Gleanings From The Word: December 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

God Judges The Heart

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

10. But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

God judges on two levels; the action and the secret motive that leads to the action. This was why Jesus rarely seemed to be too concerned about external behavior. He was trying to get to the source of the problem. Are you frustrated because you are dwelling on external issues without allowing God to change the heart? Permit God to deal with the root (the heart) and the surface issues will take care of themselves.

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Are You Worried About Your Reputation?

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light  and your judgment as the noonday (Psalms 37:6 NASB).

The great commentator Matthew Henry once wrote, “If we are careful to keep a good conscience, we may leave it to God to take care of our reputation.” We get it wrong. We have a tendency to try and maintain our reputation and are tempted to do things that defile our conscience. Henry goes further and says, "he will make it clear that you are honorable, and that is honor enough". If for some sovereign reason God does not share that honor broadly, as long as you and God know, that is always enough. You and Him are always a majority.