Category: Devotions

Here we are! Who has never turned to this chapter for help when hurting and for encouragement when wanting to give up? Probably the one who has never opened the Bible! We could stay in this chapter for the rest of our life and we would be okay, we would make it!

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11 v 1-2)

Faith is being sure and it is to be certain. These two positions enable us to keep going!

We are sure that this season we are in is temporary. There is more. God has not done with you yet! We are moving through this moment. We know this not because of the cheap and flaky promises of the world but because of what God said He would do, we are sure He will and that is what we call hope. We are not wishing things be different but we have a biblical hope which has confidence in what God has said in His Word. We have His promises. He can do it. He said He would and we are sure.

We are certain that no matter how difficult life gets, He is with us. We might not see Him but we have assurance He is here. This is not dependent on us but again it is on His Word that He would never leave nor forsake us. The voices may be loud and the mountains may be huge but faith is the conviction that He will make a way because He is here right now.

Being sure and being certain is faith. It is how it always has been. The ancients held on to this and now it is our life-turn. Don’t drop that baton. Don’t turn back. Trust in God.

In the last sentence before the author launches into what has to be the most wonderful chapter for every follower of Jesus this Pastor reminds the community of believers of his confidence in them.
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” (Hebrews 10 v 39)
But we … That’s also you and me as followers of Jesus.
We are not like those who have turned back to religious traditions. We do not go back to striving with duties and performing to impress man or God. But let me go further. We are not of those who say ‘enough is enough I’m giving up’. We don’t throw in the towel.
No.
You are a person who endures. You will not allow disappointment to shift you from the path you are on. You are a person who knows that nothing can separate you from the love of God. You know you have been saved, are being saved and will be saved. You know no one can snatch you from His hand. You have faith, are in the faith and will continue to step forward in faith.
You belong! You belong to the better group. So ignore all the voices that are trying to drown you, pull you down, they are lies. Get ready, it’s a new day coming, new seasons are here. God hasn’t finished with you yet. Step forward into a new chapter of faith.

A woman rushed up to famed violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) after a concert and cried: “I’d give my life to play as beautifully as you do.” Kreisler replied, “I did.”

If you plant a Chinese bamboo seed, it will sit in the ground for five years and appear to not be making any changes. Then, over a six-week period, it will grow 90 feet.

There is a giant Himalayan lily which spends most of its life looking like nothing at all but then after 5-7 years it grows to 9-10 feet tall and produces the most amazing delicately shaped flowers.

The national tree of Sri Lanka is the talipot, it is a palm tree that grows to a height of 82 feet. It only flowers once but it happens some time when it is between 30 – 80 years old.

Hang in there! It’s worth it. That’s the message.

In view of the many trials the community of believers were facing, seeing others fall away and return to Judaism and on top of that facing an uncertain future the Pastor exhorts them:-

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” ³⁸ And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” (Hebrews 10 v 36-38)

Using Isaiah and Habakkuk there is a hint that one of the difficulties the believers were having was that it wasn’t looking like Jesus was indeed returning. The setting of Habakkuk was not dissimilar to what they were going through. He lived at a time of unrighteousness and on crying out to God for help the response was to be patient.

Hang in there!

Whatever you are facing today. You may wonder if you will get through.

“May the God who gives endurance …” (Romans 15 v 5)

Mark 13: 13 “Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” The Message “Stay with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.”

Where God is everything changes. He takes the bitter and makes them sweet; He takes the broken and heals their hearts; He picks up the fallen; He energises the tired; He cleanses the stained; He revives faith; He refreshes anointing; He renews His relationships; He encourages what is not there to be there.

You can hang in there! He believes in you far more than you do. He is always speaking well of you before you have even done anything of merit. Your actions don’t bring His praise, you do, without doing anything.

So get up if you have been knocked down. Get ready and have another go. Serve Him where you are right now, to serve Him is to serve others. Lay your own agenda of what your life should be or what others expect and to live it out for Him alone.

For in doing so you will receive what He has promised.

Some are asking that question today. I guess we all have at some point.

Waiting for God to fulfil His promises that are being held on to can lead to this question.

Lives that feel like they’re simply treading water, years being wasted as they wait for God to step in and do what they have declared He can do.

What if He doesn’t? Will this have been worth it? This faith; going to Church; believing for something.

This is not just in 2024 but it was definitely in the first century. The author is pleading for the Christians to stand firm and not return to Judaism. It seems some have already done so. They have been told to remember what they have received and what they have endured. On the basis of that:-

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” (Hebrews 10 v 35)

Today God is crying out to us through His Scriptures such as this one, ‘Don’t give up!’ Into a multitude of voices trying to convince you through lies, disappointments, hurts and doubts it is His voice that we need to hold on to. “Don’t cast off, throw away, don’t walk away now, you will cheapen everything you have stood for and all that you have endured.”

If the battle for your mind is intense right now then just maybe it is because you are about to enter into something new. Keep your confidence, your boldness, your fearlessness, hold on to the promises of God, to God Himself. The reward will come.

The author begins to pastorally lead this community of believers to the great hall of faith and then finally to the author and ‘perfecter’ of this faith, Jesus Christ, the One who concludes an amazing line-up of faith life-stories.

It is clear some of the community have already left, they have deserted this faith and others are wondering if they should follow. We all know people who have done so and we perhaps know some who are on the edge. What do we say to them? How can we help them not to abandon ship?

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” (Hebrews 10 v 32-34)

There are times in all our lives when to come aside is essential. To turn back is better than to go ahead because we need to rest and reassess the path that we have taken. The decision needs a lot of wisdom and often not to be taken in isolation. However, there are also times when we need to press on because looking back on the story of our life we see how far we have come but also how God has helped us endure. These Scriptures and others have become important for us:-

Isaiah 41: 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 121: I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? ² My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

The Pastor appeals to the believers to look back on what they have endured. To walk away now would be a waste of how far you have come and all God has done to enable you to stand firm.

• You went through a great conflict.
• You were publicly exposed – the world looked on as you suffered.
• You aligned yourself with those who were also publicly exposed.
• You put yourselves at risk by actively involved with those imprisoned.
• You have been robbed of your possessions and the security they bring.

We can make our own list up. We may not have gone through persecution but we have had to endure various difficult seasons. So whatever you are facing today that is calling you to back down or walk away is not as overwhelming as we might think.

We don’t have to abandon our faith, walk away from church and distance ourselves from God. We don’t have to make that choice. Remember how you have endured in the past and so today you can endure again. When it was tough you didn’t give up instead you rose to the challenge. You cheered others on to do what you were doing yourself, enduring.

This is how we help others to stand firm and how we help ourselves.

Yesterday we looked at the warning to the apostates (10 v 26-31) and today through the next verses we are answering the question: how do we warn those who are on the verge of turning away from the Christian faith?

The author begins to pastorally lead this community of believers to the great hall of faith and then finally to the author and ‘perfecter’ of this faith, Jesus Christ, the One who concludes an amazing line-up of faith life-stories.

It is clear some of the community have already left, they have deserted this faith and others are wondering if they should follow. We all know people who have done so and we perhaps know some who are on the edge. What do we say to them? How can we help them not to abandon ship?

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” (Hebrews 10 v 32-34)

Tell them to remember.

These are the words that you could say:-

Remember what you have received. Remember the light that shone in the darkness of your soul. Look back on what has been taught you over the years. Remember the day you gave your life to Jesus. Remember the baptism of water. Remember the songs, the worship times when you experienced the presence of God. Bring to the surface the shaping of God in your life. Those high moments when the Spirit came on you and the Word directed your life. Don’t let go of the past victories.

Retain what you remember. If your present life as a Christian is less than what it was yesterday then get it back. Refresh. Set the renew button. Hold on to what you had, retain it. If you believed for revival and a powerful move of God in the past retain it now. If you were passionate for Jesus in the past then keep that passion now. If the Church or the Christian is worse than its past then it lost something but it can get it back. Retrace your steps as you remember what you have received and heard and then take hold again and this time retain it.

Remember the one who passed the baton to you. They may have died some time ago. But remember how they influenced you and the story of your life. Look behind you for a moment, who is there? There will be people you have forgotten. Their acts of kindness, neighbours, old friends, work colleagues, church believers, their words of comfort, cards and letters written. They are innumerable. They did it to pass the baton on. And you have been running with that since those days doing exactly the same thing. Living your life unselfishly, thinking of others that you too can pass the baton of the good news to.

Repent means to change your thinking. Often we only think it means to change our behaviour. But if we don’t change our thoughts then our behaviour will not move an inch well not permanently anyway. Our thoughts are the default of our life. It all starts there and it all ends there too. You can choose what occupies your mind. You can think differently. You can remember what you have received.

I know a person who once walked with God, they spoke of Christ, they encouraged others to be filled with the Holy Spirit, though never perfect and they did sin, they were seen as a very spiritual person. The person was in Bible College. They ministered in churches and brought blessing to many because they submitted to the divine power moving through their life.

Today they have rejected everything they stood for and everything they proclaimed. It is as if they are a complete different person.

It would appear that for the Pastor writing to the community of believers they are aware that some have left. Despite the encouragement of the community to spur one another on in love and good deeds; despite making sure that each one of them were holding on to what they have believed and confessed: some have decided to reject the Christian life and return to Judaism.

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10 v 26-31)

This is not those of us who continue to lapse into sinful ways but it those who purposely reject Christ and they reject His death and resurrection. They once accepted it but now no longer believe, they have walked away from community, they are like the person I describe above.

The result is because there is no other substitutionary sacrifice; there is no other place other than the cross to go to; there is no other person other than Jesus Christ then all that is left to wait for is their judgment. Their actions are an insult to the ‘Spirit of grace’. Remember the words of Jesus regarding the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3)?

The author is adamant. If we turn away from all that God is, has done and offers to us then it is to turn into something that is ‘a dreadful thing’.

Use these words and warn those who are on the edge who are thinking of abandoning the faith and turning to other religions or none.

It is an appropriate title for a Sunday don’t you think?

In calling us to draw near with boldness the author gives 3 instructions that will enable us to do just that. We have seen the first 2.

1. Make sure you we are all holding on to what we have believed and confessed.
2. Make sure we are all living a life of Agape
3. Make sure you get people to Church meetings!

“ … not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10 v 25)

A survey published only 5 years ago said that out of the then population of 61 million people in the UK, 35 million were Christian. Isn’t that amazing?!!

However out of the 35 million Christians only 9 million went to Church!

Do you ever wonder why people have stopped attending Church?

How sad it is when Churches have declined because people stopped going there.

“Personalities united can contain more of God and sustain the force of his greater presence better than scattered individuals.” Dallas Willard wisely said.

Transformation requires community. It is how and why we were created. But also hearing God, guidance, healing, His glory is better seen in community.

There are many in prisons of persecution today who would view it an anathema that there are 26 million Christians in the UK who are not in a construction called the Church.

It would appear that these 1^st century Christians were beginning to miss from the church gatherings. We don’t know why but maybe they were under pressure from people not to attend. Was this the daily meetings (can you imagine that commitment?) or was it now the Sunday gatherings? Whatever it was the Pastor was calling the people to make sure they encourage one another to not give up attending.

Is there someone you can encourage with this today?

Agape love. The pinnacle and the foundation of everything. Without it nothing makes sense. This is not a feeling towards the person you are loving but it is a strong commitment that will not let go until that person understands, receives and prospers from the purpose of your love. It is the highest form, of sacrificial commitment love. The cross is how God demonstrated Agape to the world.

In calling us to draw near with boldness the author gives 3 more instructions that will enable us to do just that.

Make sure you we are all holding on to what we have believed and confessed.

Secondly, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10 v 24)

2. Make sure we are all living a life of Agape

Keep an eye on one another. That’s what is needed then and now. Not negatively, not with a critical eye highlighting failings, but to spur each other on. This is not that the pastor is teaching the church to love and to do good. But rather we all are encouraging one another. Love will not just happen we have to work at it, we have to stand for it and defend it. This agape is the highest form of love. It is the agape that God has for us and the expectation that we should have for each other. We love each other how God loves us. It isn’t easy. That is why we need to think of ways to spur each other on. People can be difficult. However agape isn’t based on what we get back in return. We show kindness, speak kindness, respond kindly, we agape every person we come into contact with. Why? Because He first showed agape to us.

How is it seen? Through good works. Agape is seen through acts of kindness. Not holding back but freely, generously, sacrificially helping, blessing and honouring others above yourself.

In calling us to draw near with boldness the author now gives 3 more instructions that will enable us to do just that. Here is the first one.

Don’t let go of what you have believed and confessed.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10 v 23)

Here we have another ‘let us’. Not only should we draw near but now ‘let us hold’.

Find someone. A helper, a friend, do not struggle alone. This is a call which clearly shows that the author wants the whole of the community to do this. Do not idly sit back and let someone’s faith to waiver. Don’t watch people walk from your community. Speak up.

If there is one major threat upon the Church it is that they choose not to lean as much upon Christ.  Maybe through disappointment or failure and discouragement or perhaps through temptation of wanting what others seem to have there can be a tendency for our faith in Christ to take a back seat. Community prevents this. Community encourages us to not move from our position, we hold fast to our confession of hope in Jesus Christ. We do it because He has given us promises and He is faithful in delivering on those promises!

Who can you help today to hold on?