Heart Conditions - The Cursed Heart

[Daniel Baumet]

"This is what the Lord says : "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh, for thier strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord".
Jer 17:5

The sins of Israel were now engraved on the people's hearts like tablets of stone. (17: 1) Upon the four corners of the alter were etched the symbols of those sins intead of having them cleaned. Instead of teaching the children "God's" ways, and celebrating "holy" days Judah had practiced pagan rituals.

Now God determined to subject His holy mountain, along with all of Judah's possesions, even the pagan shrines them selves to desicration, plunder, in order to purify the land. God contrasts two lives one where an individual listens to man, and lists each curse in doing things that way. Against a life completly trusted in Him ( vs 5-8) Any one in them selves He warns ( don't you just want to sing here) could find no substance. (vs 5) Just like some desert shrub, any one turning away from God, and seeks any other form of god, will become tiny and insignificant.
Judah felt safe in her land , she had alliances with Egypt, and some surrounding nations. looking to them for protection from invasion instead of trusting in God solely.
Our personal life mimics an equation of prosperity with Godliness. Nothing could be further from the truth! Land for peace does not work ! Niether will compromise for security. As two grains of Yeast can contamnate an entire bowl of dough causeing it to react, a little sin today can cause reations for generations. The thought of "only once no one will notice" will or has infected you and your "heart condition" . Continued habits become hard to break. The habit of sleeping in instead of congregating , bears fruit with a generation now that no longer sees gathering as important. In some lifes the purchase of one lottery ticket now leads to casinos and huge debts. One cigarette translates to a pack a day habit or more , in the next generation saw drug addictions, Non compliance now leads to large scale homlessness.
We know that one tiny rock thrown on still water makes ripples as it skips! Small sins will cause ripples in the tranquility of out lives!
Spouse abuse is ont the rise, and we now have an entire generation that know no other way, finding partners to become an new generation of victims. Our country failed at the opportunity to curb drugs from entering our nation, chose to turn a blind eye, and now that choice will fuel crime , which in turn translats ensuring those that wish to kill us can continue for several generations.
From nations of hope and promise we are now nations of dispair. Instead of looking for the enemy from with out, perhaps we should seek the enemy within waging insurgencies in our heart.
Add the number of times you ask some person for help and way it out against the times you actualy turned to God for His counsel.. that number could alarm you ... I know it did me.