A HEART OF STONE
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“The true nature of all addictions is that we have chosen to go outside the boundaries of the kingdom of God and look for blessing in the land of idols. In turning to idols, we are saying that we desire something in creation more than we desire the Creator.”
Heb 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
In reading the account of the wicked man Nabal, we should take it as a warning against our own sinful, self-seeking nature. We read in 2 Samuel 25, that even though he was married to a godly woman, he remained wayward and ungodly. One of Nabal’s servants referred to him as a scoundrel or a son of Belial, which means wicked, evil and worthless! More than likely, Nabal heard from Abigail his wife, the word of God, frequently or maybe everyday. He obviously hardened his heart against the truth until he was hopelessly addicted to his sinful ways.
The more a person resist the truth, the harder that heart becomes. This is a frightful reality. Exhorting each other daily, is God’s design to help us keep our hearts tender and pliable to the Word of God. Prov. 29:1 He who is often rebuked, [and] hardens [his] neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Wow, that is not what you ever want to happen in your life! Our hearts become calloused as we continue in sin against the encouragements of the Word of God and the people of God exhorting us! When we yield and say, “I know this is true and I will go the way of the truth, our hearts stay soft toward God!
We can go our own way to the point our hearts become like granite, and we no longer feel the convicting tug of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:7 warns us that, “today, if we hear His voice, that we do not harden our hearts.” None of us want to become like Nabal. 1Sa 25:37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became [like] a stone.
If you and I simply yield to our God given conscious and embrace the truth, we will keep our hearts in the place where we can be easily influenced by the Lord! We all need to encourage our brothers and sisters to keep following Jesus, daily. The encouragers also, need this same encouragement! Be sure that God has a far greater end for us than Nabal’s not so grand finale! HALLELUJAH!!
Every blessing!
—Tom