Don't Just Settle

 C.S. Lewis says this in his book, Mere Christianity, “Christ says, ‘Give me All.  I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.  No half-measures are any good.  I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down.  I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out.  Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked.  I will give you a new self instead.  In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’”[1]

The writer of Hebrews tells us that as followers of Jesus we must eat what he calls, "solid food."  This food is "for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Heb. 5:14). We must not settle for anything less than all that God has for us.  Therefore we are called to "press on to maturity" (Heb. 6:1). 

What Lewis speaks about in the above paragraph reflects the words in Hebrews, indicating that following Jesus is for those who are serious about Him, about faith, about the kingdom of God.   The love of God is so real and powerful Issac Watts said, back in 1707, it "demands my soul, my life, my all!"[2]

Now is the time, it seems to me, (maybe way past time), that the people of God step up and radically give themselves do whatever it takes to have their senses trained to discern good and evil.  It is time for "solid food."  It is time to "press on to maturity."  Some are well on their way. 

Let's make it unanimous. 

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[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York : Collier Books, 1960) , p. 167.

[2] "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, " by  Issac Watts, 1707

THE WORD THAT LIVES

 We hold a Bible in our hands and say about it, "This is the Word of God."  It is, but there is so much more involved than black words on white paper.  "The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword" (Heb. 4:12).

           

God's Word is eternal and all-powerful.  It holds authority for all of us.  Even to one who is illiterate and can't read black words on white paper, the Word of God is so powerful it is capable of "piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow."  It is so powerful and authoritative that it is "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

           

God's Word calls us to life.  It sees everything for what it truly is.  "All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13).  At first glance this might shake the foundation of our lives because, as difficult as it might be to accept, God sees the real us at all times.  We can't hide anything from Him, and we know our lives can't stand up under the scrutiny of that kind of insight and knowledge.

           

Yet, God in His amazing grace does not use His knowledge of us against us, just the opposite.  He knows us through and through; nothing is hidden from Him, and still He brings Jesus into our lives.  "We have a great high priest" (Heb. 4:14).  When He could have written us off because of what He knows about us, He, instead, called us to Himself where we are invited to "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

           

What an awesome God we serve!

TOGETHER IN CHRIST

 It is an awesome privilege to be a part of Jesus' Church.  In Him we are a holy community, the very house of God (Heb. 3:1,6).  Think of it.  In Christ, His followers become the very dwelling of God.  There are no lone ranger Christians.  We are in this thing together.  We are Jesus' brothers and sisters, as it were, a community comprised of people of whom Jesus "is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. 2:11).

           

In Christ, followers of Jesus are "partakers of a heavenly calling" (Heb. 3:1).  This is no ordinary thing of which we are a part, not man made or rooted in man's wisdom or imagination.  This community is born of God, called into existence by His grace and brought to life by the blood of Christ that shapes and forms the community.

           

Jesus is the center of our life together.  He is in charge of His house, and all it means for us to be who we are comes because of who He is.  He is God's Son who was faithful to the Father fully and totally.  Now in Him we are brought into that faithfulness.  We live faithfully to the confidence and hope we have in Him.

           

Together in Christ we encourage one another.  We watch out for each other so that none of us will be drawn away.  With Jesus as our Lord and each other as brothers and sisters we journey together.  We are the family of God.  What a great life we share together.

God, Up-close and Personal

 When we look around us and seek to observe the current situation of the world it is a challenge.  Some times it looks like the world is running out of control and that even God can't keep up with the unfolding mess.  It is an illusion, however, because in Jesus God has irrevocably involved Himself in the human situation.

Because we are flesh and blood human beings, Jesus took upon Himself "flesh and blood" (Heb. 2:14), and experienced the reality of being human all the way to death.  We don't have a savior who sends salvation from a distance.  We have a Savior who strategically places Himself into our story, suffers what we suffer, is tempted the way we are tempted, bleeds the way we bleed, and who dies just like we die.

The world is a mess, experiencing what a world experiences when it rejects her Creator and turns instead to her own ways and means.  Sin is a dangerous game and it produces devastation of a thousand kinds.  But the world isn't alone.  The Creator has come among us in Jesus, and ushers in His grace within the story.  Because He is one of us and suffered just like we do, "he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb. 2:18).  He is up-close and personal. 

Jesus is "a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God" (Heb. 2:17), and, the Bible says, He is not ashamed to refer to us as His brothers and sisters (see Heb. 2:11).  Isn't that amazing?  Jesus is honored to call you and me His family.  Who would have thought it?