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June 29 - The Cost of a Hardened Heart · Bible Chat Devotional

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  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
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  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today, June 29th.
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  Choices that shape your future. The ending of First Samuel is
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  sobering. First Samuel chapter 31, verse 6
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  says plainly. And Saul and his three sons and
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  all his house died together. That's not just a tragic
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  historical footnote. That's the culmination of a life
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  of choices, small compromises, moments of pride, seasons of
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  disobedience, and the gradual, devastating drift away from the
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  God who had given Saul everything.
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  Saul started with so much. He was chosen.
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  He was anointed. He stood head and shoulders
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  above everyone around him. Literally.
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  The promise on his life was enormous.
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  And somewhere along the way, he chose his fear over his faith,
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  his pride over obedience, his own judgment over God's
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  commands. And each of those choices, 1 by
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  1 eroded the foundation until there was nothing left to stand
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  on. Proverbs chapter 19, verse 3
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  speaks directly to this pattern. The foolishness of man ruins his
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  way, and his heart rages against the Lord.
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  It's significant that the verse doesn't just say foolishness
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  ruins his way. It says his heart rages against
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  the Lord. When things go wrong as a result
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  of our own choices, we often turn that frustration toward
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  God. We blame him for the
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  consequences of our decisions. That anger becomes its own
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  barrier to restoration. And verse 4 adds a quiet warning
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  about relationships in hard seasons.
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  Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him.
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  When you're doing well, people show up.
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  When you're struggling, you find out who's actually there for
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  you. This is the reality of shallow
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  versus deep friendships, and it's why who you invest in and
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  who you allow to invest in you matters so much for you.
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  Today, you might be in the middle of a story that's still
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  being written. You haven't reached your chapter
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  31 yet. Every choice you make right now
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  is building towards something. The habits you're forming, the
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  values you're holding or abandoning, the direction you're
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  slowly walking in. These things accumulate.
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  Life doesn't usually turn on one dramatic moment.
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  It turns on hundreds of ordinary ones.
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  Choosing God's way in the ordinary moments isn't always
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  exciting. It doesn't always look
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  impressive. Sometimes it means being the
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  person in your friend group who won't go along with something
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  that doesn't feel right. Sometimes it means doing the
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  honest thing when no one would know if you cut a corner.
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  Sometimes it means waiting on God when every part of you wants
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  to push ahead. But those choices stacked on top
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  of each other, day after day, they build a life that lasts, a
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  foundation that holds a legacy worth leaving.
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  Saul's story is a warning. David's story, with all its
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  flaws and failures, is also a reminder that it's never about
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  being perfect. It's about keeping your heart
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  pointed toward God, returning when you drift, and making the
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  next right choice. Let's pray.
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  Heavenly Father, thank you for guiding us through every choice
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  we face. Let's all story be a warning we
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  take seriously, not just a history we read casually.
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  Help us to build habits and make choices today that reflect a
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  life surrendered to you, not perfect, but persistent.
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  Protect us from pride, from the drift of compromise, and from
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  surrounding ourselves with people who pull us away from
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  your truth. We want to finish well in Jesus
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  name, Amen. What if the night was never
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  meant to be ruled by fear, but covered by the presence and
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  authority of God? Command Your Night is a
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  prophetic prayer script series created for believers who want
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  to pray with confidence before sleep.
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  Stand firm in spiritual warfare and invite divine covering over
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  every hour of darkness. These prayers help you quiet
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  anxiety, guard your home, resist oppression, sanctify your
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  dreams, cover your family, and recognize sacred moments when
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  God may be calling you to intercede in the Night watches.
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  From Peaceful sleep to midnight Breakthrough, this series gently
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  strengthens your faith and reminds you that no night season
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  is beyond God's power, protection, and voice.
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  Order now on Amazon or visit prayerscripts.org.
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  Now I invite you to spend time with God in today's three-year
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  Bible reading plan. Proverbs chapter 19 verses 3 to
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  4 World English Bible The foolishness of man subverts his
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  way, His heart rages against Yahweh.
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  Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his
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  friend. First Samuel chapter 31 World
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  English Bible Now the Philistines fought against
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  Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines
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  and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
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  The Philistines overtook Saul and on his sons, and the
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  Philistines killed Jonathan, Abenadab and Melchisua, the sons
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  of Saul. The battle went hard against
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  Saul, and The Archers overtook him, and he was greatly
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  distressed by reason of The Archers.
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  Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw your sword and
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  thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and
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  thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not,
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  for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword
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  and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that
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  Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died with him.
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  So Saul died, and his three sons and his armor bearer and all his
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  men that same day together. When the men of Israel who were
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  on the other side of the valley and those who were beyond the
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  Jordan saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and
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  his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled,
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  and the Philistines came and lived in them.
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  On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the
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  slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount
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  Gilboa. They cut off his head, stripped
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  off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all
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  around to carry the news to the House of their idols and to the
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  people. They put his armor in the House
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  of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of
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  Beit Shan. When the inhabitants of Jabish
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  Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
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  all the valiant men arose, went all night, and took the body of
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  Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beit Shan, and
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  they came to Jabish and burned them there.
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  They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in
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  Jebusch and fasted 7 days. Thanks for joining us on Bible
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  Chat, where Scripture meets everyday life.
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  be sure to follow the podcast so you won't miss the next
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  conversation. Until next time, stay rooted in
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  truth, anchored in hope, and walking daily with Jesus.