The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. -book of Isaiah.
‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as said the prophet Esaias.’ - book of John.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begot loveth loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. - book of 1 John.
When we speak, we speak from the heart, for it is from there that all that man thinks has its origins. It does not matter how primitive or eloquent words may be, how cruel or tender, nor does language have any bearing, for all hearts are the same. But we also know that the heart is a muscle that pumps non-stop daily to keep the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients circulating through the body and remove waste. How is it then compatible to be flesh and yet spirit?
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. - book of Genesis.
Does the soul have physical substance? No. Nonetheless, we all have a soul in addition to our bodies, and it is from this source that finds its abode in the heart that we have our being. The body without the soul is dead, just as a heart devoid of blood is dead, which leads us back to the heart of the matter.
When we speak, we speak of what is in our hearts, and those thoughts come out as words through a tiny organ known as the tongue. And of all weapons known to man, there is none deadlier than that small organ that can inflict massive damage to a heart. With it, we bless, we curse, we praise, we condemn, we judge, we convict, we save a life, and we take a life. We smile outwardly but with animosity harbored within. We steal, cheat, lie, and rob while living behind pretentious acts of kindness. We are vile and beautiful; we produce waters to drink and waters to poison, and finally, we praise God, who gives us life, and we curse at those who offend us. Something must seriously change this kind of heart, for a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Sin rules the heart of the unrepentant one who knows not the Son of the Living God, and because sin is lawlessness, the breaking of the Law of God and his commands, the sinner is living in an open state of rebellion, which explains the condition of the heart. Now, sadly to admit, and even more complex to believe, the numbers of those calling Christianity their faith are genuinely walking in lawlessness because they think from the heart that what they have been taught about denying the law, whereas in truth, are lies. And lies find rich soil in those who reject the law. And this all takes place first and foremost in the heart.
The heart carries the load for the entire body, sustaining and nourishing it, but when it becomes sick, it suffers. For example, bacteria settle within the heart, and from there, they spread throughout the entire body. The result is a breakdown of many interconnected pieces and parts that all play a life-and-death role. If not effectively treated and destroyed, the heart will fail, and the entire body will die as a result.
Now, take that to the spiritual level and apply the same analogy. When the thoughts emanating from the heart are evil going out, the fruits that those words bear will deliver the poison from whence it came unto the intended receiver's or receivers' heart. And the heart that delivered the poison is in great danger of being destroyed itself by that very same poison. And that is what sin does. It destroys from within, with the results expanding ever further outward with no hope of healing and death becoming the final result.
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words, thou shalt be justified, and by thy words, thou shalt be condemned. - book of Matthew.
I could talk all day and all night. I could quote scripture after scripture, but that will do nothing for the heart settled firmly upon the shoals of sin, and neither will words, no matter how well grounded, be able to wrest the heart held firmly in the mud flats, free of traditional religious teachings that run contrary to sound doctrines. But itching ears must always be scratched, and there are far too many false teachers to choose from. Lawlessness increases exponentially as careless believers and unrepentant sinners continue to do so as they have always done. But unknown to them both is that the Lord will come at an hour least expected and will hold them accountable. And it all begins in the heart.
In closing, I would like to encourage you to study the Bible as otif your life depends on it, and actually, it does. Do not trust your own judgment or views on the word of God, but lean entirely upon him, for when you do, he will sustain you. Do not trust me or any other man or woman, but God alone, for none can save the sinner or the lukewarm believer but the Christ himself. When it comes down to it, it really is a matter of the heart.
I remain a brother in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Edward L Ordway