Terrifying Fear of the Living God

Heb 10:31

(ASV-American Standard Version) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

(ISV- International Standard Version) It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

(KJV- King James Version) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Fearful-

G5398
phoberos
Thayer Definition:
1) inspiring fear, terrible, formidable
2) affected with fear, timid
Part of Speech: adjectiv


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When a person is given into the hands of someone throughout the Bible in mainly signifies they are going into something unpleasant, look at these examples--


Jdg 2:14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.


2Sa 21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.


Eze 7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.


Mat 17:22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men


Mar 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.


Act 28:17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.


Do you see what I mean? So what does this mean- 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'


I'll tell you exactly what it means- just what it says in plain language. Yes, it is FEARFUL to fall into the hands of the living God. We don't like to think about that though. We want to stress the God is love part, not the God is exacting part. We don't want to read of God's wrath, only His love. Thinking about the wrath of God isn't pleasant and it's not meant to be pleasant.


Let's look at a few more verses--


Psa 78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.


Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.


Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness


Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.


Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.


Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.


Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.


Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.


Falling into the hands of the living God, that isn't saying lovingly being cradled in the hands of God. Remember this VITAL piece of information-- God does NOT force us to Him! Those who ultimately choose NOT to be on God's side will fall into His hands for punishment. They won't be left alone to do as they please. A time will come and is FAST approaching when the fate of everyone is decided. This world the way it is will NOT go on forever.


Tonight at our Bible Study we listened to a lecture on Bible prophecy. People are very caught up in things of a physic nature and have been for a long, long time. If you had a person come up to you and tell you that next year your life will change and then proceed to tell you what would change, things totally beyond your control, and then the next year those things come to pass, you would be shocked and awed wanting to see that person again. They told you the future and it happened, really happened. God did the same thing. Hundreds of years before things happened God foretold them and they ALL came true. God also predicted other things along with those things that came to pass- things we now call history. Those other things predicted WILL come to pass just as all before them came to pass. There were no empty prophecies, no false prophecies, no faltering prophecies they all came true and if they ALL came true NOTHING will stop the rest of the prophecies from coming true. This is one prophecy--


Dan 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.



Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
Dan 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
Dan 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.


Babylon Head of Gold
Medo-Persia Chest/arms of Silver
Greece Belly/thighs of Brass
Rome Legs of Iron
Europe divided Toes of Iron and Clay


Kingdom of God Stone cut without hand


Is Europe still divided into many different countries? Undisputedly - YES.


Europe will remain divided until the Kingdom of God destroys the old world and brings in the new.


These are truths! These are facts. Did Babylon exist? Yes, without any doubt. Did Medo-Persia exist? Yes, without any doubt. Did Greece once have control over the empire? Read this--


Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Ἀλέξανδρος, Mégas Aléxandros), was a Greeki[›] king of Macedon. He is the most celebrated member of the Argead Dynasty and the creator of one of the largest empires in ancient history. 

Pasted from


A Greek king- one of the LARGEST empires in ancient history!


Yes, Greece as a ruling empire existed! And Rome? Was Rome a great empire? Beyond any doubt!


After Rome has there ever been another empire like it or any of the preceding empires? No, simply….no. The lands of the Middle East, the lands of Europe have never had another great empire in control but rather several smaller empires (countries). Has there been any ambition to unite Europe? To have another GREAT empire that does away with all the little ones by absorbing them. Yes, all you have to do is consider the World Wars we've had to know that fact is very true. A war is inherently a decider of land/people control. Someone wants to control the way you are running things, and wants you to run them their way. They want your land to be known as their land, or land greatly influenced by you because you've conquered the land. You can't have a war without two or more opposing sides.


So the answer is yes, people have wanted to conquer the world but it hasn't happened and it won't happen! God has told us prophetically that it will not happen and we need to believe Him. History proves God if you can't simple go by faith look at your own world history!


The wrath of God is REAL! Falling into God's hands for punishment is REAL. There should be a fear, a terrifying fear in us that we could come under the wrath of God.


Let's read these two verses together--


Heb 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.
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


God's vengeance should be fearful. Don't shake your head, don't turn away, don't let yourself be deceived! Are these scare tactics? So what if they are? Seriously! Scare tactics used on people often have good results. And often parents use scare tactics to impress upon their children the seriousness of a situation. Is it possible to abuse scare tactics- for humans, yes, certainly. Satan loves when we abuse situations that could otherwise be used for good if they were done in moderation. If you go overboard when you shouldn't then no, putting the fear of something into someone isn't a good thing. Has God gone overboard with scare tactics? Ask yourself this- what exactly is at stake?


Eternal life.


With eternal life at stake is it possible for the true FEAR, terrifying fear of God's wrath to ever be too much to bear? Can our gentle natures be too weak to comprehend the magnitude of God's wrath? Would we much rather just dwell on the loving, kindness of God? We are told that there is a wrath of God for ALL who are not God's. We are told this so we wake up and realize that our LOVING FATHER is warning us out of LOVE because He WANTS US WITH HIM in HIS LOVE! HE WANTS US!!!! HE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE A SINGLE ONE OF US!!!! Will He have to lose a lot of us? Yes, but not for want of His trying to bring us into His love.


So when we read about it being fearful, of it being terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God it really, truly is. There will be a punishment the greatest part of that punishment will be eternal non-existence, missing out on the eternal love of our God, the eternal love of life as God would have it be for us in a world that will never again have sin in it, no lovers of sin will be there, not a single one.


May the knowledge of God's wrath, of God's exacting vengeance, of the true fear- terrifying fear of God be ours so that we know that God wills that we all be with Him in His love, not in His wrath. May God's will be done in our lives no matter what circumstances arise- trying to interfere with God's ultimate will- that we be His and He be ours.


By the mercy and grace of our Lord, of our Savior!


Amen.

Vengeance is the Lord's

Heb 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.


Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.


Who hasn't heard the saying- 'Vengeance is mine, sayth the Lord?'


Who among us hasn't want to exact vengeance ourselves and not leave it to God?


Our carnal nature tells us that we deserve vengeance for all the wrongs done to us. Does the same nature tell us that we deserve to have vengeance taken up on us when we wrong another? Or does that nature in us justify our own wrong actions to make the seem right? We say- they just got what they deserved- even if we don't know if that's true. We say- that's just the way life is. But is it the way life is supposed to be? We make excuses for our actions, and we not only do that before our fellow human beings but before God as well.


We don't want God to take vengeance, why? Because we want the satisfaction of exacting vengeance ourselves. We've been wronged and who likes to be wronged? No one. It hurts, and even the biggest, toughest, angriest, meanest man get hurt by being wronged- whether they'd ever admit it or not. They'd much rather disguise the hurt with other things. But it is hurt, betrayal hurts.


God is wounded by our transgressions. God is wounded by our betrayal of Him. We wrong God when we turn our backs on Him, when we refuse to believe He is the great I AM. When we deny He is our Creator, our Sustainer of life! When we turn our backs on LOVE, because He is LOVE!


Vengeance is God's. God alone has the right to vengeance. We are fallible He is Infallible. Our justice is not His justice. When we strive for vengeance we are often consumed by it and our vengeance exceeds any sort of justice. Even if we get it right, we are not showing any sort of mercy- and if we expect mercy for our own many, many transgressions we have to show mercy, all the mercy we can show in fact!


Rom 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil.


Read that again!


Recompense to no man evil for evil.


Rom 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.


Live peaceably with ALL men.


Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.


Avenge NOT yourselves.


Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.


If thine enemy hunger…. Who? THINE ENEMY! Feed him
If thine enemy thirst…Who? THINE ENEMY! Give him drink.


Why? Because being good to those who despitefully use you only reveals your mercy and their lack of mercy. We need to show our mercy in all things and we show way too little mercy towards others who hurt us in any way. How then can we hope to ever obtain mercy?


We are told...


Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.


Our greatest example of this is God's only Son and the great sacrifice He made to overcome evil.


We need to remember this…


Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.


Can we ever believe we are good enough in anyway? Can we? Seriously? Are we willing to believe that we have righteousness that is our own? Can we stand before God and tell Him we're good enough? No. We don't dare! Christ is righteous and we can only hope that His righteousness is ours as we accept Him as our Savior.


Heb 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.


Vengeance is the Lord's, not ours.
Mercy is ours to extend through the righteousness and mercy of our Savior.


May God open our eyes and hearts to see the truths before us, to see where we need to replace our natural desire for vengeance with mercy in all things the great and the small.


By His love!


Amen.

Despite unto the Spirit of grace

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?


Under Moses' law- Moses' law entailed blood sacrifices of animals to obtain mercy and forgiveness.
The law after Moses' law entails ONE blood sacrifice and that of the Son of God to obtain mercy and forgiveness.


Despising the form of forgiveness offered before Christ's ultimate sacrifice, warranted death.
Despising the form of forgiveness offered to us after Christ's ultimate sacrifice, warrants death.


Which form of forgiveness is better? Which covenant is better? The one that looks towards the ultimate sacrifice or the ultimate sacrifice itself?


The realization of the true ultimate sacrifice is better without a doubt.


Rejecting the lesser covenant was bad enough, but rejecting the better covenant is worse- much worse.


When we reject our Savior we deserve death. We can reject our Savior right now. You can despise the better covenant in Christ. You can abuse the Spirit of grace. These are facts. There is no such thing as forced salvation.


There is eternal life and eternal death, we will all choose one or the other. Our lives are a living testament to the choice we make. When we die- we can NO longer make the choice. While we live we make the choice. Our witness is the Spirit of grace, our witness sees everything, our witness knows our hearts- only by choosing to accept our Savior do we have any hope because only the Savior's heart is pure and deserving.


The facts are- we have NO hope without Christ. If we neglect so great a salvation we are guilty, guilty, guilty and deserving of any and all punishment reserved for us.


Remember this verse--


Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him


We won't escape.
We will be punished and deservedly.


1Ti 5:24 Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
1Ti 5:25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.


Our sins are not hid from God.


Psa 69:5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.


Eternal death is the result of denying our Savior. This is something we can't let ourselves forget. We have to daily accept our Savior as our advocate, daily accept His sacrifice, daily accept that He pleads our cause before God, daily accept Him as our High Priest- worthy of all honor, all praise, all glory, all of our love, all of our worship!


We cannot not trod under our feet the Son of God and have hope in salvation. To some of us the very idea of stepping on the Son of God as if He were nothing more than dirt is unthinkable! Yet every day many, many, many people do just that as they reject His salvation, as they despise His blood shed for them. To many people Christ isn't a real living, breathing being, but rather a being of fantasy, something fictional. Many people don't know Him personally, and many treat Him despitefully by living their lives as if He's not real, and His commands are not real, and life in Him is not real. Is it any wonder Christ will say to many people that think they know Him, that He doesn't know them at all?


By His grace and His mercy, only and always in HIM!


Amen!

Fearful looking for of judgment

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.


So are we all doomed? Some people will take this verse- plucking it out of the Bible as if it stands all on it's own and tell you that you are damned, we are all damned and there isn't anything anyone can do about it because we are sinners. If not blatant thieves, adulterers, liars, murderers- then sinners in thoughts, in coveting, in white-lying, in jealousy, if putting "things" before God. It doesn't take all that much to sin, it's rather easy to do. Because we are carnal- because we are flesh- we've inherited sin from the womb.


Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned


Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God


Sinning is easy- all have sinned. Sin entered the world and the result of sin was death and we all have the ability to die.


We will all die and we will all have a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation if we do not have the knowledge of truth- understanding the truth that Jesus alone can save us. If we wilfully choose to keep our Savior out of our lives hoping to save ourselves we are doomed. The truth is Jesus died for us. Once we realize this if we choose to believe there is salvation in any other there is no hope.


Only in our Savior- Jesus, only in Him and the Sacrifice He made can we hope to escape the judgment leading to the fiery indignation.


If after you come to the knowledge of truth you reject that knowledge there is no hope.


Those who do reject the knowledge of truth will be judged and they will have NO advocate to plead their case. They will have NO Savior. They will have NOTHING to lay claim to and say they are forgiven. They will stand before the judgment seat, they will stand as the books of judgment are opened and they will be told they rejected the knowledge of truth after they received it - and I imagine they even can be shown exactly when, where, and how they rejected the knowledge of truth. Once shown how they rejected their only hope for salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and His righteousness, His forgiveness, His love, they will then be shown all the sin in their lives - sin that they committed willfully, sin that proves they are lovers of sin, lovers of self more than lovers of God. Sin that will prove they don't belong in a sinless world.


2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.


There is hope on in one place and one place only- there is only eternal death without that hope.


Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior- our High Priest, our Sacrifice, our Redeemer - He alone is truth.


We cannot reject the truth, we cannot reject our only hope, we cannot reject our Savior and believe there is still hope left- all that is left is despair and fearfulness.


By the grace of our Savior may we ever hold fast to Him as the truth having knowledge of salvation in Him, let us never reject our hope, our only hope, let us never turn from the truth. May God forgive us, show us mercy, us sinners. May God look to His Son's righteousness and not at our sins as we have been born again in Christ, accepting Him as our Savior- our only hope.


Amen

Provoke, Assemble, Exhort

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.


So many people believe this is talking about a church setting, telling them they have to go to church or they are forsaking the assembling of themselves together. It's not. This is advocating, or admonishing, people who believe in Christ as their Savior and want to live for Him to get together to help each other out- to provoke to love, to provoke to good works, to encourage each other - something that should be done more and more the closer to the end we get.


If you belong to a church that does this and holds fast to all the truths as the Bible reveals them, praise God! Many however simply go to church because it's expected of them, it's a duty, it's a chore, it's what a Christian is supposed to do. They go to see the latest fashion on those around them, or to hear a very eloquent preacher relay His own personal study on what He believes you might be interested in hearing. Some go so they can be assuaged of guilt they've built up through the last week, others go because it's what they've been taught to do and want their children to do. There are many, many reasons people attend church that have NOTHING to do with provoking others to LOVE and to GOOD WORKS. Many reasons that don't involve exhorting anyone, they don't go to encourage anyone because Christ is coming soon. If you go to a church JUST to listen to a sermon and be on your way after a few handshakes, hugs, and smiles you haven't come together with a group of like believers in the manner Christ would have you do so. So if it's not how Christ would have you get together- it's coming together in a manner someone else would like you to get together as you *play pretend* at being a Christian and that someone is your enemy, an enemy that LOVES when you play pretend Christian.


When you get together with others that believe in Christ and His soon coming just like you do, you should get together to PROVOKE them to love and to good works, you should get together to encourage one another. This is INTERACTION. This isn't being preached at and going on your way back to your every day life in front of the computer, or the tv, maybe both- or even doing yard work, or visiting grandma and grandpa, or who knows maybe it's time for you to get a big meal ready. This isn't what we are told to do.


Think about how you personally can provoke someone of like faith to love and good works. How do you do that?


Provoke
PROVO'KE, v.t. [L.provoco, to call forth; pro and voco, to call.]

1. To call into action; to arouse; to excite…


To call into action their LOVE, their GOOD WORKS.
To arouse them to LOVE, to GOOD WORKS.


As we consider each other- as we think about each other- we are to arouse the desire to love and good works in each other. Notice that LOVE and GOOD WORKS go hand in hand. It's out of love we do good works, isn't it? Love is an action, love is a choice. I'm not talking about the fake- I love you- that means absolutely nothing. I'm not talking about the - I'm infatuated with you love- that means absolutely nothing. I'm talking about the CHOICE you make to do unto others as you would have done to yourself, the choice you make to put aside self and help another. I'm talking about the love that chooses to ACT selflessly- not selfishly. I'm not talking about feelings here and too many associate love with a feeling and not a fact. If they're NOT feeling it, then they don't love- according to the mainstream. To be able to look at someone who is despitefully using you and choose to act in a manner of LOVE, to choose to do good unto them- that is love.


LOVE is a choice of action. Love is a choosing to respond as Christ would respond, not as our own feelings might be egging us on to react. YES, you can LOVE someone by choice without feeling all wishy-washy and sentimental. YES, you can LOVE someone by choice - in fact we are to LOVE all others and if that means taking on some false flowery I'm better than you because I love you so that makes me good-attitude that's NOT love. To say 'I love you' without ANY meaning- isn't love. To say 'I love you' and really choose to love that person is love. And really choosing to love that person means really being interested in their well-being now and their eternal well-being too. No, YOU shouldn't be solely concerned with their eternal well-being. What good does it do to tell someone about the love of Christ and the way to eternal life through Him if they are starving for food and you have the means to give them food but don't?


Love is a choice, love is an action borne out of the choice. Is it any wonder at all we are told to provoke one another to love and good works? To do both? Jesus' example to us was filled with love- filled with His choosing to love others and that love was revealed in every action. He spent a lot of time healing, a lot of time helping- He didn't just stand up on a rocky podium and preach- He healed, He LOVED, and He taught. He was example of how we are to love- in word and deed.


1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.


DON'T tell ANYONE you love them- but rather show them that love first. Make that love real and then say it.


I'm not saying you have to show it by gifts and such, you can show your love in the act of listening, in the kind word, in the thoughtful gesture that is selfless. Be loving before mouthing the words. What good does it do to tell someone you love them if you have NO intention of being loving towards them? LOVE isn't just a word to say haphazardly and hold up, waving around like a banner to try and get others to believe you are a Christian. Love isn't just something you automatically say in response so you appear 'good'. Love isn't something you feel, IT'S A CHOICE you make! And in making that choice to love, you have to be loving, not just say the 'L' word.


If you're the type of person who easily has the 'love' word sliding from your tongue to those you meet, I'm not saying to stop saying the words- just make sure that you mean them. The next time you tell someone you love them ask yourself if you've 'loved' them. Have you acted in love towards them? Do you care about them, really care, are you choosing to be loving towards them.


Christ loved us and died for us- this was His example. For us to love and reveal His UNSELFISH love, to be willing to die for each other. And if we're willing to die for each other surely we have to be willing to suffer for one another. And if we're willing to suffer we must be willing to be a little put out for each other. Choosing to love doesn't mean enjoying the idea of death, or enjoying the idea of suffering, or wanting to be put out- it means choosing to do the right thing no matter the feeling. Yes, we are to count it joy when we suffer for Christ's sake, but that doesn't mean we are to enjoy the pain. We are to realize that we are Christ's and take joy in that- not joy in the pain, the suffering, the annoyance.


Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.


The only way we can provoke follow believers in Christ- and to Salvation through Him- is to be in contact with them in some way. Without that contact there is no provoking, no encouraging. So yes, we are to be in contact with each other- and maybe we can't do that physically but we have a huge world of communication available to us on the world wide web- the internet. Do I have to touch you physically to communicate with you? No. We can assemble together in many different ways. If you can't find a group of people who follow Christ as you've been led by the Holy Spirit to follow Christ, then pray that God will guide you to someone, anyone and be open to that guidance to come in any number of ways. We know as the day draws near there will be fewer and fewer people on that narrow path, we can't abandon the narrow path to sit in a church on the wide path.


May God bless us and keep us firmly rooted and ground in Him, in His love, teaching us to love one another as He would have us love one another in word and deed, helping each other as we face the trials of life that Satan would have ruin us and tear us from the narrow path before us.


By the grace and mercy of our loving Savior, through HIS righteousness, in His holy name now and forever- Amen.

The Faithful One

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)


Yes, we just discussed this verse yesterday but the emphasis was on something else. This part- 'for He is faithful that promised' just bears a little more discussion.


Do you know anyone who is faithful? Most of us would love to say yes, and most of us will say yes, but do we really? We can't know the heart of anyone can we? I'm being pessimistic…or perhaps realistic, who knows. Time and time again people have been disappointed by others, by those they thought they could trust. I'm not talking foolish people. I'm talking people just like you and I and we don't consider ourselves foolish, or at least not for the most part, right? We shouldn't consider ourselves foolish if we are Christians, the foolish are obviously NOT wise and we are to be wise. With that in mind we have to realize that even wise people are deceived. If you trust others then you will be deceived, and yet we have to trust others. We can't live our lives paranoid and distrustful, Christ would have us live in faith, live in love, live in thinking the best of others and leave their eternal fates up to His judgment. Even when someone despitefully uses us we are to love them. Even our enemies we are to love. Even to those who we believe to be faithful and turn out not to be faithful, we are to offer love. But it's NOT our love. It's the love of Christ. It's the choice to love them that we must make even as our flesh nature, our carnal nature, would have us despise them.


To read these words- 'for He is faithful that promised' can't be taken at face value, can't be passed over quickly, because we live in a world where very few, if ANY are able to be truly faithful in word, thought, and deed- yes, all three. Faithful in word- people do keep their promises don't they? Some do. Faithful in deed- people often seem to act faithful, their actions seem to be honorable and they really could be. Faithful in thought- now there's the tricky one. We can never know another's thoughts, but we know our own thoughts and truthfully they're not always the best of thoughts- are they? It' s hard to imagine that Satan would leave anyone's thoughts alone. The great tempter's playground is our thoughts. To be honest, and that's what we are trying to be, you can scarcely commit an action, or speak a word without thinking it first. Is it any wonder that Satan strives to gain control of our thoughts? Is it any wonder that Satan is happy to have us unfaithful in our minds even if outwardly we are seemingly faithful? Jesus Himself said this…


Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.


When you look on another to lust- (Yes, I said another- not woman because women lust after men too and the principle is the same.) when you look on another to lust- what's happening? Where is the lust coming from? Your THOUGHTS. What is lust? Unlawful desire is one description. And desire according to Webster's, in part is- An emotion or excitement of the mind, directed to the attainment or possession of an object from which pleasure, sensual, intellectual or spiritual, is expected; a passion excited by the love of an object, or uneasiness at the want of it, and directed to its attainment or possession…


An emotion or excitement of the mind. OF THE MIND. Thoughts. Lust.


We cannot know another's mind, ever. What we can know and cynical or not, what we can know is that every human being is of a carnal nature. Not one of us can escape the carnal part of ourselves. We can be born again- our Spiritual nature can be born within us carnal people. The spiritual nature that is born again within us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior can overcome the carnal nature. So, yes, it is possible for us carnal people to become spiritual, to become Christ's and have Christ's mind in us. And yes, it's possible for our thoughts to be guided by Him. However, as long as we are under our carnal nature our thoughts will be of the carnal kind. Even Paul struggled with all this-


Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.


Carnal and Spiritual.


No. We cannot know the thoughts of others. We cannot know if they are faithful, we can't be faithful ourselves, but there is ONE that is faithful above all!


Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)


HE is FAITHFUL that promised!


We don't have to wonder, we don't have to worry, we don't have to think about the FAITHFUL ONE ever being unfaithful. He is FAITHFUL that promised. We can hold on to that and hold on very tightly. We can HOLD FAST to our FAITH because WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CHRIST EVER BEING UNFAITHFUL IN ALL HE'S PROMISED. HE is our HOPE! We aren't to place our hope in any other human being, not one! Not even our family, not even our loved ones. When EVERYONE lets us down, CHRIST will NEVER let us down. CHRIST IS FAITHFUL!


Christ promises us eternal life and He is faithful. Christ does not promise us eternal happiness in this current world. Through HOPE we live with the promises of the faithful One. The FAITHFUL One. Christ is FAITHFUL. Is it any wonder we are to place all our hope, all our faith in Him and Him alone? As we live our daily lives we live it through faith in the faithful One. We can't live our lives having faith in any other. No, I'm not saying we can't hope that others around us are faithful to us, but we have to always remember they are like us, like Paul. Only Christ is truly Faithful.


We can hold fast to the profession of our faith and NOT waver knowing that Christ is faithful to all the promises He's made to us. We don't have to doubt at all, not in the least.


All glory to our Lord and Savior! All praise to our King!


By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, God's Only Son! In His love, in His righteousness!


Amen.

Hold Fast!

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)


The profession of our faith, the profession of our hope- what is the profession of our faith, our hope?


Our profession is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the Son of God crucified and raised from the dead, even now living in Heaven, even now alive for us, ministering as our High Priest before God. This is our profession, this is our faith, this is our hope-- our Savior. There is no hope in any other, there is faith in no other. We have to HOLD FAST to this profession of our faith. Holding fast meaning what? Hold tightly, possess, seize, keep in memory.


Yes, keep in memory. We most certainly cannot grasp physically our faith, our hope. We must grasp it mentally, emotionally, we must KEEP IT IN OUR MEMORY. We much HOLD FAST, we cannot forget for a single moment where all our hope, all our faith comes from. This is something we need to keep before us always- seriously! I'm not joking here! I'm not blowing hot air here, or rather I'm not writing gibberish to be ignored for lack of understanding, for lack of importance. This is very important!!!


We cannot forget our hope in our Savior- not ever!


Life is going to throw instance after instance of trials and tribulations at us and some of those trials are so minor we call them simply- everyday life and we decide we can handle these little things all on our own, we don't need any help, we don't need to get down on our knees and bother God without little upsets. WRONG! In all we do we have to have God. It's a huge mistake to EVER think that any problem we have is a small one that WE can take care of. It's dangerous to start down that road. So the faucet starts leaking in the kitchen sink, no big deal. Yes, it's irritating but easily enough fixed- the inconvenience it brings is annoying, well guess what… that annoyance, that little irritating thing will effect so much else. What starts out tiny and unassuming can grow. If we leave God out of the small things we will have a tendency to take glory to ourselves when those small things are fixed. All glory has to go to God in all things! It's ONLY through God we even live to do anything at all!


We are proud creatures and the most prideful of all creatures, Satan, will encourage that pride and if he can't get us to take glory in the big things- he will endeavor to get us to 'pat ourselves on the back' for the small things. In all we do God must never be forgotten, never! When we wake in the morning we need to pray for God to direct all our actions, for God to go before us in all things, even the smallest of things.


We must HOLD FAST the PROFESSION OF OUR FAITH. This is no idle statement. This is a powerful verse. We must forever and ever and ever in all things hold fast to our Savior, to let go of our Savior, to let go of the hope we have in our Savior, would be like a soldier dropping all his armor, all his protection, right in the middle of a raging battle. What do you think the result of that would be? If that soldier isn't instantly killed you can be assured that he will quickly be injured.


We forget so easily that we are living with our lives immersed in a spiritual battle- a raging battle where there is no retreat, no respite, no leaves. This spiritual battle rages on continuously and will continue to do so until our Savior returns to take us to heaven with Him.


Is it any wonder we are admonished to HOLD FAST WITHOUT WAVERING?! When the big picture becomes clear we can understand how much these words mean. When our eyes are truly open to see the spiritual realm we live in we know that only our Savior matters, only holding fast to our hope found in our Lord is truly important, all else is nothing.


In holding fast to our profession of faith- we will live as Jesus would have us live. We cannot waver, we cannot set down that hope for even a moment, we cannot dare to walk in this wicked spiritual realm without our Savior, we just can't. He is our protection, He is our SAVIOR- SAVING US! How stupid and how deadly it would be to step away from our Savior, from our Protector in the middle of the battle we live in. Just because we are not in the flesh in the middle of the battle field we forget we are in a battle. It's easy to forget the spiritual.


Right now, wherever you are as you read this, you are in the battle. Don't laugh, you are. No, it doesn't feel like we're in a battle, at least not for the majority of people. Why? Because they don't realize life is a real battle, just living is a real battle. Sure if you're in the midst of what we call a crisis you are more in tuned to the reality of life's battles, but if your life is at an even keel or even on an upswing, the tendency to forget the battle is great. How can we imagine we are in a war when we are laughing and having a good time? No, I'm not saying we are not to laugh or enjoy life, I’m not saying that at all, but seriously- shouldn't our laughter and enjoyment be found in the things our Savior would laugh and enjoy? If the things we laugh at and enjoy aren't the sort that our Savior can take part in what does that say about us? Yes, laughter is good- who doesn't know this verse or a version of it-


Pro 17:22 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…'


So, no, I’m not saying we aren't to laugh and enjoy life but we can never forget we are in a battle, a spiritual battle and in that spiritual battle unlike any conventional form of warfare we have to realize that even things that are seemingly innocuous can be deadly, even laughter, even enjoyment can lead to death, can lead us away from Christ and not to Him. The enemy of this battle will use ANY means to get us from Christ and we can't ignore that fact. We aren't just face to face with our opponent on a battlefield as we dodge bullets, we are face to face with our opponent when we are with others and a tasteless joke is made, when gossip begins, when coveting is underway, when jealousy rears up, when loud laughter at another's expense is going on - we can find our enemy in all those things and trust me on this… our enemy is everywhere wearing many disguises, calling evil good at every turn. So if the Holy Spirit convicts you even in the tiniest way that something you are involved in (even a conversation) isn't Godly then you need to remember you are in a battle and the enemy is at your door, in your face, trying to thrust a spiritual sword into your back, front, it doesn't matter to him. We need to pray for guidance when we find ourselves in those situations. We need to pray hard… remember the Christian (spiritual) armor we are to wear--after the armor is put on we are told to pray always.


Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit


Spiritual armor for a very real spiritual battle. We are not just flesh, we are flesh and spirit beings too many forget the spiritual part of our existence and they look for so much to fill that part of their lives that belongs to God. Nothing can fill that spiritual void but God, however, Satan will do all he can to fill that part with false gods, false religion, false truths.


Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)


Our Savior is FAITHFUL without any room for doubt. Our Savior's promises are true. We need to hold fast to our faith, to the hope we have in our faithful Savior.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Savior, our God, our King, may we hold fast in Him now and forever without end, ever trusting in Him, ever loving Him.


Amen.