May 07, 2025 | Be God's Family
Turning an Unbelieving Heart Toward God
Scripture: Hebrews 3:12-19(NIV)
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Devotional
Hebrews 3:15 says: As has just been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” The rebellion he is speaking of is when Moses led the people out of Egypt, those that disobeyed God, and those that perished in the wilderness.
What does “harden” your heart mean? Harden means to stop having kind or friendly feelings for someone or caring about something. I think the Bible defines harden, more particularity, as type of final judgment of God that takes place before someone dies. Completing either of these actions, we must look at temptation as the biggest interruption in our kind and caring hearts. How do we get rid of all those nasty thoughts and daily interruptions on our way to our salvation?
Let’s start by understanding that Jesus was tempted with these interruptions. Three ways in His prayer moments after His Baptism, Satan tried his best. Did He give in? NO, because he is perfect. We are not perfect, so let’s review our daily issues and think of ways to improve and stop them. These interruptions come in all styles. Here is a short list for us to think about.
- Eating too much
- Spending too much
- Laziness
- Venting on social media
- Gossiping
- Feeling jealous
- Viewing Porn
- Lying
- Cheating
- Abusing alcohol
- And many others
Some of these can be changed by altering our daily habits: eating, spending, social media etc. Others can be more difficult and may require outside help. Whatever it takes, we need to find ways to be better. A friend told me she would choose two of the above each week. She conscientiously thought before they became a problem and said a little prayer for God’s guidance to help her stop!
Jesus said, “NO- go away” to Satan. We can be more like Jesus. By softening our hearts to God’s desires, we are reaching for our ultimate goal: God’s love and trust and our salvation. Can you make a goal of improving your heart to lessen your hardening this week?
A prayer for Hebrews 3: 14. Dear Lord, thank you for allowing us to become partakers of Christ. Help us to hold onto your beginning of our confidence in you and your promises to remain steadfast in our faith to the end. Amen
Poem
Today!
Psalm 95:8-11
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,..”
Psalm 95:8a
Today I must enter
Today is the day
O, heart, be compliant
O, God, have Your way
Break, stubborn resistance
Break, proud, haughty eyes
Bow down to Your Maker
Who’s enthroned on high
Today I must enter
Today is the day
O, heart, be compliant
O, God, have Your way
Don’t wait ‘til tomorrow
Don’t dwell in your past
Today, pray to enter
God’s great promised rest
[may be sung to Wye Valley by James Mountain; also known as “At the Name of Jesus”]
