Two things are required to make an action right. One is that it be lawful in itself. The other is that it be done with a right motive. If the thing done is itself wrong, no motives can make it right. On the other hand, the thing done may be right in itself, but the motive which governs us may be wrong, and so the act may be sinful because the motive is sinful. Bad motives in good actions are like dead flies in sweet ointments. They corrupt the whole. The motive of the heart is everything!

Most unbelievers do many things which are very proper,but not out of love to God. The unregenerate man never does anything with holy motives. His life is better than his heart. Indeed his heart is the worst part of him! It is all wrong. It is hard, and proud, and selfish, and unbelieving, and without any love to God. So far from pleasing God, all the unregenerate are continually offending him. Their very best works are but splendid sins! They do some things which God requires, and abstain from some things which God forbids–not because they love God or His law, but because it promotes their health, or wealth, or honor to do so.

Ploughing is itself a lawful act. If there is no ploughing, there can be no bread. Yet God says: “The ploughing of the wicked is sin!” Yes, he puts it down with other sins which greatly offend him. The whole verse reads thus: “A high look, and a proud heart, and the ploughing of the wicked,is sin.” Proverbs 21:4. If God had intended to teach that everything done by wicked men–even the most common and necessary thing was sinful–could He have chosen more fit words?

Here is a passage which shows that all the religious services of the unconverted, are defiled with sin. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” Proverbs 15:8.–William S. Plumer

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name… who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases– Psalm 103:1,3

It is hard to find a more passionate doxology anywhere in Scripture than David’s heart cry here.

All that is within me,David says, is drawn to exalt and proclaim the One who heals every disease. He is Jehovah Rapha, the healer.

Have you come to know your need of healing? It is only when you are brought, like David, to pray, “Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul” (Psalm 41:4), that you will be blessed, like David, to see God as your soul-restoring shepherd (Psalm 23).

The only thing worse than finding out your sick, is being sick and not realizing it. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick” (Mark 2:17). Only when we see our sickness will we come to the physician for healing.

Because God is the great healer, He is therefore also the great wounder. He faithfully chastens each of His children into a realization of their guiltiness and emptiness before a holy God and a bankrupt world.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (Revelation 3:19). He wounds so that He then can heal. No one has ever come to God for soul repair and been turned away. David confesses, “I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me” (Psalm 30:2).

Have you cried to the Lord, bringing Him your wounded pride and ambition? If so, then you can rest assured that the great Physician will heal you. It is for the sick that He is come.–Baptist Bible Hour

“Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.“–Ps. 19:12

Who can discern his errors? – In the Scottish highlands is an old bridge that spans a wild cataract. Its structure is so massive, and it rises so high above the gorge that it is known as “The High Bridge.” But something happened that made it necessary for officials to condemn it. A tiny birch seed, caught by a gust of wind, dropped into a small crevice above the keystone. It lodged unnoticed in the lime, and before long it germinated. Soon it was a young sapling, but still nobody saw it. As it grew into a tree, its roots went deep into the mortar. Eventually it began to loosen and crack the masonry so that the arch was severely damaged. The bridge that had defied violent storms and supported the weight of marching armies finally had to be closed to traffic. It had succumbed to a small seed.

So too in the Christian life, one little hidden sin can weaken the foundation of a person’s character and be the cause of his downfall. I think David must have sensed this when he cried out, “Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.” Such a prayer does not open the door to morbid introspection. Rather, it expresses a desire that the soul-searching work of God’s convicting power will reveal to us our spiritual defects. To ask for less is to run the risk of allowing some evil, though it be ever so small, to take root in our hearts. Soon the seed becomes a sapling; and the sapling becomes a full-grown tree, dislodging the spiritual masonry of our lives.

Recognizing that our iniquities and secret sins are all known by God (Psalm 90:8), let us daily seek His cleansing. -P. R. Van Gorder.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” – 1 Peter 4:12

Problems keep piling up higher and higher and we wonder, “What in the world is going on?”. Knowing God is in control we know there is a reason, we just can’t figure it out. But, maybe that is part of our problem– we keep trying to figure it out, rather than living by faith. We keep searching for the reason when we should be satisfied just knowing there is a reason. It might be for correction, prevention, instruction, preparation, or something we will never understand, but it is designed to serve God’s purpose.

The late Adrian Rogers gave us this following good thought: “Has something bad happened to you and you said, “Oh me. What did I do? I must have done something terrible. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened!”

And before you knew it, you fell headlong into a pity party of morbid introspection—taking yourself apart piece by piece to see where you went wrong. If you’re like most people, you have.

But have you ever thought that maybe you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, but God is simply testing your faith? This is an important truth for you to understand, because if you don’t, you may get discouraged. The seeds of doubt and discouragement sprout in the soil of ignorance.”

It’s a shame—the Bible describes the return of Christ as our “blessed hope”, yet we treat it as wishful thinking or a childish imagination. I can’t help but wonder how many folks actually live each day in the light of His promised return. Can you honestly say you are looking for Him to come today? The following story from Senior Living helps us see what His return will mean.