The Heart of the Matter

Daily Reading: Hebrews 3-4

Scripture Focus: Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3.12-13)

Devotional Thought: In Hebrews 3, we are warned against the sin of unbelief.  Often when we think of sin, we think of doing things that are grossly wrong and vile.  We think of behaving in ways that are contrary to good moral living.  But, God has a different view of sin.  Sin begins in the heart, and it has at its root unbelief.  Jesus himself said that it’s not the things you do that makes you “unclean”, but rather it is the thing inside that makes you do “unclean” things.

Here in Hebrews 3, the writer equates sinful with unbelieving.  He relates it back to the time in the Old Testament when the children of Israel refused to enter The Promised Land, to obey God.  Why did they not enter in?  Because of unbelief.  It was the attitude of the heart that caused the sinful behavior.  Their sinful and unbelieving hearts caused them to turn away from God and to follow their own instincts.  They were acting on the basis of fear and not faith.  It’s easy for us – 3500 years removed from their situation – to be critical of their choice not to believe God.  We think to ourselves, "If we had been there we would have believed God and gone into The Promised Land!"  But, are we immune to the same possibility of acting out of fear instead of faith?

Each of us should look into our hearts.  Is there any sin or unbelief there?  If there is, beware!  A sinful, unbelieving heart can be deceived and will harden over the course of time.

Prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"  Amen.  (Psalm 139.23-24)

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 47.1-9

1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!