Resisting Shipwreck

Scripture:  Hebrews 3:12, 13  (NKJV)  - “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily , while it is called “today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”  

A few years ago, a dear young friend of mine accused God of being a “trickster.” She said it not with rancor (resentment or ill will), but with definite conviction.  She said it, I believe, in the wake of not having had things happen in her life according to her own plans, desires, and timetable.  Soon afterwards, she ceased attending the Bible-believing and teaching church which she once attended.  That defection was followed up by an embracing of vain worldly philosophies—culture-friendly, to be sure-- but hostile to God.  (Colossians 2:8)

God’s Word warns Christ-followers against having “an evil heart of unbelief.” (Note today’s Scripture above.)

Imagine unbelief, or a failure to believe all that God has said, being labeled an evil practice by our Savior! This is confirmed in Matthew 13:58:  “And He (Christ) did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.  Lot’s sons-in-law failed to take God’s Word seriously when Lot warned them about the imminence of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.  (Sounds like many in our world today, doesn’t it? )  When our Lord walked this earth in the flesh, says John 12:37, “He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.”  In light of so many vivid accounts from the Bible and those we observe today—even in ourselves, in unguarded moments—we do well to refresh our commitment to encouraging one another as we “fight the good fight of faith,” endeavoring to “walk by faith, not by sight,” trusting every jot and every tittle of what our LORD has plainly written for our edification, growth in spiritual steadfastness, and continual blessing throughout whatever faces us during this temporal earthly sojourn.

Prayer:  Dear Abba, thank You for the spiritual anchor of Your Holy Word.  It convicts us, strengthens us, challenges us, comforts and consoles us in the midst of all the spiritual fallout with which we must daily contend.  Thank You for helping us to resist becoming spiritual “casualties” in the midst of growing apostasy.  In Christ’s name, Amen!  

(by Denise Diggs)