Hello! The verse of the month is Proverbs 29:1 which states, "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."

Sadly, this verse describes the way that many people respond to hearing the TRUTH!!! They stubbornly ignore the TRUTH!!! Obviously this text could apply to many situations in life, but it is also appropriate to think about individuals who stubbornly remain on the path that leads to "destruction" in spite of the fact that they have been rebuked/warned many times (Matthew 7:13-14). I'm simply going to give you my top 10 list of why people remain on the path, even though they have been warned of the imminent danger that awaits...

1. The person is enjoying the sin on the path (Proverbs 9:17-18)

2. The person is full of pride (Proverbs 16:18, 29:23)

3. The person is in the middle of a crowd (Proverbs 30:12, Matthew 7:13-14)

4. The person justifies his sinful behavior (Proverbs 30:20)

5. The person does not like the messenger (Proverbs 15:12, Proverbs 27:6A)

6. The person is blind and deaf to the truth (Proverbs 24:11-12)

7. The person believes lies from the enemy (Proverbs 27:6B)

8. The person procrastinates (Proverbs 27:1)

9. The person believes the path that leads to life is "awful" (Proverbs 3:13-18)

10. The person is not a believer (Proverbs 28:25)

The sad reality is that many people who have heard the truth are still on the path that leads to destruction! Tragically, if they continue they will suddenly be destroyed. Ignoring what God's word says is the most foolish mistake a person can ever make. DON'T EVER DO IT!!!

The text for the month of October is Joel 2:12-13, which states, "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So tear your heart,and not our clothes; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm."

Just a ONE quick point about this text...

The text makes it clear that God requires a torn heart. In Bible times people commonly tore their clothes as an outward sign of grief and sorrow, especially after they realized they were guilty of sinning against God. In reality, this practice was meaningless to the Lord. God desires for a person's heart to be torn! Simply put, this means that a person must really have a broken heart concerning his sin! After committing adultery and murder David stated, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart- these, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).

It seems that many people reach a point in their life where they decide to turn away from sin and "do better." They may decide to stop drinking, smoking, cussing, looking at pornography, or abusing drugs. They may even resolve to be a forgiving/generous/loving individual. Of course, we would applaud such decisions. HOWEVER, simply changing for the better is not what the Lord requires!!! The evidence that a person is genuinely being changed by God is a broken heart concerning his past sins! Simply saying, "I'm not going to do that anymore" is not sufficient.

The harsh reality is that many people have simply "outgrown" their sinful behavior. They no longer do some of things they used to do because they have jobs, spouses, kids, and other responsibilities. The problem is they have never had a torn heart! They have never truly experienced "godly sorrow" which brings about "repentance" which leads to "salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Romans 2:4 states, "God's kindness leads us to repentance." A person must recognize his guilty condition before God (Romans 3:23), see the cross as his hope (Romans 5:8), and really have a broken heart because of the sins he committed or his "new life" is simply a change for the better and not what the bible calls repentance. Genuine repentance will almost certainly include "weeping and mourning" (Joel 2:12-13) because the person's heart is torn. I sincerely hope you know what I'm talking about!!!