"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Monday, January 16, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: January 16

"... out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ... I say unto you, That every idle word the men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" ~ Matthew 12:34b, 36, 37
Here the cleavage is complete. The diamond-hard truth of this verse cuts completely through the secret facets of every warning from God about the necessity of a clean heart and a clean mind. In words that seem purposely exaggerated so as to grab our attention, Jesus declares that so important are the thoughts of our hearts that our words will either justify or condemn us. At first observation this seems fantastic. Knowing the lethargy of the human mind, Jesus often shocks us into attention. It seems to me He did this here. He also phrases things to make us think. By saying our words will justify or condemn us, He is urging us to go back to the truth behind this statement: "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." When we stand before Him we will stand exposed with our hearts showing. What will God see? Exactly what He sees now. Two days ago we asked if we dare pray this prayer. Now the question --- do we dare not to pray it?
"Search me, O God ... and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

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