Friday the 4th

^{Hebrews 13:5}

⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

We all remember God when things are going bad. Why would God do this to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why me?……sound familiar? We all have said it from time to time. When we are down and out, God is typically in, and pretty high on our list. Yet it is when things are going well that it is easy to lose sight of God. When we are on top of the world it is easy to think that no one can top us….could you imagine the look on God face….I can just see him looking down, and saying “whhhhaaaat?? How does that work, he prays and prays for it to get better, he worked so hard and praised my name, a night did not pass without him bending a knee and asking for guidance, but NOW what happens??? Things get better and no more prayer, no more thanks, no more praising, now all he wants is a flat screen, and a new car, and a new house, and…..jeez when did I go from being God to being Santa?” We all know people like this and perhaps we have even been a little guilty of it ourselves. Folks we have one thing, and it is the only thing we need. We have God, from the time we wake up, to the time we go to sleep, and all the time in between, we have the only thing in our lives that we HAVE to have. Worldly wealth comes and goes, I have known many a rich man who has lost it all, and many beggars that became quite successful. This world is a roller coaster, you are on top one day, and right back to the bottom a few days later. Learn to take it all in stride and hold on to all that the world gives you loosely. Hold tightly to the important thing in your life, God. With him every peak is a little higher, and every low point in not quite as low. Be content with what you have right now, be it a little or be it a lot. I can promise you it will change. Success is a wicked mistress, and wealth is a terrible partner. Both will come on strong, but will leave you cold in the end. They never shine as brightly, or warm you as much as you thought they would when you were chasing them. Drop out of the worldly race, and enter into the spiritual one. Chase after the Lord, you will find that he will provide more than you need, often even more than we deserve. Your bank account will always fluctuate, your faith never should. Your success in this world is a roll of the dice, but your salvation is etched in stone of you will accept it. your new house will not make it to your next life, but the Lord is with you now, he will be with you then. He will never leave you, he will never forsake you.

Be blessed, and be a blessing,

Brian

wed the 2nd

Hebrews 10:33-34

 

³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

 

You are a child of the most high God! You are the sibling of Jesus Christ! Created in their image to show the world what the Love and light of Jesus Christ looks like in action.  As much as we do not like it, that task can be very trying sometimes. As Paul is reminding us here, there will be persecution, there will be times where you, your loved ones, your friends will be picked apart and there will be no rhyme or reason to it. Take heart; these times, as unpleasant as they can be, are nothing more than opportunities, opportunities to show the world that adversity is just a season, and like any other season it will be met with the faith that comes with knowing what lies in store for you. You see, we know that this life is not a journey to an end, but a journey to a beginning. It is a journey that will end with God wiping away each tear, and we will cry no longer. Let the world judge, let them hold you up, and knock you down, it is of little consequence for a child of God. The wrongs we are done here on earth will be repaid double with joy when we join God. DO not succumb to the ways of this world, do not jump on the bandwagon of persecution, and judgment. There will be a time for judging, and there is but one that will be our judge and jury. When that time comes let us stand proudly at the throne, knowing that while we have endured many hardships, we have dealt few in return; that even though many judged you harshly, you have held your judgment for the one who will judge all. Life is messy, it is hard, and sometimes the season of pain and persecution can seem to last a lifetime, but know, this too shall pass. God works for the good in the lives of those who love him….. not sometimes, not most of the time, but all of the time. The painful times, while they are not enjoyable, are useful. Utilize them to grow your faith, turn the pain over to the Lord, He wants it, he asks for it, and he paid a very high price for the chance to carry that pain for you. Yes, judgment, pain and persecution will come, but let your faith burn bright for you know that the source of this worldly judgment carries no weight, you have far better and lasting possessions in store for you from the one whose judgment does!

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

 

Tuesday the 1st

 Hebrews 12:1

 

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

 

 In Chapter 11 Paul has just finished listing off a great number of people who have lived by faith, and now he is encouraging us to throw off all that hinders, as well as the sin that entangles……oh if it were only that easy right? If it were just a matter of brushing off the hindering entangling tentacles of sin, but it’s not always that easy is it? old habits die hard, old friends always seem to find you when you are at your weakest, and while more days than not we fight the good fight, we all have those days when we feel the tempting whisper of the devil,  to just let go…..no one will know, you will never get caught, or even better everyone is doing it, and no one really cares. The key is found in the next part of the verse. RUN….let us run the race. All the people listed by Paul in chapter 11 lived a life of great faith no doubt, but they all ran the race. Not a lot of time to sit around and wait for a sign, they kept moving, working towards the goal, running the good race that God had marked out for them…..and that is where so many of us falter, we get the faith, we throw off the things that hinder and the sin, but then we wait….and wait, and end up trapped once again. We get the good news and then let it get choked out like the seeds that are scattered among thorn bushes. SO remember to run! We don’t get a map, we only see the next goal. Much like the distance runner looking for the flag on the course. Look for the markers, God has set out, they are defined and easy to see but we have to run to get to the next one. Don’t make the mistake of becoming stagnant, a stagnant pool turns toxic, a stone that sits sinks into the ground. Let us run the race of faith and spread the good news.

 

Peace,

Brian

Monday the 31st

Hebrews 11:40

⁴⁰God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

 

Perfection requires imperfection. God needs us each to do our part so that his perfect plan can unfold. It might be a difficult concept to get your head around, but yes God’s perfection requires us, and He KNOWS that we are not perfect. That is right, warts and all, our imperfect best is exactly what God is looking for. That is not to say that we should ever quit truing to advance in our spiritual maturity, but we should never let our short comings be used as a reason to quit trying, or as an excuse to go with the flow. Yes it is true none of us will ever be close to the perfection of Christ, but the Lord loves us anyway, we might never fully get every area of our life under control, but the Lord needs us still. Don’t wait for tomorrow, or when things get better, it is not a matter of if you think you can do it, or if you think you are worthy, the Lord KNOWS that you are. The time is now. Don’t let the moment slip past. Don’t waste another breath on doubt, God has something better for us, let us work to bring that perfect plan together.

 

God Bless,

Brian

Wed the 26th

Hebrews 10: 24

 

²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

 

In verse 24 NIV we see the word spur, in the ESV we see the concept “stir up”, and the KJV uses the word provoke. The Greek word used is paroxusmos meaning incitement. Paul did not use this word (provoke, or spur on)  as often as he used the word encourage, and when we look, we see that the word used for encourage is a word meaning to comfort, or to “reassure” so to speak. So here Paul is not simply suggesting to encourage each other, he is urging us to go get involved, take action, do something to incite love, and good deeds. That means that we need to be more than cheerleaders. We have to do more than just say yes I agree, or that is a great idea, or you can do it. Paul is telling us to take a lead role, go out, meet up spread the word actively, then encourage on another. What a tall order huh? Sure it is easy to go along with everyone that agrees with you, it is easy to comfort, and encourage, but to get out there and incite love, and good deeds is to say that we must go where there is no love, to tread where good deeds are not found. It means we must strive to be the one to start that spark….and that is scary, and it can be intimidating. Yet this is exactly what we are called to do by the Great Commission. Go spread the good news! Why you, why me? Think you are not worthy…..I know I think that sometimes…. I know a humble carpenter’s son, born in a barn that I promise you, will not agree with that thought. Inside each and every one of us is that spark, it is ours to hold inside, or to let it out and ignite a fire that will consume those around us. So which will it be? Will you be content to simply encourage, or will you accept the challenge that Paul extended? Will you go out and incite love, and good deeds? There is no place more desolate than a place with no love, or good deeds. Allow yourself to be bold enough to incite it where you find none, the carpenters son showed us the way, let us continue to blaze the trail.

May the peace of God be with you always,

Brian

Tuesday the 25th

Hebrews 8: 13

¹³By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

 

 

Let us not confuse or dilute our message. We are under the New Covenant. The Covenant bought and paid for by Christ Jesus. We Know that Christ told us that he did not come to abolish the old , as a matter of fact not one word was to be changed, what He came for was to FULFILL it. This is why we hear Paul tell the Colossians in chapter 3 that the old laws of food, drink, and festival were a shadow of things that to come, the reality however is found in Jesus Christ. No longer are we to be judged by out ritual, the New Covenant is one of action, but action towards others, it is about control, but it is self-control, and self - responsibility. May we all fly the banner of the New Covenant, a Covenant of love, compassion, forgiveness, and selflessness. May we lay our wrath, greed and jealousy down, and learn to live as Christ did. The obsolete always disappears, may we work to not become obsolete. The aging things always fall by the wayside, may our faith never age. It is my prayer that we each burn with the faith that we felt when we first accepted the Lord. May that light shine upon those around us daily so that they too might come to learn of the New Covenant, and all of the hope, and promise that comes with it. The wrath of God has been put on hold, so that the Love of the Lord might shine upon us all, let each of us do our part to reflect that light. The light of the New Covenant.

 

Peace,

Brian

Monday the 24th

Hebrews 8:1

 

 ¹The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

 

 

We serve a higher power. This is the fact that I come back to time and time again. Our laws, our rules, are not decided by man, they have been laid out before us by God himself. I do not understand many things in my life, and why they happen, I do not understand many things in the world ,or why they happen, however there is not a doubt in my mind that there is one who does know, He has known since before the first daybreak, and it is of no matter if I understand it or not. We have a high priest, one who sits at the right hand, one who argues on our behalf . He has already made the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, and He, working within the trinity knows all too well how this all will play out. When I find myself drifting, when I find myself in uncharted waters, I cleave to the true tabernacle, the true authority, and the One that we will all answer to!  Christ is working on all of our behalf. He loves all of us, and I do not doubt that just like when he wept coming in to Jerusalem, he weeps for us today. May we hold ourselves to the standard of our high priest, not the standard of our elected officials. One knows where we are going, the others are still trying to figure it out!

 

 

Peace,

Brian