DAILY WORD 6/10/20

7. That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice,

8. don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled,

when they tested me in the wilderness.

9. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

10. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’

11. So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

12. Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

13. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

Hebrews 3:7–13 NLT

Today’s passage takes a bit of a different tack while at the same time continuing on with the thought that the author wrote about in yesterday’s Verses. He ended his admonition with a warning and an encouragement to stay Faithful to God, in order to receive the Reward the Lord has Prepared for us.

With his continuation, the author evokes the Voice of the Lord in his next warning. He quotes from Psalm 95:7–11 as the Lord speaks to the recipients of the “Old Covenant”, rebuking them for their rebellious nature.

They were so recalcitrant that God became angry with them and Swore an Oath against them that they would never see the Promised Land. We know that He Kept this Promise and that not even Moses himself made it into the Land that God had set aside for His people. An entire generation was lost before God allowed them to take possession of their Promised Land.

The author gives a strong warning against his readers (and us) falling into the same trap. That very real and present threat of unbelief and unfaithfulness to God’s Will. It happened to the Children of Israel repeatedly and even with the Help of the Comforter, that is the Holy Spirit to assist us, that same possibility can arise in us today.

We must remain vigilant and present in our walk with God in order to stay free from the daily temptations that will inevitably come at us to lure us away from the Proper Path. Staying in God’s Word, staying “prayed up”, and remaining in constant touch with the Spirit are all good ways to help achieve this, however, the author reveals one more act that will help us remain Faithful.

In the last Verse of this passage, the author gives us a very Powerful and often forgotten tactic that we can all use to help us remain Faithful to God in our walk with Him. He says to, “Exhort one another daily,” in Vs. 13a KJV.

This is important but it assumes two things are in place before we can do so. First; it assumes that we are in contact with other brothers and sisters of the Faith that we can admonish and receive admonishment from. This requires that we have a connection with other saints of God.

As important as it is to have that connection there is an even more essential aspect to the author’s admonition. That brings us to the second point; we must actually be willing to encourage those saints around us to stay Faithful.

This seems obvious, however, even pastors and ministers of many churches fail to do this on a regular basis. It can be easy to either assume that folks are doing alright because you are, or to get so caught up in other aspects of ministry or life that you forget that there are some who struggle in their Focus and their Faith.

This is why it is so vitally important to stay in touch with those that are in the same struggle as you are and make sure that you are keeping each other honest about your issues. This might well entail some potentially painful confessions to those you’d rather impress than be truthful with but it is one of the tenets of our Faith.

You must be willing to be vulnerable if you are going to be Strong! And if you are going to all make it together you must be willing to Share the Strength that your own struggle affords you.

Do not be afraid to show weakness because we all do from time to time, hiding it is not Strength, it is the exact opposite. We are all in this together and we need each other if we are going to make it into God’s Rest. Be there for your brothers and sisters because you will need them to be there for you someday too.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, FB, and Stay Safe out there!