**Daily Devotional** **April 12** *34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 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. - Matt 12:34-35 (KJV)* When the bible uses the term “heart”, it is not normally referring to the physical pump that we refer to as our heart. Most of the time the bible is referring to our soul (a person’s spirit, Genesis 2:7) as being our heart. Jesus has been rebuking the Pharisees, and makes it clear that what we say, and our thoughts, come from our souls, and reflect the condition of our hearts. Jesus has just said that you can tell the tree (heart) by its fruit (words and actions) that come out of it (Matthew 12:33). God looks at us in the spirit (1 Samuel 16:7), as He is a Spirit (John 4:24). A good man tends to do and say good things, whereas an evil man tends to do and say evil things, showing us the condition of his heart (Proverbs 23:7). A person can pretend, and lie, but if you watch and listen to them long enough, they will reflect what is in their hearts. A person who lies, and cheats, shows that they are serving the devil, as he is the father of all lies (John 8:44). A person who is under stress, like when suddenly hurt, will many times curse and let the vile things that are in his heart, come out of his mouth. We need to serve the Lord with ALL our hearts, when born again, and renew our hearts with the Word of God (Romans 12:2), so that our hearts will be pure, and reflect the Spirit of Jesus that lives within us. Praise God for giving us the spirit of Jesus when we are born again (Galatians 4:6) and the instructions as to how to live the Christian life. Let us live it. Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com