Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34

 

And then He (Jesus) added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.  For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:20-23

We have all learned how our spouses deflect and shift the blame off themselves and onto us, others, or circumstances. This deflection prevents understanding and sight of the truth, which then stops the person from coming to repentance. To repent, you must SEE what you have done, DESIRE change, be TRUTHFUL, CONFESS and CONTINUE to seek change. As soon as they start to shift that blame and make excuses, then that process stops.

 

The same deflection they go through is the same we, as Standers go through. 

So many of us have hearts that need a good shaking to expose what we harbor inside. But when that shaking comes, when the issues we keep secret are exposed, we instantly deflect and shift that blame onto the enemy. It’s painful, embarrassing and stings our pride when we are faced with what we are REALLY like. When we become face to face without flaws, we will become defensive out of pride and make excuses. When all the seeds we have sown come to fruition and we start to reap a harvest of our mismanagement of time, money, disobedience and distance from God, it is so much easier to “cry wolf” instead of confessing truth. 

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 ESV 

We cry, “Help, the enemy is attacking me!!” The enemy is only able to mess with places that permission has been given too. And when we have weak character places that are left unhealed and unchanged due to withholding forgiveness, or lack of repentance, that is all the permission he needs to poke at that place. And that is all it takes. One quiet thought and through that your own pride, self-righteousness, self-pity, resentments, critical and judgmental nature will take over from there. 

The enemy is happy to take the blame, may even feed it, because it stops us from growing and being transformed into his image. He will gladly take the credit for our own wicked, deceitful hearts. Hearts that have pride, self-righteousness, arrogance, ego, rebellion. Hearts that don’t fear the Lord, but trust in their own human ways instead of trusting in the Lord.   

Jeremiah 17:5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 6They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. 

9 “The human heart is THE MOST DECEITFUL OF ALL THINGS, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” 

When you study the Word of God, you can see clearly that MANS HEART was blamed far more than satans influence, in fact, revealed it was the MOST deceitful of all things. A heart that is right, won’t fall so easily astray and become snared by the enemy, but will abide and remain in the secret place and refuge of God.

What is a right heart? A heart that wants God’s will above their own selfish desire. Trusts God’s plan for them, and is confident in how God chooses to handle their life, including trials, tribulations, and suffering.

In Romans 2, God speaks of the heart and the two types of circumcision. One being the circumcision of the heart. It also talks about the desire to want to do good above the desire to remain selfish.

The first and most famous example was Adam and Eve.

When they are questioned by God about eating the forbidden fruit, the first things out of their mouth are blame-shifting, and excuses because God made them uncomfortable with the fact they were disobedient. He called them out, and instead of humbling themselves and seeking change and forgiveness, they did the opposite. Pride, and embarrassment caused them to react by pointing the finger to someone else.

…11 “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”… Genesis 3

Another great example is the way Nathan confronted David’s adultery. Knowing the way around this, God was able to get David to see the truth without causing him to rise up in pride and embarrassment. Read here.

 

TIME TO LOOK INSIDE!

39 But the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and robbery and extortion and malice and wickedness.

40 You senseless (foolish, stupid) ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He Who made the outside make the