It was as black as night in there as we sloshed through knee deep water that had the sour smell of a sewer – maybe because it was.  We were traveling underneath my hometown through a storm sewer system.  I am sad to report that we did not locate the lair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It was a dumb thing to do.  We walked into the darkness of those pipes, inhaled the gases and were oblivious to any drop-offs that might be ahead.  We also brought home a petri dish full of bacteria.  We were dancing with danger.

But this was not the first time.  I remember waiting for the school bus on wintry days, while standing in the exhaust of a car to keep warm.   This did not improve my report card. 

Often, we would scream downhill on bicycles at a good 30 mph, praying we could make it across the narrow bridge at the bottom of the hill.  Miss it and your name was mud, which was also where you ended up.

It was our practice to shatter thermometers and take the mercury and roll it around in our hands.  I once rode on top of a car traveling 60 mph while frantically trying to maintain my grip on the trim around the windows.  I toyed with most every danger back then except to run with scissors.

Every bit of it – dumb and dangerous stuff.   But it wasn’t till I got older that I realized that the greatest dangers to me were not without, but within me,

In Mark 7:20-23 Jesus said, “What comes out of a person defiles him.  For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.  All these evils come from within and defile a person.” 

To defile something is to corrupt and destroy it.  The human heart is like a boiling volcano that erupts and spews scalding lava and toxic ash leaving barrenness behind.

The list of offenses reads like my autobiography. Sexual immorality – check.  Theft – guilty on multiple counts.  Murder, Adultery – Hey there’s a couple I didn’t do.  Greed – yep.  Evil – well yes.  Deceit – I was a chronic liar.  Debauchery – not totally sure what that is so I’ll just say no!  Envy – mm huh.  Slander, Pride, and Folly – Guilty as charged.

These things are dangers for sure for they are the kinds of things that send us to hell.  Jesus warned us, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” –Matthew 10:28.

Breathing the carbon monoxide from that snow covered car could have killed my body, but the sins of my heart result in God’s judgment – the destruction of my body – and my soul in hell. 

Fortunately, God is in the business of dealing with ugly hearts.  He once said to His people, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you” – Ezekiel 36:26.

As a young adult, I began thinking, “Hey life is tough enough.  I sure don’t want my defective heart to condemn me to an eternal hell.”   So, one night I said to Jesus “I am sorry.  I have offended You and rejected Your way.  You once volunteered to suffer the consequences of my sin.  I accept Your offer.  And I want to do life with You from this point on.” 

He accepted my apology and has given me that new heart of which He spoke.

These days, the most dangerous thing I do is to postpone my colonoscopy.  I am safe with Jesus!  Are you? 

If you have not yet asked Jesus to forgive you and give you a new heart, you should seriously consider it.  You are welcome to contact me if you want help with this. 

A PRAYER: Lord, please continue to sculpt my heart so that it mirrors yours.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®