thecrump

Hebrews 10:23-25 " Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. ²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

Christianity is not a loner religion. Of course, it's often been said that Christianity is not  a religion, at all, but a relationship. This is true. Therefore, since Christianity is all about a relationship with Jesus Christ then does it not indicate that relationships are a foundational part of the Christian life?

Throughout my time in ministry I have heard the ever so popular "I don't have to go to church to be a Christian."  This statement is factual, though not suggested (just the opposite). The reason is because we cannot do life on our own. Yes, technically we can if we need to, but look what happened to Tom Hanks in "Castaway".  The troubles of life, spiritual battles and questions about eternity will leave us grasping for someone (even if it is a painted volley ball).

Why mention this? Simply because, in Hebrews 10 God shoots down the loner mindset with the "let us" verses.

"Let us hold tightly...to the hope we affirm" - As a church we should remain focused on the main truth of our belief, Jesus Christ's death and resurrection (and our coming resurrection).

"Let us...motivate one another" - It's hard to motivate someone if you refuse to be around people. This is why being in a local church is so important. Together we all can encourage (and challenge) each other to live like Christ.  Let's be honest, without accountability and the occasional swift kick in the pants we would not grow as quickly as we would like, the church helps with this.

"Let us not neglect our meeting together" - That pretty much shoots down the loner thing. We should do everything in our power to be part of an active church where the Bible is taught, Christ is elevated and church leadership is in place.  That last one is usually the reason people refuse to go (regularly) to a church. They don't want to be under any sort of authority structure. The problem with that is that God ordained that structure for our benefit. He desires for us to grow in love, patients and all those other fruits of the Spirit.  How can we do that if we remove the main place they are to be grown and nurtured?

I have grown up inside the church and while there were times in my life I could see the appeal of stepping out of a church, I know my life would not be where it is today without the it.  It's not about the building or the programs.  It's about the people of God and the Word of God changing our lives. WE NEED IT. God Himself dwells in complete fellowship with Himself in the Trinity. Since we are created in His image we also desire that relationship. We can get some of that through our family, but there is also something else that comes with extending that family to the body of believers...spiritual stability.

Hebrews 9:22b "...without shedding of blood there is no remission."

Context is very important for most everything in life. When we understand the background of our friend and family then we understand a little more why they do what they do. When we take a moment and reflect on current trends in the culture we can get a grasp on why society acts the way it does. The same is true with the Bible. We must understand the context around what is happening so that it makes sense.

While I was unable to see the History Channel miniseries "The Bible", the one critique I heard about it was that it lacked context. The context in question was the purpose for all the stories of the Bible. After all, without knowing why Noah built the Ark (as a picture of our coming salvation); why Abram was called by God (in order to set apart a holy people from where Messiah would come) or why Isaac was placed on the altar (as a picture of the coming sacrifice of God's Son) we lose the context of the New Testament.  These pieces of history become random stories of people who interacted with God...for no apparent reason (or for reasons so minuscule they cause us to scratch our heads) .

But there is something greater at work in these stories...

In Hebrews the author quotes Leviticus stating that there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. This truth is foundational in understanding the reason for Israel's sacrifices.  If this context is lost then the Israelites were simply beastly people who slaughter animals for a God they followed. BUT, when we understand it in context, these men and women needed to get right with God because of their sin and the perspiration was to shed the blood of a lamb.  Of course, the greater context is the found in what the blood of the lamb represents...the Lamb of God.

This is why John the Baptist said of Jesus, "Look, here is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world." He understood that the blood that was shed for sins was only a shadow of a greater sacrifice to come. This greater, perfect sacrifice would do what all the others could not...reach from creation to redemption and wipe away the sins of those who trusted in Jesus Christ.

This is the purpose for all of history. Every story in the Bible is laying the background so that we better understand who Jesus was and why He came to die. Yes, there are tales of morality, godly leadership and family that are found in the scripture...but those are secondary purposes. The greater purpose of God's Word is Jesus. He is the context of everything the Bible declares...from Genesis to Revelation.

I've never liked math. In high school I struggled to stay above water as square roots and imperfect fractions swirled around my head like sharks ready to attack.  Even today I look at my daughter, Emily's, home school work and I cringe.

Of course, math is not a bad thing (I gotta keep repeating this to myself) and can be very useful to prove a point. Take for instance the "equation" that is put forth in the book of Hebrews. The author desires to help the Jewish people understand the authority of Jesus. He is supreme over everyone from angels to Abraham. To help this hesitant audience grasp this reality, he explains each elements transitive relation (impressed with that math term aren't you?)

Transitive relation looks something like this:
If A>B and B>C than A>C

This fairly simple construct is used to organize our thoughts around Jesus Christ and His supremacy. We read this in Hebrews 7:4-10

       Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. ⁵ Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel,^[a] who are also descendants of Abraham. ⁶ But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. ⁷ And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed. ⁸ The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. ⁹ In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him. ¹⁰ For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.

In that passage we see this transitive property play out like this:
If Melchizedek received tithes & gave blessings to Abraham and Abraham represented the priests of God (Levi's) then Melchizedek is even greater than the Levi's.

In other words:
Melchizadek (Jesus) > Abraham and Abraham > Levis than Melchizadek (Jesus) > Levis

So, why go through all this trouble? Why does the author of Hebrews get all "mathy" on us? He does so because to the Jewish person there was no higher person than Abraham. He was the founding father of the faith and His line (especially Levi) were of the highest order and authority. Hebrews takes that thought and turns it on it's head by showing the greater authority and power that is found in Christ.

Why would it have been so hard for the people to see the power of Christ over Abraham? I believe that part of it was because Abraham was a great man of many blessings. He had power over servants, family and a nation. Jesus came to earth as a servant, with nothing. He had no permanent residence, very little money and in the end He was killed by Romans. This was not anything like the Jewish patriarch. Of course, what they did not realize was that His life, death and resurrection showed Jesus to be greater than all people. He was the perfect priest of God as well as the perfect sacrificial lamb of God. 

To simplify the equation:
Jesus > Everyone

And the most profound part of that equation is that He did not Lord it over us, but rather gave it all up so that we could experience His unending love and grace.  Thank you Jesus.

Hebrews 3:18-19 "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

Rest is a beautiful thing. I remember as a teenager, I loved Saturdays. No rush to get up in the morning or school work on the horizon.  I was able to get up whenever I wanted and then dive straight into a round of Super Mario World or flip on the TV to find Saved By the Bell waiting for my attention. No pressures, no frustration....no work.

Even today I love Saturdays. I may not slink out of bed at 11 o'clock (mainly because the kids get hungry WAY before then) but there is a restfulness to most Saturdays. Even now, I am sitting in my recliner, spending time meditating on God's Word, writing and listening to the kids argue about who gets to hold the cat next. My only job is to make sure David does not hold the cat by her neck (that can be a full time job in an of itself). 

Why is rest such a blessing to us? I believe it's for a couple reasons.

1) God wired us to rest. This is why we need sleep. This is why we crave time off from the everyday grind. This is why we rejoice in vacations. (Of course, we must be careful not to cross the line from rest into laziness). 

2) It points to a greater picture of our rest in Christ. Whether the world believes it or not, on those Saturdays (or any day) where they take time to rest they are entering into a physical picture of a spiritual reality. Since we are made to worship God, when we take time to rest we are taking part in something God established from the beginning of time (Genesis 1). 

What is this spiritual reality I speak of? It's the rest we see mentioned in Hebrews 3 and 4. This rest is understood through faith and is found in Christ. Jesus worked like no other man on the earth ever did. He lived a perfect life, living up to every command of God's law.  The law that we could never fulfill, Jesus fulfilled within His 33 years on the earth. The demands of God were met by His perfect actions so that we could trust in Him and find rest.  

What rest? Rest from working to please God. Rest from anxiety over whether God would accept us or not. Rest from fear of condemnation. We rest because Jesus worked. 

Hebrews 4:9-10 " There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."

When God rested on the seventh day it was a declaration to all of creation of a coming rest for mankind. That rest comes through Jesus who is Lord of the Sabbath. He IS our rest. No longer do we need to be burdened with religion or self-righteousness. Instead we can trust in the Son of God who worked on our behalf. This is not a lazy rest, but a rest that allows us to serve the Lord without fear of rejection. We can obey God, knowing we are His and He is ours. This rest is much better than Saturday morning rest; we'll experience this rest for all eternity.

Hebrews 2:18 "Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted."

As an adult there are things I look back at and wish I could have done differently as a youth. I didn't realize it then, but now I understand how my attitude affected my life. For instance, whenever my parents would counsel me they would say something like, "we understand where you're coming from, because we used to be a teenager."  Of course, my reaction was to roll my eyes and then allow a smirk to cross my lips. After all, my parents were "old" and there is no way they could understand my situation. This foolish thinking kept me from confiding in them so that I could find wisdom in their words. I ended up making mistakes that could have been avoided had I simply acknowledged their past and examined their example.

The same is true with Christ. Hebrews tells us that He endured temptation yet never sinned. This highly qualifies Him to help us overcome those same sins. Are you tempted by selfishness? Jesus faced the cross and yet obeyed His Father rather than take the easy way out. Are you struggling with lust? Jesus was surrounded by prostitutes and adulterous women yet He never saw them as objects of lust. He saw them as sick people who needed healing. What about greed or covetousness? Jesus could have used His power to amass fame and fortune. When Satan offered Him the nations, Christ looked past the earthly Kingdoms and remember His heavenly One. He endured all kinds of temptations and yet He remained pure.  Because of His faithfulness, we can come to Him and find wisdom, power and forgiveness when dealing with our own sin.

The trick is to come to Him. Like me with my parents, they had knowledge I could gain from but I refused to come to them. I refused to believe they could help me. I refused to believe that they actually understood what I was going through. With Christ, we must trust in His Word and then go to Him expecting to learn and grow. Approach the throne of grace with confidence and find the power and guidance needed to overcome sin. He endured our sinful world so that we could be made righteous, but He also endured so that He would become our great High Priest who understands where we are coming from. Be honest with Him. Find rest in His grace and wisdom for Your life.

Hebrews 2:1 "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." NIV

During my middle school days there was one instruction from my parents and teachers I heard continually. That instruction was, "pay attention."  Being a creative fellow I would often find my mind wondering. I would come across a partially chewed pencil, a paper clip and some rubber bands and I was off in another world, creating action figures from school supplies. These moments of distraction became so regular that I won the "can make a toy out of anything" award in middle school.

This propensity to become distracted has not dwindled with the years. Yes, I no longer create fanciful creatures from my office supplies (though sometimes the thought does cross my mind) but I do have to guard myself against bypassing the important things for those that are lesser. Whether it's my iPhone, Video Games or Dr. Who I must continually remind myself to "pay attention."

Pay attention to what?

The writer of Hebrews is calling believers to "pay attention to what you have heard." The message they have heard is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A message of salvation that is for all people. This message is central to humanity, history and even the universe. It is the Truth that all men desire but only a few will find. It is the story of God's love and redemption...and yet....it can be missed if we don't heed the words "pay attention."

Even those who have been a Christian for years must heed these words because there are many things which can lead us away. It may not necessarily be a huge sinful act that leads us away; it could simply be hundreds of small decisions that wear away our love for Christ like water dripping on a stone.  Each day if we don't actively choose to pay attention to God's Word and the deeper, eternal truths we will become distracted by this world and begin to miss God's greater plan for our lives.

This world has a lot to offer. It will show you glittering gadgets, nice sounding arguments and tempting pleasures but nothing can even come close to the power and joy found in Christ. Jesus is the maker and sustainer of life itself and He is the prize we seek after. He is not just a concept, or a historical figure. Jesus is Truth and this Truth has been confirmed by miracles and the Holy Spirit's work in the hearts of men and women throughout history. He is the One we are to pay attention to, because He is the only One who can save us and give us abundant life.

Memory is not one of my strongest attributes.  If anything, I have one of the worst memories  known to man. Just the other day as I was stepping out the door to head to work, my wife reminded me to take the recycling bin to the curb.  With a nonchalant smile and a nod of the head I headed right out the door, into my car and off to work...oblivious.  If wasn't that I was trying to be negligent or enjoy frustrating my wonderful wife, I just simply forgot within a 30 second time period.

Of course, I know that I am not alone in this regard. Forgetfulness is one of humanities major issues.  As my pastor, David McGee, always says, "we remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember."  It seems our fallen nature suppresses the important Truths we need to remember each day, while bringing to mind the inappropriate lyrics of my favorite music from the 90's.

This is the very reason God continues to remind His people over and over again throughout scripture. Whether it is God reminding Joshua that he should be "strong and courageous" because God is on his side or Peter reminding the church in his letters about the promises of God and the power of the Gospel.  Each time the Lord is trying to tell His people, "I love you & my promises are true."

Yes, even though this is a vital concept...we forget it. We get the point where we start forgetting the promises of God and instead replace them with the worries of life.  When this happens, we often turn to odd means to get ahead. Take King Saul for instance. He was facing the Philistines again and was freaking out because He could not hear from God. He tried prophets, he tried casing lots and dreams and got no response. God had stopped talking to Him. Rather than taking to remember the reason God had grown silent and repenting before the Lord, Saul finds a witch to conger up Samuel (that's a whole post unto itself) like some sort of supernatural messenger service. In the end, Samuel says, "Why have you disturbed me...the Lord has done what He predicted through me."  In short, Samuel is reminding Saul of what had happened years before when Saul refused to wipe out all the Amalekites. Saul forgot...and because he forgot he ended up falling into even more sin.

While I may not remember to take out the trash, I do strive to remember two things at all times.

1) The Gospel. After all, if I can continue to remember the reality of my sins being forgiven, and the righteousness of Jesus Christ being placed on myself then I will find joy in this life. Rather then get bogged down in my failures, I can rejoice in the grace of God that forgives my sins. Rather than fear doing enough for God, I can celebrate the perfect life of Christ that is credited to my account. Remembering the Gospel, equips me for living an abundant life.

2) Heaven. There is nothing as fun as remembering our future. God has promised it. He said that He would go prepare a place for us...and He is. I can read the scriptures in Revelation and rejoice at the coming day where there is no more sickness, pain or death. I can remember God's Words about life eternal and being in His presence forever.  It may seem weird that we are remembering the future, but this is the reality. God has given us prophetic promises that are there to stir us up to love and good works. The help us face our earthly problems with an eternal mindset. Yes, I may suffer on this earth...but it's only for a small time.

So, when faced with difficulties and anxiety, let's do that thing that is hard to do at times...let's remember. Remember our loving God. Remember His perfect promises. Remember our eternal home.  When we do, we will find ourselves overflowing with joy and walking in peace.