A Pause to Ponder God's Word
"Hardening of the Heart"

One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease. In an effort to curb this problem a great deal of information and education is given us through every possible means. Great amounts of money are raised for research to learn how to prevent and cure heart problems. It is a serious concern, and so it should be. My own father lives daily with heart fatigue syndrome and has had a heart valve replaced. He would be the first to tell us to listening and follow the instruction concerning heart disease. But, there is another heart malady that the world will never speak. It is of eternal significance and therefore is of the utmost importance. Scripture refers to it has "hardening of the heart." (Hebrews 3:7, 13, 15 ) The heart spoken of here is not the physical heart. It is much greater important than the physical organ. This heart has to do with eternity.

Recognizing the symptoms is one step in prevention. The writer of the Hebrews points them out in 3:7-19. The first thing to note that hardening of the heart occurs slowing. It begins with neglecting today. We live for the moment and forget to do the important. We leave the things of God and the nurturing of our relationship with Him until tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes and before we realized it our ears have grown dull to His voice. We become apathetic to godly holy things and busy ourselves more and more with worldly concerns. The things of the world take on a new look. We rationalize and compromise using wise and logical arguments to convince ourselves that what we are doing is not that bad and won't really hurt. Besides, we can spend time with God tomorrow. We become easily "deceived by sin's deceitfulness." Soon our heart has become so hardened that we no longer believe. We may continue to go through the motions, but Jesus is not Lord and we have turned away from Him.

Frightening? Yes. Do not despair. Through these same verses God reveals the prevention and cure for this insidious disease. We must not take this prescription lightly. Though it is simple, it is not easy. It all begins Today. Today we must listen for His voice. We must quiet ourselves before God and be attentive to Him. We must open His Word and immerse ourselves in it. We must talk with God and spend time in His presence. Tomorrow never arrives, yesterday is gone. We only have Today, and Today is the day we must be sure we have an appointment to meet with Jesus.

We need to "hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." That confidence is confidence in Christ. The word used in the original language for "hold firmly" is a nautical term which denotes "maintaining a steady course." We must not be diverted from our course in the "Way Of Holiness." (Isaiah 35:8) We fix our eyes of Jesus and head directly to Him. Anything that would divert my attention from Him must be put aside. Our course is set and our destination fixed. We must hold steady by keeping our relationship with Jesus up to date. Our faith and salvation is in Him alone. Hold steady!

The third part of this prescription is to seek and give encouragement.(3:13) The instruction is that we do this "daily as long as it is called Today." The today spoken of here is twofold in nature. It speaks to the physical day, for it is the day we are living. Today also refers to the time between when Christ ascended into heaven and when He returns. It is our day. We desperately need encouragement for our fellow believers. Christ never intended for us to live this life in isolation. We are eternally connected in Christ and we need each other. Mutual encouragement is essential for us to maintain course and prevent hardening of the heart. We must not neglect the community!
 

We have all seen warning labels that are put on products and foods that are dangerous. This passage is a warning label for us. Let us not be like the millions of people who ignore the warning labels. Let us heed the warning and begin Today doing what has God has prescribed so that we will not suffer from "hardening of the heart,." but have lives in Christ that are vibrant, alive, and joyous!

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry


A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome. To Subscribe Click Here.
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