Dull hearts

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.

Showing mercy

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 10:11-37

TO CHEW ON: "'So which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among thieves?'

And he said, 'He who showed mercy on him.'

Then Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise'" Luke 10:36-37

The practical working out of what we say we believe is never as straightforward as it looks or sounds. When the lawyer answered his own question to Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life," he probably rattled off his reply like a memorized response in catechism class: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself."

Jesus' story of the good Samaritan in response to the young man's question, "Who is my neighbour?" illustrates how much harder it is to actually live out loving one's neighbour than to just quote the answer. When the Samaritan responded to the poor beat-up man it took over his day with a busyness and inconvenience he had not counted on. He could have come up with so many good reasons not to get involved:

It's not my duty.
The victim may not have been a fellow-Samaritan, in fact, probably wasn't. In other circumstances the now helpless traveler would likely have snubbed the Samaritan.

It's not safe.
The man had just been robbed and beaten up. Who knew if the bandits weren't hiding behind the hill or in the bushes for someone just like him to come by and help.

I don't have time.
But he took time to stop, bind the man's wounds and help him onto his mount. Then, probably slowed down considerably, they made their way to the next town.

I don't have the money.
For the Samaritan, that seems to have been no objection. He was generous in making sure the man's needs were cared for.

Jesus' telling of this story illustrates the gulf between knowing the right thing to do and actually doing it. None of us will live the exact scenario Jesus described in this story. But, given life's ups and downs, one of these days we'll meet a 'neighbour' who needs mercy. I ask myself, will I, will you, have the wisdom to know what mercy looks like in the situation? And will we have the character and courage to act in mercy? Or will we take the easy way out, illustrating by our excuses that we really know very little about loving God with my heart, soul, strength and mind?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me translate the love I say I have for You into practical demonstrations of mercy to those I meet who need it. Amen.

MORE: Keith Green sings "On the Road to Jericho"

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Does God like the look of your heart?

"The youngest one was out keeping the herd"
From "L'ancien testament",  Lucile Butel illustrator

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 16:1-23


TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" 1 Samuel 16:7

The Oscar Awards are a big night for appearance-driven Hollywood. After award night, social and mainstream media is full of comments about what people wore, how they handled themselves, who was well-spoken and who not. I wonder what God would have said to Samuel about that affair.

Actually, Samuel himself was prone to judge by appearances, thinking surely Jesse's handsome son Eliab must be God's choice, or Abinadab, or Shammah. But no. Each good-looking man was passed over until there were none left and Samuel had to get Jesse to call young David from sheep-herding.

What was the secret of David's heart that made it acceptable to God? Paul refers to this incident in Acts 13 where he says, "He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said 'I have found David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will'" - Acts 13:22).

It was the willingness to do, the obedience factor, that God valued in David, and the disobedience in Saul that caused God to reject him (1 Samuel 15:20-23).

It is still an essential ingredient God looks for in people. Obeying God:

• is the key to prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8).
• is the basis on which we call God our God (Jeremiah 7:23).
• is our pass into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21).
• gives us the privilege of being part of God's family (Luke 8:21).
• trumps our loyalty and obedience to people (sometimes even the laws of the land) (Acts 5:29).
• demonstrates that we love God (2 John 1:6).

Every time I read this story, I come away asking, What would be God's verdict on my heart? What about yours?


PRAYER: Dear God, help me to see myself as You see me. Also, please give me insight into others and a heart that values the things that You value above outward appearances. Amen.


MORE: "To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice" - Keith Green

Religious habits

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 58:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and you take no notice?'" Isaiah 58:3a

God is never fooled by our rituals. In our reading today, God scolds Israel for something we would think would earn His praise. Fasting—denying themselves food and drink as an expression of worship and faith in God—is a regular part of their practice. But God is taking no notice of their religious works. Why is this?

It is because in their actual living, they are violating principles that are close to God's heart. For one, they are ignoring the most needy in society. God tells them the fast that would get His attention: "To share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh" (vs. 7).

We are not so different. Daily and weekly habits of religion—like a regular Bible-reading and prayer time, regular attendance at church—may make us feel like we're meeting the requirements. But if they are just going through the motions and these actions are not the expression of a real and vital relationship with God, they can be as much a form as the Old Testament fasts.

In the home where I grew up, my dad was a stickler for being on time. He would rather be ten minutes early than one minute late. As a result, Mom did her best to honour his wishes, to the extent of setting the table for Sunday breakfast on Saturday night to help ease the Sunday morning rush. She showed her love and respect for him by actually changing her routine so his wishes would be honoured.

Do we take the same actions when it comes to our relationship with God. First we need to know what He desires. Do we know what pleases Him -- the things He really values? Two of them are mentioned in Isaiah 58: showing kindness to the poor [Isaiah 58:6-7] and setting aside one day in seven for Him [Isaiah 58:13-14].) Then, motivated by love for Him, we need to uphold and further these things in our actual day-to-day living.

PRAYER: Dear God, You see through my actions into my motivations. Please show me where I'm kidding myself that all is well because I have formed some religious habits while ignoring things You really care about. Amen.

MORE: "To Obey is Better than Sacrifice" by Keith Green

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Does God like the look of your heart?

"The youngest one was out keeping the herd"
From "L'ancien testament",  Lucile Butel illustrator

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 16:1-23


TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" 1 Samuel 16:7

Our society's fascination with award ceremonies for entertainers intrigues me. There is a huge media buzz around the Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, Grammys and, in Canada, the Junos. The list of winners tells us who has impressed the judges with performance. News reporting on such evenings is full of red carpet gossip about appearances--who made a splash, wearing what, on the arm of whom.  I'm sure God's evaluation of the people in these events would be quite different from what we read in the paper or online.

Actually, Samuel was himself prone to judge by appearances, thinking surely handsome Eliab must be God's choice, or Abinadab, or Shammah. But no. Each good-looking man was passed over until there were none left and Samuel had to get Jesse to call young David from sheep-herding.

What was the secret of David's heart that made it acceptable to God? Paul refers to this incident in Acts 13 where he says, "He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said 'I have found David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will'" - Acts 13:22).

It was the willingness to do, the obedience factor, that God valued in David, and the disobedience in Saul that caused God to reject him (1 Samuel 15:20-23).

It is still an essential ingredient God looks for in people. Obeying God:

• is the key to prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8).
• is the basis on which we call God our God (Jeremiah 7:23).
• is our pass into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21).
• gives us the privilege of being part of God's family (Luke 8:21).
• trumps our loyalty and obedience to people (sometimes even the laws of the land) (Acts 5:29).
• demonstrates that we love God (2 John 1:6).

Every time I read this story, I come away asking, What would be God's verdict on my heart? What about yours?


PRAYER: Dear God, help me to see myself as You see me. Also, please give me insight into others and a heart that values the things that You value above outward appearances. Amen.


MORE: "To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice" - Keith Green




(From the archives)