"I will give you one heart of real flesh..."

With 2 lab finals tomorrow, and small group cards to fill out, I've got a few things on my plate to do. Coming to prayer meeting today meant a lot to me, for the encouragement of seeing my brothers and sisters who are trying to finish off this semester strong, both spiritually and academically. It also left me with the conviction of just how much more needs to be done, and reading Hebrews chapter 3 made that even more so.

7-11: "Today, if you will hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, proved Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' "

It is amazing how easy it is for me to begin hardening my heart to the Lord, without even realizing it. Once I stop seeing God as my best friend, is when I believe it all starts. For even in his statutes, they are there because he loves us, and does not want us to suffer. Looking back on this year at Cornerstone, I am in awe of the blessing God has put at my doorstep. Yet at the same time I feel like I've had that door shut in so many ways, maybe because of fear, uncertainty, laziness, whatever; all are only excuses at the throne of our God. I feel like I should be even closer to my small group members, rather than just some 'church leader' they see once a week (if that).

13- Exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today", lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

No matter how we conduct our lives as Christians, God is not mocked. If we are lukewarm, so be it, what we sow is what we shall reap. If we do not go that extra mile in showing our members that the love of Christ is in us, we'll only be left with 'coulda-beens'. But hope is not lost; every day is a second chance, and I'm praying that this weekend will have almost all of us together, as our last SG dinner was. This is my prayer God; that I not forget that I came to you because I was in awe of the love you have for us, and that we could not run from it even when we try.