The sun is coming up in my part of the world and it is hidden by cloud cover. I have the luxury of taking some time away from work and have no particular schedule to keep. The resort we are staying at has a well equipped kitchen with a nice coffee pot. So my Door County Irish Creme Coffee traveled with me and has filled the room with a wake up call of sweet aroma. Thank you to our nephew Nick for watching the house and our dog Gibbs. I do however miss that furry ball of mischief, and Gibbs too. I do however have a date with a chain saw later today.
Hebrews 3:12:15
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Not all that long ago both of my knees flared up with some pretty intense joint pain. I injured them after trying to relive my younger days during a workout at the gym. I paid for that stunt dearly. I am happy to say that they are back to normal, "Old and worn out" but not in constant pain. Once the knee pain started I turned to the freezer for help, and no it wasn't for a dish of ice cream. I have hidden in the back of our electric ice cave two super gel, super sized, reusable ice packs that last for hours. I applied one to each knee and took a nap. I woke up to a different form of pain. It seems as if they cloth I had placed between the ice pack and my skin was not thick enough to protect me from frost bite on my right knee. I put a serious burn on that one. It was like treating a summer sunburn for several days. I won't forget that sting. One thing I did not know about frost bite is that, after it heals the damaged skin peels just like a sun burn. I noticed that yesterday and had to scrub off the dead skin. The new body covering is still kind of pink and is a good reminder of my foolishness.
My skin repaired itself by God's design. I have within the last two days encountered an aliment of the heart. It's not me, I am fine. Let me tell you about this ailment. It is very dangerous. It is a frozen heart. This aliment is self controlled and can be avoided with the right medicine. A heart that once beat for others and for God can be frozen and often is contagious causing damage to others. It all starts with selfishness and putting your desires before others. The condition worsens with choices that are not Godly and result in sin. As the heart condition progresses and the heart is freezing and becoming hard it then refuses to be corrected. The family then calls on the Specialist who recommends major surgery, but the owner of the heart denies surgical consent and turns away from the help. The condition worsens and now causes the owner of the heart more pain as they shun God, friends and family. Where there once was abundant love pumping through a heart, now there is pain, anger,shame and emptiness. Certain activities will mask the pain, but are just like pain relievers given by a doctor. They mask the pain but do not cure the ailment. This condition is very serious. Like a true heart attack a frozen heart can be repaired. But we all know that a heart attack leaves scars and damage. Some damage is never able to be fixed.
God clearly warns us to avoid the trap of a frozen heart. There are ways to avoid a frozen heart but there is only one cure and the one cure is to humble ourselves before God and allow the Holy Spirit to complete the heart surgery needed that helps us to return to good health in our relationship with God and others.
Ezekiel 18:30-32
Know someone like this? Give them a "Gospill" dose of love and share a bible verse with them. Don't preach, just love. No one likes going to the doctor knowing that they could of avoided the trip if they had just taken care of their own body. To be healthy we need to read our Bibles, follow the Word, love the Lord, pray, and repent as needed. This can avoid a costly trip to God's Emergency Room after we have experienced the pain, agony, and sorrow of a frozen heart.
God bless,
Marty
No comments:
Post a Comment