Are we being rebellious in Spirit? Are we trying to be stubborn and not do what the Lord is leading us to do? Are we being contrary to our convictions? Rebelling against our Heavenly Father the way teenagers often do with their earthly ones? What does the Word say about a person with a rebellious heart?We are storing up wrath for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5). Proverbs 19:3 tells us he ruins his life as his heart rages against the Lord. Proverbs 12:8 says they are despised. Proverbs 11:20 even goes so far as to say the Lord despises those who hold perversity (being marked by a disposition to oppose or contradict) in their hearts.
It is easy for us to applaud this behavior calling it independence or idealism when it is really rebellion and pride. (OUCH!!) But it is a heart thing. What is in our hearts? Faith or rebellion?
Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man when he saw the faith in the hearts of those who carried him (Matthew 9:2). He healed the sick woman of her disease because of the faith in her heart (Matthew 9:22).
So what does this mean?
We should be willing to die for our faith like Esther (Esther 4:16). As Americans we don't typically face religious persecution unto death. But if we were faced with it, would we die to protect and uphold our religious beliefs? We should submit more to our Heavenly Father (the father of our spirits) so that we may live (Hebrews 12:9). We should pray for a teachable heart and submit to God (James 4:7).
And finally, we should be peacemakers. "Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:18 What kind of harvest are we raising?
© 2011 Stephanie Kepler
No comments:
Post a Comment