TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 5-8; Psalm 110
TO CHEW ON: “And He said, ‘Go and tell these people;
“Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”’” Isaiah 6:9
Isaiah’s encounter with God brings an overwhelming sense of his own sinfulness. But after the angel purifies his lips with a live altar coal, he responds to God’s call for help with “Here am I! Send me.”
It is then he gets the bad news. The people God is sending him to have dulled understanding. They will see but not see. Hear but not hear. Their hearts are blunted toward God and will be unreceptive to Isaiah.
A footnote in my Bible says:
“The same message that softens a receptive heart also hardens an unreceptive heart. So in sending forth the message to a people known to be unreceptive, their condition is worsened” - Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p.881.
In our society, which prides itself on skepticism toward claims of absolute truth, an unreceptive attitude toward the Gospel is common. Is there a chance some of that attitude has seeped into us and begun to calcify our own hearts?
The Bible speaks eloquently of the by-products of a dull, unbelieving heart.
1. Theological confusion and dithering - 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 3:7.
2. Moral confusion - Romans 1:28-32
3. Marriage breakdown - Matthew 19:8.
4. We become blind to the fact that sin’s attractiveness is a lie - Hebrews 3:13
5. Miracles don’t happen - Matthew 13:58
6. We become vulnerable to calamity - Proverbs 28:14
7. We become vulnerable to premature death - Proverbs 29:1
8. There are repercussions on how we spend eternity - Romans 2:5
I don't know about you - but I don't like these!
PRAYER: Dear God, please give me a sensitive, believing heart. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 110
MORE: Keith Green sings his prayer for a softened heart in “My Eyes Are Dry.”
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
