HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
It is a popular thing to say in our day that “people are good”. As a matter of fact, there is a song out right now by country singer, Luke Bryan, that is a fun song to listen to. The chorus which of course is sung over and over again says – “I believe that people are good, and most mothers qualify for sainthood”.
There is no doubt that this is a feel-good song. I believe that we should believe the best of people and expect the most from one another. I believe that we should look for the good in people instead of always trying to discover the negative.
I am thankful that we live in the age of grace and mercy where we can be forgiven of our sins and restored to a life of significance.
The truth is that the Bible shows us that, without God, there is really and truly no good person without the work of Jesus Christ. We are not to measure goodness by the standards of this world but by the standards of God’s righteousness.
One of the Devil’s biggest lies is that as long as we are “good” we are ok with God. Jeremiah 17:9-10 - “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and wicked. The truth is we all know the truth about ourselves, but we can convince ourselves that we have the best intentions and that our heart is right. You have heard me say this before, but our heart is deceitful, we are the only thing in God’s creation that can lie to ourselves and we will believe it. Proverbs 20:6 - Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man? All of us want to believe the very best about who we are but the truth is not one of us is as good as we say. This is the whole reason that God had to send Jesus. It is only through Christ that there is any good in us at all.
Romans 3:10-12 (NLT) - As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
The truth is that naturally and without Christ we are generally very selfish and corrupt. The human heart cannot be made righteous on our own and we cannot be changed by ourselves. The only remedy is to experience the loving Grace of Almighty God and to be born again through faith in Christ and receive a new heart that hates evil and delights in the things of God.
There are many Christians that are struggling with areas of sin and flesh in their life and they feel that they are far from God and that if they were closer to God then they would not have these struggles. – Every human heart struggles with sin. We all miss the mark of perfection, this is why it is only through Jesus that we can be made righteous. The truth is that the devout Christian does not happily and purposefully indulge in a life of sinful behavior and attitudes. The heart of a true Christian desires to please God in every way, this is why God tells us that we are to guard our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 -Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
There is such a thing as an evil unrepentant heart. It is hard for many people to grasp the idea that there are really completely wicked and corrupt people in the world.It is important that we recognize when our hearts are turning cold to the ways of God. It is also important to recognize when we are dealing with people who may claim to love God but have completely rejected His ways.
Among the things we will study this month together we will look at the “Signs of a Wicked Heart.” Let us allow God to fully examine every area of our “heart life”. This is so important because all the issues of our life are really a “Heart Issue”. I love David’s prayer Psalm 139:23-24 (AMP) - Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.
May God bless you and your family this month as we Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
You are dearly loved.