It’s the cry of the ages: Why is nothing happening?  Nothing to vindicate the righteous ones?  Nothing to punish those doing evil?  Why is nothing happening to change my situation even though I think I’m doing everything right that I know how to do? 

We’ve all been there at some point, I’m sure.

Scripture talks about that type of individual and that type of cry.  In it, we find another resolution from the Book of Hebrews : Live by Faith.

Hebrews 11:13 All these people 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, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  16 Instead, 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.

God is not like Obi-Wan Kenobi.  In one of my least favorite scenes of Return of the Jedi (because I have theology as my viewing lens), Luke confronts Obi-Wan:

Luke: Obi-Wan! Why didn’t you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.

Ben: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true… from a certain point of view.

Certain point of view?  Cut the psychobabble, Obi-Wan.  Truth is not relative. Just own up and say you lied to Luke, and we all know why.

Anyway, God isn’t like that.  He didn’t promise Abraham a land of his own and then tap-dance to spiritualize it: “Oh, just joking. I meant in heaven, not real land.”  Sorry. God promised actual land and He delivered actual land, true after Abraham died. 

But why not earlier?

So that Abraham would live by faith. His would be very real land inherited by very real descendants, but all of it was God’s promise fulfilled as the fruit of Abraham’s faith. Furthermore, because of his faith, Abraham is alive. He lives in the eternal home God planned that would be Abraham’s as well. Abraham lived by faith and God delivered in His timing and Abraham–fully alive in heaven–saw fulfilment of these promises that during earthly life he only welcomed from a distance.

Thoughts for today:

Living by faith is not easy.  What do you do to live by faith?  Are you still waiting upon God for something?

The next resolution in our New Year resolutions from the Book of Hebrews would be to Draw Near with a Sincere Heart. 

Have you ever heard people say that since others are so sincere in their beliefs that they–and their beliefs–deserve our full acceptance? Nonsense. Sincerity is good, but it’s not “an end in itself.” The sincerity can be good or sincerely deluded. 

It’s the object of our sincerity that carries the truth value,
not the simple measure of how sincere we are.

Look at this passage and see what a Christian’s sincerity is rooted in:

Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart…

Our sincerity is rooted in the work of Christ –a finished work which paved the path to God.  It was Jesus’ sacrificial and priestly work alone.  His is the new and living way.  That’s why our sincerity matters.

Questions for thought:

Maybe you’ve heard people say, “What can I do to earn salvation?” The answer, of course, is NOTHING–nothing to earn it. Do you have confidence that you have been forgiven? What is your confidence grounded in?

How can you display the sincerity of your faith in Christ?

What difference does it make that Jesus is the great priest over the house of God?

Between now and our upcoming Lenten Devotional Series “Revelation in 40” we are looking at New Year resolutions from the Book of Hebrews.  It’s February now and most people have long forgotten their resolutions.

Not me because ours come from Scripture and are timeless: Pay Careful Attention.  Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.  Don’t Harden Your Heart.  Don’t Give Up.  Finish Well.  Embrace the Promise of God’s rest by faith and obedience. Approach the throne of grace with Confidence and now Move on and Grow Up.

Sounds kind of harsh, yes?  But no one should want to remain immature.  We remain immature when we refuse to learn what will bring us to maturity.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity.

I recently celebrated a birthday and one of my grandsons chirped out “Happy Birthday!”  Since he frequently talks about how he’ll be when he gets older, I replied, “Why thank you!  Do I look a year older?” He beamed and shouted out an enthusiastic “YES!” Children say the darndest things.

Questions for today:

As time goes on, are you growing in Christ? 
Is it visible to those who see you and know you? 
In a spiritual sense, are you still content eating from the children’s table or off the kiddie menu? 
What types of things can you resolve today to grow in Christlikeness and experience more of Jesus?

Have you ever noticed there are naysayers and black-pill dispensers everywhere who attempt to snuff out any smidgen of hope that things will get better? They can make us feel like God doesn’t care because the struggles of this earth, well … they just keep on struggling. 

Into that darkness, God speaks assurance, competence, and compassion.

Assurance:  Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Competence: Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Compassion: Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are– yet he did not sin.

What should be the result of this kind of assurance? That a very good and perfect God (who loves us enough to send Jesus to pay for our sin) tells us that nothing is hidden from His sight?  What should be the result of knowing that He has overcome even death and is at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us?  What should be the result of knowing He is not just competent, but also gracious and compassionate?

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Pay Careful Attention.  Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.  Don’t Harden Your Heart.  Don’t Give Up.  Finish Well.  Embrace the Promise of God’s rest by faith and obedience. Come to His throne of grace, confident that you will find mercy there.

Questions for today:

What are some ways you can display your confidence in Christ? 

Why might we require mercy? 

The same word for mercy is often translated compassion.  There is wide overlap, but does mercy differ from compassion?  Read through the following:

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Romans 9:15)

“Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to You, because You answer me. (Psalm 86:6-7)

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:5)

“But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (2 Kings 13:23)

When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Mercy or compassion: which is more of an action word? Which one would be more like something you would feel?  

Consider positions of power vs an equal footing.  When are mercy vs. compassion more fitting?

It may seem like a no-brainer, but Today is always Today. 

Today is not Yesterday for which opportunities are over and never to be identically repeated.  Time was poured out and never will be reclaimed. Yesterday, it was full of its mistakes and excuses, troubles and worries, regrets, failures, words we never should have spoken or written, and yes, Yesterday had its successes and achievements, too.  But that was Yesterday.  Yesterday is over.  Unless you’re the Beatles in which case it is an enduring hit song, not without controversy. 

Tomorrow also is not Today.  It’s Tomorrow.  A day none of us are guaranteed.  Some of us may never see Tomorrow.  All we have is Today.  Tomorrow offers the hope of things being better.  It holds the promise of second chances.  It represents a turning… as within 24 hours, Today will turn to Yesterday …and Tomorrow’s fresh start emerges with the sunrise as it becomes a new Today.  But that’s not guaranteed if Jesus returns and Christ-followers enter God’s rest, or we cash in our earthly chips, and they fall where they may.

But then there’s Today.  The only moment we are guaranteed: it’s right now.

The author of Hebrews stresses that Today is critically important.  It’s all we’ve got.  To many of us, the Good News and our obedience to it is now … or maybe never.  Even Today, there is nothing earned.  Nothing gained to unlock the doors to God’s rest.  Nothing, if we don’t believe, share the faith, and obey it.

Hebrews 4:2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.

4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Questions for today:

What are you doing with Today?  Are you procrastinating, counting on a Later or Tomorrow? 
In what way is Today pointing to the sabbath rest God promised for people to observe and enjoy as God enjoys His? 
God’s Word is alive and active Today.  It’s powerful to change lives Today.  What is your response to God’s Word?

We are supposed to be people working to gain new followers for Christ along the way, and then all Christ-followers entering God’s rest by His grace. Our faith in action.

Maybe it’s silly, the chuckle I get out of this imaginary meme portrayal of God appearing on a podcast, being interviewed by Steve Bannon who is famous for talking about action, action, action:

• God: And on the 7th day I rested.  And—
• Bannon: “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, hang on.  What do you mean you rested? Walk us through this.  You were doing all these miraculous things and you decided to what, slow down?!  Explain to the audience please.”

Why did God rest? 

“Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” 

At the conclusion, the finish line, there is no more work to be done, no further gain to attain, no more progress to reach perfection.  Six days of Creation and it was complete.  Perfect.  So, He rested.

I like to picture the days of creation as analogous to God’s installing software in the cosmos and in the world, programming the earth to sustain life.  He wrote the perfect software, made certain there were no bugs, and inspected the perfect installation, step by step. “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Then He rebooted, shutting down and restarting.  “And there was evening, and there was morning. “ 

After it was all done, there was no more installation,
there were no more updates, it was finished.  
Perfectly ready to function. 
The Rest is History.  
That is, God’s rest is.

Another New Year resolution from the Book of Hebrews, then, is to “Embrace the promise of entering God’s rest.  Don’t fall short of it.”

Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

As people of action, we work daily (yes even on Saturdays or Sundays as your tradition suggests for a sabbath) … but that work is to advance the Gospel so no one falls short of God’s rest which is coming when our work is done.

Questions for today:

Do you rest when you’re tired or it’s refreshing after working hard? 

Is there anything wrong with that?  Why not?

What would make it wrong? Read Proverbs 24:33-34 and the sayings after observing “the sluggard.”

When will the work of sharing the Gospel be complete?

All the accolades one might have received, congratulations on a job well done, successes galore, fastest running speed, hope of crossing the finish line with a vision of the checkered flag finale, are completely ruined if one doesn’t finish well.  It doesn’t matter how well a race you were running if you didn’t finish.  No kudos for those who start well and finish poorly.

How many of us have ever had a contractor work on our home, or a financial planner, landscaper or lawyer, or anyone else who started well but finished poorly, if at all?

God hates that when it comes to faith.  So, He tells us not to harden our hearts.  Today.  Because Lord willing, every today leads to a tomorrow and to our need to finish well.  As Scripture says,

Hebrews 3: 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.  15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”  16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?  17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?  18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Quitter’s Field has a full infield and outfield.  Its bleachers and box seats are full.  It’s season ticket holders never finish anything but quit when the going gets tough.  Don’t go there.  Stay in the game. 

In praying about why not to quit, I discovered the second Friday in January is called “Quitters Day” as people in droves give up on New Year resolutions by that point.  This year, they couldn’t last more than 2 weeks.  That’s because they didn’t get theirs from the Book of Hebrews and have the Holy Spirit to intercede for them. 

Pay Careful Attention.  Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.  Don’t Harden Your Heart.  Don’t Give Up.  Finish Well.

Questions for today:

In Revelation 2 and 3, there are letters to seven churches.  The idea of being victorious is spoken to all seven.  They’re inspired to finish well.  Be victorious.  Why might Jesus have said it to all seven churches?

How are you doing on following Christ? Do you know victory in Jesus? 

Are you persevering by faith all the way to being victorious or are you among the lackluster quitters headed full speed to Quitter’s Field?  It’s not too late to regroup, dust yourself off, and get back in the race. Finish well!

Hebrews 3:7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'”

As we continue to look at New Year Resolutions from the Book of Hebrews, today’s passage is calling us to look at today and a third resolution: Don’t harden your heart. Today.

It’s a good reminder that any day of the week
we can intentionally push out the voice of God
and follow the ways of the world. 
God hates that.

An online acquaintance made the statement that the same sun that melts wax can harden clay.  I’ve been thinking about that as it relates to this passage regarding God’s voice.  God’s voice is the same going out to all of us, just as it was the same for our ancestors.  God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  What was the difference between the ancestors with hardened hearts and those who inherited the Promised Land? What is the difference between clay and wax?  Is it not the nature of the substance?

The substance of the ancestors who died in the wilderness was rebellion, going astray, not knowing or accepting the ways of God.  It’s who they were. The ones who died (instead of inheriting) lived with ingratitude, second guessing, doubt, selfishness, greed, complacency, willingness to submit under evil in exchange for pleasures and comforts, and in every case, forsaking their God.  Their nature was clay.  Faithless.  Rebellious.

If it happened to them
even after seeing the miraculous deliverance
God gave them from Egypt, it could happen to us. 

Hebrews 3 continues, “12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Questions for today:

Why is Today important?

If the greatest deliverance miracle of all, Jesus’ payment for our sins and offering us eternal life, is displayed for all of us as a Promised Land, what does rejection of Him look like to God, His Father? 

What was God’s reaction to those with hardened hearts in the wilderness?

Are you one of those who believes the “New Testament God” doesn’t get angry?  What does Scripture say about Jesus’ return? 

Read Revelation 19: 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On His robe and on His thigh, He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Looking at the second New Year Resolution from the Book of Hebrews, “Fix Your Thoughts On Jesus”, it’s grounded in something important.  At the end of verse one, it says that we acknowledge Jesus as our apostle and high priest.

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

An apostle is someone sent.  A high priest intercedes by offering sacrifice.

We acknowledge by faith that Jesus was the sent One among the 3 “Persons” of the Trinity.  The Father is the One who sent Him.  And He intercedes for us, just like Moses did in the days of old…only better.  Scripture continues saying,

2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Jesus served like Moses did, only better. He came as the Son.  Moses’ “house” was the people of Israel.  But Jesus’ faithfulness is over God’s house…and every human being ever created is potentially God’s house by virtue of being human. 

But not all will “be the house.” 
Sad to say, not all will even want to “be the house.“

Being the house is by faith, acknowledging Jesus.  It involves paying careful attention first and foremost. Why? Because Scripture reminds us that we’re paying attention to God in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ.  And God is better than angels, than people, than prophets, than news anchors, than the WHO and Fauci…

Being the house means by faith we plant our flag, and fix our thoughts, on Jesus. 

Questions for today:

Have you resolved to “be the house” by faith in Jesus?

Where are your thoughts fixed?

When you feel your thoughts are drifting, how can you fix them again on Jesus?

The Book of Hebrews offers us a second New Year Resolution:  Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus.

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

I don’t know about you, but I think it really shouldn’t be as hard as it is.  Why is it so hard to do what ought to be automatic?  After all, He’s God.

Oh, but first thing in the morning, the newspaper headlines, the social media replies and likes, the blog subscriptions, the endless email promotions for products you once wanted or companies from whom you made purchases, all of them scream “Look at me!  Fix your thoughts on me!  Fix your thoughts on politics, on fixing this country!  Fix your thoughts on Covid and things still on that Christmas wish list!  Fix your thoughts on your credit card statement post-holiday.  Fix your thoughts on how popular your post was on Instagram versus Facebook…”

Fix your thoughts on anything but Jesus.  Ouch.

One of my New Year resolutions has been to shut off the noise.  To prioritize Jesus.  To prioritize prayer.  To prioritize worship. 

You’d think I’d have figured that out by now.  But just like weight loss goals and healthy lifestyles and exercise and better budgeting, discipline goes a long way.  The writer to the Hebrews (whose identity is a mystery and suggests to me that the author would not have been accepted had his/her identity been known) instead is obliged to remind all of us.  Again.  Fix your thoughts on Jesus.

Questions for today:

How is Jesus our sure hope, described in Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”?

The Bible also tells us (in all 3 synoptic gospels BTW: Matthew, Mark, and Luke) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Luke 21:33).  Why is fixing our eyes on the immovable, unchangeable, immortal, and steadfast a far better guide for daily living than watching the winds of change rush by with transient importance?

It’s not too late to make “fixing your eyes on Jesus” your resolution too, or to reclaim it for today.