Daily Devotional For Sunday, March 10, 2024

Jesus said this in Matthew 12:34b, "Whatever is in your heart determines what you say” (NLT). Everything wrong with us — every sin, every mistake, every error, every bias, prejudice, hatred, lust, uncontrolled anger and etc. has a root cause. So the heart of the problem is a problem of the heart. When it comes to any sin, the heart of the problem is a problem with a heart. The problem isn't my sin, it's my heart.

According to our own CDC — Center For Disease Control:

• “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
• One person dies every 33 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.1
• About 695,000 people in the United States died from heart disease in 2021—that’s 1 in every 5 deaths.
• Heart disease costs the United States about $239.9 billion each year from 2018 to 2019.3 This includes the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost productivity due to death.
• Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease.
• About 1 in 20 adults age 20 and older have CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) (about 5%).
• In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds.
• Every year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack. Of these,
• 605,000 are a first heart attack.
• 200,000 happen to people who have already had a heart attack.
• About 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent—the damage is done, but the person is not aware of it” (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm).

What is true physically is also true spiritually.  Chuck Swindoll writes this:

“A major cause of death in our world is heart trouble. I don’t mean heart attacks or heart failure; I mean that nearly everyone endures the daily grind of a troubled heart, which often presents as lingering anxiety and low-grade depression. More and more people are experiencing a relentless inner churning, characterized by discontentment, insecurity, instability, doubt, unrest, and uncertainty. A troubled heart lacks peace and struggles to find assurance. One remedy for a troubled heart is a friend who can offer wise counsel” (Source: Charles R Swindoll, Living the Proverbs: Insights for the Daily Grind, Kindle Edition, p. 73).

Look at Jeremiah 17:9-10:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (10)  “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (ESV).

The Hebrew word translated as “heart” in Jeremiah 17:9 is [הַלֵּ֛ב, lev] and it literally refers to the kidneys — the inner depth that is unseen — thus over time it came to refer to the heat. This term has sometimes been understood to refer to the seat of the emotions just as the heart is the seat of thought and will. Yet the two terms “heart” and “kidneys” cover the range of hidden elements in person’s character and personality. Nothing is hidden from Yahweh, either in the case of Jeremiah his servant or in the case of the people of Judah (cf. Jeremiah 11:20). When Yahweh comes to reward each person, it will be according to that person's ways (conduct) and as that person’s actions deserve (cf. Isa. 11:3b, 4).

The Hebrew word translated as “deceitful” in Jeremiah 17:9 is [עָקֹ֥ב, aqov] and its basic meaning is “rough, stained.” It is very similar to another Hebrew word from Genesis 3 —“heel” — where satan would one day attack Eve’s future messianic Savior Jesus. 

Jesus said that one of the characteristics of the devil is his deceitfulness. Look at Jesus’ words in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (ESV). The same Hebrew root of “aquv” is used in Joshua 8:13 to describe the deceitful strategy Joshua used to conquer the Hebrews’ enemies in Ai. 

This means that the human heart has an unlimited capacity for wickedness and deceit so that human resources are incapable of dealing with it:

• Mark 7:21–23, Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, (22) coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (ESV).
• Galatian 5:19–21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (ESV).
• The only remedy is a radical change, nothing less than rebirth:
• John 3:7, Jesus said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (ESV).
• 2 Corinthians  5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (ESV).

Human motives, intentions, and schemes, while a mystery to the most advanced techniques of modern science, are open before God. Nothing is hidden from Him; He rewards us according to what we have done. Read the follower Proverbs about the heart:

• Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (ESV).
• Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (ESV).
• Proverbs 12:20, “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy” (ESV).
• Proverbs 12:25, “Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad” (ESV).
• Proverbs 14:13-14, “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. (14)  The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways” (ESV).
• Proverbs 14:30, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (ESV).
• Proverbs 15:3, “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed” (EsV).
• Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools” (ESV).
• Proverbs 15:13-15, “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. (14) The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. (15) All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast” (ESV).
• Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished”(ESV).
• Proverbs 16:21, T”he wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness” (ESV).
• Proverbs 16:23-24, “The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. (24) Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body”(ESV).
• Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor” (ESV).
• Proverbs 19:3, “When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord” (ESV).
• Proverbs 20:5, “The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” (ESV).
• Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart” (ESV).
• Proverbs 23:26, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways” (ESV).

Well, I think you get the picture about how fickle the human spiritual “heart” is. Solomon in the Proverbs advises his readers to seek out wise, godly advisers whose wisdom and advice are in sync with God’s. It is the only way to have peace. The challenge and problem today is that many of God’s people are more likely to get their advice from ungodly friends, co-workers and family members rather than from God’s Word and God’s people who are godly. It is perplexing that we do not want to be told that what we are thinking, feeling, and doing is wrong. We want people to affirm our attitudes and actions rather than accost them.

In biblical days, the “heart” was the location of the mind, the will and the emotions and the inspired biblical writers went along with this. This in no ways diminishes the inspired and inerrant Word of God. We often say, “I felt that in my heart” or “My heart is breaking” or “They broke my heart.” These statements convey emotions and wills we feel deeply.

Jesus said this in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (ESV). You can tell what or who is important in people’s hearts because that is what they treasure more than God many times. For some, their treasure is a person, or a position or power. For others it is possessions, material things, status,  or eduction. For others, it might be the environment, animals, sports or notoriety. 

Consider the story about 15-year-old Jacob Smith:

Jacob Smith, is a 15-year-old legally blind freeride skier. Jacob has extreme tunnel vision--and no depth perception on top of that. What he does see is blurry. His visual acuity is rated 20/800, four times the level of legal blindness. Think of the big E on the eye chart. He would need it to be blown up four times in order to see it from 20 feet away.

So how does Jacob ski like this? His family keeps him on course. On competition days, Jacob’s little brother, Preston, patiently helps him hike to the top of the venue. It's so high, the lifts won't take you there. Then his father, Nathan, helps him get down. Jacob has a two-way radio turned up high in his pocket. His dad is on the other end at the base, somehow, calmly, guiding him down.

His father, Nathan Smith, said: It’s on me to make sure I don't let him down. I have to guide him through narrower chutes or not go off a cliff. Jacob is not reckless. He knows his limitations. I think he has the ability to ski anything on the mountain, but he's not gonna go try to do it by himself. Like, he wants to be with somebody who he trusts. He won't ski with people he doesn't trust.”

When Jacob was asked how much he trusted his father, he replied, “I mean, enough to turn right when he tells me to” (Source: Sharyn Alfonsi, “The only big fear I have is not succeeding,” CBS News (3-6-22).

Questions To Consider

• As you read the Proverbs above, which ones spoke to you the most and why?
• Whose voice do you treasure to listen to the most for your life…… God’s and His Holy Word, or another voice? Why?
• Proverbs 12:20 begins this way, “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil . . .” (ESV). What deceit would God say is in your heart about what and why?
• Everything wrong with us — every sin, every mistake, every error, every bias, prejudice, hatred, lust, uncontrolled anger and etc. has a root cause. So the heart of the problem is a problem of the heart. Do you agree with this? Why or why not? When and where do you see the truth of this most in your own life?
• Who could you reach out to this week to be a trusted godly counselor for you to talk you through the different “mountains you're skiing down” as Jacob’s trusted father helps him ski down real mountains?
• The Bible says this in Proverbs 16:18-19, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (19) It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud” (ESV). What does this say to you about the condition of your own heart and the measures you should take to keep from “falling”?

Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction a man's heart is haughty (prideful), but humility comes before honor” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I have to be honest. I am prideful at times. I use deceit and manipulation to get what I want. God, please help me find a godly counselor or friend I can share my frustrations and problems to so that I get biblical advice. I want to obey You. I want Your Word to be a spiritual ultrasound on my heart — exposing my sin, sinful attitudes, sinful actions and sinful hopes. Jesus, please be my spiritual Father who guides me down this mountain of life so I do not take the wrong turn. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! Pastor Kelly