Not Home Yet

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are
looking forward to a home yet to come.”
(Hebrews 13:14)

Thoughts…After serving as a missionary for forty years in Africa, Henry C. Morrison became sick and had to return to America. As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor, there was a great crowd gathered to welcome home another passenger on that boat. Morrison watched as President Teddy Roosevelt received a grand welcome home party after his African Safari.Resentment seized Morrison and he turned to God in anger, “I have come back home after all this time and service to the church and there is no one, not even one person here to welcome me home.”

Then a still small voice came to Morrison and said, “You’re not home yet.”

And neither are you!

Prayer… Lord, help me not to get too earth bound. Heaven is my real destination. Keep reminding me that I’m not home yet.

One More Thing… “God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.” —Thomas Aquinas

Read Hebrews 12:14-28

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that
no one misses 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
…see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks
…let us be thankful, and so worship God
acceptably with reverence and awe”
(Hebrews 12:14-15, 25, 25)

Thoughts… The great thrust of Hebrews is the superiority of Christ’s priesthood and the all-sufficiency of his sacrifice. The writer is reminding us of the awesome truth that Christ death and resurrection has saved us completely, and we can add nothing to it.

And yet, we have some duties in response to all that Christ has done for us. There are some “c-tuits”, if you will, that he speaks of in this passage:

To begin with, we are to “see to it” that we maintain harmony in the body of Christ and peaceful relationships with those in our community. Wherever conflict exists, the work of God is hampered, even if it is not our doing. If at all possible, we must ensure peace.

Furthermore, we are to “see to it” that we maintain an attitude and a lifestyle characterized by holiness. Holiness simply means to be set apart for God’s sacred use. It is our duty, in light of what God has done for us, to dedicate ourselves in purity to his purposes.

Additionally, we are to “see to it” that a bad attitude does not choke out the grace of God in our lives. Bitterness, for a variety of reasons, is an ever-present danger to the believer, and if it is allowed to set in, becomes a devastating spiritual crippler. We must guard against it at all times.

We are also to “see to it” that our sexual purity is maintained. The writer has said, “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Perhaps the most devastating corruption of our holiness is the violation of sexual standards. We are susceptible to sexual misdeeds when we fall into the patterns of Esau, who made his own desires his god. We must ruthlessly maintain purity in our actions and in our thoughts with regard to sexuality, living to please him rather than to gratify ourselves.

Another ““see to it” is to make sure we are hearing and responding to the voice of God. The writer says, “don’t refuse him who speaks.” God speaks to us everyday through his Word and by the Spirit. Our duty is to be in a spiritually sensitive place where we are actively listening and quickly obeying.

Finally, we are to “see to it” that gratitude and worship are the consuming passions of our lives. In other words, this gracious and holy God must be our continual “all in all.”

Of course, this list of spiritual duties is no big sacrifice on our part in comparison to the sacrifice he made for us. This is the least we can do.

There are just a few things that we have been given to do. We have our list. Hopefully, we won’t just get a “round tuit”, but we will “c-tuit” that these are completed today.

Prayer… Lord, the response of a holy life is no sacrifice in comparison to what you have sacrificed for me. I will give my joyful effort to live today as one big thank-you to you in response to the gift of salvation.

One More Thing… “Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love.” —Augustine

Read Hebrews 12:1-13

“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. Let
us fix our eyes on Jesus…”
(Hebrews 12:1-2)

Thoughts… Hebrews was written to 1st century Christians of Jewish background. They got off to a great start in their faith, but because of unexpected suffering, they were thinking about walking away and returning to their Jewish roots.

That’s why the writer pleads with them to run their race with endurance. And he gives them—and us—a few tips on how to run strong and finish well.

First of all, we’ll need to find strength from those who’ve gone before.

“Therefore since we are surrounded by this huge crowd
of witnesses to the life of faith…”

The Bible isn’t just a history book; it not just about people who lived and died a long time ago. Hebrews 4:12 says that it is “living and active.” It’s an operator’s manual of living faith to help us today. Romans 15:4 says, “Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us.”

And in a very real sense, anyone who has run a victorious race of faith—from the ancient past right up to the present moment, is on the sidelines cheering you on. Hebrews 11 contains a long list of both familiar and not-so-familiar people who were given a tough race to run—they were ridiculed, mistreated; some left their families and homes to serve God. Some paid the ultimate price of sacrifice, hardship and gave their lives to follow God, but they endured.

All them were still running the race of faith when they died. God thought so highly of them that he says of them in 11:36, “The world was not worthy of them.”

When you’re tempted to slow down, when you’ve lost sight of the finish line, when you’re weary and feel like giving up, this great crowd of witnesses is literally in that unseen dimension shouting,

“Don’t give up. We endured; we paid a heavy
price, too. But it was worth it.”

There’s Abraham and Moses, David and Jonathon. There are new Testament martyrs like Stephen and John the Baptist and James. There’s Peter and Paul and John the beloved, There are even loved ones of yours who have gone on before you—and they’re at the finish line shouting,

“Keep going, you’re almost there, it’ll be worth it!”

To sustain your spiritual passion for an entire lifetime, you’ve got to open your eyes to that unseen dimension and listen to those who’ve run the race before you.

Second, to run strong and finish well, we’ll need to put off that which trips us up.

“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially
the sin that so easily hinders our progress.”

In athletic events, excess weight is not good. You can’t run a marathon with a suitcase. Perhaps you are trying to run your spiritual race that way—you’re in the race, but you’re weighted down.

To run effectively, you’ve got to let go of a couple things: You have got to let go of the ungodly: The sin that easily hinders us. And then you will need to let go of the unnecessary: The weight that slows us down.

Weight is not necessarily sin, but it is anything that keeps you from offering your best to God. In fact, a weight might even be something that is good. But most often, good is the enemy of best. That’s why it is so hard to let go of—precisely because it is good.

And finally, to persevere in the race and finish well, we must keep a single-minded focus.

“Fix your eyes on Jesus…Keep your mind on Jesus …
Then you won’t get discouraged and give up.”

Nothing—nothing is more important in this race than never letting Jesus out of your sight.

How do your “fix” your eyes on Jesus and develop a single-minded focus? It won’t happen by accident. In fact, implicit in the word “focus” is the idea of concentration and intention.

While life is a race, you cannot develop spiritual intimacy on the run. If you want to discover the secret of developing intimacy with God, study the life of Jesus. You will discover that he was busy, but never hurried. He always had time and took carefully guarded moments to be alone with the Father.

If you’re going to keep your focus on Jesus through the busyness and distractions of life, you will have to make time to be alone in his presence; to slow down long enough to hear Him. God will most often speak in the quiet moments of your life. To hear God and know God, you have to create space for solitude and quiet in your day, when you can be alone, undistracted in His presence.

You are in a race—the race of your life. Think about those who have already finished the race ahead of you. Get rid of every hindrance that is slowing your down or that might trip you up. Keep one eye on the prize—Jesus is at the finish line waiting to reward you. And most of all, don’t give up!

“Strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for
which God through Christ Jesus, is calling us to heaven.”
(Philippians 3:12-13)

The finish is in sight, so run strong and run well!

Prayer… I am fixing my eyes on you, Lord Jesus. Today, I will eliminate all of those obstacles that would distract me from my race. And with your help, I will run strong and at the end of the race, I will finish well.

One More Thing… “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.”—C.S. Lewis

Read Hebrews 11:17-31

“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the
spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”
(Hebrews 11:31)

Thoughts… Now there’s something you don’t hear in the same sentence very often: faith and prostitutes.

But that’s what so great about faith: It transforms prostitutes and every other kind of dirty rotten sinner—which is what we all were, by the way—into people worthy of God’s Great Hall of Faith.

Just look at some of the people who adorn the Great Hall in Hebrews 11:

• Noah—a drunkard
• Abraham—a liar
• Jacob—a deceiver and world-class manipulator
• Joseph—an ex-con
• Moses—a murderer
• Gideon—a coward
• Samson—a profligate
• Jephthah—a reject
• David—an adulterer

And if you are a person who lives by faith, one day your name, along with those already mentioned, will be added to the Great Hall:

• Rahab—a prostitute
• You—a (feel free to fill in the blank)

We’re in pretty good company, aren’t we? But that’s what so great about faith. It trumps our past, sets us aright with God, transforms our character, enables spiritual heroism and guarantees our place in God’s Great Hall of Faith.

Whatever your past, whoever you are in the present, however limited your future my look, faith will change everything. So stop what you are doing and start stepping out by faith.

What is faith? Simply to believe God, then live your life accordingly.

“By faith!” That phrase is used 20 times in just this one chapter. Make sure “by faith” is used a lot in your life, too.  Pursue faith until faith possesses you, and make it your defining characteristic.

It will change everything!

Prayer… Lord, I believe. Now destroy my unbelief until there is nothing left of me but the fingerprints of faith.

One More Thing… “Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” —Corrie Ten Boom

Read Hebrews 11:1-16

“All these [Old Testament faith heroes] were still living by
faith when they died. They did not receive the things
promised; they only saw them and welcomed them
from a distance. And they admitted that they
were aliens and strangers on earth.”
(Hebrews 11:13)

Thoughts… I am always convicted when I read Hebrews 11—God’s Hall of Faith. In particular, this verse blows my own faith right out of the water. These great heroes of the faith were not heroes because of what they accomplished during their lifetime. They are not impressive because of the mighty promises that were fulfilled during their days on earth.

No—it was the fact that they kept trusting, kept obeying, kept walking resolutely forward in faith despite the fact God’s promises had not yet been fulfilled. You see, somewhere along the way, they came to understand that far better than any results they might experience in this life was the relationship they would enjoy with God in the next.

What was it about these great men and women of old—Abraham, Moses, Sarah, Ruth, Deborah, David, and so many others—that makes it possible to call them heroes of faith?

“They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God, for he has prepared a city for them.
(Hebrews 11:16)

They were motivated by a heavenly reward, not an earthly result. Now that is major league faith!

Do you, like me, wrap so much of your faith in God with what he will do for you in the here and now? Do you complain, does your faith weaken, do you get easily discouraged when God doesn’t do what you want the way you want when you want it? I do!

Here is the Hebrews 11 challenge for you and me today—and every day for the rest of our faith journey: When the promise is delayed, use that as a motivation to refocus your vision on the One who will fully reward you in the life to come.

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
received what had been promised. God had planned
something better for us so that only together
with us would they be made perfect.”
(Hebrews 11:39-40)

By the same kind of unconditional, unshakeable faith, let us join their ranks in God’s Great Hall of Faith!

Prayer… Not because of what you do, but because of who you are, I give you all of me—body, mind, spirit, hopes, dreams, plans, my unconditional love, my unwavering trust and my unshakeable faith.

One More Thing… “Faith takes God without any ifs.” — D.L. Moody

Read Hebrews 10:18-39

“We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place
because of the blood of Jesus.”
(Hebrews 10:19)

Thoughts… What a contrasting portrait this verse paints to the picture we get of the Old Testament saints who found themselves in the presence of God. They were anything but bold. Fearful, unworthy, undone is more like it.

So how is it that we are not only able, but exhorted to march boldly into the presence of Almighty God? The answer is simple: We enter by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we come before God, he doesn’t see us as we truly are in the reality of our human sinfulness, he sees us covered by the sinless, perfect blood of his dear Son. We come before God on the credit of Another.

Obviously, we should never take that for granted. We should never think that God winks at our sin, or that now, under the new covenant, he tolerates that which is unholy. He is still a holy God. He is eternally intolerant of sin in his presence. He is still the righteous Judge of all mankind. That will never change.

Yet the very fact of those immutable truths should make the rights and privileges we now enjoy by virtue of God’s grace through the death of Jesus Christ even sweeter. We can enter God’s holy presence with boldness—and we don’t deserve it!

No fear! What a wonderful privilege made possible by the blood of Jesus.

Prayer… Father, even as I bring this prayer before you today, I realize that I have no right on my own to do so. I have no inherent personal righteousness that gives me this privilege. Yet you have made it possible for me by the blood of your Son. Thank you—a million times, thank you. I am eternally indebted to you for this grace.

One More Thing… “Christ took our sins and the sins of the whole world as well as the Father’s wrath on his shoulders, and he has drowned them both in himself so that we are thereby reconciled to God and become completely righteous.” — Martin Luther

Read Hebrews 10:1-17

“For by that one offering he forever made perfect
those who are being made holy.”
(Hebrews 10:14)

Thoughts… Congratulations! You are perfect—and getting better every day!

Now if you’re like me, you don’t always feel that way. In fact, even on good days, I know I’m a long way from perfection. And if I ever think I’ve arrived at it, my family quickly reminds me that I have a ways to go.

Of course, I am talking about salvation. So was the writer of Hebrews. When we come to know Christ, we are perfected before the Father once and for all by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. This perfection is referring to our standing before Almighty God. And it is not based on our ability to be perfect, it is based on Christ’s perfection and his perfect sacrificial, atoning, substitutionary death on the cross.

Now it is important to note that the verse says we are not only “forever made perfect,” but we are also “being made holy.” The first refers to an act—the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. That act is an accomplished fact. The second refers to a process—the daily walk of faith, obedience to God, and mortification of our flesh. We are on a journey of holiness, because practical holiness never happens in a hurry; it takes a lifetime. So in a real sense, we are perfect, but we are being made perfect; we are holy, but we are being made holy.

So when the evidence of your life points to a reality other than perfection and holiness, just remember that God is not through with you yet. And whenever you don’t feel all that perfect, just remember that your perfection does not depend on your feelings, or even on your actions. It depends on the perfection of Jesus Christ. It rests on the perfection of his sacrificial death. As C.S. Lewis said, “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.”

And whether it be your feelings, your friends, your family, or the father of lies reminding you of your imperfections, just remind them that you have been made forever perfect in Jesus Christ.

If they have any argument with that, have them to take it to Jesus.

Prayer… Though undeserving, nevertheless I accept the work of perfection that you accomplished on my behalf when you died on the cross for my sins. I am perfect—forever! Now I pray that through the indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, that I will be made holy in my daily walk.

One More Thing… “The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.” — Alan Redpath