“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
Acts 7:51-53 KJV
Not much has changed. Religion is still religion and we are still stiffnecked. Our hearts are still hard and we refuse to obey God's Word.
The next chapter:
“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” Acts 8:20-23 KJV
Do you see this?
"for thy heart is not right in the sight of God" and " if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee."
It's always been about the heart!
If asked, though, we all believe our hearts to be "okay!" We all say "God knows my heart!" and yes, He does. The problem is we are deceived and we don't know our own heart!
The Bible says: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 KJV
When we refuse to obey God's Word and repent, our sins are stored in our heart. You may deny they are there, but God knows. He sees the unforgiveness you've stuffed down there. He knows the bitterness and the anger! He's aware of the resentment and the judgments; the fear and worry, even though you refuse to acknowledge it all.
Instead of having a heart for God; (one that desires a clean and pliable heart before God) you have a heart for the world; the things it offers and you excuse and justify your sins. You look just like and sound just like the world. Your thoughts are the same. How do I know? Because of what comes out of your mouth.
“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Matthew 12:34 KJV
Until we acknowledge and repent of our sins, they remain.
You can say you have "dealt with all of that" all you want, but your mouth betrays you. The unforgiveness and judgements have tied you to every circumstance that caused you pain; from childhood on! You still remember and it still hurts. And the sad part is, it keeps happening over and over, and will continue, until you do repent.
THAT is the disobedience; refusal to obey God's Word and repent! Refusal to humble yourself and acknowledge you are a sinner in need of a Savior!
How can I say all of this?
I know, because I was just like you!
I was churched; I stuffed; and I did the same dumb things over and over, and excused the heartache until I could bear it no longer. At the end of my rope, I came to the conclusion I was not enough and I cried out to God. I then found out HE IS ENOUGH!
There is one Hope, and His name is Jesus Christ!
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 KJV
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19 KJV
Even so - MARANATHA!
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