“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ” Hebrews 3:12-13 NASB
Wow!
Did you read that?
“Today!”
Why?
Everyday is an opportunity for us to get closer to God.
What we did or who we were yesterday has nothing to do with today. God is a God of today, He is a God of now.
Sin deceives. It says, “You did perfect yesterday! Compare to that man who got divorced twice, you’re much better! After all, you have a plan to fast and pray next month. So, just relax a bit today.”
Sin not only deceives us but it also hardens our hearts.
We justify our own sin by Scriptures and we check off “prayer and reading the Bible” from our “things to do” list after we give it two minutes of our time.
But notice what it says,
“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” Verse 12
This verse shows us the source of all sin, unbelieving heart.
How can we continue believing in God and His words while we stop giving our hearts, souls and minds to the word of God and our prayers? Sometimes we just mumble, saying the same prayer, “Bless me, bless others and bless my country” kind of prayer, instead of praying the word of God saying,
“LORD, here I am. Search me. Do I have an evil and unbelieving heart? Abba, please help me so I won’t have a heart that falls away from You.”
At any point in life, none of us should say, “I am with God. I don’t need to return to Him,” because in one way or the other, we all drift away from God every day. That is why praying and reading/studying the word of God on a daily basis are critical part of our lives.
When we close our door just to be alone with the Holy Spirit and pray to the Father, we are not just going through our prayer list but we present our heart, soul and mind for the Spirit of God to search and bring us back to Him.
So, let’s ask ourselves, “Did I do that “Today?””
I didn’t say, “did I do it yesterday or last year” but “Today!”
My friend, today is given to you and me as a gift, not so we survive the day but so we return to God.
King David prayed:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24 NASB
But here is the heart of the message:
We are responsible to pray and read/study the word of God and return to God on a daily basis. However, at the same time, we need to always remember that we are always with God not because of our prayers but the prayers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who always appears before the Father on our behalf.
“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; ” Hebrews 9:24 NASB
“now” is the operating word in the above verse! Jesus is always before the Father, as a slain Lamb, for you and me. His appearance before God itself says, “Accept them for My sake.”
Wow!
That is why Jesus said this to Peter:
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32 NASB
What a joy! What a peace! What a rest it is to be in Christ Jesus! What a Savior we have, He saved us, He is saving us now and He will save us forever!
May His name be glorified forever! ///