it was very similar.  I heard about Him, was attracted, learned more and, then, made that heart commitment we call salvation.  In my heart I said, "Lord Jesus, I love You with an everlasting love reserved only for You."  And He echoed back in my heart, "I love you, my child, with an everlasting love that can never be broken, that will deepen in your life as you draw closer to Me day by day."  It is that special quality of deepened love that God appears to reserve for those who have not only come to Him in salvation, but made full and complete commitments of following closely to Him.  We need to be able to sing to Him, "I want to love You better every day!"  The second marvelous promise of our verse is that those that seek the Lord early will find Him.  Do you wait until the end of the day to turn to the Lord in prayer?  You will never know that unexplainable privilege of feeling Him close all day.  Don’t wait until trials and trouble and important decisions surround you, turn to Him early and know His presence.  Love Him deeply and know His special love.

Throughout our life, the world and the devil will dangle the temptations of riches and honor in front of us.  They will say, forsake the Lord and these things will be yours, compromise or you will never receive them.  Just like all the other temptations offered to us, these appeals are all based on lies.  The truth is found in our verse.  Real riches and honor, those that are durable and lasting and of the greatest value, are only available to us in the Lord.  As a special bonus, when we seek those riches, righteousness will be ours.  While those that scheme and use deceit to gain worldly riches must suffer the consequences of unrighteousness and guilt, those that gain God’s riches through honestly serving the Lord will have clear consciences and joy.  At the beginning of the Great Depression, there was the day that the stock market crashed.  In that single day, hundreds of men who had been wealthy by the world’s standards the day before, lost most of their fortunes.  By the end of the day, many decisions had been made.  For some the loss of their money drove them to leap out of windows to their death.  But there were others that paused to assess their lives.  They realized that the riches of the world were not all that life was about.  Many of them decided to start over and some of them became new millionaires.  But most importantly, it was pointed up to people all over the country that durable riches can not be found in possessions or money, but only when you have peace in your heart with God.  Durable riches are those that God blesses us with in Christ Jesus: salvation, joy, peace, His Word, love of God, love of family and friends, and God’s eternal promises in heaven... and so much more.  No matter how many banks fail or disasters destroy, nothing can take those riches from us.  Riches and honor are with Christ who is the embodiment of Wisdom.  With His riches and honor, comes righteousness, because He is the Lord our Righteousness.  Think of how much time you spend every week to gain the riches of the world that will all pass away.  Some of that time is well spent in earning enough to feed, clothe and care for our family, to pay our bills and be able to give to God’s house and share with others.  We should never be made to feel guilty over gain well earned and well spent.  But what we should consider is how much time we are spending gaining the riches and honor of durable quality, those of eternal value with the Lord.  When was the last time that you went visiting for your church or shared a witness of the Lord and His grace with someone else?  How much time do you spend really laboring in prayer for others and searching out the riches of God’s Word.  Look at your schedule today and make certain that you are giving some of your energies to the pursuit of real excellence, the things of the Lord.  When you have choices to make, choose that which would honor the Lord, choose the ways of righteousness, even if it could mean the loss of earthly gain.  It can be very easy to get caught up in the vain pursuit of earthly riches.  If you find yourself tempted in this area, pause and remember the Great Depression and how quickly fortunes were wiped out.  Then also consider Heaven and how long its riches will last.  Today choose the Lord and His righteousness!

Have you ever been hurt by someone being a talebearer on a personal matter in your life?  Unfortunately, you probably have.  A confidence told to an acquaintance can become public knowledge if they choose to reveal it.  Years ago I turned to someone I respected for counsel in a very personal matter.  Less than one week later, another person in the church came to tell me that they were praying about that problem, and then another.  The person I had gone to, even knowing the personal nature of the matter, had shared it with just one person, who had then shared it with a group of people.  I was not only surprised, but severely wounded.  I also became what many call "gun shy," afraid to go to anyone for counsel in the future, even many times when I now realize it could have been most helpful.  But it also caused me to deeply consider the great responsibility we have as friends and confidants in Christ.  Whenever I felt the need to share a burden or secret with another, I would first remember the words of the song: "Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus, He is a friend that’s well known.  There’s no other, such a friend or brother, tell it to Jesus alone."  Oftentimes, I would find that there, alone with Jesus, was the only place I was to go.  Not only did that help in my own personal life needs, but when I became a pastor’s wife it had become a discipline of great value.  One of the great privileges of being a pastor’s wife is ministering to the heart needs of the ladies in your church.  Often this includes being the only one to hear and counsel with about "secrets," deep needs of the heart and life.  It means being a prayer partner who is one of the promised "two" that agree in prayer.  But if just once you fall prey to temptation and tell it to another, instead of to Jesus alone, all those wonderful privileges could be forfeited as well as the trust and confidence of your ladies.  In the process someone could be wounded, just as I was years ago.  It also made me value the faithful character of those that I knew would take the privilege of being a confidant seriously and "keep the faith."  Those friends, I found, were like rare jewels.  This area of faithfulness usually was an indicator of all the well developed spiritual characteristics in their lives.  It also helped me to value the heart of Jesus who knows when we need to share with another fellow Christian and has placed those in our lives who can fulfill such a human need.  This also caused me to consider why we so easily fall for the temptation to tell others.  There are many reasons.  These are but a few, but worthy of our consideration the next time we are tempted in this area: the need to feel superior, lack of spiritual discernment, an inadequate prayer life, selfishness, judgmental attitudes, lack of true compassion.  The list is quite uncomplimentary and can certainly be added to.  When we give way in this area, we not only strike a sword’s blow into a friend’s heart, but we hurt ourselves.  We are, henceforth, judged unfaithful and have lost the precious privilege that could have been ours of being a soul partner to those in heart need.  We have also sinned.  God commands us in Leviticus 19:16: Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people.  Think also of the great contrast that Proverbs 11:13 gives to us, the person who does not reveal secrets is of a faithful spirit and conceals the matter.  He does not conceal criminal actions or keep back help when it is needed to prevent a dangerous situation.  But he is one who knows how to tell it to Jesus alone and to be a faithful keeper of deep heart secrets, because his burden is with the one who has the need, and his eyes are not focused on self.  To be judged by God and man as one who has a faithful spirit is a treasure to be greatly valued and guarded.  Each one of us will have opportunity to be tempted to betray this sacred trust.  The next time God chooses you to be His burden bearer, remember the position of the shield bearer to the kings of old.  He was the one who walked closest to that king in the battle, the one who heard every word spoken by his master, who had great privileges and responsibilities.  He was also the one held responsible to be the most watchful for danger, as just one lapse could effect the entire army.  We are like that shield bearer in all ways when we are chosen to share a deep confidence.  Lord, help me to examine my life today and everyday in the future when I might be tempted in this area.  I so want to be judged to be of a faithful spirit.  Help me to have the discernment to know how to conceal a matter that has been given to me as a sacred trust.  Help me to be like that faithful soldier of old who would never break ranks, who could be trusted to be faithful in the performance of his duties.  Lord, give me a faithful spirit and a closeness to You that will overcome all such temptation to betray that entrusted to me.  Thank You for the privilege of being a friend to others and thank You for being the Friend that is closer than any other.  Thank You for being my Burden Bearer.