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From this lesson we can draw certain conclusions. First, we must let the truth of God rewrite any misconceptions we have about Him. As we search through scripture, we must pay close attention to the words of Jesus as he was sent to reveal God to us ( John 1:17-18, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:1-3 ).

Secondly, we must pay attention to what the Holy Spirit reveals to our spirits. Jesus said in John that one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of everything Jesus told us. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ( John 14:26 ). He will point out the thoughts that hinder us and confirm the truth to us rewriting the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. He will enlighten our minds and bring understanding of God and His ways.

Third, we must understand that God wants to bring us into a deep and intimate relationship with Himself and reveal His fullness to us. Unlike the Israelites who were 100% flesh and blood and not born again with the Spirit of God, we must understand that we have the Holy Spirit living inside us to reveal God’s will to us. Paul told us in Corinthians, “However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” ( I Corinthians 2:9-10a ). At the time of salvation God puts His Spirit into us so that we can fellowship with Him on a different level, a spiritual level. Part of this is to rewrite misconceptions we have about God. Paul went on to say, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” ( I Corinthians 2:10b-12 ). When we listen to the Holy Spirit and understand God’s true nature we will not be like the Israelites whose hard heart shut them out of the promise land, we will walk in the abundant life Jesus offered to his followers ( John 10:10 ).

Tomorrow we look at Part 3: Sanctification is a Process

“That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' “(Hebrews 3:10-11).

Do you long for rest? Are you tired? weary? Does life seem more than you can bear most days? As believers, we have a promise of entering into the Sabbath rest of God but many times we miss this plan for our lives because we do not know it is available. We continue on with our lives and certain things hinder us from entering into the rest God has promised His children. We can look at the example from Israel’s past to understand how to enter into this rest.

As the Israelites wandered through the desert they became increasingly hard of heart. They saw God’s provision for many generations and yet in their defiance they refused to acknowledge Him choosing rather to grumble and complain about Him. The problem was not in their circumstances. It was not because they were wandering through the desert for all those years lacking in provision. The problem was in their hearts. The true attitude and intentions of their hearts were the cause of all their problems. Proverbs says, “For as he [man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7a KJV). Their hearts were sick. They could not recognize the wonderful works of God because this blinded them to it. He provided them with food, water and protection. Miraculously their clothing and shoes never wore out the entire time they were in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5). And yet the attitude of their hearts tainted their perception of God, continually.

The reason is because they never progressed into a true revelation of who God was. They never became acquainted with His ways. They did not strive to understand His character and they misinterpreted His actions concerning them. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, “And so I was provoked (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them. Accordingly, I swore in My wrath and indignation, They shall not enter into My rest.” (Hebrews 3:10-11 Amp). They never entered, not because God kept them out, they kept themselves out because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19). They believed the wrong things about God. They saw His work and instead of progressively coming into further understanding of His nature and becoming more intimately acquainted with Him, they held fast to their unbelieving viewpoints. These ideas drove them around the wilderness for forty years.

Tomorrow we look at Part 2: Lessons from Israelites

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did" ( Hebrews 3:7-9 )

I’ll never forget the moment it dawned on me that God didn’t take the Israelites out into the desert to test them. In fact it was the other way around, they were the ones who tried God’s patience, tested His forbearance all those years and never once did God fail the test. They saw the mighty things He did to bring them out of Egypt. He provided for them and personally led through the desert. Yet that entire generation passed away never entering into the Promise Land. Why? Because of their hardness of heart.

They believed certain things about God. If you read back through this account in Exodus you will see by their words the thoughts and attitudes they held about God. A prime example is when Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea, “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" ( Exodus 14:10-12 ). This shows the true heart of Israel. Instead of believing God had delivered them to bring them into the Land He promised to Abraham, they thought He had brought them into the desert to kill them.

Moses had a different understanding of who God was, look at his reply, “Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." ( Exodus 14:13-14 ). Each viewpoint in the midst of this intense situation was vastly different. The Israelites saw the army and their impending death wanting to surrender. Moses saw the army and knew they were completely outnumbered because God was on Israel’s side. He told them to watch and see their deliverance first hand.

Time after time, God provided, protected and delivered the Israelites and yet they never recognized the mighty works He did. They had preconceived ideas about God and this blocked their ability to trust and rely on Him. They grumbled, complained and were completely ungrateful to the one who sustained them all those years. God’s plan was to lead them out of Egypt and straight into the Promise Land. But because of their hardness of heart and unbelief they were unable to enter, giving it all up to wander in the desert the rest of their lives. God put up with the Israelites even after they accused him of trying to kill them time and time again. God was tested and tried for forty years by the Israelites and found faithful.

This is a lesson for us. “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...” ( Hebrews 3:7-8a ). This is why we are to pay close attention to the message of Jesus. He was sent to show us the full nature and character of God ( Hebrews 1:1-2 ). Imagine if the Israelites had the mindset of Moses who understood God’s intent. The book of Exodus would be completely different. The same is true with us. If we have a revelation of God and His character, then our lives will be drastically different as well. The Holy Spirit is sent to remind us of these things and to lead us into fullness of the truth and the knowledge of God ( John 14:26 ). Our job is to keep our hearts soft, pliable and teachable with the Lord who is willing to reveal himself to us. Jeremiah boasted of this wonderful promise, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD ( Jeremiah 29:11-14a ).

Just as my preconceived notion about the trial in the desert made me think that God tested the Israelites, understanding His nature more clearly revealed the truth of this scripture to me. In the same way, our world views, religious backgrounds and heart attitudes can keep us from being able accept the true loving nature of God. They will taint our view if we allow them to. This is why it is so important to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal these wonderful truths to us. If we keep our hearts soft, minds open and come before the Lord in expectation; He will be faithful in revealing himself to us as well.

Tomorrow we will look at Hebrews 3:10-11: Heart Attitude Can Taint Your Perception of God.

Even today as Christians, it is easy to replace the true intent of scripture for something man made. We readily assign rituals and regulations to follow in the name of Christ in order to ignore the objective of our heart behind it. It is easy to look at the natural realm of religion and therefore separate ourselves from relationship with God. To avoid this, we have to keep our heart in check.

Today's passage of scripture is powerful. Paul is saying that the condition of the heart is what makes someone a Jew, or part of God's chosen people... "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical." ( Romans 2:28 ) Paul is saying that circumcision is an outward sign of an inward reality. It is the condition of ones heart that makes them a child of God.

Circumcision dates back to Abraham, but Abraham received the mark of circumcision as a token or as evidence of the righteousness he had through faith before he was circumcised. That righteousness did not come by observing the Law because it was given before the Law was put into effect. His righteousness came from Faith, and his circumcision was a symbol of that faith. ( Romans 4:11-13 ) Therefore circumcision has always been a sign of the condition of the heart, but the Jews forsook the intent and focused all of their attention on the physical aspect of it.

Therefore Paul is clarifying that being a Jew is not because you were born into that nationality or religion. Being of God's chosen people comes through circumcision of the heart, which is spiritual rather than natural. This spiritual transformation comes about by being united with Christ and born again. It is by the Spirit that this happens not by the written code. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." This leaves no doubt that the church is now God's chosen people on earth. Both Jews and Gentiles who have put their Faith in Jesus are part of the kingdom of God, our 'circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit'.

Today, by believing in Jesus and putting your faith alone in Him, you have the circumcision of Christ. "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ..." ( Colossians 2:11 ) This is the true mark of a child of God. Amen and So Be it!

About a year ago I was struggling at work with some changes that were taking place internally within my department. Every little altercation caused immense drama in my existence. It got to the point that one day my boss meet with me to discuss work and during the course of the conversation he was going to offer me a raise. Because I was so self consumed and wallowing in self-pity we never got there, half way through our conversation I kicked him out of my office.

Needless to say, I still got the raise but it was only after a few weeks and a sincere apology. The issue was my heart. It had been misguided and left unchecked during all of the changes. During that time, I saw only what I wanted to see and built it up in my own mind. My perspective had gotten off course and I was a long way from understanding the truth from any other view point except my own.

In today's passage Paul says it is 'because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart that you are storing up wrath against yourself'. A hard and unrepentant heart accomplishes several things. First a hard heart stops spiritual perception. When we are focused on the natural realm then we are blinded to spiritual truths. In the same way that my self-pity blinded me to the truth of how the changes would help our business, focusing on the earthly things limits our perspective on kingdom things. When we are naturally focused, we are less likely to recognize spiritual truths in operation.

Secondly, a hard heart stops us from understanding spiritual truths. Not only do we not recognize them, we cannot understand them either. We can read or hear a passage of scripture but are unable to understand it because the seed cannot penetrate deep into our hearts. Our heart is conditioned not to receive it. If we are not able to perceive or understand it, then we will never be able to operate in it.

Lastly, hardness of heart keeps us from remembering spiritual truths. Jesus said "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" ( John 6:63 ) and Paul tells us that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" ( II Timothy 3:16 ). God places a huge importance on understanding His word but sadly many Christians do not know it or complain that it is too hard to understand. This is because they spend more time conditioning unbelief and shallowness in understanding then opening their hearts and minds to the Lord and His Word.

Just as I had to humble myself and seek forgiveness from my boss, if we turn and take the time to cultivate a willing heart in seeking the Lord He will be found by us. James tell us "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you" ( James 4:8 ). We must first conditioning the soil of our hearts to receive His word, then believe it and lastly act upon it. When we do this, then we now longer consider facing God's judgment, because we are in tune with Him and operating in His plan. May the Lord bless you today as you consider this.

By nature God created us to be in fellowship with him right from the beginning. We see how God communed with Adam and Eve in the garden and walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening. God has placed such an importance on us knowing him that he innately set this knowledge in our hearts.

God chose us and desires for us to choose Him. He does not force this relationship and when we chose not to recognize him as God or be in relationship with Him, He allows us to walk in the will and direction we chose for life. He does this so we, by free will alone will come to Him.

Previously in this chapter, Paul stresses that we have intuitive knowledge of God. Romans 1:19 tells us that, what can be identified about God is clearly seen. He made this knowledge of Himself known from the very beginning. This knowledge, along with directing us into relationship with Him, will also prevent us from doing such depraved sinful acts. Because the knowledge of God will counter those desires if we choose to recognize His will before our own desires.

Since God has given us free will to choose Him and free will to be without Him, Paul tells us in verse 24, that when we do not choose Him, "God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts..." Clearly God will not force His restraint on us against our will. If we desire and seek out the sinful desires of our heart, then God will give us over to those desires.

In following the desires and lusts of our hearts we actually turn ourselves over to the degrading power of sin. What starts out small can snowball into the degradation of our bodies in shameful ways. Over time, this condition produces hardness of heart and a reprobate mind.

All of this can be avoided by recognizing God. Today choose His will above your own. Come into relationship with Him through His son Jesus' redemptive power. Experience true joy and godly contentment through relationship with Him. Today may you recognize that Him as everything needed for this life.

As believers we have incredible freedom in Christ Jesus. The longer we walk with Him the more liberty we will experience because He patiently shows and encourages us how to tear down barriers that stand in the way. This is why we should not get hung up on minor things. Many Christians like to argue and discuss the small stuff instead of walking in the truth they already know. Instead we should be fully convinced in our own minds what is right and decided that whatever we do we are doing it for the Lord. The difference is the condition of the heart.

Paul said in Colossians, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" ( Colossians 3:17 ). What a difference this perspective can make. It doesn't matter what you do if your motive is wrong. You can serve as a missionary on foreign soil and give all your money to feed the poor, but if your heart is not true then what good is it? The Lord looks on the heart and sees the intention behind the actions. In the same way, insignificant things in the eyes of the world with pure motives please the Lord because it shows a changed heart, warm and responsive to His kingdom.

What a marvelous concept! We do not have to worry about what we eat and drink or which day is holy or special. We simply decide that whatever we do we do as worship before the Lord and let others do the same. We do not belong to ourselves, we belong to God. "So whether we live or die we belong to the Lord". Understanding this will free us to continue walking in truth. Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" ( Romans 14:17 ). These are the things we should pursue and obtain. The more we do not get hung up on trivial matters the more we will understand those things and see them in operation.

I am so thankful that God looks on the heart instead of outward appearances. He reassures us of this in his word, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." ( I Samuel 16:7 ). It has been this way since the beginning. Today, I pray that you decide in your heart not to get wrapped up in outward appearances or in what you do or don't do, but condition your heart to be soft and pliable before the Lord. Proverbs says, "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man" ( Proverbs 27:19 ). Jesus put it this way, "For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" ( Luke 6:45 ). If we work on our heart and get it pure and our motives right then our actions will reflect the condition of our hearts.  May this truth bless and free you, knowing that everything you do you can do for the Lord and His glory, amen!