Proverbs 25:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
God told Jeremiah to warn the people to stop following the dictates and imaginations of their own hearts. Whatever they thought and reasoned to be right, well then it was just the right thing to do. They had turned from God’s ways and began to follow their own ways, their own heart, their own imaginations, their own councils , and the stubbornness and thoughts of their evil hearts.
They probably said, like we do today, “oh it’s 656 BC, its modern day, we need to change and keep up with the new world. We can’t keep living by God’s old laws from 800-900 years ago. Things are different today!”
The people began to fall away from God because they followed their own ways. God said, because of this, they were going backwards and not forward.
Follow your heart?
How many times have we heard this? It seems to be the mindset of today, but the Word of God tells us it’s a sin. I’m not talking about having goals and dreams in life, this is different. This is about deciding in yourself what is right and what is wrong without considering the truth of God. We need to do what is right in God’s eyes, not our own eyes.
The warnings of following the dictates and imaginations of our heart echoes throughout the book of Jeremiah. The people knew the laws and ordinances of God but mixed them with worldly ways, and changed them to fit their life – and even added on to them. They played the harlot by being holy in the Temple- and adding their own new ways. They didn’t directly stop worshipping God, but this scripture comes to mind: they became so mixed they were like a half baked cake. (Hosea 7:8) -worthless?
I don’t know about you, but I could figure out a way -in my mind- to make something wrong into something that’s right. I wonder how far we are from truly being Christlike in Holiness as we are daily swayed by both our reasoning and the worldly influences. Do I make excuses to gossip? Judge? Lust? Entertain foul jokes? Lies? Hurt others in anger? Greed? Use foul words? Change God’s truths to fit what the world wants?
Consider the many warnings:
- Deuteronomy 29:19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
- Jeremiah 3:17“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.
- Jeremiah 7:24Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 9:14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,”
- Jeremiah 11:8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’ ”
- Jeremiah 13:10 This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.
- Jeremiah 16:12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
- Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”
- Jeremiah 23:17 They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace”’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’
- Jeremiah 10: 23 I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps O Lord correct me but with judgment, not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
- Hosea 10:13 you have eaten the fruit of lies because you trusted in your own ways .
See also Eph 4:17, 2 Cor 10:5, 13:5 Romans 1:21,
Should you trust your own heart?
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve Jeremiah 17:9-10
We are to guard our hearts and our mind and keep it in check, so we don’t fall backwards in our faith. Living by the imaginations of their heart caused the people of Judah to backslide. The fell from God’s word of truth. In fact, God said it has caused them to go backwards instead of forwards! How do I keep myself in check? God’s word is the ultimate answer, His word has the power to save you, cleanse you, renew you, set you free, strengthen you and lead you along the right paths.
I had a dream a few years ago. I was standing on the side of a raging river moving fast and violently. The river was full of people and their material things. I could see televisions, clothes, everything people owned was rushing by me in the waters and it was being carried away by the current. I saw men being carried by the current crying out for help when they realized they had been carried so far away, they had their hands lifted calling out for help, but I only saw them for a second because the river was turbulent, with rushing waves and strong currents like rapids and the sky was moving into darkness. I looked up and saw a man on the other side of the river, in my dream I knew or thought it was Jesus. He was in white and had his hands outstretched in front of him and He said “I call them back, I call them back”
He calls you back.
Come back, His people, He grieves bitterly for you.
Do you hear His call?
Grieve bitterly with weeping tears,
fall down before your God, weep bitterly.
All you people, all of you have sinned
A disgrace in My Sight
Wickedness is everywhere
Even my shepherds fall
Who will lead my sheep?
Who can stand to fight?
Who can withstand what the enemy puts before you?
Everyone takes all their pleasure
Making excuses with the Word
Twisting them, but I am angry
They go their own way with their own excuses
No one stops to ask ME
No one Fears the Lord
Fall down and weep O people, for the Lord is about to take vengeance on the land
Warn the people. Warn the people. I am about to come back in great anguish and wrath. I am Mighty and My Mighty army follows behind me. Be still, be silenced for I come quickly
In the highest mountain is where I reside
Watching all the earth.
Isaiah 8:11 The Lord said this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people
Doing what’s right in your own eyes isn’t always right. Do we follow our cravings? Our lusts? Our desires? Just because someone lusts after another, does it make it right to fulfill the fleshly cravings? Anger outbursts, revenge, gossip, all these sorts of things we try to make right in our mind, but they are wrong and sinful and to go further, those who live those lives will not enter the kingdom of God.
Balaam
In Jer 9:13-14 The Lord said, because they have forsaken my law which I set before them and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imaginations of their own heart and followed after Balaam which their fathers did:”, this means they were carried away, lead away after their own imaginations, lusts, stubbornness of their own inner man, heart, mind. Read Jer 9:13-16
Balaam is an interesting character. He was a prophet, he obeyed God and would not curse Israel even though the king offered him riches and rule but if you keep reading, sneaky Balaam indirectly cursed them by causing them to sin- specifically intermarry. I don’t know how he did it, but the blame is on him for this sin. Somehow, he got Israel to curse themselves by tempting them with the foreign women of other nations. They fell for it and it was to their demise. This was Israels downfall, death and destruction. They knew they were not to mix with foreigners and unbelievers, but they made excuses to do so, reasoning within themselves and this destroyed them. And who was the mastermind behind the deceit? A prophet who heard God and from what we saw obeyed Him, however he was a deceiver.
Eventually, they end up Killing Balaam and those who sinned were punished. His name is also mentioned in the New Testament as a warning to us.
The book of Jeremiah tells us the people were sacrificing their children, mixing with the culture, and they had intermarried with other religions. The women were praying and giving offerings to the queen of heaven -all this while they still worshiped God – or as the Lord would say ; “ they worship with their lips but they turn their backs to Me.”
Repeatedly God sent out warnings. They had fallen and were continuing backsliding. They had followed the imaginations and dictates of their own hearts and slowly – they probably didn’t even realize it – they fell away from the Lord. I think it happens often. I often relate this to going into the ocean. I’ll head to the beach, set up my chair and umbrella and go in the water. Sometimes, I will stay in the ocean for hours and not realize the waves have moved me so far from where I started. I look up and I don’t see my chair. I had no idea the current was taking me further and further away. It’s the same with backsliding, we don’t intend to, and we think we were good, but look up! Perhaps the current of life, ideas, mindsets, thoughts, anger, unforgiveness, wrong teaching and confusion (or entertainment) has carried you away.
Worshipping the Queen of Heaven
In the book of Jeremiah, God told him to warn the people, especially the women who were worshipping the queen of heaven and giving her sacrifices to STOP. He told the men to tell their wives to stop, but the women refused. They looked holy, they continued with the temple, the traditions and the holy days, and their worship song to God, but they decided to add in the worship of this new deity that other cultures most likely were worshipping ( remember when a person sacrifices or gives to an idol, they are actually giving it to a demon -1Cor 10:20-21) I think we can apply this to many things we’ve brought into our lives and churches with many excuses. Please understand I am not pinpointing one church, this is found in Jeremiah 44. This is going in a lot of our churches and studies. They may not be worshipping a deity – but they have made excuses and exemptions with justifying, reasoning and rationalizing. Playing holy as the Pharisees did, as white washed tombs as Jesus said. Holy and white on the outside but dead on the inside.
The women refused to stop the worship of the queen of heaven because they said since they had begun worshipping and sacrificing to her, that all had gone well for them. They said we will do whatever we say, we will burn incense to the queen of heaven and when we do we saw no evil and we had plenty but when we stopped we were consumed by sword and famine. They worshipped God and they also worshipped the queen of heaven, the women also caused their children and sons to do the same. God’s response “ you and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand saying we will continue to burn incense to the queen and pour out our drink offerings to her therefore I will watch over them for evil and not for good and the men of Judah in Egypt shall be consumed by sword and famine and only a small number shall escape. (Jeremiah 44)
They had made the worship of the female deity the queen of heaven right in their eyes and everything was going so well for them. Looking back at why the women’s lives were going so well as they worshiped heaven’s queen, you may guess that demons enjoyed their falling back from God and made sure all was well for them- but that’s just my opinion and insight here.
And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. Jeremiah 16: 12
Consider Jeremiahs prayer in Jer 10:23-24 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
The Word of God divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges our thoughts and attitudes of our heart. God’s word is active and alive , sharper than any double edges sword.
Check ourselves
It’s important to check ourselves; things in our life, church meetings and our bible study – do they align with God’s word – including our thoughts and beliefs. Yoga was one thing that God pulled me away from quick. I did not want to let that go. I loved yoga and I felt great after but the conviction was so strong within me I could no longer enjoy the class. When I told God to show me if He didn’t want me there, the next class I went to- forgetting my prayer and request, I rolled my yoga mat out and my body complete froze like paralyzed. I couldn’t bend down to get my mat. I stood frozen looking in the mirror and watching the class prepare themselves on their mat. That was enough for me. It turned around and was able to pick up my mat and never went back again. There is more but I’m trying to explain that some things we are doing – color run, and mixing world in our churches and so many other things – we need to stop and turn around. Stop making excuses.
Test yourself: if you have to reason with God or make excuses, there’s a good chance it’s wrong
Following the imaginations and dictates of our own hearts causes us to backslide and fall away – oh wait you thought you were forever saved because of a prayer you recited? Watch out that your name is not blotted out of book of life, watch out that you don’t backslide so far you are cut off the vine or spit out his mouth. I don’t want you to find yourself saying lord lord, I did so much for you and he’ll say I never knew you! Don’t let Him catch you without your oil filled or you won’t be let in. Work our your salvation with fear and trembling – be careful that your beliefs line up with God’s word not what someone told you.
Can you think of ways we have followed our own imaginations and mixed them with our walk with the Lord?
Manifesting, trusting in burning Sage (trust me, that will not get rid of demons, it probably makes them laugh if anything along with mocking you), love of material things and logos, wrong teaching , promoting ungodly books and studies, praying to angels, teaching that there’s no longer a need to repent, astrology , palm reading, sorcery, any kind of witchcraft, cursing, teaching once saved always saved, bringing other religions into the church like the color run, yoga, reiki, crystals, twisting scripture , teaching that the old testament is irrelevant, teaching that all paths go to heaven, teaching that God is happy with us all the time, teaching that sexual sins are acceptable to God, teaching that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, bringing the worldly things into the church, I think the chosen is blasphemy and fan fiction of God’s precious word, worldly music, teaching Hell doesn’t exist, basing your personality on a topic devised from an atheist and not basing yourself on who you are in Christ, foolishness, I also question altar calls – they are not in the bible, also why aren’t we having communion at every service? Why are we calling the Holy Spirit down? What is going on.
Listen closely, pay attention and ask God for discernment especially when being taught about walking along the Godly path of life according to scripture.
Consider your ways. There is so much worldy influence in our life, We are told to guard our hearts for it is the wellspring of life. What goes in, comes out. I like to remind myself of the verse : Be simple to what is evil and wise to what is good. The music, books, movies, Netflix, shows are often there to influence you- be careful of what you allow in your heart. Be careful with the Christian music you listen to and sing -the other day I heard the chorus singing, “sometimes God, I don’t trust you” – what? Pay attention to the words you are singing, yes the Christian songs. Pay attention to the sermons you hear and test them to scripture. ( And don’t grieve the Holy Spirit in this way)
Use discernment : One test I use, is counting how many bible verses a pastor or teacher uses in their 2 sermons. One pastor who recently took over a church but was eventually booted out, only said 2-3 verses every Sunday the rest was his talking, his charisma and his “quotes”. I don’t think anyone noticed he barely spoke of God’s word. Another test I use when listening is to see how many times they mention Jesus. A popular youth group speaker was paid to come to a 3 day youth retreat at our church, not one time in 3 days did she mention the name of Jesus, it was all about her and her life and maybe a scripture scattered every 5 hours. I’m asking you to pay attention.
A Dire warning, some of the AI and I think I saw this on chatgpt is offering reading, tarot reading, offering to tell your future and how you will die. Stay far away from this, if you are tempted by it, please delete the app. This is an open door to demonic influence and strongholds in your life. If you have done this, repent and I pray that your repentance is heard and accepted, that you be free from any evil holds on your life.
Be careful not to be led away by your own imagination and reasoning of your heart. Check ourselves, our ways, our beliefs – do they truly line up with God’s word or have we made excuses? Stand true to the Words of God. As Moses told the people, you shall not at all do as we are doing today that every man is doing whatever is right in his own eyes.
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
“Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Ps 50
I think I have 50 more pages on this subject, but for the sake of attention, let me end here. Let’s aim to be Holy as He is Holy, Let us follow after His steps, Are we willing to be a disciple? As I end this verse is in my heart : Revelation 18:4 “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”
Recommended reading : The book of Jeremiah
Can you think of examples today in which we have fallen away by following the imaginations and dictates of our hearts?
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Thank you Lisa. Good teaching and a warning for our day. Glad you are posting again. Hope all is well. Blessings