Title

Are My Actions Poisoned?

Scripture
For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.
(Acts 8:23)
Devotional
Our exterior actions are always prompted by our interior attitudes. This man Simon asked for that which was good. He was even willing to pay for it. Neither action was in itself bad. However, the attitude of his heart was. God said that he was filled with bitterness and sin. God basically said that his heart was not right. We can hide these things from man, and even ourselves, but they cannot be hidden from an all-knowing God. Therefore, when God reveals our disposition to us, it is always for our benefit. As the scripture says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” What motivates you to do the things that you do? What prompts you to action? Are you poisoned by bitterness and iniquity, or are you filled with the love of God and His righteousness? One will bring a curse, the other a blessing.
Thought For The Night
“We have within us a self that has its poison from Satan—from hell—and yet we cherish and nourish it. What do we not do to please self and nourish self—and we make the devil within us strong. ... Look at your own life. What are the works of hell? They are chiefly these three: self-will, self-trust, and self-exaltation.” Andrew Murray, (1828-1917), The Spiritual Life
Evening Text
Acts 8:23: “For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
 
Looking for Answers
Evening Study Guide
Defining: “Poison” anything that harms or destroys. Simon’s poison was in his mind. “That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as the poison of evil example; the poison of sin,” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
 
Referencing: “The tongue… is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison,” James 3:8.
 
Applying: Be careful of being poisoned both from without and within.