Heart Measurement

1 John 3:7-9    Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Sometimes I wish I could really open up about my struggles, but then it would become personal and all about me, and not about encouraging you in what you battle also. We all have them; we live in the snare of sin, trapped there for this time, but we have the ability in Christ to be rescued eternally. God in his grace, sent his Son to rescue us eternally from Satan. 8b For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Satan wanted to be God to the point of being cast out of heaven, and God foreknew he would cause trouble for the paradise God had created for us on earth. God knew that He must provide us a way out of the snare of the devil, a way to become right with God for eternity. It was accomplished by the sacrifice in Christ at Calvary.

When I am struggling, or when I fail, I feel terrible for the sins I have committed. A friend of mine had a great quote recently of how Satan plants that feeling that we are alone in our sin. He even goes as far as to plant doubt in our Salvation. He is the author of lies and his greatest tool can be doubt. You are gonna fail, but how hard are you trying not to? Your heart is measured by the pursuit of righteousness found in it. It is that heart for God, that only God sees and knows the truths found in our heart. Psalm 44:21 Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. In my times of struggles and failures I look back on King David. Of how God blessed him, and how miserably he failed God. Of how there were consequences for his actions, but in all of it he had a heart for God. He pled for forgiveness, and God gave; God knew that David truly loved him, and regretted all his failures.

In my study Bible there is a reference to James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. I believe this is the evidence of our lives in sin, we cannot control that unruly beast of our speech. We have the ability to tear down what we try to build up in one comment. We with the same mouth curse and bless. It is the habitual sins that are those which are not evident of a righteous life. You can’t claim the promise of Christ, and continue to live for the world and its temporal pleasures of sin. Where is your heart? That question and answer lie before the only One who hears your response.