The world would have us believe that we're all pretty good people, that we all, deep down, have good hearts. But God's Word tells us differently - it says that our hearts are deceitful and wicked, desperately wicked. How can that be? How can people made in God's image have such a corrupted inner being? How can I have such a rotten heart beating away inside of me? While we tend to think of ourselves as "pretty good", how many of us would want to share with others the very worst thing we've ever done? For that matter, how many would want to share the minor bad things that we did just today? Our hearts tell us all kinds of things about ourself that just aren't true. According to Scripture, "follow your heart" is probably the worst advice we can give someone.
Romans 5:12 tells us "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned." This is how we all became rotten-hearted...sin. The sin of one spread throughout humanity into the sin of all. The sin of elevating self above all else, the sin of feeding our deceitful hearts with everything it tells us we deserve. Even that sin of doing such wonderfully noted acts of kindness for all the wrong motives. Our sinful hearts are deceitful and manipulative...but God knows them inside and out. He knows our hearts much, much better than we ourselves do.
That is why the Psalmist pleads with the Lord, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way." Psalm 139:23-24. David knows that God is the One who can reveal to him where he is off, where his heart is needing correction. THIS is the verse that we can share with David when we are truly ready for our hearts to be evaluated and for God to start showing us changes that we need to make.
The rest of today's lesson was very personal and had good tools to ask yourself about your heart - how would you describe your heart attitude toward your spouse, your children, others in your extended family, co-workers, friends, church family and finally...how would you describe your heart attitude toward Jesus, your Savior?
Really spend time thinking about that and then pray with David, and with me, "Search me, God, know me, test me, tell me where I'm wrong, and lead me. Break my heart if it needs breaking, just let my heart reflect Yours. Let me be as tender and loving to others as You have been to me. Even those that I don't understand. Let me pour out my heart to You, for You are my safe place, You are my refuge. Take this heart of stone that is driven toward self and make it soft to Your touch. I surrender...my heart is in Your hands."
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