December 25 Hebrews 10:19-13:25 Living for THE Day, Not Today

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Too many people are living for sinful pleasures Today. As v. 3:13 warns, they are hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Sin never completely delivers on its promises. It takes our hearts and minds off of THE Day - the day when we will all stand before Jesus for Judgment.

Hebrews reminds us to live in anticipation of THE Day that is approaching, not for Today. Let us continue to meet together to encourage each other to remember this.

Merry Christmas. Remember, it is because Jesus came as a man (to die for our sins) that we can look forward to THE Day with anticipation, hope, and joy.

December 24 Hebrews 6:13-10:18 Great Explanation of the New Covenant

I think that the creator of our one year chronological Bible did a great job of choosing the beginning and end of today's reading. It allowed us to follow the author of Hebrews' argument for the logic and superiority of the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ.

Jesus is now our High priest forever - in heaven - the sacrifice for our sins (past, present, and future) made one-time for all. Our consciences are now clear.

What will follow in tomorrow's reading is our correct response to this great news.

December 23 Hebrews 1:1-6:12 Jesus Cried to the Father!

Hebrews 5:7 "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death."

I was reminded through the verse above that Jesus was indeed a man just like you and me. He cried out and cried with tears over the prospect of being swallowed up by death (not dying on the cross, but what came after). We often forget the humanity of our Savior, Jesus.

At this time of Christmas, it is a good time to remember that Jesus took on the form of a human. In our form, He took on all of the frailties that we have, including temptation. Let us never forget the man, Christ Jesus.

December 22 II Peter 1-3 Theology in Salutation

Peter opens his letter with this salutation:

2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours."

Peter gives some powerful theology - our faith is based on the righteousness of Jesus, not ours. Pretty simple, but powerful.

December 21 I Peter 1-5 Beat Your Defensiveness

This letter is sent to encourage those under some sort of Christian persecution to continue to grow in the faith and walk with Jesus. We, in the US, know quite little about real persecution like our brothers and sisters in various parts of the world.

One thing we do know about is how to protect our turf. We all a good measure of pride in who we are - in ourselves. We are to take pride in Christ - as part of the body of Christ. However, we all have a measure of pride in ourselves. When someone chips away at our pride by making small what we are or what we do - or even points out a real shortcoming in what we say or do - we can become defensive.

Defensiveness comes from caring far too much about the judgment of others. We want to be people pleasers to various degrees. We get unhappy when people are not pleased with us. So, we get defensive and defend ourselves, sometimes by going on the offensiveness and counterattacking.

Peter points us to One Who had insults thrown at Him and reminds us how He reacted:

1 Peter 2:23 When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly.

There is only one judge who matters. We should judge our own selves by His standards. Let's stay focused on pleasing Him. If we don't please people by their standards, let's not be so concerned. However, let's treat people as God would have us treat them.

December 20 James; Jude - Sins of Omission

When we think of sins, we normally think of things we do, but shouldn't - lying, cheating, stealing, etc. These are sins of commission. But we usually forget about sins of omissions - NOT doing what we ought.

 James addresses the need to do good when we ought:
James 4:13-17 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

We normally don't do what we ought, because we get busy doing other things - not necessarily bad things - usually morally neutral things. The things we ought to do usually pop up when we are busy. Helping someone change a tire or working with them to draw up a budget or sitting with them when they are distraught over something or needing a ride to/from chemotherapy or the like are examples of the things we ought.

James is saying that when we firm up plans that are so inflexible that they prevent us from doing the good we ought, we are misunderstanding the shortness and tentativeness of our very existence. James is urging us to never bypass opportunities to do good.

December 18 II Timothy 1-4 Longing for the Lord

2 Timothy 4:8 "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

Do you long for His coming? Wanting Christ to return will cause us all to hold onto what we have here much more loosely - and that is a good thing. We need to see our time on earth as a business trip - that will be judged for its success. Just as your boss wants to see a return from his costs to send you out on business, so does Jesus.