Devotions

Years ago I was invited to speak at Yale University. Upon my arrival, I was warned that a group of demonstrators in the audience was ready to interrupt me on notice. As I stepped up to the podium, I saw some of those protesters holding signs.

My message that night was, “HELL: WHAT IT’S LIKE AND WHO IS GOING THERE.” I preached exactly what Jesus said: “There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50). As I spoke, there was total silence in the auditorium and the atmosphere grew heavy with conviction. Afterward, everyone filed out of the auditorium in stunned silence.

I will never forget that service. There was a true fear of God in that place, a reverential awe, even among those most resistant to the gospel. A well-known writer for The New York Times covered the event and later he told me, “The place was so quiet that my pen sounded loud.”

As I walked through the lobby after the event, some of the protesters were still there with their signs. When they saw me, they turned away. They had no explanation for the majesty and holiness of God they had just encountered.

I tell you that those days of godly fear are long gone. Today Satan has unleashed a gospel of convenience. Now there are paid ads on New York City buses reading, “There Is No God — Enjoy Yourself!” On London buses, similar signs read, “There Is No God — Let’s Party!”

Why do such references to God persist over time? It is because humankind has never been able to fully shake off a fear of the consequences of sin. The world is nagged by the reality of a Judgment Day, a time of final accounting, and a literal hell. The Holy Spirit has been faithful to warn every generation, no matter how fallen. And He is speaking right now!

“As the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness’” (Hebrews 3:7-8).

“Let us hold fast our confession [of faith]” (Hebrews 4:14).

Holding fast to our faith is crucial because the sin that hardens most is unbelief. Israel hardened their hearts “in the rebellion . . . in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:8). This happened during Israel’s time of testing, when fiery trials had come upon them. During that difficult time, God’s promises seemed to fail them. And when it seemed the Lord was no longer answering their cries, they became peeved at Him.

Something similar has happened to many Christians in this generation. I have talked to believers who were at one time zealous but now have hardened hearts. These are people who once walked faithfully with the Lord. They believed His Word, based their lives on biblical truth, and were totally on fire for Jesus. Then a crisis came. They cried out to God in their time of desperate need, but their prayers were not answered on their time schedule. In anger they accused God, “You have failed me!” Today these people do not want to hear a word I say.

Others have been led away by associations with ungodly friends. God’s grace is still available to them, His mercy extended, but over time the pleasures of sin have hardened them.

God help us in these uncertain days to “take heed” lest any of us become hardened in heart in the day of our trial! You may think you could never harden your heart. But difficult times and trials are guaranteed to come to all who follow Jesus; no one is exempt. Therefore, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).

Now is the time to get right with God because the present generation has lost their fear of Him.

Some who have backslidden tell themselves, “I can get right with the Lord whenever I choose. I’m just not ready. I’m not mad at God; I just need time with my friends, time to enjoy myself. I know God is loving and merciful, so when I’m ready, I’ll come to Him. I’ll know when that time is.” I hear these thoughts especially among young people who are drifting away.

The Holy Spirit has compelled me to show you the danger of coldness. It is not that God turns aside from those who backslide; His grace is offered continuously. The blood of Christ toward sinners will never lose its power, but spiritual coldness has a potent and predictable effect. It leads to hardness of heart.

The term “hardness” indicates a condition that is beyond the influence of any gracious pleadings, any persuading from the Holy Spirit. It begins with coldness — a self-imposed exclusion from God, with no intention of obeying the call of His gospel. Continuing in coldness to God’s voice — keeping distant from the Holy Spirit — will result in hardness.

Paul refers to this when he says that prior to Christ’s return, “There will come a falling away” (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3). He is speaking of a mass apostasy, to be followed by the release of an Antichrist spirit at that time. Those who “did not receive the love of the truth” (2:10) will fall under a great delusion; they will believe lies rather than truth. And those who turn away from Him who is truth will perish (2:10).

Hebrews offers this warning: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12–13).

Theologians use a strange word to describe Jesus, saying He is “impeccable.” To be “peccable” is to fail, to sin, to be at fault, to struggle, to convey the idea that something in you can be riled up. But even in His human nature, Jesus’s divine nature overrode all that. No lust was in His eyes nor was pride in His heart. That in itself is glorious. Even in His human nature He remained sovereign, one with God (Matthew 18:18; Colossians 2:10).

Now consider these beautiful attributes: He is perfectly righteous (John 8:46) and full of justice (8:16). He is both just and our justifier (Romans 3:26). In other words, He finds a way to maintain His justice while justifying us from our unjust deeds.

He is eternal, existing forever (1 Timothy 1:17). He is worthy of our praise for eternity. And He is love (John 13:34) — a love that is unfathomable! He is omnipotent — almighty, with no lack of power. His hands are not tied by the devil nor by our free will; He has power over any situation at any time. He is omnipresent — everywhere at all times. And He is omniscient, knowing the beginning from the end even before the end arrives.

All of this flies in the face of a false teaching nowadays called open theology. This teaching contends that God does one thing in history and we do another — that He reacts to what we do and makes adjustments. No, never! When Jesus was crucified, God didn’t look on passively and say, “Oh, I’d better do something to redeem that.” He had in mind a Lamb of sacrifice long before the creation. He has all authority and He rules in perfect judgment. In sum, He is beautiful — the desire of all nations!

You may think you have certain things figured out about Jesus, such as His Second Coming and end-times theology. In fact, you may know these subjects inside and out, from premillennial to post-tribulation, and that’s fine. But you will never be able to fully comprehend Jesus’ beauty — His justice, His love, His righteousness, His sovereignty, His eternal nature.

When I speak in a crusade, I often search my vocabulary for words to express that supernatural sensation, the moment when Jesus stepped in and changed my life. But I have yet to do it justice. The best way I have found is through a simple analogy.

I tell people that I felt as if I were on an operating table, cold and angry and confused, and Jesus was the surgeon standing over me. My heart was broken. He gently reached over and closed my eyes, and then He opened up my chest, reached deep inside of me, and pulled my heart out. He held it in His hands, a heart filled with hatred and anger and bitterness that consumed me — the brokenness of my past and the curse that was destroying my life and soul.

Jesus slowly took my heart, brought it to His lips, and kissed it. He caressed it and mended the wounds. Then He placed it back inside my chest and closed me up. I knew in an instant that I was better, that my heart was no longer broken. At that moment I knew I was a new creation. I had a new heart — a heart of love and compassion and repentance. All the feelings of hate and resentment were gone. My sins were forgiven and at long last I was free!

I still fight back tears every time I use this analogy. The moment Jesus came into my heart and saved me is the most cherished experience of my life. Before that time no one had every kissed my heart. It was what I needed most from my new Father.

Thank you, precious Jesus!

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.