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We all have the same evil, corrupt heart. No one has grounds for boasting over another.

"Word Pictures" for Our Imagination

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Today's Daily Verse is found in Proverbs 27.19

"As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man."

Of all mirrors, clear water is perhaps the most primitive

As a person looks into the water the reflection of their physical face and body can be clearly seen...by themselves

• Looking into the water and seeing your own reflection is easy to understand
• BUT this proverbs tells us that when we see or look into someone else's heart - we actually see our own

Outwardly we are all so different - inwardly, in our thoughts, imaginations, temptations, etc...we are much the same. When I see something going on in someone else - I see a "clear reflection of my own heart".

Jeremiah 17.9

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Human nature has not changed since the fall of Adam and Eve.

Psalms 33.15

"He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do."

Romans 7.14-25

" So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

• we are all alike
• if we compared notes, the similarities would astonish us
• we incorrectly think we are different, that nobody struggles as we do
• not so

Let's see a few examples...

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Ishmael's mocking...

Galatians 4.29

"But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit."

We all have the enmity problem in our hearts...

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Jonah

Jonah's temper towards GOD in running away from his assignment. How many of us can relate to that.

What happened in Jonah's heart, reflects what happens in my heart!

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Job

Job's impatience and his mistaken perception of GOD's dealings with him, the special trials, and the temptations of Satan...

Do we not all identify with Job's heart condition?

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David

Look at all that David went through. The failures, the fears, the victories.

Do we see any reflection here? Sure we do.

That's why this scripture has great power -

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."

Pretty powerful, huh?

That's what makes believers different.

They no longer remain under the rule of -

Psalms 36.1

"Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds. They have no fear of God to hold them back."

We do have the "fear of GOD."

So, the bottom line is... when I hear of what other believers are going through - I am able to directly relate. For I am also prone to the same temptations and struggles..

"Face answers to face, as hearts reflect to one another"

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See you tomorrow...

Give someone you know a call today and invite them to this Daily Bible Study.

Kenneth

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