Proverbs 20:1,4-5 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
4The slacker does not plow in season;
at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
5The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
Someone who is a lover of strong drink which intoxicates
might be regarded today as an alcoholic. And alcoholism is addiction, and it renders
the alcoholic, when drinking, out of control. People do crazy and strange and
even dangerous things under the influence of strong (alcoholic) drink. But
alcohol is not the only thing which intoxicates and which renders people
senseless and which leads them to do some wicked and crazy things. People can
be intoxicated to porn, or to pride, or to power which consumes them.
The slacker is someone who is lazy, idle, slothful,
self-consumed, selfish, self-indulgent, thinking only or mostly of self and
self-pleasure and what that person wants and desires. But this isn’t just about
physical laziness and inactivity, but this is about the spiritual laziness of
many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who then continue to live according
to the pleasures of the flesh, thinking mainly of self and self-pleasure,
putting themselves above God and above other humans, wanting their selfish
needs to be met.
When I think of the phrase “deep waters,” what comes to mind
is someone in a serious or difficult or dangerous situation. Or it is someone
who is in trouble for something wrong that they committed. And a person’s
intentions are their plans, purposes, and/or schemes and plots. And this is
what is stored up in their hearts. And that can be evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, or it can be
something good. But these can be seen by the wise because what’s hidden is
shown outside.
Proverbs 20:6,9-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
6Many a man proclaims his loving devotion,
but who can find a trustworthy man?
9Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;
I am cleansed from my sin”?
10Differing weights and unequal measures—
both are detestable to the LORD.
Many people may mouth the words, “I love you,” but do not
mean what they say unless they are defining “love” as only some kind of human emotion
which makes them feel good, which might also be regarded as lust. For love has
to do with honor, respect, valuing others, considering other’s needs, selflessness,
godliness, righteousness and faithfulness. But sadly many profess “love” with
their lips but their words are not trustworthy for they are not followed up
with the kind of action that speaks God-like love for others.
For not everyone who professes that Jesus is Lord has been
cleansed of their sins and therefore has a pure heart. Many people give lip
service only to God and to other humans, too, but who do not obey and honor God
with their lives, and who do not honor their commitments of marriage to Christ
and to their spouses. For they are lacking in integrity and in faithfulness and
in biblical love. And, instead, they live primarily for the selfish desires of
their flesh. But if we continue in sin, and don’t obey God, we don’t have God.
Many who profess Jesus as Lord with their lips have differing
weights and unequal measures, both of which are detestable to the LORD. For they
take a different approach to faith and to Christianity than what the Scriptures
do. And they bend the rules to their own advantage, or they reinterpret the
Scriptures to their own personal preference in order that they might continue
in habitual and deliberate sin against God while still claiming Jesus as their
Lord and heaven as their eternal destiny. But God’s Word Rules!
Proverbs 20:11-12,27 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
11Even a young man is known by his actions—
whether his conduct is pure and upright.
12Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the LORD has made them both.
27The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching out his inmost being.
We are all known by our actions, actions which represent who
we are and how we live and what we do as a matter of life practice. But many
people fake who they are and what they do when they are in the presence of
others while the real them comes out when they are alone or in situations not
in the view of the general populace. So you can’t always “judge a book by it’s
cover,” i.e. an expression which means you can’t always judge who someone is by
outward appearance only. For some people are really good at faking.
And on the flip side of that, many who are truly righteous
and godly in nature are being misjudged by those who have adopted a modernized “gospel”
message. For they are being convinced that those who teach the critical
importance of self-denial, dying to sin daily, and following our Lord in walks
of obedience to his commands, that they are teachers of “works salvation,”
which they claim is not of God. And so we are mischaracterized as something
evil because we speak the truth which people need to hear.
But God knows what is going on in our hearts. He knows who
are truly His by biblical faith in Him and who are those who are just faking
it. He knows who is speaking lies and who is speaking truth to the people. He
knows who is faking a relationship with Him and who is in genuine fellowship
with Him via surrender to Him as Lord in obedience to His commands and in holy
living, empowered by God, and as led by the Spirit. And we are all going to
have to stand before Him and give an account for what we did with Him.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
So, by faith in Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and
follow the Lord Jesus in surrender to His will to doing all that He commands us
to do. For if sin remains your practice, and not obedience to God and to His
commands, then no matter what your lips profess, you will not have salvation
from sin nor eternal life with God. For God knows who are truly His and who are
not, but who are faking it. Follow the Lord wherever He leads you, do what He
says, and be a witness for Him to the people of the world around you.
The Intentions of The Heart
An Original Work / August 7, 2026
Christ’s
Free Servant, Sue J Love
Trust and Obey
Words by John H. Sammis, 1887
Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887
When
we walk with the Lord
in
the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He
abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Not
a shadow can rise,
not
a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
not
a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
Not
a burden we bear,
not
a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
not
a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
But
we never can prove
the
delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
for
the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in
fellowship sweet
We will sit
at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do,
Where He
sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Trust
and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
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