Day1
Week 17
Hebrews 12
”In every relationship be swift to choose peace over competition, and run swiftly toward holiness, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many. Be careful that no one among you lives in immorality, becoming careless about God’s blessings, like Esau who traded away his rights as the firstborn for a simple meal. And we know that later on when he wanted to inherit his father’s blessing, he was turned away, even though he begged for it with bitter tears, for it was too late then to repent.“
Hebrews 12:14-17 TPT
Cross references
Psalm 43:14;
Romans14:19;
2 Corinthians 7:2;
Galatians 5:4;
Hebrews 3:12;
Deuteronomy 29:18;
Hebrews 13:4;
Genesis 25:31-34
Warning #5
Danger of Rejecting God’s Grace
Root Rot
Competition, bitterness, immorality, carelessness. These are all specific warnings.
We need to check our roots.
Today’s scripture is warning us to be careful not to fall into these types of evil because it affects not just our own lives but the lives of everyone we come in contact with.
I don’t know about you, but the very first one, competition struck me.
Especially in
relationships.
It seems I need to check my heart-roots concerning my relationships with others because I tend to get defensive very easily in conversation and defensiveness is a form of competition.
Is anybody else struggling with this?
Root rot can sneak up on us very quickly.
If left unchecked, we may find ourselves withering, tired, and frustrated not understanding why.
Root rot happens beneath the surface where it is not visible. The evidence only shows up on the leaves of the plant after it’s too late.
The story of Esau has always been interesting to me, because on the surface, it seems a harsh punishment for such a seemingly simple thing.
The word immorality, when used in our culture often is associated with sexual sin, but that’s not the only use for that word. In the story of Esau that was not the case.
What was the big deal? Eau was hungry. He had worked hard all day. I would say he was probably hangry.
It’s hard to focus on important things when you’re hangry, right?
It would seem that Esau was careless with his blessing.
Have you ever been careless with a blessing?
Carelessness does not just happen automatically, especially when it comes to the things of God.
It happens when our hearts are left unchecked.
Maybe, we decide to skip reading God‘s word for a day and then two days and the next thing you know it’s been a week.
Carelessness with the things of God is considered immorality.
I have never looked at it like that before, but in our scriptures today, that is clearly the way that it reads.
We must make sure that our hearts are tapped in to the tap root, who is Jesus. We must stay connected to Him so that root rot does not set in.
I would say it’s time for all of us to do a heart check. Wouldn’t you agree?
Action Step
The top 3 causes of root rot:
Lack of oxygen
Poorly drained soil
Fungi
Yes, these are referring to plants, but the analogy is great.
A lack of oxygen in our spiritual lives would be stress. The cares of this world suffocating us.
Jesus used the comparison of our hearts as soil in the parable of the sower.
Careless wayside, rocky, and thorny soil.
3. Fungi is immorality or carelessness about sin in our lives.
Ask Holy Spirit to help you check your heart for root rot, before it’s too late.
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