Consider This

Hebrews 10 cont’d:

^…. and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Yesterday’s verse reminded us to hold fast our hope, and now we are told to help others in their walk, as well.  In fact, we’re told to “stimulate” others to love and good deeds.

One place we can do this is wherever we gather with other believers – at church, in small groups, over dinner, etc.  And when we gather, we need to be purposeful in encouragement.

It’s important to share with our friends the answers to prayers, especially those they have been praying with us.  It builds our faith.

It’s important to help out our friends in need with meals, visits, texts, gifts, etc. because it blesses them, and we in turn receive a blessing in giving.

It’s not healthy or wise to live the Christian life in isolation, just because we’ve been wounded or we think the church is full of hypocrites.  We need to look past our differences and focus on the hope that we all share – Jesus – and encourage each other daily.

In fact, this verse says this practice grows more important as the days get closer to his return….

Confession

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful…

Hold our hope.  That’s the imperative here in this verse.  So just how do we hold our hope?

One way is through confession. It’s good that we say aloud that our hope is in Jesus.  It’s good for us to hear our own voices declaring the truth.

One way is through recalling his faithfulness.  When we remind ourselves of the goodness of God in our lives, in the lives of our kids, in our daily walk, it builds our faith.

It’s easy to look around us, watch the news, listen to co-workers and friends, and experience life – and become hopeless.  What we see with our eyes and hear with our ears in a given day can weigh us down.

Confessing our hope in the One who is faithful is a necessary, daily, practice that will ensure that we and those in our family stand firm and don’t fall.

What are you confessing today?

The Beauty

Hebrews 10

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Remember a few days ago how we talked of suffering, and the reason for it? 

Jesus suffered and therefore he has sympathy for our weaknesses.  He was tempted in ALL things just as we are, without sin.  He was God in the flesh, one to whom we can relate to, and one to whom we can bow before, for mercy.

That’s the beauty of our Savior.  He’s not just a man or a friend who’s suffered like we do; therefore, he can cry with us.  It’s nice to have friends like that. 

But Jesus is more than that.  He suffered, he experienced life on earth, and yet he walked in the knowledge and truth of knowing he was God’s son and he conquered all temptation to sin.

The beauty of our Savior is that he comes alongside us to comfort us and offer mercy, BUT he extends his hand of grace to take us through these sufferings and pain unscathed by bitterness and wrath, into his glory.

Our friends on earth can sympathize, offer mercy, and lend a hand…but only Jesus can elevate us to his throne of grace and heal our broken hearts.

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Profit

Hebrews 4 talks of the Children of Israel who wandered around in the wilderness, unable to enter the place of rest, because of unbelief.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

These people heard the word of the Lord through their leader Moses, but they chose to not believe it – therefore it did not profit them or help them out.  The word they heard was not united with faith.

I’ve known people and grown up with friends who have attended church all of their lives, they know the word of God better than I do, and they live good lives.  However, there is no faith attached to what they know – so the words they’ve heard become law and result in their own self-righteousness and condemnation of others.

Any time I’m in a place of unrest, I can always trace it back to unbelief.  When I’m worried, it’s because I start to doubt the truth that God cares for me. When I’m lonely, it’s because I’ve chosen to believe the opposite of the truth that He never leaves me or forsakes me. When I’m discouraged, I’m not believing and acting on the goodness of God – my father.  And all of these thoughts weigh me down and send me into stress and frustration.

The word of God is SO true.  But it is null and void in our lives if we do not attach faith to it.

The good news has been preached to you.  Is it profiting you?  Or is it just another piece of information filed away in the folders of your mind?

Take Care

Hebrew 3 says this:

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 

The subtitle/heading in my bible above these verses says “The Peril of Unbelief.”  Did you know that unbelief is a peril? In fact, in these verses it’s also called evil.

We all experience doubts from time to time, and then we rein our hearts and minds back into the truth and trust again. 

But when we “fall away” from believing into unbelief in the very foundation of our faith – Christ Jesus – it’s just like walking out into a storm of the worst kind – with the worst consequences.

The next verse is an instruction to encourage each other every day, so that our hearts don’t harden through deceit.

If you’re struggling with unbelief, seek encouragement and choose to believe.

If you know someone who is struggling, send encouragement their way.  And do it today.

Every House

Hebrews 3:

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God… but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

We all live in houses made by man – our physical homes. Some of them bode well over time and stand strong, but all of them require maintenance.  And some experience cracks in their foundations, while others are blown away by storms.  Every one of our houses was built by someone.

We have another “house” where we also build a home – in our hearts and minds. This is the house where we live, move, and conduct business with those around us.  And we can build it ourselves and experience turmoil, fickleness, and stress…or we can allow Christ to build it and experience confidence, peace, and steadfastness.

I think most of our lives we battle against who’s going to lay the next board – Him or us.  We want to lay boards and hammer in nails that aren’t necessarily good building materials, so God has to come along and pull the nails out and remove the bad wood.

Christ is FAITHFUL, as it says in these verses – and we are his habitation – when we believe and trust in Him.

Therefore, when He builds the house – it stands – for all time, through all storms.

Ask Him to stable your foundation, seal the cracks in the windows and doors, and give you a fresh coat of paint today – allowing him to secure your house forever.

Since He Did...

I’ve heard people often say that if Jesus suffered on this earth, then why shouldn’t we expect to suffer?

Hebrews 2 says, in regards to Jesus:

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Two things stand out to me in these verses.

In order for Jesus to be merciful, and in order for him to aid those who are tempted, he had to be made like them.

In other words, unless we suffer in this world, we will not be able to show mercy or have the heart to help those in need.

This is so true.  I remember before we lost our home and suffered financially, I thought others with financial needs just didn’t know math, and that money issues were simply a matter of adding and subtracting.  How judgmental I was!

Unless we experience pain, we are not merciful.  In fact, we become judgmental.

Unless we suffer, we don’t really care to help those who are suffering.  In fact, we don’t even see them.

Take heart if you’re suffering.  There’s a good reason for it, God is with you through it, and you’re going to come through it full of mercy and kindness for others. 

That may not bring comfort to you now, but as you are aided and loved by others in your own suffering, remember that those friends who are helping you most likely suffered too.  That’s why they’re helping you.

The Fall. Again?

Have you ever wondered if…when Christ returns and we’re all together with him…mankind can once again disobey and be cast from heaven…starting this whole fallen world all over again?

I’ve had that thought cross my mind, because my son actually asked me that question when he was 11 years old. 

I never really had an answer, until I just read Hebrews 1.

After Jesus came and fulfilled God’s plan for him on this earth, he was exalted to the right hand of God, and this entire chapter compares and contrasts Jesus to the angels. And the last verse mentions us – those who will inherit salvation.

Jesus set into order a new way, a way where mankind could inhabit the presence of God and be transformed into his image – sons and daughters – carrying his DNA.

Therefore, our relationship with Christ sets us apart from the angels, sets us secure in relationship with Him, and sets us in a position to reign with him...forever...and ever...

No chance of a "fall" ever again...

As Revelation 21 says of the new earth "...nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

Pretty cool.

None Whatever

Daniel 6:23 Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

We know this story – Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because he refused to bow to the king and stop his prayers to God.

I wonder if Daniel was afraid at first, when he saw the lions and heard them roar?  I wonder if he was prepared to die, just in case God left him there with the hungry lions?  Or did Daniel laugh as he was thrown in, unafraid at all of those teeth that could tear his flesh?

I have no idea what Daniel felt, but he was human, so I’m sure there were doubtful thoughts that flew around.  The key here is that he had already shown his trust in God outside of the den – when he prayed to God – against the king’s rules.

Daniel’s trust, it seems, wasn’t in whether or not God would rescue him from the lions, but rather in the solid fact that God was God and there was no other.

That’s the kind of trust I want to have.  I want to be able to face life and go through it without injury because my trust is secure in Him – the one who made me in his image and loved me enough to send his Son to die and offer me eternal life.

God rescued Daniel.  Daniel lived.  And he wasn’t scarred by that emotional scare.

Amazing.

Trust...Trust

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord.

An interesting verse…

The first part says we are blessed when we trust in the Lord.  This word “trust” is a verb.  It’s an action on our part of telling our soul, our mind, and our heart to trust in the Lord.  It requires faith on our part.

The second part of this verse says we are blessed when our trust is in the Lord.  The word “trust” here is a noun.  It’s our belief system.  It’s a foundation.

There are times to actively trust in the Lord by stepping out in obedience, believing in his goodness, receiving all that he has for us.

Then there are hard times when our trust might be a bit inactive, but our belief system is intact – it’s unsinkable – it’s a sure hold.  Those are times when we have no energy for action, but we are just standing still – rooted in the knowledge of the character of God.

Like we shared in yesterday’s devotion, God requires us to actively place our faith and trust in Him.  But he knows we are flesh, that we fail sometimes, and that life hits us hard and we are utterly out of strength to act.  However, he says we are still blessed because of the trust we have in Him – that deep down belief in his goodness and his love.

Don’t beat yourself up if your faith is weak today.  Stand in the trust you have in the Lord, and rest.  Then when active trust is required, you’ll be ready…

Steadfast

Isaiah 26:3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

Did you know that steadfast is defined at being “dutifully firm?”

Sometimes my mind gets the best of me on any given day, and I have anything but peace.  It’s often when I’m tired or especially when I’ve been thinking discouraging thoughts.  And the final kill is when I think how “bad” I must be in God’s eyes that my trust declines so rapidly due to wrongful thinking.

But this definition gives me hope.  Being dutifully firm means that when we ALL have days like this, where our minds wander and really drag us down, we rein in our thoughts, because we dutifully owe it to our Lord to do so.

In other words, it’s not awful, we’re not bad, and he’s not disgusted with us when we lose our peace at times.  When we realize it, turn back towards the truth and the reminders of his goodness in our lives, he is well pleased.

It’s not about being perfectly on course every minute of every day.  We’re human, our minds get tired, and they often get full, to where we feel as though we’re overloaded.  God knows that.

And we know that when that happens, we can still remain steadfast, because we’re firm in our faith – the faith that God loves us and cares and rules over our minds.

Lost your peace today?  Rein in your thoughts and receive his peace, as you dutifully trust in your God.

Eagerly Waiting

August 20

O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.

Remember yesterday’s devo?  God makes the way of the righteous (those who follow Him) smooth.  He makes our paths level. 

He does this when we follow his ways.

Have you ever broken down on the road and had to wait on someone to come and repair your car, or change your tire?  That wait is one of the longest waits…ever.  We don’t like to be stopped on the way to our destination, especially on the side of the road where other cars are whizzing by us!

It’s no different in our spiritual lives, when we encounter a hazard in the road that sends us off to the side to breathe, recoup, and seek help.

So while we wait, we eagerly wait, and we start remembering and recalling his faithfulness in the other times we were in need.  And we realize that God’s faithfulness and care is actually what we desire and need.  And it brings comfort while we wait.

He is our desire.  He is our hope.  He is the one who shows up, right on time, to get us back on the road again….

Recall his faithfulness.  Trust in Him.

The Way & the Path

Isaiah 26:7  The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.

Most believers I know wouldn’t say it’s a “smooth” ride to follow Christ.  In fact, it can be quite bumpy!  However, one definition of smooth says to “have an uninterrupted movement or flow.”

Yes!  That’s what  God does for us.  We hit a bump road that actually sends us up high, and we crash down hard, but God is the one who “makes the path” level once again, so that we are not hindered in our journey!

Isn’t that awesome!?

If we don’t follow Christ, bumps, hazards, pot holes, etc. make all kinds of trouble in our lives and can even lead to our demise.

But not so, when we follow Christ.  He’s constantly there with us, filling in the holes, leveling out the bumps, and training us to deal with all hazards, so that we make it safe and sound to our destination.

What a great reason to trust in him!

Forever Trust

Isaiah 26 cont’d:

“Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

This part of the song is a direct imperative to those who are singing it – to trust in the Lord…not just now…but forever.

Why?

It’s because He is an everlasting ROCK, not like anything else in which we place our trust. 

He brings down those things that are unassailable (those things that we are unable to defeat) and casts them off, trampled and beaten. 

This speaks again to our trust being in His power, his actions, and his ways.

We can build protective walls, and we can fight off attacks with all our might, and we can even try to move forward in our own strength against our enemies….

But even our best attempts will fail, because they are shifting and unsecure.

Say to your soul, “Trust in the Lord,” then say it aloud until you feel it.

Walls & Ramparts

Isaiah 26 is a song of trust in the Lord’s protection, so I want to go over it verse by verse…

We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful. The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

Ramparts are walls built for protection from the enemy, around a city.  These walls are what fortify a city from attacks, and these walls are built by the Lord to pin us in, protected and safe.

I love the fact that it is HE who sets up the walls and ramparts, not the people of the city.  If set up our own walls of defense, they will crumble for sure.  For example, a wall of hatred won’t protect from an enemy – it will invite him in.

But when the Lord secures us, we are secure.

And when we are faithful, steadfast of mind (unwavering in our trust), we will be at peace.

We cannot be at peace, nor are we safe, if we continually build up walls of protection around our hearts.  But when we allow him to build walls of safety around us (his love, his guidance, his assurance that he is with us) – these walls become impenetrable and we dwell in safety and calmness of heart.