Part 1:God couldn't care less about our outward appearance, whether it's clothing or public image. He's concerned with our heart, and He is the only One who can truly judge us. In Proverbs 16:2 it says: all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. (ESV) We see ourselves as pure, but God is the One who weighs the truth. We could never accurately judge ourselves. However, we can identify when someone else is not what they claim to be. Matthew 7:15-16 says: beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. (ESV) Recognizing someone else's fruits is not the same as judgment. We wrongfully cast judgment when we think we can determine someone else's heart. Recognizing fruits, however, is examining someone's actions and determining if they are Godly or otherwise. This is not judgment. Rather, it is exercising caution in who we trust.Part 2:James 1:22 says: but be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (ESV) The Bible here is saying: prove yourselves to be people who put the Word of God into practice. Prove that you obey God's principles, His instructions, and His precepts. Prove that you are not merely listeners who hear the Word but fail to internalize its meaning. Prove that you are not just listeners who hear the Word, and even know the Word, but fail to do the Word. And the last couple of words in this verse (from James 1:22) are interesting; because the Bible is telling us that if you do this, if you hear the Word but fail to do the Word, then you are actually deceiving yourself. You are deluding yourself. It's not the devil deceiving you; no, you deceive yourself, should you hear the Word but fail to act on it. We always think of deception as coming from Satan, from the anti-Christ, from some demonic, false teacher. But, something as simple as knowing God's Word but failing to do it, that is an act of deception toward yourself. Because how can you claim to love Christ but fail to obey Him? How can you say you are a Christian striving to be Christ-like but yet fail to bow the knee, to bow your will and obey Him?Let's look at James 1:22-24, in the Amplified Translation: but prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God's precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror, for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. (AMP)Are you using God's Word as a lamp to your feet? Are you obeying God's Word and putting it into practice? I do not believe that anyone can be a doer of God's Word without being challenged by it. God's Word has to challenge you, and it will challenge you when you really try and put it into action.Part 3:Some people are simply hard to trust in this world. I'm sure if you thought about it, you could think of a few people who you don't trust. Maybe it's a parent who hurt you in an unimaginable way. it could be a friend who manipulated and used you. Possibly it's a coworker who tends to lie to get their way. All of these people are hard to trust. However, what if I told you there was one person who was harder to trust than any of those people? Well, there is, and the truth is, this one person that's near enough impossible to trust is you. And that's the chief message today: never trust yourself. Your heart cannot be trusted outside of the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit. God made everything good; this includes the human mind and heart. However, due to the fall of Adam and Eve, we all have a sinful nature. This makes it hard to trust your heart and mind, and it needs to be fixed. The Bible reminds us of this over and over again whenever it speaks of the state of our heart.In Proverbs 28:26 it says: he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. (NKJV) Further, in Jeremiah 17:9 it says: the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? (NKJV) The world will tell you to trust your heart; "follow where your heart leads." However, that cannot be further from the truth. You would be a fool to trust your sinful nature. Allow me to give you an illustration that will help put this point across:There was a man who was fond of alcohol. He was a functioning alcoholic, meaning that you would never know that he was an alcoholic. However, every time he walked into a bar, he knew he would get drunk. One morning, after waking up extremely hungover after a drunken stupor, he was filled with shame and regret. He told himself he would never do that again. A few nights later, he was sitting at home thinking about the promise he had made to himself. He then told himself if he went to the bar that night, he would not drink. He was just going to hang out with his friends. As soon as he walked in that night, he knew he was getting drunk. This cycle repeated itself over and over again. He would promise himself this is the last time. He would be sober after this. But after a little while, he was back again, he was drinking again.Now this, is a real situation that plays out time and time again in our wicked hearts. It may involve alcohol, lust, sexual sin, or anger, whatever the sin may be. We tell ourselves we will never sin a certain way again. Due to that, we put ourselves back into the same situation because our heart tells us we will not give in. However, our hearts cannot be trusted, and we do end up giving in to the very sin we promise never to do again.Another way we deceive ourselves is by making excuses and compromising. We'll tell ourselves something like: "it's a guilty pleasure" or, "it's only a white lie." We tell a tiny lie to make our conscience feel at ease. However, a white lie is still a lie. Calling a sin a "guilty pleasure" doesn't hide the fact that it's still sin. Our wicked hearts can trick us over and over again. The heart will also say, "God will forgive me, so it's OK to sin." While it is true that in Christ we have forgiveness, we should not try to take advantage of that forgiveness. The end goal of our hearts is to get us to sin. So does that leave us helpless without any help in the world? That is also a lie that the heart will tell.However, there is hope that our hearts can be changed. Ezekiel 36:26 states: I will give you a near heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (NKJV) Ezekiel was an Old Testament prophet. In this Scripture, he's telling the people of God that there will be a day when God will change their evil, wicked hearts under a new covenant. At that point, they had hearts of stone. When you squeeze a stone, it cannot be changed or molded. No matter how hard you try, you cannot change a stone with your bare hands. However, under the New Covenant, the people of God will receive a heart of flesh. Try pinching your arm. Your flesh can be moved and changed. What God is telling His people is that there will be a new covenant in which God will give them new, clean hearts that are not evil and full of sin.Well, that New Covenant came. It came through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to the earth even though He was God. He was born a man, but not with a heart of stone. He had a heart of flesh. Where we all fail and give in to evil desires, He never did. Though He never sinned, He was treated as if He did. He was hung on a cross and His blood dripped to the ground. He took the punishment for our sin and rose from the grave. He defeated death, sin, and Satan. Now, those who trust in the blood of Christ are purified. They receive a new heart of flesh that can be shaped into the image of God. This new heart is made of the very Word of God. It is only God's Word that we can trust. It's only Jesus that we can trust. Never should we try to trust in our own hearts. You may find yourself constantly giving into the evil desires of your mind and heart. It may satisfy you for a while, but the truth is that satisfaction will run out. That satisfaction may run out on earth when you experience every earthly pleasure that you want. It may take a lifetime, but in the end, when you stand before God and take account of your life, that satisfaction will be gone. God is calling you to Him at this very moment. He is not telling you to trust your heart, as others will do, but to trust him. While your evil heart changes constantly, God never will. He is willing to change your heart, but you must come to Him.Part 4:Habitual sin is dangerous. Even the Apostle Paul seems to have been caught in a cycle of something like this. In Romans, he almost cries out aloud in frustration. He says, "the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. ... I'm a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!" (ref. Romans 7:19-24, NIV) And that's Paul, who in the same chapter tells us that he delights in God's law. Resisting temptation is not easy. it is not a simple matter of willpower. We need more than willpower to resist temptation. And God provides us with exactly what we need to do. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 10:13: the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. (NLT) So the question is, are you repeating a sin you desperately want to be rid of? Are you stuck in a cycle of sin? Only Jesus has the power to break you out from that cycle of sin. Only the blood of Jesus can set you free from the bondage of sin.Part 5:The devil has infiltrated and embedded himself into so many things in society. He's blended right in to such an extent that people no longer see the sin in what many may consider to be normal. People no longer see the parading of sexual immorality in movies and music today. People no longer see the sin and how the world encourages and fosters the spirit of pride and the pursuit of things of money and power. Sin has become accepted as the norm. It doesn't even shock us anymore to see sexual immorality on screen, or to hear music that blasphemes. The devil has managed to embed himself and bled into society. He has normalized the things that lead us to sin. And the thing is, the devil cunningly presents these things before our eyes so frequently that it almost desensitizes us. It becomes normal to see sexual immorality on the screen and on social media. It has become normal to pursue money and material things. however, what is normal to the world tends to go hand in hand with what it sin. The Amplified Translation of Romans 12:2 gives us a detailed account of what we need as children of God:And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on Godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. (Romans 12:2, AMP) In other words, stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you. Don't allow this world to mold you in its own image. The key for us as believers is that we are to be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit.Part 6:Doing what is wrong can deceptively appear rewarding or pleasurable. After all, Satan is walking around like an angel of light. He makes sin attractive. But in the end, sin is deadly and rotten. David prayed that God would help him face this and say "no" to sin. The Apostle James also said: "resist the devil and he will flee from you" (ref. James 4:7, NIV) In other words, say "no" to the devil enough times, and he will flee. Sin almost always begins in the mind, and that is exactly where you should be saying "no." So pray that God would give you the grace to say "no" when the tempter reminds us how delicious his offerings are. Of course, the Apostle Paul says the same thing as King David. Listen to what he wrote to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:21-22: Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from [what is dishonorable], he will be a vessel for [honorable use], [set apart as holy,] useful for the Master, prepared [and ready] for every good work. Flee also youthful [passions and] lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (AMP)So I encourage you to walk with God; walk with well-chosen friends. Don't ever take the first small step to sin. Say "no" when the devil tries to entice you with the pleasures of sin.
All of these parts from the devotional spoke to me, but especially parts 3 and 6. Since I received this devotional and followed other promptings from God regarding next steps, I fell again into some of my habitual sins. Two key crucibles from this devotional that have naturally been hard for me to swallow -- that my heart cannot be trusted outside of the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit and don't ever take the first small step to sin -- I've begun swallowing these things. Even when lessons are painful, if they're from God, they're for my good. I'm still learning that. And I hope and pray that this devotional blesses you like it has blessed me.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28, NIV
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