Exodus 7:13 - Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened.....
Exodus 7:22 - Pharaoh's heart was hardened.....
Exodus 8:15 - He (Pharaoh) hardened his heart.....
Exodus 8:18 - But Pharaoh's heart was hardened...
Exodus 8:32 - But Pharaoh hardened his heart...
Exodus 9:7 - The heart of Pharaoh was hardened....
Exodus 9:12 - The LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart.....
In a time and age when we have created a God who is all loving and all forgiving, it is hard for us to believe that He would harden someones heart.
Somehow we use the nature of God, His love and mercy, like some kind of cosmic "Get-out-of-jail-free-" Card.
We keep the thought of this loving God in the back of our minds as we merrily sin our way through life, thinking that if times get bad enough we could turn to Him and he would bail our bacon out of the fire. After all, He is a loving, caring God. My buddy...Jesus! Never forget that He is God. That means he is all holy...all loving...all merciful...yet...
He is righteous and Holy, and has a hatred for all sin and the destruction it brings about.
Doing some research, I found out that the phrase used (Pharaoh's heart was hardened) means that God uncovered what was there in his heart. God gave Pharaoh ample time to repent and relent to allow the Hebrew slaves to leave Egypt. Pharaoh chose not to obey the real-deal, living God of heaven and earth. Time and time again, God placed before him an opportunity. Time after time, Pharaoh exercised his own will, until God brought about the death of all the first born of Egypt. How did this happen? Because after repeated opportunities to obey God, God reached down and hardened the heart and mind of this Egyptian king.
We need to be aware of the state of our hearts.
We need to understand that our choices affect our hearts.
We need to understand that our choices affect our hearts.
That is why we need to always be open to the leading of God's Holy Spirit and now allow our flesh (sin nature) to be the "pharaoh" over our life.
Just as Exodus tells us the story about a battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Egypt, so is battles faced by mankind daily.
The battle is between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of "Self".
Every time we allow "Self" to become the dominant voice we listen to, our hearts grow a little harder and harder to the voice and will of God.
At some point, we no longer hear the convicting Voice of God trying to draw us to repentance and freedom from sin. We slide over into the darkness of "Self" and live our lives totally outside the will of God.
I see people living this way daily.
They are good people.
But they have said "No" to God for so long that they are headed down this path to destruction.
Their continual "No" causes them to grow colder and harder with each passing decision.
Don't allow this happen to you.
If you have lived for self, and you have nothing to show for it.
When I say "nothing to show for it," I'm not talking about material possessions or social status. I'm talking about having a heart that is at peace and rest. Being content and filled with purpose that glorifies God. If those things are absent from your life....then listen to God's wooing and call to turn from our old ways and your old heart.
They are good people.
But they have said "No" to God for so long that they are headed down this path to destruction.
Their continual "No" causes them to grow colder and harder with each passing decision.
Don't allow this happen to you.
If you have lived for self, and you have nothing to show for it.
When I say "nothing to show for it," I'm not talking about material possessions or social status. I'm talking about having a heart that is at peace and rest. Being content and filled with purpose that glorifies God. If those things are absent from your life....then listen to God's wooing and call to turn from our old ways and your old heart.
This is the day of salvation....
Call out to God and He will answer....
Don't be a "Pharoah"...
God on you....
mb
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