Hebrew 12:14-17: Think, Talk, Live....

Hebrews 12:14-17 says that we have a responsibility as Christians to think,talk,& live in such a way...SO THAT those around us do not “miss the grace of God” because of something that is a result of the way we think,talk,&live!These verses instruct us to make every effort to not antagonize;nor frustrate;nor exacerbate those around us,but to live holy lives that model the way that Jesus thought,spoke,& lived.When we read about the way that Jesus lived a life that always revealed His Holiness/The Holiness of God...”,this is how we should seek to think,speak,& live so that our lives reflect The Holiness of Christ.This doesn’t mean that we are suppose to be “Christian Pacifists” that just avoid UNholy ways of thinking/speaking/living.In fact,when the ways that we think/speak/live are according to The Holy Spirit that Jesus has sent to each Christian to be our HELPER,then the way we think/speak/live will impact those around us because of HIS Holiness (John16:7-11,”But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate(The Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:about sin, because people do not believe in me;about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;& about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”)!When we do not just acknowledge The Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives,but nurture THAT RELATIONSHIP...,then our lives become the impact to those around us that John16 talks about.When we who are Christians do NOT nurture this relationship,then we tend to become judgmental and frustrated,& we eventually have dangerous seeds of bitterness that crop up in our hearts...& we begin to live like the godless and we swap God’s Ways for our lives, for self serving ways.And we end up living according to the same paradigms of the world...we just label ourselves differently!And our thoughts/our words/our lives have little to no positive eternal impact for those around us.This is the why Hebrews12:14-17 says,”Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son(swapped God’s Eternal Ways for his personal temporal ways).Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears(he realized too late what he had been freely offered & given up), he could not change what he had done(there does come a time that is too late).”Dear Holy Spirit,I live most of the minutes of my day without truly acknowledging Your Presence in my life,let alone seek to nurture a vibrant relationship with You.I am soooooo very thankful for the THE Mercy & Grace freely given to me by Jesus Christ...that enable me to come to YOU yet again to ask for Your Help in transforming more and more of my thoughts;words;and the ways I live to be more and more like Yours!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...

After talking about “throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that entangles us” in Hebrews12:1-3,the next several verses basically say that “it” is not going to be easy to throw off what hinders us and the sin that entangles us->”In your struggle against sin,you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.And you have forgotten the word of encouragement(God’s Word&His Spirit)that addresses you as sons”.These verses talk about how God’s Awesome Sovereignty miraculously uses our struggles to grow us;mature us;strengthen us;correct us,etc.,as He guides us;matures us;teaches us;etc., as He uses all things/all struggles to miraculously & lovingly “grow us up” as only an all wise and all loving FATHER would(Romans8:28,”And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose)!The devil means to use all these same struggles to tear us away from a lovingly relationship with our Heavenly Father/Our Creator.Just as there are a lot of influences in today’s world that seek to turn young people away from the love of their parents and ultimately to rebellion...,Satan is up to the same thing with respect to our relationship with our Father in Heaven!How we respond to struggles ultimately determines which way we go->will we swallow the deceptions of the devil and divorce ourselves from God/rebel from God:Or will we trust the love of God in the midst of life’s struggles and resist the deceptions&temptations that seek to lure us away from our Father in Heaven.The devil is satisfied with any loss of reverence for God that he can achieve in our lives! The devil usually starts by whittling away at our reverence for God’s Word-because that is where we begin to learn of the AWESOMENESS of God and His many Mercies!Our FATHER&CREATOR desires to use our struggles to grow us up into mature wise men&wise women that have Eternal Rights&Privileges given only to His sons&daughters as His Gifts through the Mercy&Grace of Christ.Satan means to use these struggles to lead us into deceptions of all kinds that lead us to doubting God’s Word;God’s Promises,&God’s Ways...,with the devil’s schemes ultimately leading us to divorcing ourselves from God as our Father in Heaven....rebellion from God.If we persevere with our REVERENCE for God and His Instruction for our lives through life’s struggles,then our struggles will be RIGHTLY addressed,and we will mature as God’s Great Love intended for us...and we will be blessed with the TRUTHS of Hebrews12:11,”No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”!Knowing these TRUTHS the writer of Hebrews leaves us with a PEP TALK in verses 12-13,”Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed”.The “lame” here refer to those who waver in their Christian Faith!So we must be deliberate about getting and keeping ourselves strong and in shape so we may be able to confront life’s struggles in a way that enables us to make level paths for our feet...,so as we live through every day we will know the Eternal Blessings of being beloved sons&daughters of Almighty God!And the starting point is “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,the author and perfecter of our faith”(Hebrews12:2)!!Dear Lord,I already know of several struggles/challenges that are waiting for me today...!I pray for You to help me have a real-time awareness/alertness from You through Your Word and by Your Spirit that strengthens my feeble arms and weak knees...so I may remain faithful to You throughout all of my actions;words,& thoughts this day.

Hebrews 1-11 gives us all the proof necessary to KNOW that The Lord is LIVING and KEEPS all of His Promises...,and that “without faith it is impossible to please God,for anyone who would draw near to God must believe that he exists AND that He rewards those that who SEEK him.”(Hebrews11:6).THEN Hebrews 12 begins with a “THEREFORE”!Hebrews12:1-3,”Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”In other words,since we have all the PROOF needed to know that God has revealed Himself throughout all HIStory and PROVEN HIMSELF TRUSTWORTHY to those that have sought to know Him throughout all HIStory...and then HE FULFILLED EVERY Prophecy about THE Messiah through the Birth;LifeSufferings;Death;Resurrection;& Ascension of Christ...thereby PROVING that HIS Word truly reveals HIS Mercy&Grace to all who sincerely seek to know HIM AND to follow HIM...THEREFORE there is EVERY REASON to take heed to what follows the THEREFORE of Hebrews12:1...saying that our truly seeking to personally know The Lord begins with us “throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”!The Bible and The Holy Spirit are God’s “Guiding Resources” for us to know what we need to “throw off” & what the things/sins are that “entangle us” & make it difficult to actually turn our lives toward seeking and knowing The Lord.This is why the devil snags us with things that need to be “thrown off” & sins in our life that hinder us from knowing real intimacy with The Lord God,& knowing what is BEST for our lives which God promises to guide us to(Psalm37,”....Trust in the Lord and do good;dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture... 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...The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;he is their stronghold in time of trouble.The Lord helps them and delivers them;he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.”).If we do not throw off the things that hinder us,we will not be able to seek the Lord for long/we will not be able to “run with perseverance the race marked our for us”!We gotta seek God’s discernment about the things that hinder,and then throw them off...and only then can we FIX OUR EYES on Jesus...not turning back to those things but looking forward to what Jesus only can provide for us->the promises of Psalm37! If we do not FIX OUR EYES on Jesus/Seek to know Him and follow Him...then we will likely VEER back to what we were fixing our eyes on->those things that entangle us! Hebrews 12:3 says “Consider(to think about something carefully, especially in order to make a decision) HIM who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”. SO! At the forefront of the way we think;feel;respond;react;speak;etc.,there needs to be thinking about/considering the Heart of God as revealed through Jesus Christ! And then we either fix our lives on The Heart of God, or we will veer away from The Heart of God. Dear Lord,I confess that I seldom consider Your Heart when I go through the steps of my days! Yet,by Your Grace I know that You never leave me.Dear Holy Spirit, I praise You for Your Perseverance in my life...,& I pray for Your help in my life so I consider You more and more as I live today,& all of my tomorrow’s!

Hebrews 1-10 give us all the evidence & encouragement,as well as the reasons that we should have lives transformed by a vibrant relationship with Almighty God...,because of everything that Jesus Christ is and all that He has done & proven!Chapter 10 also gives us the telltale signs of lacking  a real&honest&sincere devotion to Jesus Christ,so we can have the discernment & wisdom needed to be honest&transparent with ourselves about the condition of our own heart & the sincerity of our own FAITH/CONFIDENCE in The Lord.Then the entire chapter 11 is filled with examples of what living by FAITH in The Lord looks like in the lives of a bunch of people.These people had lives marked by making decisions,big & small,that led to these imperfect men&women seeking & following The God that sovereignly enables these same men&women,& all others who seek&follow Jesus Christ to be TRANSFORMED by the Mercy&Grace of The Only Living&Loving God.This FAITH/CONFIDENCE in The Lord that all the people of Hebrews 11 have has at least a few common elements to it.1)They REVERED God as Lord of their lives & SOUGHT TO KNOW HIM because of this;2)They BELIEVED what God says n His Word and through His Spirit;3)They had an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE for their lives;4)These previous 3 elements led them to think,respond,plan,and make decisions based on God’s Word and His Spirit.These r the foundational elements of what real life CONFIDENCE/FATIH in The Lord looks like,and how we become transformed while living our day to day lives,just as the people in Hebrews11 were being transformed as they lived their lives thinking,responding,planning,& making decisions according to the Heart of God as He reveals through His Word & His Spirit.If the way I think,respond,plan,& make decisions do not line up with the Heart of God,then I am NOT being transformed by The Love of God,but I am being transformed by all things other than God’s Love.To truly be transformed by His Mercy&Grace,will only happen as I seek to think,respond,plan,& make decisions based on what I learn from seeking The Lord through His Word, & by being seeking to be increasingly sensitive to His Spirit by saying yes to His Spirit more & more as I live through every moment of every day.Dear Lord God,I am so guilty of not thinking,not responding,not planning,& not making decisions as if I truly revered You/Your Spirit/Your Word.Please help me to humbly admit this in my own heart/mind/life...and may the transformation enabled by Your Mercy&Grace occur in my heart/mind/life more and more every day.

THEREFORE: Hebrews 10:19

The early chapters of Hebrews give a complete picture of WHO Jesus is;WHAT only Jesus can do for us;WHAT Jesus has done for us; & WHAT only Jesus CAN DO for those that turn away from trusting their old ways and turn their lives over to TRUSTING Jesus and HIS WAYS!Then Hebrews10:19 says,”THEREFORE,brothers,since we have a confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain(Jesus’ sacrifice in our stead OPENED the barrier between mankind and The Holy & Righteous God - for those that choose to turn from sin and seek&follow Jesus)....let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies(our lives)washed with the pure water.Let us HOLD UNSWERVINGLY to the hope we profess,for he who who promised(The Lord God)is faithful.And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward life and good deeds...let us encourage one another.”.The words used in these verses tell us that this CONFIDENCE/FAITH is Eternally Secure because it is Almighty God that Secures these Promises!They also tell us that we will be significantly challenged by forces&influences desiring to rob us of this FAITH/this FOUNDATION OF BELIEF!Hebrews goes through a brief HIStory lesson to remind us of how God has PROVEN Himself worthy of our TRUST by the many ways HE has fulfilled HIS promises and how HE fulfilled all PROPHECIES about Jesus Christ...so we may have every reason to have lives with an ETERNALLY BASED foundation for living...one with/based on the ETERNAL HOPE/CONFIDENCE in all of The Promises of The Bible through the The Curtain that was OPENED by Jesus Christ.Then,because of The Lord’s great concern for us,Hebrews10:26 gives us a “self evaluation” so we can discern the sincerity of our personal FAITH/CONFIDENCE in The Lord- Hebrews 10:26 says that “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received knowledge of THE TRUTH.....”,that what we profess is only lip service and not a turn from “something” to Christ...that what we profess is not proven by how we think and live. In other words,the way we think/respond/live will ultimately reveal what we really have FAITH/CONFIDENCE in,whether or not we sincerely revere The Lord for His Mercy & Grace freely offered by Jesus!These verses leave no room for “the in between”!Because,when we read Hebrews10:35-39 the dangers of “the in between” boil down “throwing way our confidence/faith”->Heb10:35,”So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,in just a little while,he who is coming will come and will not delay....But my righteous one will live by faith.And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”.Dear Lord,I am so thankful for Your great patience with me...and for Your Faithfulness to never letting me go from Your Grip(John10:27-30,”My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life,and they shall never perish;no one will snatch them out of my hand.My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.I and the Father are one."),but I also know the truths of how my mind/heart/life often demonstrate my unfaithfulness and lack of confidence in You.I pray for Your Word & Your Spirit & Your people to encourage and enable me to persistently grow in my confidence/faith in You and Your Ways...and may the ways I live and think be true to this CONFIDENCE/FAITH.