"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;"
Hebrews 3:12-14
It's interesting here how the idea of unbelief is equated with evil. I think we often feel that we can't help our own unbelief... that it just creeps up on us and we have to feel it. And perhaps instead, like a lot of other things we don't want to take responsibility for, it is something that we can choose. Doubt and fear and despair... and unbelief... don't have to rule us. If they start creeping in, we can banish them and continue to move forward.
I think that's why the next verse encourages us to exhort one another, and talks about how deceitful sin is. When we sin, we are accepting a lie offered to us by Satan. The lies can take many forms, but they are all alike in that they encourage us to move away from God.
Today, let's recognize the lies that Satan is trying to feed us, and that we don't have to believe them or feel them when they are thrust upon us. We can banish them and turn back to the peace of God. I love the phrase "partakers of Christ" because his atonement, mercy, and love are things that we can allow into our lives every day that naturally counteract the lies that Satan is trying to feed us on the other side. Let's partake of Christ's truth and reject Satan's lies. Let's be steadfast and believing and remain confident in the course we have chosen, to follow the path that God has offered us that leads to exaltation and joy.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;"
Hebrews 3:12-14
It's interesting here how the idea of unbelief is equated with evil. I think we often feel that we can't help our own unbelief... that it just creeps up on us and we have to feel it. And perhaps instead, like a lot of other things we don't want to take responsibility for, it is something that we can choose. Doubt and fear and despair... and unbelief... don't have to rule us. If they start creeping in, we can banish them and continue to move forward.
I think that's why the next verse encourages us to exhort one another, and talks about how deceitful sin is. When we sin, we are accepting a lie offered to us by Satan. The lies can take many forms, but they are all alike in that they encourage us to move away from God.
Today, let's recognize the lies that Satan is trying to feed us, and that we don't have to believe them or feel them when they are thrust upon us. We can banish them and turn back to the peace of God. I love the phrase "partakers of Christ" because his atonement, mercy, and love are things that we can allow into our lives every day that naturally counteract the lies that Satan is trying to feed us on the other side. Let's partake of Christ's truth and reject Satan's lies. Let's be steadfast and believing and remain confident in the course we have chosen, to follow the path that God has offered us that leads to exaltation and joy.
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