Articles
Keep Your Heart Soft
You know, Jesus speaks to us on a regular basis. Every time we read His word, He speaks to us. We are exposed to books, articles, videos, sermons, lectureships and so forth, where we often hear messages from Christ. We must do our due diligence to make sure man has not distorted the truth in such earthly efforts, just like we do every time we hear a Gospel message. But after it passes the test, we should listen to the words of Christ, and put them into action within us.
The Hebrew writer, most believe to be Paul, in chapter 3 says we should "fix [y]our thoughts on Jesus", because "He was faithful to the One who appointed Him..." and he draws a comparison to the faithfulness of Moses, which the readers in the first century would totally comprehend. But the writer goes on to say that Jesus "has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses..." "Moses was faithful as a servant in God's house..." "...but Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house".
Then, we read these words, "And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory." This is another of those verses where that little word "IF" is used. Our status or position with God is conditional, but once proven, Christ is the faithful Son over us.
In the next few verses, the writer is reminding his readers of the time of testing of the children of Israel in the wilderness, and the hardening of hearts that took place there. God says, "That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’
So the next few verses are our message for today. The writer after reminding his readers of God's anger and disposition with those unbelievers in times of old says, "See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end." Don't miss that little word "IF" one more time. If we want to share in Christ, we must believe, encourage each other, and hold firmly to our Bible taught conviction(s) until the end.
They had Moses, we have Christ. Christ is far superior to Moses, and our knowledge of that should boost our faith and belief in Him. We should always be on the guard against a rebellious attitude within us, something that can harden our hearts today just as it did in times of old, and what was it that the writer said caused that hardening? "A sinful, unbelieving heart" and "sin's deceitfulness". Knowing this, let us hold unswervingly to our faith, having a firm grip and an unwavering determination. As long as we are alive and kicking, we have a battle against Satan, who works tirelessly to deceive us, and steal our hearts.
