“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). 

As born-again spirit-filled believers of Jesus Christ, guarding the heart takes on a much more dynamic meaning. The Mashiac’s reformations to Judaism were extreme, both vertically and laterally. He abolished animal sacrifice and the outward synagogue, making the human heart the temple. Now that our heart is His Home, we learn to guard and protect the pearl of great price. The pearl is the gate of shekinah above and the ladder to God’s throne. Therefore, every born-again believer is entrusted with guarding the gates of heaven at birth. Sadly, very few fulfill this vital role given to the believer. Now, let us learn how to do it effectively and clearly with gusto.

Jesus Christ taught his disciples how to pray, study, and be Jews in the eternal realms of heaven. Therefore, the Mashiac’s discourse in Luke 21 gives us great insights into what YHVH expects from a born-again believer.

“Don’t spend your time thinking about eating, drinking, or worrying about life. If you do that, judgment from God will come upon you suddenly without notice.” -Luke 21:34

Mashiac tells us outward worldly influences would dull the senses of His believers and followers so that God’s presence would demote them. Therefore, when the divine presence comes upon us, how can we move forward and not backward? By guarding the Brit! Brit is the Hebrew word for the covenant of circumcision. We know from our apostles of blessed memory that one is not a Jew outwardly of the flesh, but inwardly of the heart, and that circumcision is not outwardly of the flesh, but inwardly of the heart, and Jeremiah says, “remove the foreskins from your hearts” (Romans 2:28, Jeremiah 4:4).

But how does a believer get an invisible internal circumcision? By believing and obeying God’s Word! By completing mitzvahs! A mitzvah is a commandment from a ranking authority on God’s angelic ladder. This is why Mashiac said only those who completed my commanded mitzvahs love me (John 14:15). Therefore, the entire New Covenant is a covenant of faith connecting us to YHVH’s long-established angelic world! This is why John says, “Not a new mitzvah I give you but the original one” (1 John 2:7).

In conclusion, all protection for the believer is provided for in Jesus Christ the Living Torah. If we wrap ourselves in the commanding orders, and do the actions to complete them, our protection gets stronger and stronger. Then, the Brit gets more and more protected inside the  temple within. But if we disobey, and wander away from His instructions, we are left naked in the wilderness to ward off The Serpent by human ability, which never ends well. 

May you guard the heart. May your hearts shine with obedience to Christ’s commandments towards you! May you honor the Tzaddik of your generation! And may you merit the Cave of Treasures out of the Sands of Time, a topic for another time. Until then, YHVH bless you with fresh illumination towards your hearts and minds in all He has instructed you to do. Amen.