Dec 12, 2018
In spite of the
judgments, the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did
not repent... Rev 9:20
Sadly, if we don't
repent before the punishment comes, we won't after---so turn back to God now!
It’s a weird thing.
You would think that punishment would change our hearts, but it usually
doesn’t. It may change our behaviors
(temporarily), or change our approach, or maybe change our perspectives, but it
doesn’t do much to change our hearts. If
we wanted to sin before the threat of punishment, we still want to sin after
the threat.
Revelation is the ultimate punishment. We have heard for mellenia that God was going
to judge the heavens and the earth.
Everyone will be judged according to what they have done. And as time draws to a close, the intensity
of the warning and temptation will grow.
Even when the tribulation of men occurs, they do not seem to change
hearts, but only grow harder in the face of judgment.
Pharaoh is the primary Biblical example of this. As each plague occurred, Pharaoh would ask
Moses to intercede and remove the problem.
When Moses complied, Pharaoh’s heart would not change – it would only
get harder. His words and behaviors
changed temporarily, but his heart became more hardened by each judgment, until
finally his first-born son died as a result of the final plague. Even then, Pharaoh recanted from his release
of Israel, and chased them down in the Red Sea only to watch all of his army
destroyed.
God is not just interested in coercing us to change our
behavior, He wants to call us to change our hearts. That’s why Jesus came – to show His love, to
die in our place, and to call us to pursue God out of love for His gift He gave
us. The warnings of judgment are
inadequate for changing hearts, but they are excellent reminders to encourage
those who CHANGE their hearts.
It’s sad to think that people in the last days would miss
the warnings and choose judgment over salvation --- yet aren’t we seeing that today??!!
People who know about Jesus choose to live for themselves instead of
living for God. Many call themselves
Christians yet live like pagans. The judgment
is coming, and people still keep on living a life of sin. Apparently the threat is not good enough to
change a person’s heart.
Stop focusing on how to get away with sin, and start
focusing on God. Turn back to Him, and
grow in love with Jesus. Recognize the
blessings He already has given, and love Him back. Then you won’t be hardened by judgment, and
avoid the punishment to come. And what’s
more … you’ll have a personal relationship with the God of the Universe!
No comments:
Post a Comment