Scripture

“Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man...”
(Matthew 15:19-20)

Devotional

Our environment can do nothing but spark that which is already in the heart. External influences do not defile us, We are defiled by that which is in the depth of our being. Rooted in each of us is the ability to commit any of the listed sins.
However, we do not have to succumb to the dictates of our hearts. 1 John 3:20 says, “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart” Whenever the dictates of the heart reach the mind, all we have to do is surrender them to Christ. Realize that these thoughts are evil and that we do not have to yield to them. The root of sin proceeds from the heart, to the mind, to the deed, and eventually to death. “For the wages of sin is death.” (1) If we faithfully root out the evil thoughts, the heart-rooted sins will die. All that will remain is a pure heart, and “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (2)

(1) Romans 6:23, (2) Matthew 5:8

Thought For The Night

“We are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” C. S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain

Evening Text

Matthew 15:19, 20: “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Looking for Answers

Does God intend for you to have a pure heart?
What is the natural condition of the heart of man? Consider Jeremiah 17:9
How’s your heart?

Evening Study Guide

Definition: A “Pure heart,” can only be achieved one way: heart transplant. Ezekiel says it this way, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh,” Ezekiel 36:26

Reference: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” Matthew 5:8

Application: Change your thinking, and you will change your heart.