The Overwhelming Importance of Understanding that the Lord Searches All Hearts for Right Motives before Answering Prayers!

24 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 October 2026   Jeremiah 17:10.

Jeremiah 17:10.       I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (mind, most secret parts), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).

Oh, what a beautiful lazy-day Saturday it is in my neighbourhood! Another one of those blessed days we’ve been recently having. And after lazing around some in bed, I went out on my front porch and raised my head to heaven and allowed the sun to bathe me in its heat and light! And does it ever feel good to be enjoying not only the sun’s light, but also its heat at this time in late October. So, for that wonderful blessing, let’s raise our eyes and hearts to heaven and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in all sincerity and truth.

As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’

Now, after offering up that prayer, the Lord will search our hearts to see if our motives are right, or if we’re just offering lip service. And if He finds them to be sincerely seeking greater intimacy with Him, then He will release the peace and calm that only He possesses into our souls and spirits, so that we can get closer to Him and thus enjoy better communion and greater intimacy together, which is His heart’s greatest desire!

And if you don’t believe that the Lord searches our heart motives when we come to Him, there are several scriptures which say just that. Like this famous instance when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the next king of Israel. Now when Samuel saw the eldest son, Eliab, he thought for sure that he would be the Lord’s anointed. However, the Bible tells us: ‘But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ (1 Sam. 16:7)

So although Eliab looked perfect on the outside, the Lord did not like the motives of his heart, for they were definitely not with Him as Bruh David’s were. Then later on, after the Lord chooses Cousin Sol to build His temple, Bruh David warns him thus: ‘And thou Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations (intents) of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong and do it.’ (1 Chr. 28:9-10)

And although we might wonder how the Lord still dealt well with Bruh David despite his many shortcomings, it’s simply because of his right heart motives. The Lord saw from early on that Bruh David indeed had a heart for him, but he made him suffer in other ways for his atrocious unthinking, ungodly behaviour; first by allowing the child he conceived with Bathsheba to die, then have him run for years from king Saul’s murderous jealousy, also by plaguing his family with strife and dissension, even to his son Absalom rebelling against his rule, thus creating civil war in Israel, and finally not allowing him to build the temple. So the important thing in all we do is the motive of our hearts.

That brings us to these powerful words of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, where He declares: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick): who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (mind, most secret parts), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).’ (Jer. 17:9-10)

And when talking about the hand of God, as the preacher in Ecclesiastes, Cousin Sol adds his two cents worth by saying: ‘This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.’ (Eccl. 9:3) And friends, right now, when we look at the terrible things that are happening in our world, there is absolutely no doubt that the hearts of men are filled with evil and madness, and the sooner that most of them go to the grave, the better off the world would be.

Then there’s this interesting story on the subject of sincere hearts between Jesus and the Pharisees, who accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking ceremonial traditions by not washing their hands before eating. But Jesus responds very testily: ‘Well hath Esaias (Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites (pretenders), as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for (as) doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots (pitchers) and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said honour thy father and mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death (be put to death): But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say a gift (dedicated to the temple), by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer (allow) him to no more do ought (anything) for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none (no) effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered (handed down): and many such like things ye do.’ (Mark 7:6-13)

And according to the scholars: ‘Jews could evade responsibility to parents by declaring their substance Corban, “devoted to God.” Religious leaders evidently condoned this clear circumvention of both the letter and intent of the Old Testament.’ And so it is with us today, we invoke many traditions of men to get away from doing the commandments of God. But let’s remember that there will come a judgment day, when we shall answer to a just and righteous judge for all our actions. And this lazy-day Saturday is a good day to ponder our actions! Much LOVE!

…He who has ears to hear…let him hear. (Matt. 11:15)

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Deception and Disobedience…the Bedrock of Sin!

04 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Samuel 12:9a.       Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?

Well friends, it’s Wednesday, and although we’ve only worked one day so far, our tired bodies and spirits are crying out for refreshing from all the festivities of the Labour Day weekend. And hard as it is to drag ourselves through the remainder of the week, we rise to the occasion and do it, all the time eagerly looking forward to Friday and the upcoming weekend to catch up on some rest and relaxation. (smile) It is indeed a steep price we pay when we practice to disobey! 

And Sir Walter Scott got it quite right when he said: ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people; deception always carries a harsh price when it’s found out. And so does disobedience, for which there are always consequences, especially in the eyes of God. As this commentary says; ‘The result of disobedience can be an inconvenience, or it can be life altering. For Saul, disobedience in not following God’s instructions had severe consequences. In 1 Samuel 31 many fell dead, all the Israelites were forced to flee, and Saul’s army along with his sons were killed.’ 

And if we don’t listen, God will discipline us, as He sees fit. The scriptures rightly and wisely give us these gems on obedience. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov. 3:5-8) 

Oh friends, there are no wiser words to be found in all the Bible. If you were to choose any small portion to live by, those would be it. For as Uncle Charles  – the late Dr. Charles Stanley always impressed upon us: ‘Obey God, and leave all the consequences to him.’ That is certainly wisdom in spades! But, unfortunately mankind was born with a sin nature and with it comes the free will of God, which so often leads to disobedience. But what’s even worse than disobedience itself, is trying to hide or excuse the disobedience, especially from God. Remember God sees and knows all, and it’s impossible to hide anything from Him. 

Case in point, the man that the Lord called His friend and a man after His own heart; Bruh David. He fell into the sinful trap of adultery with his friend’s wife Bathsheba, then wove a heinous crime to have her husband killed when he found her pregnant. Now, generally speaking, Bruh David took his problems and faults to the Lord quite quickly after they happened, but on this one he said nothing at all. But let’s remember that the Lord’s hands are long and His reach is over a thousand generations. 

And about a year later, as Bruh David was comfortably ensconced in his throne, the prophet Nathan came and told him a story about two men in a city, one rich with many flocks, but the other poor with just one lamb that was like a child to him. However, one day a visitor came to the rich man and instead of killing one of his own flock to feed the visitor, he killed that one lamb belonging to the poor man. Obviously Bruh David rose up in rage against the rich man for such a travesty of justice. ‘And he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die (deserves to die).  And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ (2 Sam. 12:5-6)  

But can you imagine Bruh David’s surprise and anguish when Nathan said to him,: ‘Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things (many more things). Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil (adversity) against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ (2 Sam. 12:7-12) Yes friends, that’s the kind of punishment disobedience to God can bring, especially on one who’s been so blessed by the Lord. 

And though Bruh David sincerely repented as we can read in that famous Plea for Forgiveness, Psalm 51, and though the Lord forgave him, he nonetheless never fully knew rest again, for the Lord did indeed cause him much pain from right within his own family. Starting with the death of his son with Bathsheba. Then Ammon, one of  David’s son, raped his half sister Tamar, and a couple of years later another son, Absalom had his revenge by killing Ammon. And to top it all off, that same Absalom rose up in rebellion against his father that led to civil war, during which Bruh David was deceived and betrayed by supposed faithful followers, and Absalom was killed. 

When Bruh David heard the news, the Bible says: ‘And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son.’ (2 Sam. 18:33) Yes, my fellow believers, although the Lord forgives our sins, we usually have to pay a penalty for them, especially such glaring and evil ones as Bruh David’s. As the scholars advise: David’s sin brought the name of the Lord into disrepute. Such knowledge ought to serve as a deterrent to willful sin the part of believers.’ That’s why it’s wise to stay in God’s good graces as much as possible. 

Now let’s go home declaring (steupsss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And on an even brighter note friends, it’s been promised that if we endure with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Hope to see you there! Much LOVE!

…deception and disobedience…two words that leads mankind to a multitude of sins and sorrows…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien