Hebrews 3:7-19 "No Hard Hearts"

Read Hebrews 3:7-19.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." NIV

I'm thinking if a sentence is given twice within 12 verses, we need to pay attention to what it says. The Hebrew people failed to do it, and paid dearly for their arrogance. They never saw the promised land. And yet, today so many people are still committing the same horrendous mistake -- choosing their own way over God's.

"Today" .....Yesterday is done. If you ignored His voice yesterday, ask forgiveness and move forward. Tomorrow isn't here yet. Don't worry about it. Today is the time to open your ears to the Lord's voice and obey. It may be something small or something life-changing -- but anytime He speaks, it's important. We can't simply ignore the voice of the Almighty God. My goodness, what arrogance! That's exactly what got the Israelites into trouble. Where did we become so self-sufficient as to think we know better than God? The audacity blows my mind and must make God very angry. Which makes me wonder.....how many blessings have we missed out on because of our disobedient moments? If the Israelites, who traveled through the desert for forty years in the end miss out on the Promise Land, then I must be missing out on something when I disobey. We serve a just God and sin does not go unpunished.

"do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion" -- Lord, forgive me for those times I have harden my heart against You. Holy Spirit, protect me from those desires. I never want to be rebellious against my Lord. You alone are the great I AM; I am not.

Further Thoughts:

1. Are you listening to the Lord every day? If no, why not?
2. If yes, what is He saying to you? Are you following His directions or living in rebellion?
3. Why do we choose rebellion?
4. How do we break the cycle? What heart change has to happen?
5. How do we stay committed to God?

James 4:1-10 "Submit and Listen"

Read James 4:1-10.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you." NIV

Here's how to live the Christian life in a nutshell. Every component you need is right here in these three little sentences. Yes, we've seen it in "Love the Lord your God with all you heart...." and "Love your neighbor...." But here it is broken down alittle more.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God." The Greek for submit used here means:
to arrange under, to subordinate
to subject, put in subjection
to subject one's self, obey
to submit to one's control
to yield to one's admonition or advice
to obey, be subject

This is full surrender to His lordship. Placing God in complete control of your life and obeying His commands. He is the master and I am the servant in every area of my life. No options, no pulling anything back, no saying "no" to His leading. Really, if we do this everything else will fall into place. But let's break it down even more.

"Resist the devil and he will flee." Even the most surrendered will be tempted by the enemy. Therefore, we must always be battle-ready to resist his enticements. And speak it out loud. Remember, the enemy can't read your thoughts. There is amazing power in the spoken word. Make him flee with your voice and the authority God has given you over the enemy. If you claim that authority, he truly has no power over you.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." I don't know how often I have heard believers say that God has left them. That is completely unbiblical. God said He will never leave us or forsake us. If we think God has left, in actuality, we have left or God is just being silent. (He does that sometimes. I don't know why expect maybe to test our faith.) But the truth remains, God is always with us and always in control. If we are not "feeling" Him, we may not getting still enough to hear. Again and again when I have believers tell me of the chaos and confusion they are feeling, they've stopped having their time alone with God. It's like trying to use your cell phone day after day without ever recharging the battery. After a day or two you have no power to draw from and the chaos of the world begins to take over your thinking.

Get solidly connected to the Lord DAILY. Draw near to His sweet presence. And the quarrels, selfish desires, worries, worldly enticements will all just fade away. Your compass will once again have found true north.

Further Thoughts:

1. So many people in the Bible took time away to be with the Lord. Look at the life of Moses, David, the prophets, and Jesus. They all sought God's face regularly. They truly knew the source of their strength.
2. Do you need to recalibrate your compass. Take some time away with the Lord. His presence is the answer to every need you may have. The difficulties don't all go away, but when placed in His capable hands, you don't have to worry or fret anymore and peace is restored.
3. Watch this video and listen to the David Crowder Band, "Come and Listen"

Matthew 16:24-28 "Cross Carrying"

Read Matthew 16:24-28.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." NIV

Have you made your "to do" list for today? If you are like me, you've at least mentally thought through what you are going to do today. So tell me, did you consult the Lord first? Okay, granted, there are things I don't think we need to ask Him about - i.e. showering, take the kids to school, go to work, etc. There are things we must do to live and exist in this world. But there are little and big "appointments" throughout our day that we may or may not plan where God has a special purpose for us. It could be as small as stopping to have a conversation with your neighbor at the mailbox to hopping on a plane to as big as a job change. God works in the little and big things of our lives. The question is are you ready?

How do we prepare for God's redirects to our plans? Well, I think the very beginning is to commit every day to do whatever He calls you to do. My husband has developed a wonderful habit of rolling out of bed right to His knees and spending a minute of committing His day to the Lord - wherever He may take him. That is about as close to physically taking up our cross daily as you can get. The cross is a symbol of death and punishment. By carrying our cross, we are dead men and women walking. If I am dead to myself and acknowledging that I am only alive in Jesus Christ, then I will submit to the Father's leading in my life - WHATEVER that may be.

After we have surrendered -- again -- our life to His leading, we must continually remind ourselves throughout the day's distractions that we are committed to following God's plan. I've mentioned this before in another post, but a friend recommended setting your electronic calendar to reminder you every few hours to stop and acknowledge God. I set my phone to give me a simple reminder tone at 10:00, 1:00, 4:00 and 7:00. When I hear that tone, I stop what I'm doing and focus on the Lord. This simple action reboots my mind toward Him. My goal is that 1) I don't need the alarm anymore. It's automatic. and 2) That someday, my mind would be in constant communion with Him. I don't even know if that is possible with all the chaos and activity of life. But I sure desire to be in that place. At least, if He wants to "interrupt" what I am doing, I want to always hear His voice to change directions.

We are here as servants of the Most High. Like a king's servant responds immediately to the summons of their master, we must be ready at all times to answer the call of our Lord. We must completely surrender our desires and schedules to His plans for our life. It's the only path a dead man can walk.

Further Thoughts:

1. Have you died to self and accepted the path that God has laid out for you? Then do it again. We must take up our cross daily to follow Him. See Luke 9:23.
2. If you are a believer, Christ lives in you. His Holy Spirit guides you and gives you counsel. Are you ignoring your closest resident for the pull of all those others around you? How do you pay closer attention to the Father's leading in your life? What habits do you need to form or get rid of? (Add prayer times, get off the computer, for example.)

Matthew 1:18-25 "Listen and Obey"

Read Matthew 1:18-25.

"...She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins...." NIV

I don't know that I have read about the birth of Jesus all that much outside of Christmas. But it's making my June feel cooler. :-)

I can't even imagine what Joseph was going through at the moment the angel appeared. Think about it today.... My husband, Jim, has an angel come to him in whatever form an angel appears and tells him that I am having a baby that will save the world from their sins. AND Jim knows it's not his baby. I'd have to sedate him.....and me.

How did Joseph handle that news? Well, we know he at first considered divorcing Mary. But after the angel arrived, he "did what the angel of the Lord commanded him...." Would I have been that sure? It says Joseph "woke up." Would I have just dismissed it all as a strange dream and proceeded with the divorce? Wouldn't I have looked at Mary with suspicion as her belly grew larger and larger? Joseph somehow knew that the Almighty was leading him and did as he was told -- on faith -- because the evidence before him was totally contrary to reality. His wife was to give birth to the promised Messiah. The Jews had been looking for the one to save their nation for so long. Could this finally be the moment? And why now, why Joseph and Mary? I'd love to read their blogs.

So how many times does God speak to me, and I just dismiss it as a strange dream or crazy thought? Or the idea is so far-fetched it couldn't be what He said to me. What have I missed being a part of because I didn't pay attention or even believe? I so want my heart in tune with the Holy Spirit that if an angel of the Lord appeared in this room right now, I'd fall down on my knees and do whatever He told me without reservation or doubt. Well, I don't expect an angel to appear. But I do know the Holy Spirit will counsel me throughout my life. I must listen and be prepared to obey.

I keep thinking of the times my child's ball would roll into the street, and she'd start to go after it. Because I had trained her to listen to my voice and obey, when I yelled "Stop!" she listened. I so want to know my Father's voice that when He tells me to stop or go, I automatically obey. Some would call that a responding robot with no free will. I call it an obedient servant who desires to do her Master's will.

Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Son that has saved me from my sins. Continue to teach me to listen to You. I don't want to miss out on what you have for me to do .... or be. Your servant is waiting.

Further Thoughts:

1. Read the prophesies of Christ's coming. (Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7)
2. Samuel learned to be in tune to God's voice. Read the beginning of his story in I Samuel 3 and see how God used his attentiveness for the entire nation of Israel.
3. What does Jesus say about the Holy Spirit's counsel? (Read John 14:15-31.)
4. Jesus often went away from the crowds to have quiet time with His Father. Take some time each day to sit quietly before the Father and listen. Begin now; He's waiting for you.