BE CAREFUL AND DILIGENT

 

BE CAREFUL AND DILIGENT

Heb. 3:12-14 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. NLT

I don't think we are as careful about our own souls as we should be. For those of us who are actively serving the Lord (and if you're not, shame on you!), it is much easier to give instruction than receive it. We become lazy about our own souls. We are not as diligent about protecting our souls from evil as we should be. We allow evil thoughts and desires to find a place in our hearts. We must be aware of our own need to stay away from evil and keep ourselves pure before God. Sin will lead us away from God. The more we sin, the farther away from the Lord we drift.

We must be diligent about warning each other about wandering away from God while we can. The day of opportunity for us to draw near to God is now. We must do what we can before the heart becomes so deceived by sin that it becomes hardened against God. We dare not let up on our pursuit of godliness, first in ourselves, and then in the lives of others.

If we are faithful to the Lord and pursue Him with pure hearts, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. What in heaven is reserved for us is given to all who live faithfully in Him until He calls us home.

Are you as firm in your faith today as you were when you first believed? Be honest with yourself. Should we not be more firm? What has happened? Don't waste another moment of opportunity. Renew your commitment to the Lord before you drift far enough away that you don't even care.

GOSPEL INDIFFERENCE

 

GOSPEL INDIFFERENCE

Heb. 2:3a What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? NLT

Indifference to the Gospel is the death keel of the soul. It is a very dangerous thing to not take the provisions of God for our salvation seriously. Most who believe will accept with their minds that Jesus is man’s salvation, but they don’t accept Him with their hearts. It is not what we believe about Jesus that saves the soul. Only a life commitment to Him through the repentance of our sins saves us from an eternity in hell.

I believe this is an issue that all believers need to take to heart. Many who profess faith in Christ are indifferent to the Gospel message. They do not conform to the image of Christ. They do not let the Spirit of Christ work in them to change them into godliness of heart. They do not engage themselves in spiritual disciplines that create growth in godliness. They treat their salvation as a trivial matter. How can God be pleased and accept those who are indifferent to their salvation?

How can we expect to escape God’s consequences if we neglect salvation? For those without Christ, the consequence is eternity in hell where they will forever think about what they have done. For the believer the consequence is a miserable life lived on earth. There will many battles fought and lost with Satan. There will a constant tension between the Lord and the heart that is not totally committed to Him. There will be life lived without the blessings of God, no peace or joy in their salvation. There will be a life lived that is stunted and of no real use in the work of the Kingdom.

If you are indifferent to your salvation, repent now while you can. Ask the Lord to break the chains of your indifference. Ask Him to purify your heart and give you a passion for the things of God. God’s favor rests upon those who regard their salvation as first importance in their lives.

The Lord made it very clear in the book of Revelations that those who straddle the fence and are not committed to Him completely are repulsive to Him. Because they are lukewarm, He says He will spew them out of His mouth.

Indifference is not an option if you want to make it to heaven. God demands our total commitment to Him. He demands that we become holy, even as He is holy.

Do you need to talk with the Lord about your indifference, your lack of commitment to Him?

CAREFULLY LISTEN

 

CAREFULLY LISTEN

Heb. 2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. NLT

I suspect that most of us are not careful listeners. We are easily distracted by the noises around us. We are prone to let our minds wander and we fail to grasp important truths being spoken. We filter what we hear through our own ideas and quickly dismiss those things that would challenge us to think deeply about things. Being a good listener takes discipline and self-control. We need to submit our thoughts to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to help us stay focused. We need to allow ample time in our lives so that we can actually hear what God wants to say to us.

A careful listener strives to remember what he hears. Very few people are able to retain what they hear for more than a few hours, if that much. We need to hear truth over and over again in order for it to sink in. In order to do that, we must faithfully be in a church where the truth is proclaimed. We must be consistent readers and thinkers of the Word.

When we fail to listen to what God says in His Word, we more than likely will drift away from it. By nature we are prone to embrace the lies of Satan. We are easily deceived and need to protect our minds by staying in constant touch with the Word of God.

We are responsible for guarding our souls. We must listen carefully to the Word and apply it to life. We must stay grounded in the Word so that we don’t drift away from God.

Also, how are we going to discern truth from error other than to listen to God through His Word? God means what He says and says what He means. He never contradicts or nullifies what He has spoken.

Listen very carefully to the truth from God or you may drift from it.

LISTEN TO THE TRUTH

 

LISTEN TO THE TRUTH

Heb. 2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. NLT

Listening very carefully to the truth is good soul protection. But, just listening to truth is not enough. We can hear the truth, learn it well, and even proclaim it well, but if we don't embrace the truth from our hearts, it is to no avail. Many people drift away from the truth because they never allow the truth to change their heart. We can even convince ourselves that we are living in the truth when in reality the truth is not living in us.

The only way truth can make any difference at all in our lives is through our personal relationship with Him who is Truth. Jesus is truth personified. He is the only one who can take the written Word and make it the living Word. It is not enough to know the truth; we must know Him who is the Truth as well. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him. Hell will be full of people who listened well to the truth but who never really knew the Truth.

The only way to know Christ is through a personal commitment to Him at the cross. We must come to Him with our sins, confess them, seek His forgiveness, and embrace His forgiveness. We must give Him permission to come into our hearts and clean house. We must let Him change us and redirect our lives into lives of service for Him.

When we let Jesus take over our lives, we won't drift away from Him. It is when we wrestle with Him over control that we stumble and fall. As long as you try to control your life you will drift away from the Lord. He will not force you to listen or submit to Him.

Also, as long as you hold back some sins from Him, you will not have Jesus dwell in your heart. He will not dwell where sin dwells. Period.

Are you listening carefully to the truth you have heard from Him?

JESUS: GOD'S GLORY

 

JESUS: GOD’S GLORY

Heb. 1:3 The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. NLT

How we relate to Christ and treat Him is how we act towards God. What we believe about God directly affects what we think about Jesus. Let us pause for a moment and consider what we do think about God. Is God for us whom He reveals He is, or have we put Him into our own little boxes within our comfort zones? Is God all powerful, all knowing, perfect holiness, and everywhere we are at? Is God as demanding on us as the Scriptures reveal Him to be? Or, have we limited God to that which we are comfortable with, what we want Him to be?

I am convinced that God should make us uncomfortable. We should always see God as one who is perfect in all things good and who calls us to become like Him. There should always be an edge to our relationship with God. We are not who we should be or could be. We do not measure up to God's standards and He knows we don't and will hold us accountable for it. We should always respect God in His holiness.

We should respect God in His glory. God radiates himself throughout all of creation. We see God in all He has made if we but take the time to observe and appreciate what we see. We see God in His workings in human life. Each changed life is a witness to God's power and greatness. We see God in history as He preserves the faithful and faithfully acts according to His Word. God is seen in His glory by all who open their eyes to see. He reveals His glory to us through His Son, our Savior and Lord.

At the same time, we should respect Him in His love. Jesus is God's love in action. Jesus becomes for us what we are not on our own. He is our righteousness and holiness before God. He makes it possible for us to live by God's holy standards. We become holy to the degree we allow Jesus lordship over us. We dare not rest in His love and think that our work on earth is done. We must strive to constantly apply grace to our lives with the intent of becoming more like Him in His holiness. We must work out our salvation. We must not minimize the importance of becoming a holy people, a people after God's own heart. To not become holy mocks the name of Jesus.

Most people want to believe that God will overlook their sinfulness or lack of commitment to Him because He is love. They want to believe that He would never allow them to go to hell because He loves them. But, what they don’t understand is that God is holy love. Because He is, Jesus came to set us free from sin’s hold on us. He sets us free to become a holy people, a people fit for heaven.

Sin is what put Jesus on the cross and sin is what will send people to hell.

TRUST AND LOVE

 

TRUST AND LOVE

Philemon 4-5 I always thank God when I pray for you, Philemon, because I keep hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. NLT

Paul was a man who really appreciated the faith of others and supported them in prayer, his writings, and in his conversations with others.

Even though Paul was writing this letter while in prison, he was thinking of Philemon and wanted him to know that he was praying for him. Wow, what an encouragement that must have been for Philemon to know that a man of the stature of Paul was praying for him! It makes me wonder who we could encourage in their faith walk by praying for them and letting them know we are.

Paul heard good things about Philemon. He heard about his trust in the Lord and the love he had for all of God’s people. Paul probably already knew how real Philemon’s faith was because of the time he had spent with him, but it sure helps knowing that others see the same thing as we do. It makes me wonder if others can see in us our trust in the Lord and our love for others.

Trusting the Lord sometimes is easier than loving others. Love is seen in how we act towards others, say to them, say about them, and do for them. It’s not always easy to love others, especially those who do not return our love. Loving others who make our lives miserable is a true test of our love for God. How do we feel about those whom we disagree strongly with spiritually, politically, and socially? How does our love play out in the real world?

If we truly love the Lord, we will trust Him in all things. We will trust Him even when everything within us screams out at us to not do so. If we truly love the Lord we will love others without conditions and sacrificially.

Live so that everyone who knows you will know your trust is in the Lord and that you love all of God’s people.

STAYING TRUE TO GOD

 

STAYING TRUE TO GOD

Philemon 1 This letter is from Paul, in prison for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. NLT

It intrigues me that Paul was in prison for preaching the Good News. If you know anything at all about the Apostle Paul, you know he was not one to back down from preaching the Gospel. He did not care what others thought of him, he was determined to stay true to the Lord and His Word.

We live in a time in which most are more concerned about what others may think about them than they are about staying true to God’s Word. We are more into being “politically correct” than proclaiming what God says and let the chips fall where they may.

Staying true to God and His Word may get us into hot water in the world. Some people do go to prison because of their faith now. I believe that there is a strong possibility that being put into prison for our faith will become more and more common as we try to live out our faith in a hostile world.

Jesus told us to count the cost before we commit to following Him. If you knew that you could very well be put in prison because of your faith or how you live it out in the world, do you love the Lord enough and believe strongly enough in Him to continue living for Him? If you aren’t sure about your level of commitment, you need to get alone with the Lord and spend time with Him until you settle the issue. Your life for all of eternity may depend on it.

God promised that things are going to get more and more evil the closer we get to Christ’s coming. More and more people are going to be antagonistic towards us who believe. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling now and you won’t fear what may lie ahead for you.