Monday, July 3, 2023
God’s Warning System
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:11 NLT)
I’ve flown in a lot of different planes, from big ones to very small ones. And something that all planes have is a warning system that alerts the pilot when something is going wrong.
In the same way, if you’re a child of God, then you will sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit when you begin to cross a line. Your conscience is the warning system God has built within you.
We find the infrastructure for our beliefs in the pages of Scripture, and God’s Holy Spirit works through our conscience to give us a sense of what is right and wrong. Thus, when we begin to do something that isn’t right, the Holy Spirit, through our conscience, tells us that it’s wrong.
Additionally, because we’re God’s children, the Bible says that God will discipline us. So, when we start to go astray, when we do something that is wrong, the Holy Spirit is there, lovingly yet firmly saying, “Don’t do that.”
But here’s the problem. If you’re not a believer, then you won’t sense any conviction at all. You will go out and do whatever you want to do, and your heart will be so hardened that you won’t even care.
Here’s what the Bible says about this: “If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all” (Hebrews 12:8 NLT).
If there is something you’ve been doing that you know is wrong, if God’s Holy Spirit has been telling you to stop but you’ve found a way to justify it, then I have one word for you: repent.
To repent means to change your direction. Stop doing what you’re doing, because if you don’t stop, your heart will grow more and more hardened. God is warning you for your own good.
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