Category: Proverbs

  • “Follow Your Heart? Not Biblical Advice 

    follow your heart or follow God - which path will you choose

    There’s a common piece of advice out there. It simply says “Follow Your Heart!”

    It sounds so simple, so warm and fuzzy. It sounds incredibly wise. After all, if you truly follow your heart, what could possibly go wrong? It’s the key to enjoying life.

    There’s only one problem with it. It’s absolutely ungodly advice.

    Here’s what the Bible teaches about the condition of the human heart.

    “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

    We are fallen beings with a sin nature. Left to our own devices, we will choose anything over the God who loves us. We’ll pick darkness over light more often than not. We’ll choose short-term pleasure over long-term growth. We will hurt others to get what we want.

    Following your heart is dangerous. It leads straight down the broad highway to hell and destruction. It promises things that can never be sustainably delivered.

    Our fleshly nature is flawed. We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word. The LORD is our Creator, Jesus our redeemer and the Holy Spirit our indwelling guide. God loves us to an unimaginable degree, and He knows far better what is good for us than we do.

    Even after we’ve been born again, we struggle against our flesh and the desires of our hearts. Paul put it this way,

    For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Romans 7:15-18

    Believers must trust the Spirit to guide us. We need the Word to teach us and the church to hold us accountable.

    In the path of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12:28

     “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow, and the way that leads to life is constricted, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

    Don’t follow your heart. Let His path guide you. Allow Him to change your desires into the desires of His heart, He will never lead you astray.

    May the Lord guide your steps.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    This devotional challenges the popular but unbiblical advice to “follow your heart,” contrasting it with Scripture’s warning that the human heart is deceitful and cannot be trusted as a guide. It calls believers instead to be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word, walking the narrow path of righteousness rather than the broad way that feels natural but leads to destruction.

    KEY POINTS

    The heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and even believers wrestle with their flesh, as Paul describes in Romans 7 

    “Follow your heart” sounds wise but actually leads down the broad road to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14) 

    True guidance comes from the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the church, not from fleshly desire

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  • Beautiful But Deadly: What the Bible Says About Adultery

    Siberian Iris - Beautiful but deadly

    There are several stands of this Siberian Iris in our backyard. For a short time, they display beautiful purple bearded flowers like these. The rest of the season, its long, tall green leaves provide visual interest in the landscape. Unlike some of the flowering plants we grow, no part of this iris species is edible. They can be toxic to pets and cause severe abdominal issues for the human folk. They could be labeled beautiful but deadly.

    The Bible speaks of many things that could fit the label beautiful but deadly, including many forms of sin. Our world largely ignores the warnings. Often, the warnings are not only ignored, but the issue is at best winked at and at its most outlandish, celebrated as both normal and desirable.

    While that could apply to many sins, this morning I’m thinking of adultery. It comes in many forms, but it makes the list of the Ten Commandments.

    You shall not commit adultery. Exodus  20:14

    Almost 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs speak against it.

    My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
    Incline your ear to my discernment;
    That you may keep discretion
    And that your lips may guard knowledge.
    For the lips of a strange woman drip honey
    And smoother than oil is her speech;
    But her end is bitter as wormwood,
    Sharp as a two-edged sword.
    Her feet go down to death,
    Her steps take hold of Sheol. Proverbs 5:1-5

    Depending on how you count, there are between 50 and 80 verses that speak against adultery in the Bible. Some commentators take the count even higher, to over 100.

    Adultery isn’t just a sin issue and rebellion against God. It’s a covenant issue, breaking the covenant of marriage between husband and wife. It isn’t a gender issue; both genders break the covenant, although women report doing so at a slightly lower ratio.

    Popular culture tells us it’s fun, freeing and might even be good for marriages. God says don’t do it.

    The attraction may be beautiful, but beware. Remember, it is beautiful but deadly.

    Keep your covenant. 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    General Revelation: Why No One Can Claim They Didn’t Know

    SUMMARY

    Like the beautiful but toxic Siberian Iris, adultery is an attractive sin that Scripture repeatedly and clearly warns against — a covenant-breaking choice that culture celebrates but God forbids.

    KEY POINTS

    The Bible addresses adultery extensively, from the Ten Commandments to nearly 9 chapters of Proverbs, with somewhere between 50 and 100+ verses speaking directly against it

    Adultery is fundamentally a covenant issue — a breaking of the marriage bond — not merely a moral infraction or a gender-specific failure

    While popular culture frames adultery as liberating or even beneficial, God’s consistent message across both Testaments is unambiguous: keep your covenant

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