Mere stepping stone to eternity Hebrews 10 C
Hebrews
{10:30} For we know him that hath said, Vengeance
[belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And
again, The Lord shall judge his people.
{10:31} [It is] a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
{10:32} But call to remembrance the former days, in which,
after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of
afflictions
{10:33} Partly, whilst ye were made a
gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly,
whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
{10:34} For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and
took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in
yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring
substance.
{10:35} Cast not away therefore your
confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
{10:36} For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have
done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
{10:37}
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and
will not tarry.
{10:38} Now the just shall live by faith: but if
[any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him.
{10:39} But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
*
Not just back in the day of Jesus, not just back in the day of the apostles, not just back in the day of the reformation, not just back in your great grandparents day, not just back in your grandparents day, not just back in your parents day... you get the idea, it's not just for others this was written, it's a timeless message.
We can't cast away our confidence. We have need of patience. We need to do the will of God. Jesus will come in the fullness of time, he will.
We have to live by faith.
We can't draw back...we can't return to a former life, to a former covenant, to things the way they were. Once we are enlightened we can't become unenlightened. The tempter will tempt us to give up, to lose patience, to lose faith. Satan will do all in his power to try and get us away from God. He'll fight for you because he hates to lose even one person to God's love.
We won't draw back! We won't give up! We will hold fast to Jesus! Our lives may be pure living hell here and now, but we have to cling to Jesus for our future life with Him, the life that really matters, the life everlasting. All things here are temporary, all things here will pass, the good, the bad...all of it is temporary and fleeting in the grand scheme of things. What we call a lifetime is a mere stepping stone to eternity and it's for eternity we must keep our faith, that we must hold fast and not draw back.
May the Lord bless and keep us now and forever in Him, by His amazing grace and love, His mercy and forgiveness.
Amen.
2/5/10
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him
Jesus- in the days of his flesh offered up prayers and supplication with STRONG CRYING and TEARS unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared.
Think about that for a moment. We have this picture of Jesus as being God on earth and not subject to the need for strong crying and tears. If Jesus cried and not just a little bit, but really, really cried and He knew the Father in a way that we don't how much more should we be crying, strong crying to God. God was a reality to Jesus in a way that He isn't to a lot of us, most of us. God is a figure that is surreal and fantasy, unseen and therefore regulated to a special realm in an abstract way. Do we make God pure reality for us, for our lives? Is God real to us? It's easy to say yes He is, and maybe that's the truth. I believe in God, I believe He loves me and wants me to be His. I believe God sent His Son Jesus to die for me so that I might live through the righteousness of Jesus. I do believe but is my life reflective of a living God? I want it to be. Jesus, God's Son came to earth and offered up His prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. The Son of God would cry as He prayed and sought God's guidance and help. God heard Him, God heard His Son and not just because He was His Son but because He had reverence towards Him. Jesus gave God the respect due Him, so why do we think we can do any less? Jesus, God's Son learned obedience by the things he suffered. Another shocker? It can be when we think that Jesus had to learn obedience through suffering. Jesus knows everything we've gone through and will go through, Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus suffered temptation as we do. Jesus learned obedience through suffering and WE need to learn obedience through suffering. When we suffer we have the choice to learn or not to learn from our suffering. We will suffer through life's many heartaches and pains and we can succumb to them and learn nothing, or we can learn obedience. Jesus being made perfect became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him. By the grace of God may we learn obedience through our sufferings and may we realize that Jesus cried, Jesus reverenced His Father, Jesus learned obedienced through suffering and through Jesus' perfection we can find eternal salvation and only in Him is it found.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior now and forever.
Amen.
2/5/11