The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 26:27 (HCSB)
27 The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone— it will come back on him.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 104:33-34 (HCSB)
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in the LORD.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Hebrews 3:7-15 (HCSB)
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers tested Me, tried [Me], and saw My works
10 for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, "They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways."
11 So I swore in My anger, "They will not enter My rest."
12 Watch out, brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.
13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception.
14 For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.
15 As it is said: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
My observation:
The writer of Hebrews cites the failure of their forefathers to obey God. As a result of their rebellion they spent forty years of wandering in the wilderness. There is always a consequence for willful disobedience of God.
The bible says this about what God's standard is for his believing people:
Hebrews 11:6 (HCSB)
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
The faith that saves is the faith that keeps; it is the faith that listens to and hears the word of God, and it is the faith that obeys the word of God. It pays to examine your faith; does it meet the standard set by God in his word?
Hebrews 3:13-14 (HCSB)
13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception.
14 For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.
These two verses should shine a bright light into our hearts. What is the condition of our heart? Has it been hardened by sin's deception? Those who have truly experienced saving faith will hold firmly unto the end.
If you are truly a believer, but have strayed from the will of God, and the ways of God, my prayer and plea to you is to come home to the Father; he is lovingly and patiently waiting for you to come home.
James 5:20 (HCSB)
20 let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Are you a companion of the Messiah? If so, obey Him. If you are not, receive him by having faith in Jesus.
John 10:27-29 (HCSB)
27 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
My prayer:
Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, my heart bows in gratitude as I think about the vastness of the love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God.
Father God, I thank you for the gift of faith, and the wooing of the Holy Spirit of God that led me, and prompted me to have faith in God for my salvation.
Father, I am so grateful that the faith that I placed in you is the faith that came from you; so I know that is it genuine faith. Father, I know that it is the faith that will endure to the end. Father, from the bottom of my heart I say these words, "Thank you Lord". In Jesus name, Amen.
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1 Peter 5:7 (HCSB)
7 casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.
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