You say....but I tell you, if you hate your brother in you heart, you have committed murder," Jesus says.
I remember at the 2012 WIT singles conference when in the guys discussion session, the term "virginity" kept being used. The guys kept using the word as if that is the "line"...to go past that is sin morally. I leaned over to whispered to a buddy, "Something is wrong with that. It just dont sound right." We talked for a few minutes and came to the conclusion that "virginity" was a term of the world. "Purity" is what God demands. "Purity" is the principle that should have been held high...I bet you are now wondering what in the world my point is.
God has just really been showing me is that every single thing sin that I ever commit outwardly (whether verbally, or physically, etc), started long before in the heart. He has shown me that its whats in the heart that is the sin. If a man were to steal something, he sinned long ago by coveting. The sin only became more serious when it became outward by the act of stealing. Now he have not only sinned against God, the heart, but wronged a person, the action. If a man commits adultery, God would tell him, "Your sin started long ago when you thought this in your heart. Your adultery was only an outward expression of your wicked heart." Now, not only has he sinned against God, the heart, but now the woman by the action. The sin began long ago as lust. If a man murders his brother, it wasnt the act of killing him that was "the sin". (Although that is sin). The act of murdering him was just an outward act of what was in his heart all along. These are not my ideas, but principles that Jesus taught. He says in Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." God didnt say, "as a man doeth with his hands, so is he." Nor did He say, "as a man speaketh with his lips, so he will become." He said, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." In other words, you are what ur heart is full of. The Pharasees were what He called "white washed tombs". They were spotless on the outside, but the inside was full of "dead mans bones". Its not your actions that He calls sin, its your heart (which He calls "desperately wicked") that has committed sin. And Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life." Arnt we glad that we have a Savior that covers our wicked hearts?! :) That adds a whole new meaning to "He was spotless". Wow...He was indeed Holy. Praise His name! :)
My friends, it is whats in your heart that is the sin against God. Deal with the issues of your heart before they become the outward expression and before you harm another human being. "It is better for you to have a millstone placed around your neck, and for you to be drowned in the depths of the see than to cause one of these little ones to stumble." -Jesus. He takes wrongs against others very seriously. Please confront the sins of your hearts before the cleansing blood of Christ who has forgiven your sins, and strive to be a man/woman after God's own heart. What is the perfect heart? According to Jesus, the perfect heart says, "Father, have mercy on me, a poor sinner."
Just some things that have been on my mind lately.
May the Lord bless you all.
Keep them smiles on your faces. ;)
Josh
