Hebrews 3:16-19
A promise is a promise,
especially when it comes from our Creator, and it was first given to Abraham in
Geneses 12:7, a promised land, the land of Canaan. And we understand that the chosen people were
enslaved in Egypt and God used a man named Moses to lead them to the land of
promise. But many who had been chosen,
never entered that land, verse 19 gives this insight: “So we see that they were unable to enter
because of unbelief.”
Often, when we read over the cost
of their unbelief, our minds do not go to what an unbelieving heart cost
others. It cost their children 40 years
in a wilderness going to funerals, watching their older brothers and sisters,
their mothers and dads, and even grandparents die and be buried. The promise was theirs, but most did not
believe the promise, they had misplaced faith in a man, Moses, and when things
got hard they rebelled. Rebellion will
always come when the people lose faith in the object of their hope, and these
people, the ones who followed Moses had focused their hope in Moses, and not in
the God who parted the Red Sea.
Are you in a wilderness of
unbelief? Have you misplaced your faith
in a church or preacher? Who is the
object of your faith? Do you have any
understanding of what has been promised to you, and I’m not talking in the
hereafter. You and I have a responsibility to “act like Jesus tells the truth”
that is faith, and it is faith that others who are watching will desire. This world system is built on self, greed,
and putting your trust in governments, Corporations, money, or anything but the
promises of Jesus Christ. So unless we
act on those promises, unless we teach them at home, and unless our children
and grandchildren see the object of our faith, will they not also wander in the
wilderness of unbelief?
Many of us often go to church, we
attend Bible studies, but we seem to fall short, we still live life on our
terms. If you are on that road, and you
are sick of self, sick of always coming up short, it is time to grit your teeth
and ask God to guide you to “How.” Psalm
119:9-11 gives us this, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not
wander from your commandments! I have
stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” What you and I store up and
treasure in our hearts is what we will draw from in time of need, in times of catastrophe;
so store His word, know and put to memory His promises; then when you hear His
voice you will know how to answer and how to conduct your life.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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