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“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”  Hebrews‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 In today’s church culture we often hear that once you’ve received Christ, your salvation is sure and secure. While there seem to be scriptures to support that viewpoint, here is something else to consider. 

 (lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God)

 While reading this today, I saw an example of my own life where this could apply. 

 For several weeks I have been saving money in a separate account to sign up for my next Ironman race, Ironman Lake Placid 2026. I currently have over $500 saved there and need almost another $400 in order to sign up. 

 Earlier this morning, before I read this scripture, I was reading Luke chapter 6 where Jesus said: Give, and it will be given to you. My mind immediately went to my race money and He asked me if I would be willing to give that to someone else who would like to race but doesn’t have the money to sign up. My immediate response in my heart was “NO”! I have saved that for myself! I don’t want to give it away! I’m almost at my goal, if I give it all away, I’ll have to start over and I’m not sure if I can save enough money fast enough to sign up before they close registration. 

 In an instant my heart was exposed, not to God because He already knew my heart, but to myself because I had not realized how selfish and hard hearted I had become. I had not seen how I was trusting in my own abilities and not in His grace to help me sign up for an expensive race. 

 As I looked at my hard heart, I repented and told Him I’d gladly give it all away! I don’t want anything, especially money, to keep me from being generous. He then showed me that I’m not required to give it away, He just wanted me to see my heart condition. In my heart, full of gratitude and joy, I knew I WANT to give it all away! Since He promised in Luke chapter 6 that it would be given back to me in the same measure but more abundantly than what I would be able to give, what is there to lose? 

 At the end of my life, if I never race at a Lake Placid Ironman event, it will not matter one bit! But at that same moment, if I help someone else out of a loving heart, who wants to race but can’t afford it, I will receive a reward for being generous and loving. That reward will be eternal and will have God’s stamp of approval. My own self made reward of keeping my money so I can do what I want would be lost eternally and it would have caused my heart to become even harder. That’s the deceitfulness of sin! Nobody else can see it and if I wouldn’t tell anyone, they might think it’s God who was blessing me but slowly that sin of selfishness could have grown until it led me away to an evil heart and unbelief. Who knows where that could have ended up going? Maybe I could have become so hard hearted that I would have walked away from Him completely and just become focused on my own temporary life here on earth. I might have destroyed others to get my own way. 

 This is why we need to spend time with God in His word and need the fellowship of other Godly people in our lives. This time God, through His Spirit was able to get my attention. Next time it could be through someone else’s discernment and their ability to hear His voice and they could warn me if I allow them to speak the truth into my life. 

 “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.””  Hebrews‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 Sometimes we hear His voice for ourselves and sometimes we hear it through the words of others. Either way, let’s keep our hearts soft, our minds willing to listen and obey and let’s not reject His voice when He’s trying to get our attention!