By: Joyce Picker
We have a lot of different fruit trees in our backyard. We have figs, peaches, apricots, plums and blueberry bushes and grapevines and raspberry bushes. The peaches are not ripe yet. They are small, round green fuzzy balls that fall to the ground when a strong wind kicks up. Our yard is fenced in and our dog, Caleb has the run of the yard. Caleb is a four-year-old pure breed Hungarian Vizsla. If you know anything about the breed it’s that they are fast running hunting dogs. Their nose can sniff out just about anything. When I watch him in the yard, it always amazes me. He runs so fast and sniffs everything and lately has an appetite for the little fuzzy non ripe peaches. He eats them in big quantities, pit and all. I try to take them but he’s way too fast for me and he has a grip on them! I often think to myself, “Don’t you know that these unripen peaches are not good for you?” Of course not! He does not know what’s good or bad for him! He’s a dog and will eat anything! Can we relate? Do we know what’s good for us? As believers, I would like to think, yes we do. But sometimes we don’t!
Proverbs 14:12 says: There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way to death!”
Proverbs 23:7 says Asa man thinks, so is he!
Proverbs 21:2-3 A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Human desire and reasoning can often lead to disaster, Scripture warns us of that! We are sometimes swayed by what we desire or human reasoning rather than what we know to be true.
Jeremiah 17:9 says The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
This Scripture desperately reminds us of our sin problem. We sin and are rebellious before God. That’s why we need a Savior. If we trust our hearts in matters, it’s the same thing as trusting in man and not in God. In this Scripture, the heart of the people of Judah was evil and led them astray. It goes on to say that that person will be like a bush in the wastelands and will not see prosperity when it comes.
The outward appearances of man may deceive us but God will never deceive us. I remember when I first met the Lord. That was over 27 years ago. I was doing Evangelism Explosion and one of the questions we were to ask someone is “If you were to die tonight, do you think you would go to Heaven?” Most would answer yes. The next question is “Why do you think so?” the answer was mostly the same and it was “Because I am a good person.” Then I would say: “By whose standards? “See that’s the problem with our hearts, we can be deceived. What makes us good enough? If our hearts are wicked, how can we know for sure? The only way to know is to trust in Yeshua and make Him Lord of our lives. Even doing this, we still have to make difficult choices every day. Our hearts would tell us that we indeed are righteous. But the Lord says our righteousness is as filthy rags to Him. However, there is hope for us. His name is Yeshua and He died for us while we were his enemy. Let's put our trust and hope in Him and live victorious lives.
Father, I thank you for our hearts that they would be full of the agape love you want us to have for you and one another. Lord, I pray that we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit when it comes to matters of the heart and not our emotions. Thank you for giving us a heart that yearns after you and the things of your Kingdom. Bless us today and every day. Amen.
Blessings in Yeshua,
Joyce
Please take a look at our other blogs on the website. We pray they minister to you wherever you are. We are coming up on the Fall Feasts of the Lord. take a look at some of the past Blog Teachings which explain what the Feasts of the Lord are and how relevant they are today.
Scripture is quoted from the Tree of Life version.
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