The Heart of Man

Verse of the Month

“May You hear in Heaven, Your dwelling place, and may You forgive, act, 

and repay the man, according to all his ways, since You know his heart,

(1 Kings 8:39 HCSB)

February 1^st – 7^th

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 8:39-40 

The Heart of Man

There was an Olympic Gold Medalist that was having renovations done to her home.  When the builder tore off a portion of the sheetrock to rebuild a wall, he found termites had destroyed a large part of the corner. Unless they opened up the entire room, they couldn't see the heart of the problem or extent of the damage.

The expert offered his recommendation, which was to gut the room entirely and treat the problem before moving on with the project.  Turning down that option she said, "I'd rather put my money into things you can see."  Her motive for covering the rotten wood was to hide it, because no one knew what was behind those walls.

Giving her answer, the contractor patched the corner, and continued the project with the understanding there now were no guarantees to his work.  The room looked beautiful when he finished, but the heart of the problem was still rotting on the inside of her foundation walls.  In time, what she tried to hide would eventually reveal itself.

What this athlete did may sound crazy, but we do the same thing in the choices we make when we try to cover our sins from God.  Others may think we are good, clean Christians; they don't know our motives for living a lie of unconfessed sin. 

“All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,

but the LORD weighs the motives.” (Proverbs 16:2 NASB)

Without getting rid of the termites that lady's home is being torn apart – literally eating away from the inside out, and one day the issue will no longer be hidden. That’s what sin does to us when we try to avoid confessing our transgressions to the Lord.  We know what we’ve done and it plays out repeatedly in our thinking, creating turmoil and division with our Creator.

No matter what we do, we cannot hide or cover up our sins, because God knows our heart and sees everything.  He’s not surprised at what we’ve done, and wants us to be open with Him.  Jesus promises that if we confess our sin, He will forgive and cleanse us from all iniquity.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9 NKJV)

Don't keep adding to your sin or letting it fester and eat you up inside.  Open your heart to Jesus and expose it by confessing your sins to Him.  Get rid of it from the inside out, and begin living a clean life without guilt, shame or worry. 

“May You hear in Heaven, Your dwelling place, and may You forgive, act, and repay the man, according to all his ways, since You know his heart,
for You alone know every human heart, so that they may fear You all the days they live on the land You gave our ancestors."

(1 Kings 8:39-40 HCSB)

February 1^st – 7^th Daily Bible Reading

1) Luke 23; Genesis 41; Psalm 23

2) Genesis 42; Psalm 33

3) Luke 24; Genesis 43; Psalm 34

4) Genesis 44-45; Psalm 35

5) Hebrews 1; Genesis 46; Psalm 36

6) Hebrews 2: Genesis 47; Psalm 37

7) Hebrews 3; Genesis 48; Psalm 38

*Also be sure to read a Proverb a day. 

Daily Readings are designed to read through the entire Bible in one year. 

An outreach ministry of Shield of Faith Family & Youth Ministries®,Inc.
Copyright SOFFY Ministries/Pastor Cher. Do Not Copy.  Photo credit by SOFFY Ministries unless otherwise noted. This artwork is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Scripture from the KJV/NKJV of the Bible unless noted. Scripture from: Bible Gateway. Image

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