Category Archives: Hebrews

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Help Wanted—Help Received

The Throne of Grace

SYNOPSIS: What a difference in life it makes just knowing you have someone in high authority who has your back! You live more confidently, act more courageously, risk faith more often, let go of your failures more easily, seek forgiveness more readily, sleep more peacefully, worry a whole lot less and wake up ready to face the day with more energy than you’ve ever known before. That’s the privilege Christ-followers enjoy—or should—and that includes you!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Hebrews 10:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

What a difference it makes just knowing you have someone in high authority who has your back! You live more confidently, act more courageously, risk faith more often, let go of your failures more easily, seek forgiveness more readily, sleep more peacefully, worry a whole lot less and wake up ready to face the day with more energy than you’ve ever known before.

That’s the privilege Christ-followers enjoy—or should—and that includes you! After paying the price for your sins by dying on the cross, Jesus entered eternity to begin his heavenly ministry as your very own personal high priest. Now, he stands before the Father night and day to represent you. He intercedes on your behalf. He is praying for you. He is rooting you on. He is ready to help!

He understands your fears—he faced some pretty overwhelming stuff when he was here. He understands your temptations—all of them. He faced them, too. He knows your weaknesses—he had to overcome them one by one. He knows what it is like to be rejected, disappointed, persecuted, to go without, to have no place to call home and to be misunderstood. He even knows the heaviest weight a human being carries—the reality of one’s own death. Jesus has been there, done that.

But he did all that for you! That’s why he is a faithful, empathetic high priest. And that is why you can come into the very throne room of Father God with complete confidence, walk right up to that throne and ask him for what you need: Help, provision, healing, forgiveness—whatever.

You can do that because of what Jesus has already done—he paid the price for you to do that. That is now your right, your privilege, and your responsibility. You can also do that because of what Jesus is doing right now—he is standing alongside you with his arm around your shoulder before the Father bringing your case before the only One who has the power and authority to do anything about it.

With Jesus standing by your side, you will be glad to know that help wanted means help received. Now that ought to make a difference in how you approach life today.

If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who ever lived—all the goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength and love—and united all those virtues in one person, that person would only be a faint shadow of the love and mercy in the heart of God for you and me. ~Brennan Manning

Reflect & Apply: Try offering this prayer: “Father, I stand before you in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and ask you to meet all of my needs today.  I pray that you would keep me pure, give me power, ensure my success, and make me useful to your kingdom. Work in me and through me today, and when I lay my head down on the pillow tonight, may I know the joy of having been totally pleasing to you.”

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The Unequaled Power of Encouragement

A Positive Impact is in Proportion to Our Words of Encouragement

The chief reason we stumble into sin, surrender to fear, slip into emotional depletion, sink into spiritual hardness and shrink back from reaching our faith-potential is from discouragement—or more precisely, the lack of encouragement. You and I not only have the spiritual responsibility, we have the awesome potential for making a huge impact in another’s life by simply living out the Biblical injunction to “encourage one another daily.” Someone needs you to encourage them today. Go make it happen!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching

There is nothing quite so powerful as an encouraging person! I love to be around them, and I’ll bet you do, too. They even find ways to have difficult conversations that leave you feeling valued and hopeful. They are life-giving. They are a gift. May their tribe increase.

On the other hand, we all know people who seem to find fault in just about anything. They look on the dark side of everything and infect anyone who is near them with their negativity. And if we’re not careful, we can get pulled into their black hole of negativity, fault-finding and discouragement.

That’s why the writer of Hebrews gave us these two powerful admonitions:

We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. (Hebrews 10:24-25, CEV)

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:13)

One of the chief reasons we stumble into sin, surrender to a spirit of fear, slip into emotional depletion, become spiritually hardened and shrink back from reaching our faith-potential is from discouragement—or perhaps more accurately, the lack of encouragement. As believers, we not only have the spiritual responsibility, we have the awesome potential for making a huge impact in the lives of others by simply living out the Biblical injunction to encourage one another daily.

This is especially important since the Enemy of our souls works overtime in his attempt to discourage, diminish and destroy us. But good, old fashioned, Christ-hearted encouragement is arguably the most powerful force for good we can unleash on one another. Just consider the power of encouragement in the following verses:

The mouth of the righteous is a tree of life…” (Proverbs 10:11)

The tongue of the wise brings healing…” (Proverbs 12:18)

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. (Proverbs 12:25)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21)

Wow—that is the amazing, life-changing potential in the words you can choose to deliver today. So why not try it! Let me suggest five different approaches you can take to unleash this power upon another:

  1. Through verbal compliments: Try showering someone with praise for something they have done.
  2. Through inspiring words: Speak affirming words to someone because of who they are, the beauty and potential of their character.
  3. Through acts of kindness: Encourage someone simply by doing something nice for them, when they least expect it, or maybe even don’t deserve it.
  4. Through indirect words: Talk about them behind their back—in a good way. For sure, it will get back to them, and it will be even more powerful coming from a third party.
  5. Through written words: Send someone a note of appreciation. It will have the added value of being enjoyed over and over again.

Encouragement—it’s the most powerful thing you can add to this world. So let me encourage you to go for it today!

Thrive: This week, write a word of encouragement and send it to someone whom God prompts you to bless. Or, before the week is out, use an indirect word of encouragement by telling a third party how much you love, appreciate a mutual acquaintance.

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God, Pour Out Special Blessings On All Who Serve You

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

We are enamored with celebrity in our culture—even in the Christian world. We elevate TV preachers; we give special attention to pastors of mega-churches; we idolize Christian singers, entertainers and authors of best-selling books. God doesn’t. He is not all that impressed. He isn’t enamored with celebrity, he does not elevate high profile Christians, he is not drawn to talented and successful believers any more than he is to ordinary ones. God sees the little person—the one who faithfully and diligently serves behind the scenes in his kingdom, doing the things no one notices and rarely appreciates. And he will not forget their sacrificial service. Neither should we.

A Simple Prayer To Bless God’s Servants:

God, I pray for a special blessing on all of the people in your kingdom who faithfully, selflessly and sacrificially serve you by serving the church – your people. They are mostly unsung and unnoticed, except by you. So show them a sign of your favor today. Bless them with your abundance. And on that glorious Day, honor them in your presence above all others.
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God, Strengthen Those Who Suffer For Your Name

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

William Barclay wrote, “Jesus promised his disciples three things—they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and constantly in trouble.” Even as you read these words, there are untold numbers of Christians around the world who are in trouble—they are being persecuted simply for their belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord. And yet, incredibly, in the face of unspeakable suffering, they fearlessly follow Christ and endure their persecution joyfully. The world is not worthy of them. What say we pray for them today!

A Simple Prayer for the Persecuted Church:

God, release supernatural strength and unsurpassable peace to those in your flock around the world who are suffering great trial for their steadfast faith in you. May they never feel alone. May they know beyond any shadow of doubt that you stand by their side—and that I do, too. Give them an impartation of courage to live out the word of their testimony. Infuse them with a heavenly vision of what is to come for those who do not throw away their confidence, so much so that they will love not their lives even unto death. And should you privilege them with the gift of martyrdom, may their blood be the seed of the church. I lift the persecuted church to you and ask that you would speak, “well done, good and faithful servant,” in their hour of trial.
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Remember

Reflect:
Hebrews 13:6 & 8

“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? …Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

If you are going to walk faithfully with God over the course of your life, you will have to get good at remembering. In fact, God himself calls you to practice remembering: Remember the trustworthiness of his character, the certainty of his promises and the track record of his faithful activity in your life. Failure to remember God’s unimpeachable ways in the past will lead to fear and faithlessness when you hit rough roads in the journey ahead.

God calls us to remember so that we don’t forget. That is why he has gone on record time and again in his Word that he will indeed keep his commitments—all of them. God wants us to know that it is his nature to be faithful. God keeps every one of his promises! He just can’t help himself. That is why Hebrews 10:23 urges us to,

“Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful!”

Not only does God want us not to forget him, he wants us to know he will never forget us. God knows who we are, where we are and what we need. He remembers us, he remembers his promises to us and he graciously acts on our behalf at the proper time. And just about the time we think he has forgotten, he invades our dark days and interrupts our desperate realities with the light of his loving plan—because God remembers! Isaiah 49:15-16 beautifully reminds us,

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

Furthermore, God wants us to know that he will never forget our tenacious faithfulness to him. When it looks like God is absent, or that he doesn’t care, and we ruthlessly cling to our trust in the goodness of his character and fidelity of his promise, God’s heart is moved—and he rewards. Isaiah 40:31 says,

“They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

God wants you to practice remembering that he will never fail you, that you will never be alone, that he will always keep his promises and he will always reward your faithfulness! God’s promise to you is that you will never be forgotten, no matter what!

In the 1980’s, Tom Sutherland was taken hostage by radicals in Lebanon and held in captivity for 4 years, mostly in solitary confinement. He existed in deep darkness during that long ordeal. Sometimes he could hear is captor’s radio when they tuned it to the BBC, and Tom would listen intently hoping and praying to hear his name mentioned on a newscast. But he never heard it, so he figured that people at home didn’t even know he was alive, much less imprisoned.

Finally, Tom was released. He flew back to the US and landed in San Francisco, and he was amazed as he got off the plane to see a huge crowd, people waving signs, cameras, reporters, and TV lights. He turned to his wife and said, “There must have been a famous person on this plane with us. See if you can spot him.” And she said, “Tom, they’re all here for you!” Tom broke down and cried like a baby. And he finally said, “I thought everybody had forgotten me…I felt abandoned…I didn’t think anybody cared. Thank God I was wrong.”

If you’re feeling forgotten at this moment, thank God you’re wrong! God remembers you and will fulfill every single one of his promises at the proper time.

So remember not to forget that!

“I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain.” ~John Henry Newman

Reflect & Apply: Use your Bible concordance to search God’s promises to remember his people. Find seven verses, one for each day this week, and reflect on them. That is what one of the ways you can practice remembering.

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Help Wanted–Help Received

Reflect:
Hebrews 4:15-16

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

What a difference it makes just knowing you have someone in high authority who has got your back! When you know that—not just intellectually, but experientially—you will live more confidently, act more courageously, risk faith more often, let go of your failures more easily, seek forgiveness more readily, sleep more peacefully, worry a whole lot less and wake up ready to face the day with more energy than you’ve ever known before.

That’s the privilege Christ-followers enjoy—or should—and that includes you! After paying the price for your sins by dying on the cross, Jesus entered eternity to begin his heavenly ministry as your very own personal high priest. Now, he stands before the Father night and day to represent you. He intercedes on your behalf. He is praying for you. He is rooting you on. He is ready to help!

He understands your fears—he faced some pretty overwhelming stuff when he was here. He understands your temptations—all of them. He faced them, too. He knows your weaknesses—he had to overcome them one by one. He knows what it is like to be rejected, disappointed, persecuted, to go without, to have no place to call home and to be misunderstood. He even knows the heaviest weight a human being carries—the reality of one’s own death. Jesus has been there, done that.

But he did all that for you! That’s why he is a faithful, empathetic high priest. And that is why you can come into the very throne room of Father God with complete confidence, walk right up to that throne and ask him for what you need: Help, provision, healing, forgiveness—whatever.

You can do that because of what Jesus has already done—he paid the price for you to do that. That is now your right, your privilege, and your responsibility. You can also do that because of what Jesus is doing right now—he is standing alongside you with his arm around your shoulder before the Father bringing your case before the only One who has the power and authority to do anything about it.

With Jesus standing by your side, you will be glad to know that help wanted means help received. Now that ought to make a difference in how you approach life today.

“If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who ever lived—all the goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength and love—and united all those virtues in one person, that person would only be a faint shadow of the love and mercy in the heart of God for you and me.” ~Brennan Manning

Reflect & Apply: Try offering this prayer: “Father, I stand before you in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and ask you to meet all of my needs today. I pray that you would keep me pure, give me power, ensure my success, and make me useful to your kingdom. Work in me and through me today, and when I lay my head down on the pillow tonight, may I know the joy of having been totally pleasing to you.”

Posted on

The Power of Encouragement

Reflect:
Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

An elderly man lay in a hospital with his wife of fifty-five years sitting at his bedside. “Is that you, Ethel, at my side again?” he whispered.

“Yes, dear,” she answered.

He softly said to her, “Remember years ago when I was in the Veteran’s Hospital? You were with me then. You were with me when we lost everything in a fire. And Ethel, when we were poor—you were with me there, too.”

The man sighed and said, “I tell you, what Ethel… you’re bad luck.”

Some people seem to find fault in just about anything. They look on the dark side of everything and infect anyone who is near them with their negativity. And if we’re not careful, we can fall into that black hole of negativity, fault-finding and discouragement ourselves. That’s why the writer of Hebrews gave us these two powerful admonitions:

“We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, CEV)

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13)

One of the chief reasons we fall into sin, give in to a spirit of fear, shrink back from reaching our potential, or become spiritually and emotionally hardened, is from discouragement—or perhaps more accurately, the lack of encouragement.

One of the chief reasons we stumble into sin, surrender to a spirit of fear, slip into emotional depletion, become spiritually hardened and shrink back from reaching our faith-potential is from discouragement—or perhaps more accurately, the lack of encouragement. As believers, we not only have the spiritual responsibility, we have the awesome potential for making a huge impact in the lives of others by simply living out the Biblical injunction to encourage one another daily.

As believers, we have the awesome potential for making a huge impact in the lives of people by living out the Biblical injunction to encourage one another daily. This is especially important since the Enemy of our souls works overtime in his attempt to discourage, diminish and destroy us. But good, old fashioned, Christ-hearted encouragement is arguably the most powerful force we can unleash on one another. Just consider the power of encouragement in the following verses:

“The mouth of the righteous is a tree of life…” (Proverbs 10:11)

“The tongue of the wise brings healing…” (Proverbs 12:18)

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” (Proverbs 12:25)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21)

Wow—that is the amazing, life-changing potential in the words you can choose to deliver today. So why not try it! Let me suggest five different approaches you can take to unleash this power upon another:

One, through verbal compliments: Try showering someone with praise for something they have done.

Two, through inspiring words: Speak affirming words to someone because of who they are, the beauty and potential of their character.

Three, through acts of kindness: Encourage someone simply by doing something nice for them, when they least expect it, or maybe even don’t deserve it.

Four, through indirect words: Talk about them behind their back—in a good way. For sure, it will get back to them, and it will be even more powerful coming from a third party.

Five, through written words: Send someone a note of appreciation. It will have the added value of being enjoyed over and over again.

Encouragement—it’s the most powerful thing you can do. So go for it!

“Possibly the deepest human need is the need to feel appreciated.” ~William James

Reflect & Apply: This week, write a word of encouragement and send it to someone whom God prompts you to bless. Or, before the week is out, use an indirect word of encouragement by telling a third party how much you love, appreciate a mutual acquaintance.