It happened 130 years ago for the first time. In January 1896 John Hall-Edwards radiographed a needle stuck in a hand, marking the very beginning of an X-ray being used in medical diagnostics. What a great thing that was! I wonder how many X-rays I’ve had in my lifetime! Most of us have had at least one and probably more. It was a great advance to be able to look inside the human body and see bones or foreign objects under the skin. No longer did we need to speculate about what was happening inside. Before doctors could only guess but now could see for themselves. We think we know a lot about ourselves and about others, but like those doctors before the advent of X-rays and other imaging technology, we really don’t know what goes on in the human heart. I’m not talking about that pump that keeps blood circulating, but really the soul and spirit of a person. We can put up a good front, at least for some of those who see and hear us, but no one really knows all that is in us. The Bible reminds us of our sinful condition when it tells us that the heart is the most deceitful of all things and is actually wicked. We don’t even really know how bad it is! But God reminds us that he searches every heart and looks beyond our actions and words and examines our secret motives. And then…well, he says that he gives all people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve. That means that we really need to have that heart checkup daily. Our sin causes us to lie to God, to people and most tragically to ourselves. It is easy to not really know how corrupt our hearts really are. So, guard your heart and don’t let it harden without you even knowing it. Ask God to give your words and actions and even thoughts the love and kindness that comes only from his Holy Spirit. And remember the warning from Proverbs 4:23… “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT “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.”
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT “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.”
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ