Do Not Harden Your Heart

To whom did [God] swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:18–19)

Even though the people of Israel saw the waters of the Red Sea divide and walked through the Sea on dry ground, the moment they got thirsty, their hearts were hard against God and they did not trust him to take care of them. They cried out against him and said that life in Egypt was better.

That is what the book of Hebrews was written to prevent. Oh, how many professing Christians make a start with God. They hear that their sins can be forgiven and that they can escape hell and go to heaven. And they say: “What have I got to lose? I’ll believe.”

But then in a week or a month or a year or ten years, the test comes — a season of no water in the wilderness. A weariness with manna. And subtly a growing craving for the fleeting pleasures of Egypt, as Numbers 11:5–6 says, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

This is a terrifying condition to be in — to find yourself no longer interested in Christ and his word and prayer and worship and missions and living for the glory of God. And to find all the fleeting pleasures of this world more attractive than the things of the Spirit.

If that is your situation, I plead with you to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking in this text. “They were unable to enter because of unbelief!” Give heed to the word of God. Do not harden your heart. Wake up to the deceitfulness of sin. Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our great confession, and hold fast to your confidence and hope in him.

And if you have never even made a start with God, then put your hope in him. Turn from sin and from self-reliance and put your confidence in a great Savior. These things are written that you might believe and endure, and live.

John Piper 

Your humility—is it real?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. James 4:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever wondered what humility is all about? True humility is not thinking negatively about yourself. It is agreeing with what God says about you. You need to recognize your righteousness in Christ. Ephesians 1:1 says, “Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”

Let me tell you something, friend. If you are in Christ Jesus, that is, if you have received Christ as your personal Savior, repented of your sin, trusted Christ, been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, been saved—then God says you are a saint.

The grace of God will exalt a person without inflating him and humble a person without debasing him. I am what I am because of Christ. In this life, you are not going to be sinless, but as you deal with sin in your life, you can come closer to being free from sin. Sinless? No. Blameless? Yes.

ACTION POINT:

As you confess and stay prayed up, you can be blameless. Do you have a concordance in your Bible? Do a study on the subject of “humility.” Start with Philippians 2:5-11.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Satan Serves God

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)

Behind all disease and disability is the ultimate will of God. Not that Satan is not involved — he is probably always involved in one way or another with destructive purposes (Acts 10:38). But his power is not decisive. He cannot act without God’s permission.

That is one of the points of Job’s sickness. The text makes it plain that when disease came upon Job, “Satan . . . struck Job with loathsome sores” (Job 2:7). His wife urged him to curse God. But Job said, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). And again the inspired author of the book (just as he did in 1:22) commends Job by saying, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

In other words: This is a right view of God’s sovereignty over Satan. Satan is real and may have a hand in our calamities, but not the final hand, and not the decisive hand.

James makes clear that God had a good purpose in all Job’s afflictions: “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11).

So even though Satan was involved, the ultimate purpose was God’s, and it was “compassionate and merciful.”

This is the same lesson we learn from 2 Corinthians 12:7, where Paul says that his thorn in the flesh was a “messenger of Satan” and yet was given for the purpose of his own holiness — to keep him from becoming conceited. “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited!”

Now, humility is not Satan’s purpose in this affliction. Therefore, the purpose is God’s. Which means that here Satan is being used by God to accomplish his good purposes in Paul’s life. In fact, for God’s elect children, Satan cannot destroy us, and God turns all his attacks finally against him and for us.

John Piper 

Refined By Fire

9 "For my name's sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.  - Isaiah 48:9-11

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:3-9

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.  - Proverbs 17:3

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-

6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,

12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

You can be part of the royal family

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

It is tragic, but many will never accept that they are a saint in God’s family. A while back, it was in vogue for believers to make comments like “I’m saved, but I’m not a Christian.” Then the person would explain, “Well, I’m not worthy to call myself a Christian because I’m not living like one.”

Let me nail this down for you. Have you believed upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and repented of your sins? Have you called upon Him to save you from the judgment of hell? If so, then you are the next of kin to the Trinity. You are a child of the King! Since you are part of God’s family, Jesus is not only your Lord and Savior, but He is your Friend and Brother.

ACTION POINT:

Have you felt like you couldn’t call yourself a Christian because of your sin? Then get on your knees and repent of the sin of unbelief that keeps you from knowing you are a child of the King!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

We Are His House

Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses — as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. (Hebrews 3:3–6)

The people who boast and hope in Jesus Christ are the house of God. Which means that Jesus this very day — not just back in Moses’s day or in his own days on earth — but this very day is our Maker, our Owner, our Ruler, and our Provider.

Jesus is called the “builder” of this house. Moses was not the builder. He was part of the house. So it says, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses — as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.” So Moses, as great as he was in leading the house, and giving God’s word to the house, was still just a part of the house. But Jesus built the house.

So if we boast in Jesus and hope in Jesus, we are the house, and Jesus is our Builder, and Owner and Ruler and Provider. He does not let his house be destroyed or fall into ruin.

Then the writer changes the imagery — from builder and house, to son and servant. “Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant . . . but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.” So Christ did become part of the house — part of the household — he built. But even so, his honor is far above Moses. Moses was a servant. Christ is the Son. The heir.

And we are part of this household. Hebrews 3:6: “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” By all means, let us respect and give Moses his due. But the point of the whole book of Hebrews is: Christ is greater. Greater in every way. He is the builder of the house of God’s people. And he is the Son in the house of God’s people. Let us respect Moses. But let us worship Jesus — our Maker, our brother.

John Piper 

Who Fights For You?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31

for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.' - Deuteronomy 20:4

One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. - Joshua 23:10

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.  - Psalm 44:5

You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.' - Deuteronomy 3:22

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.  - Isaiah 40:31

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. - Matthew 10:28

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

Foes may be human, 

could even be cancer or any manner of illness that can attack our mortal body

or it could be addictions to drugs, alcohol or sex.

Our defender is God!

With the death and resurrection of Christ our Lord, victory has been assured.

The battle is won!

Your assurance is through faith in Christ's ability to satisfy the wrath of a holy God.

In your state of sin, you are separated from God.

Repent!

Repent means claiming and knowing that you are a lost sinner on the road to Hell.

Helpless, hopeless, and needing a Savior to be justified.

Repent means turning from sin and becoming a new creation in Christ.

It doesn't mean that you are now immune from sin, it simply means repentance is always on your mind because you abhor rebellion to Holy God.

You will be persecuted.

Remember God is for you!