In Mark chapter 6, Jesus summons his disciples to go on a boat to Bethsaida, while he stays behind on land to pray. Their boat got to the middle of the lake, and Jesus, seeing them, started walking towards them. Little did they know, he was walking on water towards the boat. After seeing him, they immediately thought he was a ghost and were terrified. Seeing them frightened, he immediately said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus, with the power of His Father God, walked on water, which is not normal in any way, but Jesus told them to not be afraid. Do you sometimes find it hard to trust in God? It might be during a hard test, you might be in a difficult situation with your family or friends, or maybe you’re a new brother or sister of Christ who is struggling to find their purpose in the world. Trusting in God can lift a heavy weight off your shoulders. Faith is a lot like a muscle. The more we exercise our faith, the stronger our trust in God becomes. When we practice and train ourselves to have more faith, it becomes easier to have trust, and to rely on God. So ask yourself, are you willing to practice trusting in him?
-Hannah Bormes
Reflection Questions
When was the last time you exercised your faith muscle? How did it work out for you?
In what current situation would Jesus tell you to not be afraid? Why? How can exercising your faith muscles help you lessen your fear?
What might God be asking you to do with His power?
I believe that many readers of these devotions are currently students, while for some of you your school days are long in the past. Well, please adjust your memory as necessary and imagine the following situation: you’ve written a research paper with a required word count, and you run out of things to say (at least in the amount of time you gave yourself to write it). Your imagination is tapped. The letter of the law tells you the requirement, but you just can’t get your brain to produce any more useful ideas on the subject. What might you do? Perhaps you make one of your quotations longer to get the paper to reach the limit. If you were being a bit more cautious you might find spots to put in two or three shorter quotations so that your teacher won’t think that was what you did, instead of having one long quotation.
Well Hebrews is the New Testament book which depends the most on quotations, it has the most quotations and draws on them steadily to make its points about God’s intentions. Much of its argument about high priests uses Psalm 110 (which is itself the most quoted text in the New Testament, with Psalm 110:1 the most quoted individual verse in the Bible). And starting in Hebrews 8:8 we have the longest quotation in the New Testament, but I guarantee that it isn’t there for padding. For one thing the average length of a Greek letter at the time was only 90 words – more philosophical letters ran to 250 words. But even the short book of Philemon is 355 words. The book of Hebrews is nearly 5,000 words. Padding was not required. This information may be treated only as trivia, or we may think about why Hebrews depended so much on the Old Testament, as foundation for what it tells us. Consider the possibility that for some Christians this was one of the first “New Testament” works they had contact with – they may have known stories of Jesus by word of mouth, but their Bible may have been almost entirely the Old Testament, and this letter was attempting to guide how they viewed it by careful argument. On the off chance that you have been skipping over the quotations all this time because you assume they don’t add anything to the main story, do please read today’s text in full (and you probably should go back over the earlier ones too).
Hebrews 8:1 begins by restating some facts about Jesus: that he became our high priest and is at God’s right hand. Hebrews seven had discussed these facts, but alongside many other issues, now the author (who you may recall I choose to call Herb, for simplicity) refocuses our attention on these core points from Psalm 110:1, 4. Going from that foundation verse two makes the additional point that in heaven Jesus ministers in “the sanctuary,” that is “the true tabernacle” or sacred tent, pitched by God rather than man. Moses was given very specific instructions about what the tabernacle on earth should be like, and he was told that the tabernacle reflected the greater reality which exists in heaven. Several of the Psalms also refer to the heavens as a tent set up by God. The comparison might not seem as smooth if it were drawn between the heavens and the Temple which Solomon spent years building in Jerusalem, but the book of Hebrews doesn’t discuss the Temple worship, it emphasizes the worship that took place in the wilderness.
Having brought his audience back to first principles, Herb says in the next few verses some things that will be expanded on in chapters nine and ten. That doesn’t mean he is saying things that his audience wasn’t aware of. For example, in 8:3 he says that it is necessary for Jesus to have “something to offer” as a high priest. Herb says this only a few verses after having stated in 7:27 that Jesus “offered himself.” I think this fact was familiar to everyone involved in Christianity. But Herb is walking his readers through his argument, making the case he set out to make.
The quote beginning in Hebrews 8:8, from Jeremiah 31:31-34, will also be part of the discussion in the next two chapters of the book. It shows that during the time of the first covenant a need was stated – by God – for an improvement in the relationship of God and the people. All along the way God recognized needs and took steps to fill them. The same God brought about the first covenant and the second covenant. It was not some error in the first that resulted in the second, God planned for the developments that took place. While Jeremiah 31:31-34 says that the time is coming when no one would need to teach anyone the Laws (v. 10) it does not say that the content provided in the Law would be changing. Jeremiah simply said a new way was coming for God’s law to be given to God’s people, and that a way will come for sins to be forgiven. But we know that these changes involved more, and that the content of what people are meant to take in has changed between the first and second covenants. The law of love is a simpler message than the hundreds of laws contained in Leviticus, and through the Holy Spirit what God desires will be written “on our hearts” (v. 10). There is a different kind of relationship possible with God now than before.
Jesus said, in the Sermon on the Mount, that he did not come “to abolish the Law” but to “fulfill” the Law (Matthew 5:17). Perhaps some scholar of the Law could have anticipated that for the Law, which no one had ever successfully kept, to be fulfilled might be just what was required to bring change. Maybe Jesus’ words would have disturbed that scholar. Then again, a scholar of the Law who could anticipate such matters may also have foreseen that this was in God’s plan. Ultimately it was the ministry of Jesus at the true tabernacle, in heaven, which allowed the first covenant to be obsolete and disappear.
Lord, thank you for writing your will on my heart to let me understand you better. I don’t understand you as well now as I someday will be able to, but I am glad to know you more than I once did. It is good to love you, and to feel your love. Merciful Lord, help us to offer your mercy in your great strength. Amen.
Reflection Questions
We might sometimes think of the second covenant as very different from the first, but both covenants come from the God who took the people “by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt” (v. 9) – God loved and cared for the people of the first covenant, it is God who was rejected. What does the history of Israel show us about how God handles human rejection?
It seems likely that the first audience of the book of Hebrews knew the Old Testament better than most of us do, which may have helped them to understand the book of Hebrews better than we do. When you run into an Old Testament quotation you do not understand well, do you try to follow up on its context in the Old Testament?
How do you see the “law of love,” for God and neighbor, as differing from the law expressed in the first covenant? Is the issue that people are being freed from ceremonial issues? Are Christians being given more trust and leeway?
In Hebrews 7 the author of Hebrews (who for simplicity I’ll call “Herb”) describes Jesus’ greatness, particularly as a high priest. Herb is following a pattern we recognize, he has compared Jesus to angels, Moses, Joshua, and now Levitical high priests and says ‘that was good, but he is greater.’ The style of argument he is using was one employed by rabbis, it emphasized moving from a lesser thing (never a thing without value) to a greater thing. In the case of the priesthood connected to the Levites Herb compares it with a priesthood connected to Melchizedek, who has almost no known history (see Genesis 14:18-20, Psalm 110), and ties that to Jesus’ High Priesthood.
When Melchizedek and Abraham met it was several hundred years before the Levitical priesthood began with Aaron’s family, and before the Law which records instructions for those priests. There was no Ark of the Covenant then, and no Tabernacle to house it. It is difficult to imagine what form Melchizedek’s service toward God took, and for whose benefit it was provided. Should we suppose that Melchizedek and Abraham met often, and that the first frequently ministered to the second? We are told that Melchizedek was not only a priest but also the king of Salem (that city seems to have been at or near the site of Jerusalem, Psalm 76:2). Might Salem, under Melchizedek’s leadership, have been faithful to God?
We may find Melchizedek mysterious, rather like Balaam who operated as a prophet separately from the Hebrew people in Moses’ day (and ended up turning away from God). But Herb’s description in Hebrews 7:3 makes Melchizedek’s life sound even less clear, getting into whether we know who this priest-king’s parents were, or when he was born or died, as though Melchizedek had no birth or death. Herb’s point really is that Melchizedek was never stated to have become a priest based on inheriting the position, and that it is never mentioned that anyone took up his role as a priest after him. This is following a second style of reasoning accepted among rabbis, one in which you didn’t need to assume the reality of things which scripture left unstated. This allowed Herb to draw connections to Jesus, as one who did not inherit a priestly role from a parent, and who would never stop serving in his role as high priest. That was in contrast with the carefully kept genealogies of the Levitical system – there were tens of thousands of priests living in the New Testament period, each of whom gained their title through their father, and each of whom was to retire at age 50 (Numbers 8:25) – the order of Melchizedek was not joined based on birth records and was not temporary, but was through the permanent oath of God declaring membership (v. 21, 28; Psalm 110:4). So Herb’s statement “made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually” (3b), paired with him saying that Melchizedek “lives on,” (8) may not just involve the rabbinical argument about an unstated death being assumed not to have occurred – it may refer to Melchizedek retaining his status as priest when he is resurrected. Melchizedek will continue to serve alongside the high priest of his order.
Hebrews repeatedly points to Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s plans and calls believers to follow Jesus to gain perfection / maturity / completion (the Greek term doesn’t translate simply). We are told in 7:19 that “the Law made nothing perfect,” but 7:28 says that “the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” Now of course when Herb tells us to join with Jesus he doesn’t mean that believers will stop sinning in this life, after all in 7:25 he describes Jesus as “able also to save forever [completely] those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (you see the point, people don’t need intercession unless they are still doing wrong; by the way, where 7:25 says “forever” and I note the Greek was more like “completely” that wasn’t the same Greek term as I was mentioning Herb used related to “perfection” and “completion.” I am sort of in the habit by now of noting with translations that say things like “forever” or “eternal” what word they should have said, though, because – say it with me – there was no New Testament word for eternal). As chapter six reminded us, a high priest never took the task on for himself, God made the choice, and when God provided us with Jesus we got the best (and only) high priest possible for the purpose of bringing us fully into contact with God.
I’m not sure if people in the church today think very often about how salvation works, but Herb felt it needed clarification and provided some in his book. We have read about Jews who were concerned over the idea of the Law continuing to be followed in the Church, a meeting was held at Jerusalem with apostles and other leaders to discuss that. At one point Paul addressed the issue by pointing to how God interacted with faithful Abraham, centuries before the Law. Paul showed that obedience to the Law was not required to please God, God was more interested in faith. Herb describes something similar with the priesthood, showing that it existed in Abraham’s time well before Aaron or Levi’s line and so the Levitical priesthood was not required for making connections to God. Herb also showed that Levi effectively tithed to Melchizedek when Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils of battle, which Herb said meant that the earlier line of priesthood was greater than the later one.
Such interpretations as Paul and Herb wrote, or the many statements interpreting prophecies in the Bible, do not result from authors ‘putting together the pieces’ for what they wanted to support. I don’t think they could have been so fortunate in locating such details anyway. Rather we are talking about a God who shaped event, prophecy, and interpretation. Just as God chose Abram, by His own will, from whom to make a great nation, God also determined that He would use Abram as the starting point to reach the world. God’s choice involved setting up a whole imperfect system to put the Hebrew people on their path, creating a nation and a history and a culture that prepared the way for Jesus. Jesus then opened the way for people from the world; Jesus also provided for better things than the Hebrew people had been experiencing. It can be mindboggling to think about all the steps of the plan God put in place. I tend to wonder if some of those steps along the way were interchangeable, based upon whether certain people would follow through or fail in what they were called upon to do. What I am certain about is that God’s plan was never going to fail.
Thank you, Lord, for your plan, which you have been preparing for so very long. Thank you that we do not have to depend upon who gave us birth in this world to determine if we may enter your kingdom, but that you allow us to become inheritors of your kingdom through a relationship with your son Jesus. I may come into the relationship fallen, but he can lift me up. However dirty I seemed to myself, he was able to wash me clean. However useless I have felt, he can make me useful. As inheritors with him please help us each to joyfully work in your plan, caring and serving as he does for the will of his Father. And please help me be eager to serve him, let me help in ways I have not yet even been of help. Thank you, Amen.
~ Daniel Smead
Reflection Questions
Do you find it encouraging to think that your future is not based on your past, but on your connection to Jesus?
Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus is able to save completely “those who draw near to God through” Jesus – do you see this more as part of the cautionary language in the book, saying salvation calls for drawing near to God, or as part of the promissory language of the book, pledging that we are able to draw near to God? How might a difference in outlook on that point affect someone’s life? How have you drawn nearer to God in the last few months?
Perhaps it will seem to be a side issue, but we are told we will be priests in the coming age (Revelation 5:10). If the offer had existed through the Levitical order almost no Christians would be eligible – they are not Levites, they are not male, they are the wrong age, etc. But as members of the Melchizedite order alongside Jesus we are not subject to those restrictions, and we can serve with our High Priest Jesus for centuries. How can you honor God today?
Is it possible to lose your salvation? The author of Hebrews thinks that this is a real possibility. It can happen. In Hebrews 3:12, he wrote, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” In Hebrews 6:5, he writes about those who “…. have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance…” Truly, these are very troubling words to read and to contemplate. We might wonder to ourselves, “I have gone too far? Have I sinned too much? Have I ruined my chances with God?” For each one of us are sinners. We are imperfect. We are prone to sin. We get distracted. We get discouraged. We get apathetic. Each of us can think of people who, at one time, sincerely followed Christ. They attended church. They lived good lives. Their faith seemed genuine. However, now things are different. They live as though they had never known the Lord. In some cases, they have openly embraced evil. The way of Christ has been rejected by them. Has their salvation been lost?
What is it to be saved? It may be helpful to think of salvation in terms of past, present and future. In the past tense, you have been saved. Christ died on the cross for your sins some 2000 years ago. The work is done. His blood covers all who come to Him in faith. Each one of you fondly remembers the day when you came to Christ. On that day, whether decades ago or only days ago, you were justified before God by the blood of Christ. So, you have been saved. In the future tense, you will be saved. Salvation, life eternal, is not yet in your possession. You are saved now only in hope and in promise. The resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ is when salvation will become yours. You will be saved. That is the past and future of salvation. What about the present? You are now being saved. You have been saved in the past. You are being saved in the present. You will be saved in the future. So, you are being saved. The present work of salvation in us has been called “sanctification.” It is a process. It is to grow into the image of Christ. God, by His Spirit, is working in you to change you and transform you. However, the Apostle Paul recognized that there is an ongoing struggle within each Christian. While we hope in the age to come, we still live in this present evil age. Paul in Romans 12:2 urged Christians “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Another common theme in the writings of Paul is the encouragement to live by the “Spirit” and not by the “flesh.” It is no wonder that Paul looked at the Christian life as a contest that must be won, a race that must be completed, a journey that must be finished, and a battle that must be waged. To be a Christian is to be actively engaged against sin and evil in your life. The book of Hebrews draws from the rich history of Israel to make the point. The people of Israel were saved from slavery in Egypt by God’s mighty works. The people of Israel left Egypt with the goal of entering the Promised Land. However, between the past and the future, between Egypt and the Promised Land was the wilderness. The wilderness wanderings are what tested the people of Israel for 40 years. The wilderness tried their faith and challenged their hope. Then, the people of Israel lived in the shadow of God’s presence. They had seen the mighty works of God. God fed them daily with the manna. He gave them water out of the rock to drink. However, as incredible as it may seem, many of them remained disobedient. They grumbled and complained. They wanted to go back to Egypt! Hebrews 4:1,2 comments, “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may have come short of it. For indeed we have had the good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” In the same way, we Christians find ourselves in a “wilderness” of sorts. Behind us lay our sins and our old way of life. Before us lay the Promised Land, the kingdom of God, eternal life. However, you are now walking through the wilderness of this present evil age. The wilderness is what can make you or break you. The wilderness experience will reveal who and what you really are. You have to keep your eyes upon the distant Promised Land.
Hebrews 6:4,5 observes, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them to repentance, since they again crucify the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” This verse is not declaring a penalty against those who have fallen away. Rather, it is simply describing the reality of the human heart. Some of the Israelites of old were apparently untouched by the wonders that they had seen. They had short memories. They were easily discouraged by obstacles. They didn’t trust the God who had saved them. They returned to their old ways. In the same way, some Christians after tasting “the good word of God and the powers of the age to come” have fallen away. They were unimpressed by what God had done in them. They were no longer moved by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. After God had revealed His glory to them, what further could God do to convince them now? If you have seen miracles and all you can do is yawn, what more can God do with you? I believe God, in His grace, would allow repentance in these cases. However, can such a hardened heart be able to repent? If you have already proven yourself resistant to the Holy Spirit, you have rendered yourself blind and deaf to the saving gospel message. It is a though God has cooked you a wonderful gourmet meal with the best ingredients. However, you have no taste for what God is serving. So, you won’t be back because you have no appetite for what God is serving. Hebrews reads, “…it is impossible to renew them to repentance….” You have headed back to Egypt and have forsaken the Promised Land. What could convince you change your course now? God had given you his best and you didn’t want it.
However, it is not the intent of Hebrews to discourage, but to encourage. Hebrews 6:9 reads, “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you….” Hebrews 6:11 adds, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end…” The book of Hebrews, taken as a whole, is a word of encouragement. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be overcome by sin. Have hope. Have faith in the promise of God. For God is faithful. For you will find troubles and challenges in the wilderness. So, brothers and sisters, if you are reading these words, you have not yet given up. You are not lost. You are still seeking the Promised Land. Hebrews 10:35,36,39 sums up this message: “Therefore don’t throw away your confidence which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised….but we are not those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” So, the wilderness road may have beaten up a bit. You may have wandered in the wrong direction at times. Perhaps you had temporarily lost your way. You might have encountered obstacles. However, you are still on the road with your eyes focused on the Promised Land. Keep going and don’t give up.
-Scott Deane
Reflection Questions
Why is it important to know what you believe about salvation?
Have you accepted Jesus and been baptized? Are you assured of your salvation?
What are some reminders you can put into your everyday routine to point you to living a gospel-centered life so that you don’t forget your primary calling?
In yesterday’s devotion, we were reminded of the importance of obedience and the dangers of disobedience. Even though the passages that we read yesterday were years and years removed from our reading today in Isaiah, similar themes run through both. Israel was continuously going through a sin-cycle of disobedience, discipline, and then a decision to return to God. In Isaiah 1, we see the harsh consequences of sin again. Verse 5 says, “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint.” Sin has eternal consequences, and it also has consequences in our daily life. Because of the Israelites’ sin, their home was destroyed, and all of the things that they loved were taken away. Even though sin was destroying them from the inside out, they still refused to submit to God.
In many ways, we can talk about sin with the same language that we use for other negative repetitive behaviors, like addiction. People who are addicted to something keep returning to it even if the actual desire to do the thing isn’t there. They may actually hate the thing that they do, but they can’t seem to stop themselves from returning to it (which sounds a lot like my relationship with social media). Israel continued to return to sin despite the pain that it caused.
In verses 18-20, we see a promise to the Israelites. It says, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” On their own, Israel could never break out of the sin cycle. When they rested on their own power, they fell back into disobedience.
But, we don’t have to rely on our own power to break our addiction to sin. This promise for the Israelites – the promise to be made clean, to be freed from sin – found its fulfillment in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” We now have been grafted into the body of Christ. The promise that was given to Israel has been given to us as well. This is why we can break the sin-cycle in our lives. We don’t have to rely on our own works; we find our rest in him. Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” We can enter into this state of rest because Jesus has done the work for us. He was the sacrifice that made us clean. Just like the Israelites waited for the Promised Land, we wait in hope for the Kingdom, our eternal glorious place of rest. We have to hold fast to the truth and choose to live rightly.
How then should we live? Isaiah describes a life that is lived rightly: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
Let’s pursue righteousness as we wait for the fulfillment of the promises of God.
After several years of teaching, I recently had the opportunity to stay home with my two kids. My oldest is three, and he has a mind of his own. Much of my day is spent doing fun things, like playing outside, reading books, and building Lego towers. But, with a toddler, there are always going to be times of correction. Discipline now is necessary for a happy, healthy, well-adjusted human later on. But disciplining through rebellion has its share of tears, tantrums, and yelling of “No.”
Today, we read about a similar situation of discipline. There are two choices we have in life. We can choose to be obedient to God, submitting to his word, or we can choose to pursue our own desires, rejecting God’s word. One path is the path of righteousness and life. The other is the path of sin and death. In Psalm 58, we read about the harsh judgment reserved for those who are not righteous. In verse 10, “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
As Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “There as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion on the day of testing in the wilderness.’ We must take care of the condition of our hearts. If our heart is soft to God’s leading, we will listen in obedience to what he says, and we will do it. However, if our heart is hard, we will be more likely to reject God’s commands.
How do we know the condition of our heart? It’s important to look at our actions. If what we do is lined up to God’s word, then we have a heart to listen to what he says and follow it. I’ve heard it described as a plumb line that we use to measure up our actions. If we are out of line, God’s word will call us out.
What does a hard heart look like? If you notice that your actions are consistently not matching up with godly living as described in the Bible, that is a good indication that you have hardened your heart to his teaching. You are living in rebellion. Those words seem harsh, but they line up with the way that Hebrews describe them. If you consistently read that you should do something but you don’t, you are not living righteously. Just like the notifications on your phone, you swipe out of and never look at or the alarm you press snooze on, you are desensitizing yourself to the effects of sin. You’ve become “an evil, unbelieving heart” that is “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (v. 12-13).
We need to encourage each other to pursue a righteous life of obedience. That is what we are called to do.
The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah to the southern tribe of Judah at a time when the Assyrian empire threatened Judah’s destruction. The name Isaiah means “the Lord saves”. Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament prophet.
While Isaiah predicted that Judah would eventually be defeated because of their sins; he also predicted a message of hope – the coming messiah (a suffering servant), would come to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Some have suggested that the first 39 chapters of Isaiah focus on doom and gloom, similar to the 39 books of the Old Testament; while the 27 last chapters (40 – 66) of Isaiah focus on hope and restoration, similar to the 27 books of the New Testament.
There are many prophecies in Isaiah about the “last days”, the “Day of the Lord”, the promised messiah (Jesus), God’s suffering servant (also Jesus), conditions in the millennium, and the coming Kingdom of God.
One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
–Steve
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Have you walked through a season of rebellion? What was the outcome?
What is the importance of obedience?
What is the current status of your heart? How do you know?
It is easy to get to the end of our rope, to find that our cup is empty. In moments like these we became frustrated at best. Our weakness makes our goals out of our grasp. Thankfully, we have someone on our side that can give us strength in our struggle and can fill our cup once more so we are not only capable, but we are ready to meet whatever challenge He has set before us. So the question is, how can we access this power? Here are some scriptures to remind us to stop looking into ourselves but seek the strength of the Lord.
Cry out to the Ever-Present God: We serve a God that is in every place at every moment. That means when his children cry out, He will answer them and can come quickly to their aid. He welcomes our prayers, and our conversations with Him give us strength because we are reminded exactly who we are connected to.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?If I go up to the heavens, you are there if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.If I rise on the wings of the dawn if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:7-10
“Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.” – Psalm 38:21-22
Embracing Jesus as Our Advocate: In our trials and tribulations, we can find strength knowing that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and He understands our struggles. By petitioning in His name, He is mediating for us. Because of this connection, we can speak directly to our Heavenly Father, and furthermore, access the power of His Holy Spirit, which has the power to comfort, heal, and protect those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
“Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.” – Job 16:19-22
“Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” – Hebrews 7:25
Surrendering to God’s Will: When we submit to the will of God, we are emulating Christ our Savior. Jesus submitted to the will of God every step of the way leading up to His death. God calls us all to be martyrs, not that we all give our lives on a cross, but that we all sacrifice our wills and intentions for Him. God may call us to do a hard thing, but He also gives us the strength to accomplish it when we submit to His will. His alone is sovereign and He alone can empower us to endure.
“Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” – John 18:11
-Aaron Winner
Reflection Questions
Of the three steps Aaron shared: Cry Out to the Ever Present God, Embrace Jesus as Our Advocate and Surrender to God’s Will, which comes hardest for you?
What would it look like for you to do each of these steps in whatever situation you find yourself in this week? What is the benefit to each of these steps?
Whether it is my teenagers at school or my three-agers at home, much of my day is filled with offering corrections for behavior. I have often wondered how many times I say “no” within the course of 24 hours. As both a teacher and a father, I know that the guidance that I offer is constructive and for the benefit of my children, but rarely is it received with thanks. I get it. When I am offered criticism, even more so when it is justified, I am defensive. If I would put the same effort in my adjustment as I did my defense, I would find myself rapidly growing professionally, personally, and spiritually. For every one of us, we should be glad of just criticism with good intentions because someone has decided to improve us instead of letting us remain as we once were.
“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. This also will be my salvation, For a godless person cannot come before His presence.” Job 13:15-16
More than anyone else, our Heavenly Father is interested in improving the quality of our life we have now to prepare us for the life to come. When we are in a rut, He doesn’t let us lay in the muck and the mire. Our God is actively working on our hearts, imploring us to read His Holy Word or listen to His people speaking truth into our lives. Either one of these can be a tough pill to swallow. According to Hebrew chapter 4, the Word of God is a two-edged sword that cuts deeps, separating the bone and marrow. It isn’t merely a flesh wound, but a fatal strike against our spirit of selfishness in order to die, so Christ may live in us. (Gal 2:20)
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” – John 17:16-19
But are we glad for this guidance? Are we asking for these amendments to be placed into our lives? Maybe this is where we need to change our prideful spirit in order to trust in God’s plan and walk closer to Him. This means letting go of our justifications for the negligence and sin we continue to carry in our lives. If you really are putting your hope in God Almighty, let Him slay your heart. He is beckoning you to forgive your neighbor. He is challenging you to share the Gospel with your friends. He is calling you to set aside your ambition and choose church. He is imploring you to seek help for addiction. He is challenging your will and way, so He can help you live your life more abundantly.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37:4-6
The desires of our heart are on the other side of God’s guidance. To delight in God is to live the life He is setting before you. Trust the process because the Lord will give you gains like no other. He will vindicate and exonerate those who choose Jesus Christ, His Son, above anything else. Rejoice and be glad that our Heavenly Father is offering direction to help each one of us stay on His straight and narrow way that leads to the coming Kingdom.
-Aaron Winner
Reflection Questions
What is your typical response to constructive criticism or guidance? Is your response sometimes prompted by selfishness or pride rather than truth?
What do you think of Aaron’s statement: “More than anyone else, our Heavenly Father is interested in improving the quality of our life we have now to prepare us for the life to come”?
How can you better seek God’s guidance, receiving it with gladness and acting upon it?
Tribalism is one of those coins with two sides. It has aided in our survival as a species, yet it influences us to do things that are very unhelpful in the modern world. It is beneficial or even necessary to belong to a tribe. We need things like community, cohesion, protection, sharing of resources, cooperation, and a sense of identity and belonging. But a tribal mentality views anyone on the outside as a threat to all of those good things, often leading to polarization, discrimination, racism, or even violent conflict.
We favor people in our in-group, often at the expense of the outsider. We believe our group is better than other groups and that we have the correct deities or religious practices, and that they do not. Any outside influences or new ideas might be a threat to our way of life, so naturally we want to put up a protective hedge and resist any change. We are stuck in a paradox where we need tribalism and at the same time need to get rid of it. Is it possible to keep the good parts of it and jettison the bad?
Tribalism is in the backdrop of John chapter 4. There was a longstanding tension between the Jews and the Samaritans, mostly over religious practices. They shared many beliefs, but disagreed on some things, most notably about where worship should happen. The Jewish tribe insisted that worship should happen at the temple, while the Samaritan tribe insisted it should happen on a mountain. Each tribe believed the other was not worshiping correctly and perceived the other as some kind of threat to the integrity of proper worship. This all sounds completely insane to us, but we’ve all heard stories of church splits that happened over something ridiculously miniscule.
By talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus broke down the tribal barrier that existed between them. He showed that having the conversation with her was more important than obeying the cultural pressure to not have the conversation. He showed her that she had value and was not a threat to him. This living water Jesus is talking about apparently knows no tribal or cultural boundaries.
Whatever ancestral disagreement they had about where worship should take place was not going to be relevant anymore. He tells her that the time is coming when worship will take place neither on the mountain nor in the temple, but true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. In other words, it’s not going to matter where we worship anymore. It’s all going to be about the heart that the worship comes from.
There is another part of the conversation that deserves some consideration. Verses 16-18 are usually interpreted as Jesus gently calling the woman out for her sin of adultery or promiscuity. That may be. I’ve heard another interpretation that I think changes the mood of the passage.
Women at this time in history don’t have the same kinds of rights that women have now. It was a highly patriarchal society that had not elevated the status of women very far above property. The right or ability to divorce belonged to men, or if a woman was able to initiate one, it would be with great difficulty. Given the context, when we learn that she has had five husbands, we shouldn’t assume she was responsible for the mess. It is more likely that her previous husbands had exploited their right to divorce, with the result being that she had been abused and passed around like property. And it’s not likely that the man she is with now is going to offer any improvement for the abusive cycle she is in. So when Jesus tells her that he knows about her situation, it is not to condemn her of sin, but to offer his acknowledgment of and empathy for what she has been through.
Is that the “correct” interpretation? I’m not in a place to claim that, but I do feel this offers a refreshing angle on the passage.
From another part of the reading today, there is something in Nehemiah 13:23-27 that collides with our discussions of tribalism and of divorce. Nehemiah has discovered that many of the Jewish men have married foreign wives. This is considered a problem because it was against the law of Moses for the Israelites to intermarry with the surrounding nations. Solomon was guilty of this also, and it was a big part of his downfall. The intermarriage allows other religious ideas to creep into the tribe, and it likely leads the men astray to worship other gods. To protect the purity and identity of the community, Nehemiah orders that the foreign wives (and their children?) be sent away. I can appreciate the need to protect the tribe, and the desire to uphold the law. But on the other hand, Nehemiah’s hardline response to the problem always strikes me as overly harsh. Breaking up families is not a good thing, and what’s the fate of the people who are sent away? It makes me wonder how Jesus would have dealt with it.
From John 4, we begin to see how Jesus challenged the tribal constructs. He reached out to an outsider and heralded a time when the tribal God of Israel would no longer be just for Israel, but for all peoples and nations. In order to connect with the one true God, we no longer need to be in this place or that, or have a certain racial or cultural identity, or be in the right in-crowd. We only need to be in Spirit and Truth. By example, Jesus is inviting us to suspend some of the deepest instincts of our tribalism and embrace a spirit of inclusion.
-Jay Laurent
Reflection Questions:
1. What tribes do you belong to?
2. Do you recognize any tribal instincts in yourself? When are they helpful? When are they not helpful?
3. Who is an outsider to you, and what would it take to just have a conversation with them?
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17 (NRSV)
What does it mean to be saved? We all know the correct Sunday school answer. Yes, Jesus died on our behalf so that we can be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life. I believe this is true, and at the same time, I believe the concept of salvation has to go deeper and wider than that simple transactional formula.
There’s an important question that needs to be asked. Saved from what? We all have a concept of what being saved from something looks like. Stranded on an island, you are saved by the passing boat that just happened to see your fire. You’re trapped in a burning building, but a courageous firefighter is able to find you and carry you out just before the building collapses. These are the scenarios that play out in our imaginations, the books we read, and the movies we watch.
Is being saved any different in the Bible? The Old Testament has a fairly developed idea of salvation, but the goal of the “afterlife” is really not in view. It hints at the concept of resurrection at times, but that belief didn’t fully develop until sometime in between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, salvation is usually about deliverance from a real physical threat. A prime example of this is the Israelite exodus out of Egypt. They were being delivered out of slavery, oppression, and a very close call with death itself. The focus of salvation in the Old Testament is also much more about the collective than the individual. A large theme in the prophets is the restoration and healing of the people and nation, with deep connections to the covenant between God and his people.
The concept of salvation does evolve in the New Testament, but keeps its roots firmly planted in the soil of the Old Testament. Salvation in the New Testament finds its center in the person and ministry of Jesus. It becomes more inclusive by expanding out from the Jews to all nations and people groups. While collective salvation remains a reality, individual salvation is brought into the conversation more. There grows to be more emphasis on grace, eternal life, and the new covenant.
So far I haven’t answered the question of what we are being saved from. Consider John 3:36 (NRSV) – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.” On the surface, it sounds a bit like we need to be saved from an angry God who will hunt us down and deal out the punishment we deserve. That is the mental picture that comes to mind with the word “wrath,” but it doesn’t best reflect the character of God. What could instead be meant by the “wrath” of God?
There are consequences to sin. We know that ultimately, those consequences lead to death (Rom 6:23). It may be that God disciplines or punishes us for our sin in an active sense, and at the same time, some of the punishment and suffering we feel is due to natural consequences of what we have done. When we sin, we separate ourselves from God and cultivate a living “hell” in our life and in the lives of everyone around us. We are then living in a space that invites destruction and death. God doesn’t have to threaten to punish or destroy us, because left to our own devices, we may very well just destroy ourselves. I may be taking an interpretive risk here, but maybe “wrath” is primarily God allowing us to suffer the natural consequences of our own stupidity.
What we need to be saved from is our state characterized by exile, separation from God, Sin, and Death. The meanings of those things overlap and tangle so much that we might as well be talking about the same thing. Instead of living in our own twisted upside-down realm, we are meant to experience abundant life under the rule of our merciful God. Jesus didn’t show up to condemn us, but to invite us back to where we really belong. He is the mediator who was able to restore our connection to the divine. He’s the portal back to the realm where we belong.
Salvation is still very much about us being delivered from a real threat. We are being delivered from our own hazardous wasteland into the Garden, and we are called to be cultivators of the grace, abundance, and life that grow there. Salvation has as much to do with the present time and place as it does with eternity.
-Jay Laurent
Reflection Questions:
1. What have you been saved from, or how have you experienced salvation?
2. What do you think it means when Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be “born from above”?
Seek Grow Love 