Firstfruits

 

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. – James 1.18

 

Of God’s own will he gave us new birth

We gave us new birth through His word

He gave birth to us so that we would bear fruit

 

What a wonderful truth to find in one little verse. God chose to give new birth to a world of people who rejected Him and gloried in their sin. He chose to offer a new spiritual birth to His enemies at war against Him.

 

To make sure we would get it straight He gave us to it through His word and gave it to us in written so that we could not get it wrong.

 

Because we are reborn we have new life and where there is life there is fruit. Where there is no fruit either there is either no life or something is very wrong with the life that is there.

 

We need to ask ourselves if our lives and bearing fruit that is worthy of our new life. Do I produce the same fruit that my lost neighbour produces, or does my fruit set me apart?

 

The fruits that I need to bear? How about love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, faith, meekness, and the like. How about goodness and kindness and compassion. Those are the fruits of a life born of the word of God.

Apple trees bear apples. That’s obvious. Being born of the word of God naturally produces the fruit of the word of God. 

The GIft Giver

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. – James 1.17

 

God is the perfect gift giver. He is the only giver of the perfect gift of salvation.

 

But it goes deeper than that. He also dispenses love and joy and peace and mercy and grace and endurance and power to get through our every day lives.

 

I am certain that none of us could get through this life without God’s good and perfect gifts. He is the Father of the light we need. He never varies. There is never even a hint of turning away.

 

God’s gift of salvation and His daily gifts to carry us through life will not change and cannot change because He is the Gift-giver. In Him, unlike us, there is no changing and there is not even a hint of change. He is always there and always ready to pour out his gifts. He is not an ‘Indian giver’ (Actually I don’t like that phrase. It ought to be ‘pale-face giver’ because it was the white guys who made promises to the Indians and then took them back 😊).

 

Need a bit of grace today – the Gift-giver is still giving. Need a bit of love or mercy or strength or encouragement? Same God, same gifts.

So trust Him He never changes and never stops giving.

The LSD of sin

 

But veery man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err my beloved brethren – James 1.14-16

 

Does anybody remember the drug LSD? It was also called acid. It was an hallucinogenic drug popular in the 60s and 70s. It made a resurgence in the mid 2010s.

 

It came along with a handful of negative side effects and had a generally destructive impact.

 

Back in those days, or shortly after, I heard a message from this verse called the LSD of Sin and it has stuck with me ever since. The outline was pretty simple.

 

Sin begins with

Lust – if it is not dealt with here is leads to

Sin – and if is not dealt with here it leads to

Death.

 

It really is a pretty impressive lesson. The best place to deal with temptation is when we are distracted by our lusts. At that stage no damage has been done. Lusts are natural, but they don’t have to control us.

 

When sin comes things get a little tougher. Forsaking sin is a lot harder than fleeing lusts, but we can repent and ask forgiveness and be restored.

 

Eventually though, if we don’t deal with sin, it results in a kind of spiritual death. This can’t be the loss of salvation, but, as David put it in Psalm 51, we lose all the joy of our salvation. That is nearly as bad.

 

But let’s not go down that road. We all recognise when lusts cross our paths. That’s the moment to pray for strength and run way from the temptation as fast as we can. Don’t get caught in its trap.

The crown of life

 

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. – James 1.12

 

I wish I knew more about the crowns that we are promised in the word of God. All I know for sure  is that they are some kind of reward for living for God and that we will one day have the joy of casting them at Jesus’ feet.

 

God has promised a crown of life to all those who love Him. Enduring trials is a true test for loving God. If we don’t love God we are not going to survive the trials. So as we learn to love Him to carry us through the trials we prove our love for Him.  

 

Somehow at the end of our days if we have shown our love by trusting Him He will give each of us this crown of life.

 

Revelation 2.10 also mentions the crown of life in the context of tribulation:

 

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life

 

This word translated ‘crown’ simply means a reward. For those who love God through testing and trial will receive this special reward. We already have eternal life, so this is a separate reward intended as a motivation to stick with it through the testings and receive this eternal reward.

 

What blessing to be able to look for a special reward from God.

Rich and poor

 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. – James 1.9-11

 

Let the lowly brother, the poorer brother, the one who doesn’t have much, glory in his exaltation and let the rich man glory in his humiliation.

 

What? That sounds kind of backwards, doesn’t it? How are we supposed to do that?

 

We do that at the long-term prospect of our current situation. What does that mean?

 

The poor can rejoice in that one day they will be lifted up and exalted in God’s sight. It is humbling to not have much – but that is all going to be changed one day when God lifts up the poor.

 

The poor look forward to the day when they will be exalted. The rich must realise that all they have acquired will be gone one day. One day we all we made level so there is no need to envy the rich or look down on the poor.

 

What a wonderful day it will be when power and class and wealth and fortunes and possessions and everything means nothing. One day we will all be in the same position before God.

So let’s be sure that we get our focus there instead of here. 

Stability

 

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. – James 1.6-8

 

Doubt is a great struggle. Doubt is a human emotion. It is a part of our nature. It can be a good part of our nature because he keeps us from falling from just anything that comes our way.

 

But doubt can also be a faith wrecker if we are not careful. If we leave our doubt unchecked and don’t deal with it and learn to trust God instead of trusting our scepticism it will overrule our faith.

Then we become totally unstable and anything that comes along will knock us over and destroy and our faith can become shipwreck. The slightest little battle or setback or unexpected issue can virtually destroy us if we have no anchor and if our houses are built on sand.

 

Where do we find this stability?

 

We only find it in the word of God. Everything else is prone to failure. The word of God is our only surety.

This world is a pretty unstable place. Lets find our stability in God’s word and trust it as our rock and our anchor.

What do I do?

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. – James 1.5

 

What do we so if we just don’t see a way though a trial or how to deal with it or what to do next. What if we accept the fact, but just don’t have the wisdom to make the application?

 

Boy have I ever been there! There have been many times when I have just been clueless about how to deal with a tough situation. I remember the anxiety and fear and worry that comes along to knock me off my feet. I just flat out don’t know what to do.  

 

So what do I do too often? I let worry and fear and anxiety take over and get frozen in my fear.

 

How do I fix this? It looks pretty simple. If any man lacks wisdom in these situations let him ask God. God answers liberally and He is not going to upbraid us for asking.

 

When we don’t know what to do or how to handle it ask God for help. The situation may not change, but God will show us the way through. He does that though His word. That means if we want help we need to do our part and spend time with Him in His word. I can’t even tell you how many times I have seen God do this for me. There have been times when I have been praying about a tough situation and within minutes had someone share an passage with me that was exactly what I needed.

 

God wants to help in times of need. We wants to teach and carry us through trials to shape and mould us and He promises to show us what to do. All he have to do is ask and then let Him answer in His word.

Let patience work

 

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1.4

 

2020 has surely been a year of learning patience. We have waited to be able to travel. We have waited to be able to shop. We have waited to be able to go to church. We have waited on governments to tell us what we could and could not do.

 Most of us have experienced the need for patience when going through trials. They can seem to last forever. They are no fun. 

I remember the testing my little sister had to be put through when she was a baby. Her feet were turned in. Every night my parents had to put her feet in a brace that forced her fee to turn out. Actually, it was a pair of baby shoes tacked to a board in opposite directions.

She hated it.  My parents hated it. I hated it. I wanted to take them off when my parents turned away.

 But patience has a work to do. The work of patience is to mature and to get us ready for the next thing that comes along. As a result of the patience of that trial that Phyllis had to put with and the test of us learned to adapt to her walking problem was solved and her feet turned out fine. 

I could go and tell the story of a pastor’s little girl who was terribly burned in a fire and after dozens of surgeries was still disfigured but through it started a ministry to reach children who were disabled in various ways. I personally know of many examples about how trials bring patience and patience brings maturity.

 Counting trials as joy is a faith choice. It will never be easy, but God will strengthen us to do right and trust Him in those trials.

All joy

 

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. – James 1.2-3

 

Nobody but nobody likes the notion of trials. Trials are pain and they usually cause pain or great grief. The last thing we would naturally think about in a trial is to rejoice.

 

I look back and can remember the beginning of many trials.  Two really stick out above all the others. One day I sat with Matt in a consulting room of Tallaght Hospital when the doctor told us that Michelle had a form of leukaemia that could very well kill her before the week was out. The other was the night Beth phoned us and told us that she has Stage 3 breast cancer.

 

I must admit that my first response in both cases was not to rejoice. I was crushed in soul and spirit.

 

There are a lot more, but this are the ones when joy was the furthest thing from my mind.

So how are we supposed to rejoice in times like that?

 

Trials of our faith grow us – but often there is something in between. God uses trials to teach us to wait on Him for the next trial to come our way.

Our joy comes as we learn to see what God is doing and we trust Him to bring us through the fires and bring us purified as gold.

Thank God for the lessons of patience learned in these trials. May I learn to rejoice in future trials. 

Made complete

 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. – Hebrews 13.20-21

 

May the God of all peace, who raised the dead and shepherds the sheep, make us complete in every good work through His blood.

 

Complete in Christ – what a blessed thought that is. One day this is all going to be done. Everything is so halfway and transitory now. Nothing feels final because nothing is final.

 

One day though it will all be complete. We will do His will, He will do His good pleasure in us.

 

Sometimes this old like can seem like a never ended series of struggles – but it won't be that way forever. It will all be made complete in Him one day, and as we’ve seen so many times, what a day that will be.

 

Ben Everson’s great hymn says it better than I ever could:

Complete in Thee,

No work of mine

Could take, dear Lord,

The place of Thine.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And I shall stand

Complete in Thee.

 

Yea, justified, oh, blessed thought,

And sanctified, salvation wrought.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

 

Complete in Thee,

Each want supplied,

And no good thing

To me denied.

Since Thou my portion, Lord, will be,

I ask no more,

Complete in Thee.

 

Yea, justified, oh, blessed thought,

And sanctified, salvation wrought.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

 

Complete in Thee,

No more shall sin

Thy grace has conquered

Reign within.

Thy blood shall bid the tempter flee,

And I shall stand

Complete in Thee.

 

Yea, justified, oh, blessed thought,

And sanctified,  salvation wrought.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

Dear Savior, when before Thy bar

All tribes and tongues assembled are,

Among the chosen I shall be

At thy right hand,

Complete in Thee.

 

Yea, justified, oh, blessed thought,

And sanctified, salvation wrought.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

Honesty is the best policy

 

Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. – Hebrews 13.18-19

 

‘Honesty if the best policy’ we hear.

 

That makes a lot of sense when we think about it. Without honesty a person is pretty useless. Without honesty we can never be trusted, our word means nothing, and our testimony is a waste.

 

We have a lot of opportunity to not be honest in this social media age. When come to sharing posts if we like what it says we don’t even check it out to see if it is true, we can just share away.

 

Its little things like that that destroy our reputation.

 

The only way to achieve and keep a good reputation and a good testimony is by a walk of honesty and transparency. People must know me as a man of honour and truthfulness and honesty. If I am not honest about other things how can I ever hope that they will trust me when I share the gospel with them?

 

We need to remember Who we represent in all we say and all we do – even on social media.

Sacrifice of good works

 

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. – Hebrews 13.15-16

 

Yesterday we looked at two ‘spiritual’ ways to offer God sacrifices, praise and thanksgiving. The next two part of this are a bit more practical – doing good and sharing. The truth test of our faith comes in the doing and the true test of our love is doing good and sharing with others.

 

God has ordained that those who are His children will do good works. We can’t be saved and not good. We cannot be saved without an open and sharing heart and open and sharing actions. He ordained that we would do good works. 

 

God is not looking for a sacrifice of bulls or goats or incense or any of those things. All He wants out of us is to praise Him and be thankful and do good and the have a part in the loves of others. We don’t need to be superstars or heroes. All we have to do is be decent people.

Our works couldn’t save us – but they sure do impact our testimony to others. It’s really not that much of a sacrifice, is it? Can we do good? Can we share with others? That is our calling. 

Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving

 

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. – Hebrews 13.15-16

 

There are a few little words here about the kind of sacrifice that God is looking for today. He is no longer looking for sacrifices or bull and goats. We are free from all that.

 Now we are called to offer:

A sacrifice of continual praise

A sacrifice of thanks

A sacrifice of good works

A sacrifice of sharing

 

Because these are the things that really please God.

 

Thanksgiving and praise are here because both may very well involve me giving up my own wishes and desires. It means that if I don’t get my way I will still praise God and I will still thank Him.

 

Continual praise and give thanks in all things go hand in hand. If I truly am trusting God I can do both. If I insist on my way I’ll never get it right.

A continuing city

 

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. – Hebrews 13.12-14

                                 

It’s been quite a year. Things are nothing like they were on December 3 a year ago. Massive changes have taken place and will continue to take place. It just never seems to end. I think we would all love some peace and quiet and a time where things don’t always seem like they are coming to an end.

 

Now everything is in a state of flux – but we are seeking that continuing city.

 

What a wonderful day it will be when things are no longer unstable and temporary. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Opposition and persecution are part of this temporary setting – it could happen any time.

But in our continuing city we will be with God for all eternity. The temporary visible things of this world and we will live in a city that will last forever with no more shocks or bad news or rotten phone calls!

 

What a day THAT will be!

Grace robbing

 

Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. – Hebrews 13.9

 

We live in perilous times – but then again Christians always have lived in perilous times. One of the most perilous things we face is false teachings and doctrines that would rob us of the full enjoyment of God’s grace. That kind of adding works can make salvation a drudgery and it makes a waste of Jesus’ death on the cross.

 

This false teaching was one that Paul had to fight all the time. The Jews of course were law keepers. It was very hard for them to distance their newfound faith from their old time practice.

 

So a lot them tried to add works to faith, just like some folks do today. For some reason it is easier to think that we can do something to get us into heaven. That just seems to appeal to our flesh and our pride and sense of ‘I can do anything.’

 

Don’t let anyone rob us of the gift of God’s amazing grace. All the manmade rules in the world can’t get us saved or make us closer to God or make Him happier with us. It all because of God’s grace.

Let us never be guilty of cheapening the cross/

Always the same

 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. – Hebrews 13.8

 

I remember back probably 43-44 years ago sitting in a chapel service at Bible college. It was missions conference week and the missionary speaking was from Brazil. He preached from this passage and he kept repeating the phrase, something like, ‘Jesus Cristo - o mesmo ontem, hoje e para sempre.’ I didn’t know Portuguese. I didn’t understand the words at first, I didn’t remember the words today, but that memory remains in my mind today. I always think about it whenever I see this passage.

 

But it is a passage well worth remembering because its truth is so powerful. Jesus never changes because He is always the same.  Jesus never fails because He is always the same. Jesus never disappoints because He is always the same.

 

That means that the Jesus was there at the beginning is the same today as He was then. That means that the Jesus who born of a virgin, who healed the sick and raise the dead and cast out demons, who willingly went to the cross for us and suffered and died in shame and rose victorious from the grave and ascended to heaven and is coming again for us is the same Jesus we depend on every day in 2020 and beyond. He never changes.

 

Doesn’t it seem obvious that if the same Jesus is with us today that He can do all the things we need today? Sometimes life is too much. Sometimes we really can’t handle it. But Jesus can. We can look back at all He has done in the past and remember that He is no less powerful today.

 

He is always the same.

Remember your pastors

 

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. - Hebrews 13:7

 

God has a definite plan for His church. He has since He started planting church throughout the middle East, Asia Minor, and Europe in the first century.

 The basic idea is this – believers need a local assembly where they can assemble and pray and sing and fellowship. They need a group that can be a part of in order to pray for and help when they need help. They need teaching and they need leadership.

 So God assigned pastors to care for the church. These men are what we might call under-shepherds, who serve under the authority of the Great Shepherd.

 Many of the pastors give up jobs to better serve in the ministry. It is a life of giving and sacrifice, or should be. It is not meant as a place to get rich.

 These points and others remind us that the church needs to honour and respect the pastors. It can be hard to find the difference between honouring men and elevating them. I’ve seen far too many pastors take this to the point where they demand absolute obedience and rule the church with an iron fist. 

I’ve also see pastors who don’t take any type of leadership I have churches flounder.

 Pastors have the responsibility to preach the word of God, to live by faith, and to set a pattern of conduct for their churches to see.

 The churches need to be careful that they do not take their pastors for granted, but to consider them and encourage and be there to help them

 

 

Our Helper

 

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:5-6

 

The Lord is my helper. What an astounding notion – that God Himself is my helper!

 

There are a lot of times when we feel pretty helpless. The last few months have felt like we are totally hopeless and helpless in how to deal with this current situation. But we are never, ever helpless because Jesus said I will never, ever leave you or forsake you.

 

What a Helper to have. No one can help like He can help. He loves me, He cares for me, I am His, and He is my helper in every situation. Nothing is too much to handle – because I don’t have to handle it. Nothing in too hard – because nothing is too hard for Jesus. There is no impossible situation because nothing is impossible with God.

 

The Lord in MY helper. It is not a vague concept but a very profound truth. Even when we feel at our weakest and most vulnerable, we need not be afraid, because Jesus is right there by our sides.

 

The problem is that we too often don’t recognise that and we try to get along on our own. When that happens we are going to fail.

 

We must lean on Him and let Him help in those times of trouble. He is always there waiting to help.

 

Be content

 

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:5-6

 

Live your lives without coveting. Be content with what God allows you to have, because you always have Jesus and He will never leave you  or forsake you. 

 

Now, let’s look at the word contentment. It doesn’t mean that we sit back with a devil may care attitude and do nothing about our circumstances. We need to work and do all we can do to improve our circumstances.

 

But there comes a time when we need to stop wanting what others have and learn to be content with what we have. That means we need to trust that God knows best about what we need. It means I really don’t know what is best for me – God does. It is far too easy to see what others have and wonder why we can’t have the same thing.

 

The truth is though that we really already have all we will ever need. We have Jesus – and that is really enough. Not only that but Jesus has said ‘I will never, ever, ever leave you and I will never ever, ever forsake you no matter what happens in this world.’

 

That’s means I need not covet anything else – I have Jesus and He knows exactly what I need. That’s a great comfort. There is PLENTY that I think I need, but He knows WHAT I NEED and He is always there with me.

 

So there’s no need to compare or complain to lack contentment. I just Jesus that I have all that I need.

Marriage is to be honoured

 

Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. – Hebrews 13.4

 

One of the greatest of all gifts is the gift of marriage. It was the very first gift that God evee gave men when He saw that Adam was alone and needed a partner.

Marriage as an institution is to be held in honour by all. I am bothered by even ‘good natured’ comments that call a marriage being trapped or stuck or anything of the like. It is an honoured and honourable gift.

Part of that gift is the ‘marriage bed’ which refers to sexual relations between a married couple. God says here that this an undefiled thing. It is designed to produce offspring and for physical and emotional pleasure – and that is good and right.

Outside of marriage though it is a whole nother kettle of fish. Sex is a perfect part of God’s plan, when it is used according to His plan.

 Apart from His plan though it is a sin that God will judge. Adulterers and fornicators are terms that God uses for sex outside of marriage. When we read that God will judge these sins it does not mean that God will strike people dead. It may just mean that God will allow them to suffer the consequences of their sin. The only real safe is between one man and one woman for a lifetime. Anything else risks negative consequences physically, and spiritually. 

So be thankful for God’s great gift – in His setting.

As though bound with them

 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. – Hebrews 13.3

 

On Sunday the 15^th we as a church remembered the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church. The featured country this year was Nigeria so on Sunday night as part of our Zoom Bible study we paused and prayed for Nigerian believers.

 

We who live in relative comfort and freedom really have no idea of what it is like to be ‘chained’ for our faith. At worst our worship may be made difficult or we may be limited by regulations, but for the most part none of us will be arrested and jailed just because of our faith.

 

But all over the world, in numbers greater than any other time in the church, believers suffer for their faith. They are beaten and arrested and assaulted and thrown in prison and tortured and even killed just because they name the name of Christ.

 

Are these folks a major part of our prayers? Do we pray for them with the same intensity and we would if we were in chains with them or if someone we know and love were imprisoned for their faith? 

Most of our prayer lives need major changes. We need to remember these dear folks daily and ti intercede on their behalf. 

Hospitality

 

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. - Hebrews 13:2

 

We don’t think of the virtue of hospitality as being something ‘spiritual’ very often. Yet, here it is listed in the Life of Faith chapter and it is also listed as one of the gifts of the spirit.

 

When you think about hospitality though you can see why this is such an important virtue. It is not easy to open your home up for all the world to see. It requires a sacrifice of privacy and a sharing of our homes and goods and possessions. We always risk the chance that something might happen to our stuff. We may feel like we have to change our behaviour. We may not feel like we can really relax when someone is in our home.

 

I’m not going to make it sound like it is a little thing. It is a lot to consider before we open our doors and our hearts and our lives

 

But hear we read that we need to be careful that we do entertain even strangers. This is even a greater challenge, and of course must be done with discretion and wisdom. God says that we need to look for chances to be hospitable to all, because we may just have the chance to entertain angels unawares.

 

Does that mean that somehow there are angels in our midst? It sure sounds like it, doesn’t it?  

 

I don’t know about all of that, but I do know that God expects us to open our hearts and our home to other, for who know who they might be?

Brotherly love

 

Let brotherly love continue. - Hebrews 13:1

 

Now we start the chapter we might title the Life of Faith. At the top of the list, as you might expect, is a reminder for brotherly love to continue.

 

This is not the agape love we often we often ready about. This is the familial love that gives us and family and friends. It the love that binds us together in friendship.

 

There are very few things as precious as real friends. I have many friends who have been my friends now for many decades. Their friendship is this filial love that the writer of Hebrews speaks of here. It is the love that ties physical and spiritual family together. True phileo love will carry on and on and one.

I think continuing is the true test of brotherly love. If we have it we endure through hard times and choose to overlook the weaknesses and quirks of our friends. It doesn’t mean we overlook sin, but it does endure even the times when they do not do what we like.

In fact, that is when continuing is really put to the test. What happens if a friend is failing and won’t listen? Do we give up on them and forget them?

No. that is when continuing love just keeps loving and praying. The words of ‘Prayer for a Friend’ say it so well.

 

Lord, I lift my friend to You, I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You
Complicated circumstances have clouded his view
Lord, I lift my friend up to You

I fear that I won't have the words that he needs to hear
I pray for Your wisdom, oh God, and a heart that's sincere
Lord, I lift my friend up to You

Lord, I lift my friend to You
My best friend in the world, I know he means much more to You
I want so much to help him, but this is something he has to do
And Lord, I lift my friend up to You

'Cause there's a way that seems so right to him
But You know where that leads
He's becoming a puppet of the world, too blind to see the strings
Lord, I lift my friend up to You
My friend up to You

Lord, I lift my friend to You, I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You

 

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/castingcrowns/prayerforafriend.html

Our unshakable kingdom

 

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:28-29

 

This verse came to me at a very needed time last week. I was fed up. I had had enough. I had enough of Covid and missing church and the responses to Covid and politics here and in the States and frustration and a lot of other things. I told Mary that I simply has enough and I felt like doing nothing – I even didn’t feel like doing anything spiritual.

 

All I could do about it though was to seek an answer in God’s word. And here. Surely directed by the Holy Spirit came just the verse I needed.

 

Therefore, we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Everything else may be shaken and falling to pieces but our kingdom is unshakable.

 

Along with an unshakable kingdom we have the joy and God’s unending grace. The amazing grace that saves us also allows us to serve. It is by His grace alone that we have this unshakable kingdom. Now we have the right focus. Now we can stay in the race. Now we can serve His with an awe of His power and walking in the fear of the Lord. God is a consuming fire. One day He patience will yield to His holiness and His judgement. While we enter the unshakable kingdom, the world enters into judgement.

 

What more motivation could we have than to know that what we are doing is of eternal import while everything else is failing?

Registered in heaven

 

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel - Hebrews 12:22-24

 

Earlier we read about the need for the church to meet together here on earth. I think that it is a forerunner and maybe important because it is a picture of what the whole church will do one day in heaven.

 

At the end of the race we are going to have a great celebration. The church, the general assembly of the firstborn, in the presence of the angels, registered in heaven, to meet with God and with Jesus His Son.

I can’t even begin to imagine the joy of that day. We all get to meet all the church that has gone on before. It’s a wonderful thing to go to church now, but can you imagine this church meeting!

 

Here we have the angels, the saints, God the Father, and God the Father meeting the presence of the Holy Spirit. What a day that will be! The race is over, the battle is won, and we can celebrate the victory together.

 

Our missing church today makes me long for that day even more!