Hebrews 3:15 While it is said, today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Please, please my Friends, I implore us, don’t do that! That’s a most unwise position to take. That’s the same errant position the Israelites took ages ago and subsequently wandered forty years in the wilderness. ‘When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.’ (Heb.3:9-11) Yes Friends, the Israelites that came up out of bondage from Egypt had the most experience, had a front row seat to see our God perform in all His might and majesty. No one knew His awesome capabilities better then them, yet they were so hard headed and stubborn they rebelled against Him. Hn! How can you explain it eh? I don’t know what they really expected, for though our God is kind, LOVING and very merciful, like all of us, He too reaches a point when He says, enough is enough. It might just take a little longer with Him, than with us. Thus the rebellious Israelites paid the penalty for abandoning the Lord, by wandering forty long, lost, aimless years in the wilderness, when the Promised Land was only a few miles away. They wandered in the desert until all those who came up from Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, died without setting foot on the other side the Jordan, where all that milk and honey waited for them, cause they were too afraid to go over and claim it. I feel sorry for Moses though. He went through so much to bring them there, then because of their stubborn pride and disobedience, he paid the price of not setting foot over there either. Oh Friends, that’s why I keep saying our leaders can only guide and advise us, but when it really gets down to the nitty gritty, it’s the people, you and me, who have to take responsibility for our overall actions. Moses did his best, teaching them what God required of them, but they chose to go their way, like many of us are doing today. My people, that’s not a healthy choice, for if we disobey God’s dictates, we’ll pay a hefty price, again like the Israelites. Sorry, we’re already paying that hefty price with all the trouble our world’s currently experiencing because we deceived ourselves into thinking that the great strides we’ve made in the last couple decades in science, technology, finance and commerce was our doing. Sad to say, it was not. Consequently we made the almighty dollar our guiding light, regressed in humanitarian activities, relegated God to the back burner and tried our best to remove what we considered His interfering hand from our lives. But Friends, it was His hand that brought us prosperity. It’s His hand that gives us everything. So since we didn’t want His hand in our business, He removed it. And yuh see what happened? Everything crash! The chickens have now come home to roost and our world’s disintegrating right before our very eyes. Oh my people, that was such sad folly. It’s obvious we haven’t learned anything from other societies that behaved the same way and ended up begging bread. However Friends, out of His vast store of unconditional LOVE and mercy, the Lord has seen fit to give us another chance to enter the Promised Land, through repentance and subsequent obedience. I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but my people, the only way we’ll ever return to prosperity is by focusing on God; daily studying His Word, regularly fellowshipping with other believers, individually living in obedience to Him, and getting Him back into our schools, churches and public places. It’s the pillars of Christianity that first brought us prosperity, will bring it again and keep it constant. Once we move away from God, the whole edifice will come tumbling down. Oh Friends, as Bruh Paul warns, ‘Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.’ (Heb.3:12) Yes, too many of us had that evil heart of unbelief, that’s why we’ve ended up in such a terrible mess, and those of us who remained faithful and steadfast did not do a good enough job to keep our wavering brethren on the straight and narrow. But that’s now all water under the bridge. It’s time to move forward and heed Bruh Paul’s advice: ‘But exhort one another daily, while it is called TODAY; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.’ (Heb.3:13) That’s what we need to do my people; help, exhort, remind, admonish, call upon, plead, stimulate, whatever it takes to keep each other focused on God and the way He desires us to live. ‘For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.’ (Heb.3:14) That’s so true Friends, in every walk of life, but none more so than in Christianity. You never reap the full benefits and rewards of any programme unless you hold steadfast and persevere to the very end. That’s something we’re sadly lacking in our society these days. Everything is about now for now. Nobody waits for anything anymore. But my fellow believers, our Leader, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, expects that from us; that we’ll persevere to the very end, until He returns in all His glory. He expects nothing less. So please, let’s apply ourselves to accomplish that goal nuh, through prayer, study, fellowship and witness, thereby ensuring that today, if any one hears His voice and His Word, they will not harden their hearts, but receive it willingly, with exceeding joy. Much LOVE!…the promised land begins as a state of mind…by faith…we’re required to believe it…before we see it…
Please, please my Friends, I implore us, don’t do that! That’s a most unwise position to take. That’s the same errant position the Israelites took ages ago and subsequently wandered forty years in the wilderness. ‘When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.’ (Heb.3:9-11) Yes Friends, the Israelites that came up out of bondage from Egypt had the most experience, had a front row seat to see our God perform in all His might and majesty. No one knew His awesome capabilities better then them, yet they were so hard headed and stubborn they rebelled against Him. Hn! How can you explain it eh? I don’t know what they really expected, for though our God is kind, LOVING and very merciful, like all of us, He too reaches a point when He says, enough is enough. It might just take a little longer with Him, than with us. Thus the rebellious Israelites paid the penalty for abandoning the Lord, by wandering forty long, lost, aimless years in the wilderness, when the Promised Land was only a few miles away. They wandered in the desert until all those who came up from Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, died without setting foot on the other side the Jordan, where all that milk and honey waited for them, cause they were too afraid to go over and claim it. I feel sorry for Moses though. He went through so much to bring them there, then because of their stubborn pride and disobedience, he paid the price of not setting foot over there either. Oh Friends, that’s why I keep saying our leaders can only guide and advise us, but when it really gets down to the nitty gritty, it’s the people, you and me, who have to take responsibility for our overall actions. Moses did his best, teaching them what God required of them, but they chose to go their way, like many of us are doing today. My people, that’s not a healthy choice, for if we disobey God’s dictates, we’ll pay a hefty price, again like the Israelites. Sorry, we’re already paying that hefty price with all the trouble our world’s currently experiencing because we deceived ourselves into thinking that the great strides we’ve made in the last couple decades in science, technology, finance and commerce was our doing. Sad to say, it was not. Consequently we made the almighty dollar our guiding light, regressed in humanitarian activities, relegated God to the back burner and tried our best to remove what we considered His interfering hand from our lives. But Friends, it was His hand that brought us prosperity. It’s His hand that gives us everything. So since we didn’t want His hand in our business, He removed it. And yuh see what happened? Everything crash! The chickens have now come home to roost and our world’s disintegrating right before our very eyes. Oh my people, that was such sad folly. It’s obvious we haven’t learned anything from other societies that behaved the same way and ended up begging bread. However Friends, out of His vast store of unconditional LOVE and mercy, the Lord has seen fit to give us another chance to enter the Promised Land, through repentance and subsequent obedience. I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but my people, the only way we’ll ever return to prosperity is by focusing on God; daily studying His Word, regularly fellowshipping with other believers, individually living in obedience to Him, and getting Him back into our schools, churches and public places. It’s the pillars of Christianity that first brought us prosperity, will bring it again and keep it constant. Once we move away from God, the whole edifice will come tumbling down. Oh Friends, as Bruh Paul warns, ‘Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.’ (Heb.3:12) Yes, too many of us had that evil heart of unbelief, that’s why we’ve ended up in such a terrible mess, and those of us who remained faithful and steadfast did not do a good enough job to keep our wavering brethren on the straight and narrow. But that’s now all water under the bridge. It’s time to move forward and heed Bruh Paul’s advice: ‘But exhort one another daily, while it is called TODAY; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.’ (Heb.3:13) That’s what we need to do my people; help, exhort, remind, admonish, call upon, plead, stimulate, whatever it takes to keep each other focused on God and the way He desires us to live. ‘For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.’ (Heb.3:14) That’s so true Friends, in every walk of life, but none more so than in Christianity. You never reap the full benefits and rewards of any programme unless you hold steadfast and persevere to the very end. That’s something we’re sadly lacking in our society these days. Everything is about now for now. Nobody waits for anything anymore. But my fellow believers, our Leader, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, expects that from us; that we’ll persevere to the very end, until He returns in all His glory. He expects nothing less. So please, let’s apply ourselves to accomplish that goal nuh, through prayer, study, fellowship and witness, thereby ensuring that today, if any one hears His voice and His Word, they will not harden their hearts, but receive it willingly, with exceeding joy. Much LOVE!…the promised land begins as a state of mind…by faith…we’re required to believe it…before we see it…
SCRIP-BITS 