Tag: faith

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October 11 2023 – Hebrews 3 – The Danger of a Hardened Heart

Reading through the Bible, we see many warnings about wandering from the faith. They are in both the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrews 3, we see a warning about wandering from the faith from the Old Testament example of the Israelites that were led through the wilderness for forty years.

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” Hebrews3:7–11NASB1995

I have said on many occasions that allowing sin to remain in our lives is dangerous. The Holy Spirit continually shows us the sin in our lives that is separating us from God. We either deal with the sin and continue in right relation with God or we choose to keep the sin and ignore the Holy Spirit. That is how we harden our hearts against God.

It is a slippery slope when we choose not to deal with sin because it allows other sins to take root in our lives. Once this begins to happen, we accelerate the hardening of our heart against God. It becomes more and more difficult to hear God speaking to us. This puts us in a dangerous condition where we can actually deny our faith in God.

The author of Hebrews gives us clear warning and we would do well to, not only listen but examine our lives to see if we are cherishing sin over God.

“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. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end…” Hebrews3:12–14NASB1995

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the incredible sacrifice you made to make me right with God! Help me to listen to your Spirit and continually confess and turn from sins that harden my heart against you. Amen.

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October 10 2023 – Hebrews 2 – Christ Became Like Us, for Us

It is easier for us to identify with people like us. When we are around other people, we gravitate to those like us. We look, consciously or subconsciously, for those who look like us. We try to identify people we have something in common with.

I went to a meeting once with people from across the state. One of the first people I spoke to was a guy with a motorcycle helmet. I like riding motorcycles and was curious about his bike I passed in the parking lot.

The author of Hebrews chapter two points out how Jesus identified with us. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…” Hebrews 2:14 NASB1995

Reading that line made me think of Joan Osborne’s song, (What If God Was) One of Us. The lyric in the song that stands out in my mind is…“What if God was one of us. Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus. Trying to make His way home.”

Jesus became one of us. He looked like us. He ate and drank like we do. He laughed and cried. He taught us how to understand the Father.

Hebrews 2:14 also tells us that he died like we do. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Not only did he identify with us by dying for us, but he also took the power of death away from the devil.

“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.” Hebrews2:17NASB1995 We are attracted to Christ because the Holy Spirit draws us to him. We are also attracted to him because in every way, he became like us.

The chapter concludes, “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.” Hebrews2:18NASB1995 He even allowed himself to be tempted like us.

A few chapters over we read that Jesus sympathizes with our weakness because he himself was tempted in all things. “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.” Hebrews4:15NASB1995

Jesus made it easy for us to identify with him. In every way he was one of us. He was also tempted like we are so that he sympathizes with us and helps us when we are tempted!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being so much like me, yet without sin. Lord help me to identify with you so much that I become just like you. Amen

February 3 2023 – Hebrews 12 – What is Faith?

Jesus tells those who follow him to have faith and if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. What exactly did he mean by that? What is faith and how do you have it and how do you grow it?

Throughout the Bible we see many examples of people of faith. In Hebrews 12, sometimes called the faith hall of fame, we see many real life examples of what faith is. The author of Hebrews defines faith and gives many examples to verify what he means.

According to the author, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”Hebrews11:1NASB1995  Therefore we understand that faith is what we have been led to hope for through the Holy Spirit and the conviction, again, through the Holy Spirit, that what we hope for is and will be a reality. He gives several examples of people who were led to hope for something. They believed God and stepped out in faith to respond to that hope. God rewarded their faith by fulfilling what he led them to hope for.

Just for further clarification no amount of believing will obligate God to reward us with what he has not led us to hope for. I may hope to win the lottery, but if God did not lead me to hope for that, then it is just hope born out of my desire to be rich. I may completely believe that I can and will win the lottery. However, if I did win, it wouldn’t be a reward for my faith, because God did not lead me to hope for it. Rather, it would just be a fortunate coincidence.

The author of Hebrews also says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews11:6NASB1995  We actually please God, we make him happy when we come to him with our petitions, our wants, and desires.

In the back and forth of prayer, and it is a back and forth… you talk to God, and in your spirit, the Spirit of God talks to you, God sifts through the things you ask for and leads you to hope for the things that are in accordance with his will. Don’t worry about asking for something that is too big or too small. You will begin to realize in your spirit what God is leading you to hope for. You will be certain about the things God is leading you to hope for, just as certain that Abraham and Sarah were that God planned to give them a child. They weren’t sure when or how, but they were sure God planned to do it. God will give you that assurance too and lead you to step out in faith to respond to that hope.

In our conversations with God we are given hope. We are called to step out in faith. God is pleased when we ask, and when we respond by stepping out in faith. He rewards those who seek him and who respond to the hope he inspires by faith.

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you for communing with me in my spirit. Help me to hear and understand the hope you are calling me to. Help me to embrace it as real as the world I see around me. Help me to overcome any hesitations I may have and step out in faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

P.S. I had originally intended to get these out each day at 4:30 AM, however that has not been the case. My apologies to those who are frustrated with the midday devotion this has turned out to be. Also, these devotions are posted on my website, https://beingachildofgod.com/. If you want to revisit any of them you can find them all there. Thank you for reading and for your encouragement!

January 31 2023 – Mark 4 – Kingdom Growth

If you have ever tried to grow a garden, you realize there is a mystery to it. It is possible to do everything right, as far as you know, and still not produce much of a crop. It is also possible to put the seed in the ground and not do much more than that and have a bountiful harvest. We partner with God when we plant and garden. You can’t go wrong in asking God to bless your efforts.

In Mark 4, Jesus is explaining the Kingdom of God to his disciples. And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark4:26–29NASB1995

In this parable, Jesus teaches us an important truth. It is God that gives growth to the Kingdom. We certainly have a part in it. We are called to be in faithful relationship with our Heavenly Father. That means as an expression of our love for the Father, we join him in what he leads us to do. However, we must remember that Kingdom growth comes as a result of God’s mysterious and miraculous power at work in us and through us. God calls us to step out in faith and join him where he leads. We step out in faith in some tangible way. God blesses that miraculously with spiritual growth in our lives and in the life of our church family.

We must be careful not to ever think that it is our work alone, our efforts alone, that bring the growth. We must never think our efforts are the bigger part of what is happening in the Kingdom of God. Our faith, our efforts, are tiny mustard seeds that when sown, God gives phenomenal growth. Reading the Bible apart from God is confusing. Loving your neighbor apart from God is tedious and can become a way to satisfy a prideful desire for recognition. Apart from God, sharing the Gospel can become a way to satisfy a prideful desire for recognition for a church or denomination… “look at all the people we got saved.”

As an expression of our love for the Heavenly Father, we go and do what we are called to step out in faith to do. We are filled with wonder and awe when we see the Kingdom growth that God mysteriously and miraculously produces in our own lives and in our churches. By joining our Heavenly Father in what he is doing in and through us, we come to love him more and more.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to your love through your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for the mysterious and miraculous Holy Spirit at work in my life. Help me to step out in faith to experience more of your love and power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 30 2023 – Hebrews 7 – Atonement for Our Sins

I am no expert on Old Testament law, but as I understand the instructions in Leviticus, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest was to go before God and first make sacrifices for his own sins, then make sacrifices for the people. Unless you had a special need to go before God, (and there were lots of special needs… vows, to prove you had been cleansed for a skin issue, etc.) you were okay with God. However, that was a perpetual, year after year event. Every year sacrifices had to be made on the Day of Atonement to remove the sins of the High Priest and the people of Israel.

The concept of resurrection from the dead wasn’t as completely developed in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. The Israelites were having their sins removed on the Day of Atonement so they could be right with God in the here and now without much thought for the afterlife. In the New Testament the reality of resurrection is realized. We understand that sin needs to be atoned for so that we are right with God in the here and now and in the world to come.

In Hebrews 7, Jesus, as our great High Priest is being compared to those priests in the Old Testament sacrificial system. There needed to be many of them because they sacrificed every day, year after year, and eventually they all died out. “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews7:23–25NASB1995  Because Jesus lives forever, he is able to save forever all who put their faith in him.

The Old Testament sacrificial system, was an imperfect foreshadowing of the perfect that was to come. “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” Hebrews7:26–27NASB1995  Jesus died to do away with, sin “once for all when He offered up Himself.”

Our sins… past, present, and future… have been completely atoned for thanks to our great, High Priest, Jesus our Christ!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your perfect Son to save me from the curse and penalty of sin. Thank you that Jesus’ perfect work of atonement covers all my sin and saves me forever. Help me to share this good news with those still trying to atone for their own sins. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 17 2023 – 2 Timothy 2 – Enduring With Christ

In college, a Greek professor made a shocking statement that sent me to my Bible to prove him wrong. I had my faith challenged. It is a good thing to have our faith challenged, if we dig into God’s word and examine what we believe. As a result, we may change what we believe to more accurately reflect what the Bible teaches, or we may confirm what we already believed. Either way, the process is good for us.

My faith challenge began with the belief in a pre-tribulation rapture. I have since come to embrace the historical view of the church on the second coming. I am looking for Christ to literally come in the clouds. You can read more about that in my devotion Rapture or Day of the Lord.

In studying about the rapture, I was also challenged in what I believed about once saved always saved (OSAS). I kept running into scriptures that caused me to question it. If we were always saved once we embraced the grace offered to us by God in Christ, why did Jesus warn us not to deny him before men. In his predictions about the Day of the Lord, Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew10:32–33NIV

In 2 Timothy 2, the Apostle Paul gives Timothy a similar warning that must have been in common use in the church. He says, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy2:11-13NIV There are other places in the New Testament that call OSAS into question as well.

Someone is already thinking of “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John10:28NIV Others may be remembering, “…When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians1:13–14NIV  I agree with them and those verses. As far as it depends on God, we are secure. However, the verses in 2 Timothy 2 that Paul said was a trustworthy saying, indicate we have a choice in the matter even after we have received the grace of God offered in Jesus Christ.

“If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” We embrace the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ. We identify ourselves with the atoning work of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection so we will live with him. If we endure, we will reign with him. However, if we decide to disown Christ, he will disown us. That is a pretty serious warning.

I want to point out that it isn’t backsliding. I believe the last part of that saying addresses the backsliders. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” The Holy Spirit is living in us when we come to faith. We may not listen to him, we may not live up to who we are called to be but God is faithful. Because his Holy Spirit lives in us, he will not deny himself.

The disowning that I believe is so dangerous is a disowning Christ, perhaps in some sort of ritual, before other people. Most of us shudder to even think of it. However, there are some who become hardened by sin, who could actually get to that point and trade the presence of God and the eternal for something temporary in this life. That is why unrepentant sin is dangerous. The longer we refuse to repent, the harder our hearts become against God. We could get to the point where we don’t hear the Holy Spirit warning us of the peril to our own souls and disown Christ.

Hopefully, we never get to that point. God is working through his abiding Holy Spirit to keep us close. We need to listen and obey and we will continue to grow in the love of God!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for paying the price for my sins and bringing me into your love. Help me to never cherish sin so that I keep my heart open to you. Amen.