SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/23/2019
8:22 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Spiritually
and Morally Calloused”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
4:17-19
Message of the verses: “17 This I say
therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as
the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in
their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance
that is in them, because
of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given
themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness.”
In
today’s SD we will look at the third characteristic of the unregenerate person
and that is that he is spiritual and moral calloused “the…become callous” as
seen in the second highlighted portion of our Scripture verses for today. We have mentioned what happened to Pharaoh as
his own heart was hard before the things of God, and as a result of that his
heart became calloused and so God hardened his heart in order to bring about
judgment upon Egypt for their treatment of the children of Israel. MacArthur writes “When people continue in sin
and turn themselves away from the life of God, they became apathetic and
insensitive about moral and spiritual things.
They reject all standards of righteousness and do not care about the
consequences of their unrighteous thoughts and actions. Even conscience becomes scarred with tissue that
is not sensitive to wrong (1 Tim. 4:2; Titus 1:15).” “1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in
later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful
spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in
their own conscience as with a branding iron,” (1 Tim. 4:1-2).” “To the pure, all things are pure; but to
those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and
their conscience are defiled” (Titus 1:15).”
MacArthur
tells a story about a young Greek man who stole a fox and then came upon the
fox’s owner. He put the fox inside his
clothes and stood silent before the owner of the fox and did not move. He stood still while the fox tore out his
vital organs. Even at the cost of his
painful death he would not won up to his wrong.
He then goes on to write the following “Our wicked society is so
determined not to be discovered for what it is that it stands unflinching as
its very life and vitality is ripped apart by the sins and corruption it holds
so dear. It has ‘become callous’ both to
the reality and to the consequences of sin, and will endure any agony rather
than admit that its way of ‘living’ is the way of death.
“On
the other hand, sins that were once hidden or excused are not indulged in
openly and blatantly. Often not even the
semblance of morality is maintained.
When self-desire rules, indecency runs wild and proceeds to cauterize
the conscience, the God-given warning light and pain center of the soul. Those who are dying are desensitized to that
which is killing them—because they choose it that way. Even when held up shamefully in full view of
the world, their sins are not recognized as sinful or as the cause of
increasing meaninglessness, hopelessness, and despair (cf. Rom. 1:31).” “And although they know the ordinance of God,
that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same,
but also give hearty approval to those who practice them” (Rom. 1:32).
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There is no doubt to me that many people in
our country have calloused hearts when it comes to sin and I believe that if
the Holy Spirit does not bring a revival to our land that this country will
cease to be the country it was when it was founded on the principles of the
Word of God.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to learn humility as seen in my
verse for this year: “For through the
grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of
himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as
God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).
Quotation for today and this one is from
D. L. Moody “If you pray for bread and bring no basket to carry it, you prove
the doubting spirit which may be the only hindrance to the gift you ask.”
4/23/2019 8:55 AM
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