Proverbs 20:9-12 says, ...

Today's verses are Proverbs 20:9-12, which read,

v.9 - Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin"?

The obvious answer to the question is that no one can say this.

Job 14:4 says, "Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!"

Romans 3:10 and 23 says, "...as it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one;'...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,..."

1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."

Your heart can be cleansed and you can be made pure but it is not of your own doing or under your effort. God is the heart cleanser and has provided the Purifier for our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. So many verses come to mind but let's stay with Psalm 51:1, 2, 9, and 10, which read,

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

v.10 - Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are abominable to the LORD.

This proverb speaks of dishonesty. When it comes up and up again, even in the same chapter, it means that God is not pleased, rather He is disgusted, with this behavior. A little later in verse 23 we read, "Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD, and a false scale is not good." You get the picture of some type of commerce taking place and someone is putting their thumb on the scale or using a measuring tape that has been resected in the middle.

Of course there are many ways of being dishonest. We can be dishonest with our words, with our time, and with our attention. A warning about dishonesty is a sign that this is something that happens and we need to know the weight of its view before the Almighty God. He doesn't like it one bit!

v.11 - It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself if his conduct is pure and right.

In contrast, the young person who has not had enough physical time to build a track record of being true to his word has to rely on his actions. People see what we do and after seeing it over and over they put trust in what we say before we ever do it. Remember the handshake deal on a financial obligation? Now we have a mountain of paperwork to sign before a transaction is made. Why? Because many said they would but they didn't.

Recently I tried to get a personal loan. All the banks said "fat chance" to me because I had just moved here, had only been working at the church just over a year, had no real collateral, and no track record to base off if I would be good for the money. I was upset but the proverb proved true. This lad needed to show some deeds of conduct before his word was going to be taken outright.

v.12 - The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them.

Psalm 94:9 says, "He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?"

The Lord made those in us and we are created in the image of God so He has them too. God sees our actions and God hears our words. God hears and sees when we are trying to cleanse our own sins. God hears and sees when we are being dishonest to get ahead or get out of a jam. God also hears and sees when we do the right thing. What do you want Him to hear and see? Let us pray.

"Lord, may we never forget and may we act upon the knowledge that You can only forgive us of our sins. We can not make ourselves righteous by anything that we do. May we never forget and may we act upon the knowledge that dishonesty turns Your stomach and we need to have deeds that pure and right. May we be aware of our own eyes and ears and also aware of Yours and let them see and hear something that is pleasing to You today. Amen."

Pastor Adam