Hebrews 3:12-15 “Take care brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heat, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; while it is said, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.’”
Since God is telling us to ‘take care,’ we should be all ears! Many believe that because at some point they received Jesus as Savior they will go to heaven when they die-end of story. It’s true that if one trust Jesus as Savior, they will go to heaven when they die; but there is a lot more that accompanies salvation-a whole lot more. The alarming, scary reality is that believers can be deceived by sin; believers can fall away from the living God-and that is not a good place to be. Paul said that ‘in any one of you’ there could be an ‘evil, unbelieving heart.’ That should get our attention and that is exactly why we must take care. Here is the deceitfulness of sin; we are not likely to commit murder or rob a bank-or whatever; but we may allow or make room for the seemingly small things that are contrary to the ways of God. For example, we may allow wrong thoughts, wrong attitudes, a focus on self, anxiety, fear-or whatever it may be. We may excuse these things or may claim they are just part of how we are wired. However, as children of God, our life-how we live matters. Our thoughts, our motives, our responses, our concern for others, our actions, and our view of life are all super important because we represent Christ and His kingdom in everything we do-we are His ambassadors 24/7. We must take care that we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. It’s clear in scripture that believers are a part of the body of Christ, and as a part of His body, we are to be about encouraging one another in the ways of the Lord ‘day after day.’ God has spoken and has made clear the life He has called us to live-let us hear and obey what He has spoken.
Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord does require of you both to do justice, and to live kindness, and to walk humbly with you God?”
Ephesians 4:1 “I therefore a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,’
Blessings,
Buddy