"The Danger of a Hardening Heart"

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.’”[a]   12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.[b] 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. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says:  “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”[c]

16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. Heb. 3:7-19 (NLT)


God repeatedly calls to His children, but the condition of each heart determines the result. Those with soft  and tender hearts hear His voice and yield to Him in obedience, but those with hard hearts resist His warnings and instructions. Surprisingly, upon hearing the same voice, some believers are motivated to a deeper and more obedient relationship with the Lord, while others reject and refuse Him.

Since hardening is a slow process that’s often accompanied by rationalizations and excuses, the danger signs may not be readily recognized. How do you respond when the Lord speaks to you through His Word, your conscience, or messages based on Scripture?

Carefully consider the following characteristics of a hardening heart:
1. Insensitivity or resistance to what God says
2. Refusal to put yourself under His authority
3. Disobedience to what you know the Lord is instructing you to do
4. Justification of sinful conduct
5. Resistance to the reproof of others
6. Preoccupation with the things of this world (career, relationships, possessions)
7. Little interest in spiritual matters
8. Absence of private devotion (Bible reading and prayer)
9. Avoidance of public worship (gathering with other believers)

A hard heart does not have to stay in that condition. If you have discovered any of the above traits in your life, begin today to return to the Lord. Ask Him to give you a new heart to know Him (Jer. 24:7). Remember, He specializes in making all things new (2 Cor. 5:17).
 
LETS ALL TRY TO BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER
 
DAWN