A Call to Perservere
Hebrews 10:19-38
19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let 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 washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[a] and again, "The Lord will judge his people."[b] 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
38But my righteous one[c] will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him."[d]
I've been kinda busy for the past month and hadn't had many opportunities to sit down and seriously spend time with God. I've realized how enriching spending time with God has been, finding out how much I had taken time spent with God for granted in the past. Day by day passed by with each day filled with activities that tire me out. Time tends to test relationships. But lets not let time test our personal relationship with God - treasure God's friendship. Your walk is your walk, my walk is my walk. Your leader can only guide you so far, but in the end, it will still be your own legs walking the journey of life, until we see God face to face.
I am sure many can relate to the passage above as if it were your life story. Fiery arrows of persecution and condemnation being shot at you from all angles about your religion. It's quite unthinkable and definitely unbearable. Constant stares, constant murmurs behind your back, people spouting nonsense about you, making a mountain out of a molehill. Personally, I have experienced this before. People question your religion, question your loyalty to God. etc. Deep down, it is hurtful being questioned about your God. But I pray, should you still be experiencing this, that you take heart from the passage above.
The writer of Hebrews found the readers tempted to pull away from Christ. Hebrews attempted to call them to God and to fellowship with one another by describing a veil by which all believers could enter God's presence. This veil symbolized the life of Jesus presented to God when He suffered for our sins. (1 Peter 3:18). Because Christians had complete access to God, they could draw near to Him with an inward and outward cleansing. They also needed to consider how to stimulate one another to good works by meeting together. In no instance should Christians fall into a pattern of neglecting fellowship with one another. The author warned his readers that turning away from Christ would expose them to divine judgment. He insisted that readers show genuine faith by continued commitment to Christ. They had already suffered for their faith, but they needed to demonstrate stamina in obeying God.
Today, I bless you to know that God will receive what he has promised. You will be richly rewarded for your faith. Bless you to stay strong in the Lord and not let anything (whether big or small) stumble you, but always stay on track, persevere and strive towards the goal.
Labels: DEVOTION
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