Proverbs 4:20-23 (NLT)

20 My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

1. Healthy boundaries started with God.

Genesis 2:15-17 (NLT)

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Isaiah 59:1-2 (NLT)

Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.

1. Healthy boundaries started with God.
2. We are responsible for taking care of ourselves emotionally first.

Proverbs 25:28 (NLT)

A person without self-control
is like a city with broken-down walls.

Matthew 7:1-5 (NLT)

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Mark 12:30-31 (NLT)

30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

For My Personal Time With God This Week:

[#1] Reread Proverbs 4:20-23 this week. Why do you think the author stressed so much that we pay close attention to guarding our heart? What does it look like for you to guard your heart these days?
[#2] Read Luke 6:43-45. In this passage, Jesus develops the idea behind Proverbs 4:23 a bit further. He says that the words we speak flow from what is in our hearts. As you read these verses, what is your personal takeaway?
[#3] Consider the more challenging relationships you have today. Are there any people you have cut out of your life? Are there any people that you tend to try to avoid being around, or spending time with? In those relationships, pray and ask God these 3 questions about those relationships:
1. God, why does this person bother me?
2. God, what are you trying to teach me?
3. God, how do you want to change me?
[#4] Consider picking up a copy of the book Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend, and/or the book The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley, and begin reading them. They are great supplemental tools to Scripture that Pastor Dave recommends to discover how to maintain healthy relationships in your life. Also consider the 15-day devotional plan below, Life Journey.