Keep on Keepin' On

One of the first things we do in my bible study every Thursday night is review the things we have learned thus far about the book of Hebrews. I'll share a couple of these truths:

• It is a letter of exhortation written to Jewish Christians.
• The recipients of the letter were being severely persecuted and were in danger of shrinking back to their belief in Old Testament practices.
• The recipients were well versed in Old Testament scripture.

We typically spend several minute doing this; the repetition has cemented a lot of truths in our minds as we review and repeat the same things each week. Something new that hit home last week was the basic premise that when the outlook on life looks really bleak, we need to remain confident in Christ by keeping our eyes firmly on Him and the promise we have been given. This is a great reminder because we've all been there when our week is going terrible and it only seems to be getting worse. However, as I briefly mentioned in my previous post, our lives look pretty sweet compared to some of the persecution referred to in biblical times. Consider Hebrews 10:32-34:

"But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly being made a spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property..." (emphasis mine)

While the great conflict of sufferings is not described in detail, we can be sure that their property was seized. This could mean that their home had been taken away and maybe all their livestock. Can you imagine having your home, vehicle or business seized simply because you confess to be a Christian? While this may not happen in America today, the reality is this still happens in countries across the globe; praise God for the freedoms we often take for granted. As a way of encouraging the recipients of his letter, the author goes on to quote Habakkuk 2:4a, "But my righteous one shall live by faith." Why would this small quote be so significant or encouraging?

The prophet Habakkuk was questioning God about the current state of affairs in Judah - there were many evil people and he wanted to know why they were not being punished. He cries out in the first couple of verses of chapter one stating that the wicked are surrounding the righteous and justice is never upheld. God replies, "I am doing something" (1:5) for "I am raising up the Chaldeans" (1:6). The Chaldeans (Babylonians) are described as the fierce and impetuous people who came for violence and to mock kings; Babylon was the world's rising super power at the time. God was making it clear that Judah's impending judgment would come at the hands of a nation more wicked than Judah? How is that encouraging? While this seems to be at odds with the very nature of God, Habakkuk trusted God's purpose in using the Chaldeans to accomplish His purpose in His time. He ends the short book of Habakkuk with this (3:17-19):

"Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and make me walk on my high places."

As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, the Hebrews were familiar with Old Testament scripture. When the author of Hebrews referred to Habakkuk, they fully understood that Judah's judgment was fierce and ugly yet the prophet remained hopeful in spite of this knowledge. How can we too be hopeful with the knowledge that our walk as Christians may get harder before it gets easier? Like Habakkuk reminded us at the close of his book, we must rejoice in our Lord knowing that He is our strength, and in all things He is purposeful. Not everything in our life will be good, but God will work all things for our good in the end (Romans 8:28).

While applying this to my own life last week, I described it as being something kind of like an out of body experience. I have to endure the struggles and challenges that I face with my physical body in the temporal world, knowing that Christ is purposeful in all that we experience. We have to keep our eyes and mind on the things of above so that we can exult in the Lord, and rejoice in the God of our salvation. We must be confident that we can endure all things if we choose to live by faith in God (Habakkuk 2:4/Hebrews 10:38a).

I pray you are encouraged by God's reminder; I am going to re-visit the idea of living by faith in an upcoming post so if you get a chance, check out Hebrews 11 in the next couple of days.

By Faith

I am nearing the end of my year-long study of the book of Hebrews and it has been so rewarding. Challenging at times, but mostly rewarding as I have gleaned greater depth of understanding into the word of God which so masterfully illustrates why and how Jesus became the better sacrifice allowing us to enter God’s presence. I entered chapter 11 this week where the author begins recounting the faithfulness of past individuals who lived in faithful expectation of receiving God’s promise. I love this chapter. It is motivating, encouraging and renewing. Too often I get bogged down in thinking about how hard or miserable my situation is when in reality I know my situation is pretty sweet compared to Old Testament times. I don’t have much more to say in light of the scripture I share below, but I pray you also are encouraged by reading it today.

Hebrews 11:32-40

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

(emphasis mine)

Happy Easter

In light of the upcoming celebration of the ressurection of Jesus, I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon what He has done for me. Through my (almost) year long study of the book of Hebrews, I have learned so much about the sacrifice that Jesus made and the symbolism involved in the Old Testament system of offering gifts and sacrifices. God never desired the sacrifice of calves and goats for they never cleansed the consciousness of the sinner. Jesus was the one time, all-perfect and all-satisfying sacrifice that cleansed our consciousnesses of sin. When Jesus returns a second time, He will do so without reference to our sin. Praise God for His mercy and the merciful provision of His perfect Son.

I pray you have a restful Easter holiday. Don't forget what we are truly celebrating - the death and ressurection of Christ our King. May the following hymn remind you of what was completed in Jesus.

The atoning work is done,
The Victim's blood is shed;
And Jesus now has gone
His people's cause to plead.
He stands in heaven, their great High Preist,
And bears their names upon His breast.

He sprinkled with His blood
The mercy-seat above;
For justice had withstood
The purposes of love:
But justice now withstands no more,
And mercy yields its boundless store.

No temple made with hands
His place of service is;
In heaven itself He stands,
A heavenly priesthood His:
In Him the shadows of the law
Are all fulfilled, and now withdraw.

And though awhile He be
Hid from the eyes of men,
His people look to see
Their great High Priest again:
In brightest glory He will come
And take His waiting people home.

by Thomas Kelly


For more information on why or how Jesus replaced the Old Covenant system of sacrificing calves and goats read the book of Hebrews. The book is wonderfully saturated with explanations on how Jesus is the better sacrifice; I'm studying chapter nine at the moment and this chapter has helped prepare my heart for the celebration of Jesus' ressurection.

Faithfulness

One of my favorite stories in all the bible is found in Genesis 22 – God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham starts preparing immediately and departs early the next morning with Isaac, two of his servant and wood for the burnt offering in tow. Three days into the journey they arrive. Abraham commands his servants to stay put and then loads Isaac up with the firewood (he is carrying the wood that he is sent to be the burnt offering over). As they begin walking, Isaac asks Abraham where the lamb is for the burnt offering. With nary a bit of doubt, Abraham replies that the Lord will provide Himself with a lamb (God foreshadowed his own provision of Jesus). Once they arrive at the place God has told him, Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on the altar. Abraham’s hand is outstretched with a knife when an angel interrupts him telling him not to lay a hand on Isaac. As Abraham turns he notices a ram caught in the thicket nearby.

Despite my love for this story, I haven’t had a very deep understanding of it until recently. Let’s rewind and review a bit of what I know about Abe. Abraham and his wife Sarah waited 25 years for Isaac to be born after God originally promised them. When Isaac was finally born, Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:1-12). During that 25 year period, Abraham did not have a bible available to him; he simply had to wait for God to reveal himself; and reveal himself He did. Over those 25 years God promised Abraham that He would bless Abraham and his descendants through a son from his own loins. Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the dust in all the earth. (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-16, 15:1-8, 17:15-21)

Now I don’t know about you but I have the bible right in front of me, in fact I read it almost every day, yet my faith is not near what Abraham’s was. I’m not sure what my reaction would have been if God appeared and told me to sacrifice the son I waited 25 years for. In discussing this story last night with my Hebrews study group, it really hit home though when we started discussing Isaac. Isaac was not a small boy when God commanded Abraham to do this. Isaac was 40 – a grown man. A grown man that was probably much stronger at this point than his father who was now 140 years old. The bible doesn’t say, but I don’t think Abraham told Isaac at first where they were going. I am assuming though that Abraham finally told Isaac that he was the burnt offering. Isaac had to have willingly submitted to his father, allowing his arms and legs to be bound, and then maybe even hobbling over to the altar to be sacrificed. Isaac could have easily gotten away with his advantage in age and strength, but he didn’t. Why?

Throughout Genesis, Abraham is a wonderful picture of faithfulness toward God. God revealed Himself and Abraham believed. It is obvious by this story that Abraham instilled this same faith and obedience to the Lord in his own son who willingly allowed himself to be led to the altar. Isn’t that crazy? While I am not a parent, God willing I will be someday. And if I am entrusted with children, I pray that I too may instill faith, reverence and obedience in my children, so much so that if asked they would submit as Isaac did.

Now let’s talk a little more about Abraham. Abraham was confident that God was faithful and powerful enough to fulfill his promise of abundant descendants – God specifically told him that it was through Isaac that all his descendants would inherit God’s promise of blessing (Genesis 17:19). Abraham’s faith in God allowed him (somehow) to believe in some type of resurrection for Isaac if he carried through with the sacrifice. Romans 4:17-21 tells us that Abraham was fully assured that what God had promised, He was fully able to perform. Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us that Abraham knew God could raise Isaac back from the dead if necessary.

After studying Abraham’s story in light of what the New Testament says, I have come to love this story even more. It is my ravenous desire that my faith might grow solidly under God’s teaching. I have God’s word before me at my whim, yet I don’t access it with the reverence and obedience that Abraham did when God revealed Himself. I pray that Abraham’s story would serve as motivation and encouragement for you – what’s holding you back from believing God’s promise of faithfulness and blessing?

Milk vs. Steak

This post is not about the superiority of beef over all dairy products. Nor is it about milk or beef production. It’s about the call Christians have to pursue maturity over infancy in their walk with Jesus Christ.

This January marked the start of part two of the Hebrews bible study I joined last September; I was home sick yesterday with strep throat so I had plenty of time to review the teachings of the past couple of weeks and refine my thoughts in regard to this subject. I also thought it was somewhat timely to discuss the needs of infants since more than five friends have had babies this past year!!

In Hebrews 5:13-14 the author says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

I have read this passage many times before but it took on new meaning yesterday. I have been a Christian for close to 15 years and I like to think of myself as a mature Christian but it hit me yesterday that I often act like a newborn in my faith. How do I know this to be true? Actions define my stage of maturity just like they defined the spiritual maturity of the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Paul said he had to speak to them as if they were people of the world or spiritual babes; if I were there that same warning would have applied to me too because of my sinful, infant-like behavior. All too often I am jealous. I covet. I squabble with my sister or my mom and then justify it because I was tired in the moment. I am bitter…often…towards the work ethics of those I work closely with. And to top it all off, I am prideful. Quietly prideful, because I wouldn’t want anyone to accuse me of being so.

These sinful tendencies of mine clearly classify me as a part of those believers who are infants and adolescents. Now, listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:1-3, “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for the nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”

Picture a hungry baby – yelling, squirming, angry that it even has to cry for its food. The whole of that infants’ being cries out for sustenance with focus and determination. The baby is immediately satisfied as soon as it starts nursing, but does so with just as much intense focus as before. Peter is urging us to crave the basic teaching of God with the same intense focus and driven nature as an actual babe. He wants us to know that our basic existence depends on this very thing; we will not grow if we do not seek this sustenance. But just as an infant grows and his palate matures and begins to desire real food, so must our sustenance in the Lord change. We must first seek the basic teachings of Christ so that we may mature to more complex and meaningful teachings. We aren’t instantly meat eaters, we must build up our strength with milk first.

Do not be discouraged if your actions, like mine, are those of an adolescent. I’m not condoning your sinful nature; I’m trying to encourage you. After strongly chastising his Hebrew audience about their lack of spiritual growth, the author goes on in 6:9 and says with confidence, “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.” I am convinced of better things concerning you too – I pray you are convicted. I pray you fiercely and passionately desire sustenance in Christ, regardless if that sustenance is currently spiritual milk or spiritual steak.

The Throne Room

I love watching movies that involve some type of king or queen from long ago. The gowns and jewels they wear are ornate and beautiful. Their conversation is formal, restrictive almost in its ability to help them connect with one another. And their throne rooms are exquisite. Surrounded by their court of subjects, the king and queen sit on magnificent thrones, their robes lay in expensive piles around their feet and their heads are adorned with heavy crowns.

While I love the culture depicted in scenes like the one above, I have no connection with it. The society that we live in today does not demand that I bow and kiss the ground as the President graces it. I have profound respect for our President and the position he holds, but I do not fear physical harm from him like some people did of their kings and rulers.

Cultures involving kings are different and this includes the culture of Christianity. After explaining why Christ followers should endure and not turn back, the author of Hebrews says "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." (Hebrews 4:16, emphasis mine) Have you ever thought about how grand a command this is?

If we think the throne rooms of medievel times are impressive, let's try describing God's throne room:

• "Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder." Rev 4:5a
• "And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal..." Rev 4:6a
• "...the voice of man angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands" (Rev 5:11)

God's throne room will forever trump any throne room that we have seen. He is the creator of the universe; his grandeur and glory are greater than we can even fathom. We will be dwarfed by the hugeness of everything contained in this throne room. He deserves this throne room as well as the adoration of men and angels.

As we think of this, again, think of how wonderful the command given in Hebrews 4:16 is. Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. In His infinite wisdom and mercy, God gave us His son so that we might be able to draw near with CONFIDENCE to find MERCY and GRACE in our time of need. Wow. If imagining the throne room of God doesn't take your breath away, the opportunity we have in drawing near should.

I praise God for being able to approach His throne; I am thankful that Jesus has granted me this access. I ask for help in remembering the great cost of my access to God's throne room so that I might approach God with greater respect, admiration and thanksgiving. May it be the habit of my heart to come before God knowing I have been commanded to draw near with confidence in my time of need.

Jesus was a man

If someone were to ask me a series of true-false questions about Jesus I feel like I would get most of them correct.

True-Mary was Jesus' mother
True-Jesus was born in a stable
True-Jesus came to earth as a man, yet was still God

But if I had to describe something in detail about the nature of Jesus as a man, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to describe it in depth. That is until last night. Now, don't let me mislead you here, I'm not trying to win a bible trivia contest. I just wanted to admit that something HUGE clicked for me last night during week 8 of our Hebrews bible study.

I've always assumed (incorrectly) that Jesus had a man's body but was operating with God's brain. How else then could he live a perfectly blameless life, right? I don't know any human being who has ever been able to live a sin free life; there always seems to be something entangling us. The one person that this does not apply to is Jesus; he was wholly man (even his brain and thought process) and yet he remained sin-free his entire life. Now, let me back this up with a little evidence just so that we're scripturally on the same page.

Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb just as any other child would have been (Luke 1:26-35). Jesus had siblings and was son to a carpenter (Luke 2:4-12); he was was made fun of like a regular Jewish child (Matthew 13:55-56). He was circumcised and sacrifices were offered to God on his behalf (Luke 2:21-24). He wasn't born all knowing about scripture, but He grew in wisdom and stature, having to learn just like other children (Luke 2:51-52).

That Luke 2 reference is what really took my breath away last night. Jesus didn't just know everything. He was learning alongside other Jewish children. Now let's take this a step further. If it wasn't hard enough for Jesus (God of the universe) to simply be a human in every aspect, he also had to take on sin even though he was sinless. Wrap your human mind around that. Would you want to/be able to bear the weight of the world's sin? Once for all time. Completely.

I know that it is a stretch to imagine taking on the sin of the world so let's break that down a bit more. Look at Luke 22:39-44 or Matthew 26:36-44. Jesus knows what lays ahead of him and he is praying about it all night to God; he even tells his disciples "my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death." Let's apply that to us, yep, you and me. Have you ever been witness to sin or participated in it, and somewhere in the middle you were overcome with grief and disappointment because you realized the severity of what was going on. And I'm not even talking about something like murder. I distinctly remember a time in my sophomore year of college when I was out-and-out avoiding God on purpose. Refusing to pray and refusing to read the bible for months. The weight of putting God off was like getting hit with a load of bricks head on. We each have experiences with sin but realizing how heavy that sin can be around our neck can be staggering. Now imagine this. Jesus-wholly man. Never sinned. Perfect in every aspect. He took on the sin of the world, once for all time and for every person that will ever exist. Ah, now I get what he means when his soul was being crushed to the point of death. I imagine his earthly body having a hard time breathing. I imagine feeling like I was being torn apart.

Can you imagine any other human being doing this? I can't. While he was praying in the garden, he asked God for another "cup" but ended with a request for God's will to be completed in his life, not his own. In addition to not being able to fathom the weight of the world's sin on a perfect and blameless man, I also can't imagine myself asking God in this situation for his will to be completed over mine.

Do you get it now? Jesus-human being in every aspect, including his brain and thought process. He lived a perfect life, tempted in every way we are, yet remained sinless. This wholly human being took on sin. For us. You, me, my neighbors. It still takes my breath away just thinking about it. A man died for me. Jesus died for me.