FBC Daily Devotional – September 27, 2021

Well, good morning, it's good to chat with you this morning.

Actually while I'm recording this I'm about 750 miles away from home down

south in the state of Mississippi.

So this is a first for me.

I've never been to the state of Mississippi before but Chris and I are at a

conference and Enjoying the conference and thus far.

But I didn't want to to miss sharing some thoughts with you from God's Word so each day

this week the devotionals will be coming from this hotel room and I

apologize for the The luxurious background and I have no control whatsoever

over the ambient sounds that may come from the hallway of the hotel but nevertheless.

Today in our reading one of the passages we read it was just really a verse from Proverbs 15 and

In the King James, it says hell and destruction Verse 11 and also in

the New King James.

It says hell and Destruction lie open before the Lord.

How much more the hearts of the children of men and the ESV

Translates at Sheol and Abaddon.

Lie open before the Lord.

Sheol and Abaddon and and I I find that to be helpful because the word hell

as We commonly think of it.

We think of it as that lake of fire the eternal destiny of the damned but

Sheol is a more general term that speaks of the grave and

What what is to come after the grave?

So it's it's a broader term than simply the lake of fire.

So I think it's important for us to understand that.

And then therefore get a better idea of what this verse is actually saying.

And so it's saying that the afterlife and the destruction that would come in the

afterlife are before the eyes of the Lord and he He knows all that's going on

in that in that afterlife, so That's all open

before him.

But what's really important that I wanted us to focus on is the second half of that verse.

Because it says how much more the hearts of the children of men.

So.

Not only is the afterlife open before the eyes of the Lord, you know that

We would be inclined to think well, yeah, of course I mean, that's the the realm of the Spirit right.

In the realm of the Spirit and that's open before the eyes of the Lord.

Well, sure, but also he says How much more.

The hearts of the children of men.

Now recently in our church and about Sunday school class We've been talking about the heart

and what is involved in the heart and we pointed out that it really has to do with the control

center of The human beings life the control center of your life.

It involves your mind what you think about Your desires what you love and

Your volition your will your choices that you make.

Another way to put it is your intellect emotion and will all three of those things are wrapped up in the

heart and the thing of it is other than the.

Outward.

Manifestation of the choices you make.

What's going on in your mind?

What you think about and your desires what you love and the direction that your

will is taking you that's all internal and Nobody else sees that.

Nobody else knows what's going on inside your heart.

How many times have you heard somebody?

Complain when they've been rebuked or whatever.

Well, you can't you don't know my heart.

You don't know my heart.

Well, that is true that is true what we can see is the manifestation of your heart.

You know what your how you speak what you say?

How you say it what you do your manner of life all of that reflects your heart and it

is not inappropriate to make Certain assessments based upon those

things.

I wouldn't say that you can do that dogmatically or Without

error, you can't see what's in a person's heart without error, but God can.

God does.

The hearts of men are open to the eyes of the Lord.

So even right now What does the Lord see?

What does he see that nobody else sees?

What kind of thoughts go through the mind?

What kind of attitudes lie beneath the surface that are well hidden from everyone else.

You're keeping them covered.

You're keeping them from other people's view.

But God knows what what about the desires?

What desires not desires that you fight against or that you that you?

Wrestle with and that kind of thing, but the desires that you harbor.

And God knows both of those things right he knows he knows those desires that you struggle with and that

that and and that you're Working feverishly and by God's

grace and by the Spirit's work.

You're squelching and getting victory over.

He knows those things, too but he also knows the desires that you're harboring that you're that

you're feeding and fueling and He knows he knows which way your will is

inclined to go.

So these are these are important things for us to keep in mind.

Our God is not simply the God who knows all about the afterlife and the spirit world and everything that's

going on there.

But he knows what's going on right inside here right inside here how important it

is therefore for us to as The scripture warns us and exhorts us to guard the heart

is out of it are the issues of life.

Let's pray and ask the Lord to help us to do that very thing to guard our hearts.

So that what he knows what he sees that maybe nobody else does is That

which pleases him our Father and our God.

I pray that by your grace.

You would help us to guard our heart to keep our heart with all diligence.

I Pray that what you see in our thinking in our desires and our attitudes

and even the direction of our will.

Would be that which gives you pleasure and honors and glorifies you this we pray in Jesus name.

Amen.

All right.

We'll have a good rest of your Monday.

And I hope God will bless you richly in this new week as it gets underway.

God bless.