Hi Brian! 

The word for this week is "keep". There are SO many different words used for keep, both in the Old and the New Testaments. We'll look at just two of them today. The first is found in Isaiah 26:3:

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. KJV

This one is the Hebrew word "natsar". Strong's Concordance says this: to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain). Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds: to watch; preserve, to guard from dangers. The promise here is that HE will guard, protect and preserve us in HIS "perfect peace" (Shalom that we covered in the first month of this blog) IF our minds are stayed (we'll cover that word in a future blog post!) on Him. Look at the Amplified Bible version of this verse:

3 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.  AMP

It is our responsibility to keep our minds free from the negative influences of the enemy by spending time in His Word, getting it inside of us. THEN He will will cause that SHALOM (safety, happiness, prosperity, health, welfare, soundness, completeness, tranquility and contentment) operating and flowing in and through our lives! THAT will cause people to take notice of our God-blessed lives! The next verse we'll look at is Proverbs 7:1-2:

1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. KJV

This "keep" here is the Hebrew word "shamar". Strong's Concordance says this: to hedge about (as with thorns); to protect; to guard; to attend to. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds this: to observe; to treasure; to celebrate; to preserve.  The Amplified Bible says THIS:

1 MY SON, keep my words; lay up within you my commandments [for use when needed] and treasure them.  2 Keep my commandments and live, and keep my law and teaching as the apple (the pupil) of your eye.  AMP

When we treat the Word of God as the precious treasure that it is (TRUTH- John 17:17) by studying it, meditating on it, speaking it out and daring to stand on it, then HE will confirm that Word in our lives, sometimes with signs and wonders and miracles! HIS will will "RULE"! That's the name of the song I'm sharing with you today! From Hillsong United's new album "Empires":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!