Proverbs 6:16-19 says, " These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (KJV)
Another version states, "For there are six things the Lord hates—no, seven: haughtiness, lying, murdering, plotting evil, eagerness to do wrong, a false witness, sowing discord among brothers." (TLB)
Plotting To Do Evil.
Other versions of Proverbs 6:18 says-
A heart that creates wicked plans
Hearts that plan to do evil things
A heart that plots evil schemes
A heart that makes sinful plans
Any time we plan-- or create an atmosphere-- to do evil things- it is breaking God's heart. This goes from the person planning to kill another human being to the phone call made to a friend where we destroy another person with our words.
In James 4:17, Paul writes, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." When we know what is right and wrong and we choose the latter... this is sin in the eyes of God. We must be mindful of the life He has called us to and follow it with our whole heart. We must learn to subject our thoughts and actions to Jesus. We must learn self-control over our flesh- over our thoughts- over our words.
Born in to Sin.
We were all born into sin. Psalms 51:5 says, "But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me." (TLB) It is what is called our 'human nature.' If we do not pray every day and commit our lives to Jesus, living a life that is not pleasing to the Lord becomes easier and easier.
I've been there-- where I once had a steady relationship with Jesus Christ, over the years I stopped praying, I stopped reading the Word of God. And it would bother me from time to time. I would see my Bible sitting on the bottom shelf of my pantry and think 'I haven't picked that up in so long...' but I would just move along. I didn't feel the desire or the need to reestablish a commitment to God. Maybe it was out of guilt. Maybe it was because I enjoyed our lifestyle. But all I know is that acts that I know God was shaking His head at became easy- little guilt. I was born into sin.. and through a lack of prayer.. through a lack of wanting to be close to God.. I fell back into that life. I didn't subject my thoughts and actions to His goodness.
When we don't have a relationship with God, having a heart that plans to do evil seems almost second nature. It all goes back to what we have been discussing the past week--- it is all a heart issue.
The Heart Issue.
When our hearts are not lined up with GOODNESS, bad tends to flow out of them.
In Matthew chapter 15, we read about the Pharisees asking Jesus a question concerning rituals. Jesus said 'People honor me with their lips but their hearts are nowhere near me. They elevate mere human ritual to the status of law, their worship is a meaningless sham.' Jesus then says, 'What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean. It is what comes out of your mouth that makes you unclean. Peter told Jesus that He might have offended the Pharisees with this statement. Jesus said the Pharisees are like the blind leading the blind-- they will all fall into a ditch. Peter still wanted a further explanation, so Jesus broke it down even more for us.
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (KJV)
Another version states, "For there are six things the Lord hates—no, seven: haughtiness, lying, murdering, plotting evil, eagerness to do wrong, a false witness, sowing discord among brothers." (TLB)
Plotting To Do Evil.
Other versions of Proverbs 6:18 says-
A heart that creates wicked plans
Hearts that plan to do evil things
A heart that plots evil schemes
A heart that makes sinful plans
Any time we plan-- or create an atmosphere-- to do evil things- it is breaking God's heart. This goes from the person planning to kill another human being to the phone call made to a friend where we destroy another person with our words.
In James 4:17, Paul writes, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." When we know what is right and wrong and we choose the latter... this is sin in the eyes of God. We must be mindful of the life He has called us to and follow it with our whole heart. We must learn to subject our thoughts and actions to Jesus. We must learn self-control over our flesh- over our thoughts- over our words.
Born in to Sin.
We were all born into sin. Psalms 51:5 says, "But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me." (TLB) It is what is called our 'human nature.' If we do not pray every day and commit our lives to Jesus, living a life that is not pleasing to the Lord becomes easier and easier.
I've been there-- where I once had a steady relationship with Jesus Christ, over the years I stopped praying, I stopped reading the Word of God. And it would bother me from time to time. I would see my Bible sitting on the bottom shelf of my pantry and think 'I haven't picked that up in so long...' but I would just move along. I didn't feel the desire or the need to reestablish a commitment to God. Maybe it was out of guilt. Maybe it was because I enjoyed our lifestyle. But all I know is that acts that I know God was shaking His head at became easy- little guilt. I was born into sin.. and through a lack of prayer.. through a lack of wanting to be close to God.. I fell back into that life. I didn't subject my thoughts and actions to His goodness.
When we don't have a relationship with God, having a heart that plans to do evil seems almost second nature. It all goes back to what we have been discussing the past week--- it is all a heart issue.
The Heart Issue.
When our hearts are not lined up with GOODNESS, bad tends to flow out of them.
In Matthew chapter 15, we read about the Pharisees asking Jesus a question concerning rituals. Jesus said 'People honor me with their lips but their hearts are nowhere near me. They elevate mere human ritual to the status of law, their worship is a meaningless sham.' Jesus then says, 'What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean. It is what comes out of your mouth that makes you unclean. Peter told Jesus that He might have offended the Pharisees with this statement. Jesus said the Pharisees are like the blind leading the blind-- they will all fall into a ditch. Peter still wanted a further explanation, so Jesus broke it down even more for us.
Jesus said, 'Don't you understand that whatever you take in through your mouth makes its way to your stomach and eventually out of the bowels of your body? BUT-- the things that come out of your mouth- your curses, your fears- your denunciations- these come from your heart and it is the stirrings of your heart that will make you unclean. For your heart harbors evil thoughts- fantasies of murder, adultery, fornication, fantasies of stealing, lying, and slandering. These make you unclean!'
Our heart- when it is not right with God- is what makes us unclean.
Mark 7:21-22 says, "It’s what grows out of the hearts of people that leads to corruption: evil thoughts, immoral sex, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wicked acts, treachery, sensuality, jealousy, slander, pride, and foolishness." (The Voice)
and Luke wrote in Luke 6:45, "It’s the same with people. A person full of goodness in his heart produces good things; a person with an evil reservoir in his heart pours out evil things. The heart overflows in the words a person speaks; your words reveal what’s within your heart." (The Voice)
What is in our heart will proceed out of our mouths- out of our hands- out of our actions. It will overflow-- so we must be careful that what is stored up in our heart is goodness, peace, faith, love, joy, meekness, and a gentle spirit.
Every one of the abominations discussed in Proverbs 6 relate to one thing: our heart.
Filling Our Hearts and Minds with GOODNESS.
It all goes back to what we are filling our heart and our mind with. Are we filling our thoughts with evil things? What are we listening to? What are we watching? What are we thinking about? We do have control over our thoughts. It can be difficult, but we CAN do it. From someone who has struggled with anxiety much of her life-- anxiety that caused me from being able to go into public for quite some time- I can tell you that the mind is a battlefield and having control of our thoughts is the only way we can defeat fear and wicked imaginations. It takes work-- and a lot of subjection.
I read a quote on Pinterest (Shocker I know! Lol) that stated, "If your mind is filled with the Word of God, then it can’t be filled with impure thoughts.” David Jeremiah
What are our hearts full of today?
What are we feeding our minds?
Are we pouring in thoughts of lust, greed, anger, bitterness, jealousy, hatred, envy, spite, ego? Or are we pouring in thoughts of love, peace, joy, self-control, patience, gentleness, humbleness, content, and goodness?
It is up to us. God can't fill us with things if we don't want them. He's not going to force peace into our lives. He isn't going to make us be loving. He will give us opportunities, but He won't force it on anyone. He wants us to WANT that lifestyle and He wants us to ACTIVELY seek it! I knew I wanted to fix my life-- but I had to work to do it. He will pour all of His goodness in-- He will! He will help us live a life of peace-- a life full of love-- but He needs us to want it so bad that we will do anything to obtain it!
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life. (ERV)
What we think tends to control what we do-- pour in the Word of God- pour in conversations about goodness-- pour in music and movies that don't create an atmosphere of evil in your mind.
Do we want a heart that devises wicked imaginations?
Or do we want a heart that plans goodness in our lives and the lives of others?
Set in your mind to BLESS others today. Set in your mind to THINK on good things today. Set in your mind to let LOVE overflow out of you today.
Jesus, this is our prayer!
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