Jeremiah 17:9 - Oh, How We Need Jesus!
Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) The human heart is most
deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how
bad it is?
COMMENTARY PEARL
Whats Your Final Authority?
One fundamental question in life stands
above all others.
What will have the final authority in
your life?
Will it be your parents? Or your peers?
Maybe your friends or your career? Perhaps the
books you read? The people you follow on social
media? What about the movies or shows you watch, or
the songs you listen to?
All of these sources will shape your
values if you let them - and your values ultimately
determine what has final authority in your life.
So, what will it be for you? God allows
you to decide. Hes given you free will.
Most of your authority options fall into
these three categories:
Your opinions: You can depend on your gut
to tell you what to do. But theres a problem
with that. Studies show your perceptions are more
likely to be wrong than right. In fact, sometimes
you even lie to yourself. The Bible says, The
human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It
is incurable. No one can understand how
deceitful it is (Jeremiah 17:9 GW).
The world: You can depend on what other
people think to determine your values. However,
people often value the wrong things. For instance,
the world emphasizes beauty over character,
tells you to pursue whatever feels good, and
declares that whoever has the most possessions wins.
Youre bombarded with these worldly values through
all sorts of media - so much so that its easy
to start thinking God put you on this planet to
look good, feel good, and get stuff. But that
couldnt be further from the truth!
Gods Word: Gods Word is objective
and truthful - unlike your own perceptions or
the worlds opinions. Gods Word says, If
you continue in My word you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free (John
8:31-32 NASB).
The choice is clear. Theres only one
authority thats always reliable and will never lead
you astray. Decide today to allow Gods Word
to shape your values. Give it the final
authority in your life. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
No man can of himself understand his
errors. In one way only can a true knowledge of self
be obtained. We must behold Christ. When we
contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our
own weakness and poverty and defects as they
really are. We shall see ourselves lost and
hopeless. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it
will not be through our own goodness, but through
God's infinite grace. COL159 [Remnant SB]
No man can of himself understand his
errors. "The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jer.
17:9. The lips may express a poverty of soul that
the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking
to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be
swelling with the conceit of its own superior
humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only
can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We
must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that
makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness.
When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we
shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects
as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost
and hopeless, clad in garments of
self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that
if we are ever saved, it will not be through
our own goodness, but through God's infinite
grace.
The prayer of the publican was heard
because it showed dependence reaching forth to lay
hold upon Omnipotence. Self to the publican
appeared nothing but shame. Thus it must be seen by
all who seek God. By faith--faith that renounces
all self-trust--the needy suppliant is to lay
hold upon infinite power.
No outward observances can take the place
of simple faith and entire renunciation of
self. But no man can empty himself of self. We can
only consent for Christ to accomplish the
work.
It is not only at the beginning of the
Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be
made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be
renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power
outside of ourselves. COL159-160 [Remnant SB]
Man was originally endowed with noble
powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in
his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts
were pure, his aims holy. But through
disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness
took the place of love. His nature became so
weakened through transgression that it was impossible
for him, in his own strength, to resist the
power of evil. He was made captive by Satan, and
would have remained so forever had not God
specially interposed. It was the tempter's purpose to
thwart the divine plan in man's creation, and fill
the earth with woe and desolation. And he would
point to all this evil as the result of God's work
in creating man.
In his sinless state, man held joyful
communion with Him "in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3. But
after his sin, he could no longer find joy in
holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of
God. Such is still the condition of the unrenewed
heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no
joy in communion with Him. The sinner could not
be happy in God's presence; he would shrink
from the companionship of holy beings. Could he
be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no
joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that
reigns there --every heart responding to the heart
of Infinite Love --would touch no answering
chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests,
his motives, would be alien to those that
actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a
discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would
be to him a place of torture; he would long to
be hidden from Him who is its light, and the
center of its joy. It is no arbitrary decree on the
part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven;
they are shut out by their own unfitness for its
companionship. The glory of God would be to them a
consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that
they might be hidden from the face of Him who
died to redeem them.
It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to
escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken.
Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them.
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
Not one." "The carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be." Job 14:4; Romans 8:7.
Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human
effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they
are powerless. They may produce an outward
correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the
heart; they cannot purify the springs of life.
There must be a power working from within, a new
life from above, before men can be changed from
sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace
alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the
soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.
{SC17,18}
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Jeremiah 17:9 - Oh How We Need Jesus!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2009/20091015-2038.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
