Hebrews 13v1-8

Let the family continue to care for one another. Don't forget to be hospitable; by that means, some people have entertained angels without realizing it. Remember people in prison, as though you were in prison with them. when you think of people who are having a difficult time, remember too that you live in a frail body.

Let marriage be honored by everyone; let the marriage bed remain undefiled. God will judge those who sleep around or commit adultery.

Keep your life free from love of money; be content with what you have. He himself has said, after all, 'I will never, ever, leave you or forsake you.' That's why we can be cheerfully confident, and say , 'The Lord is helping me; I'm not going to be afraid; what can anyone do to me?'

Remember your leaders, who spoke God's word to you. Look carefully at how their lives came to complete fruition, and imitate their faith. Jesus the Messiah is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

The author of Hebrews has taken us on a fantastic journey in seeking the Messiah from the days of the old covenant, through the leaders and hero's of the faith, to the present outworking of this new and fragile body and sent our hopes for justice and peace and shalom into a frenzied bit of undeniable rest in His plans, His arms.

As we enter the last chapter we have come to see Jesus is his eternal glory and if we have been so blessed to have taken that road directly to the Father who is full of mercy and faithfulness and justice.

So how then shall we live? This is a hope and trust that manifests itself, this is the Word made flesh. Here. Now. Today. Care for one another. You can't get much more other-worldly than that simple command. Show hospitality always...look what happened to Abraham in Genesis 18, that could happen to you.

Get rid of the romanticism, this is a hard road. Abel suffered and was vindicated, Moses suffered and was vindicated, the prophets suffered and were vindicated, Jesus suffered and was vindicated, the church can and should expect to suffer at the hands of the world. We are now called to a higher standard, empowered by the Holy Spirit to love them in return.

Certainly don't forget your brothers and sisters in prison for their faith and we can even extend this to so many suffering in prisons today for all sorts of reasons that are the result of living in a fallen, but redeemed world. If we've adjusted our lenses enough to have a biblical view of who Jesus is and what he is about, the Father' business then we ought to be able to see that self-giving self-sacrificing love is at the core of what it is to be image bearers, individually and corporately. Care for the weak, they are part of your own body, honor marriage, do not get caught up in the love of money, or sex or power. These above all things are areas where Christians are called to be separate from "the world". The abuse of things created to be good gifts is deadly on multiple levels. When used in improper context these are some of the most deadly idols and carry with them judgments. When something is taken out of context, it is abused and that abuse has short and long term consequences that affect not only individuals, but whole communities. Praise God He heals, but better to be on guard in the first place.

Look at the Christians you know who fully trust God and depend on Him for everything. The Christians whose faith has them both resting and hastening the day of redemption through compassion and self giving love. Look to them and imitate their faith. It is these people who's hope and faith is firm who will be least likely to find themselves enslaved to would be gifts, but rather show themselves to be sons ad daughters of the Most High God. It is that faith that helps them to defend themselves and those around them against evil in its many forms. It is that kind of faith that is to be celebrated with thanksgiving to the Father.


By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Jesus the Messiah is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Messiah didn't just happen at one point in history, He happens, He is. Glory be to the God who was and is and is to come

Hebrews 12v25-29

Take care that you don't refuse the one who is speaking. For if people didn't escape when they rejected the one who gave them earthly warnings, how much more if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven! At that point, his voice shook the earth; but now he has issued a promise in the following words: 'One more time I will shake not only the earth but heaven as well. The phrase 'one more time' shows that the things that are shaken (that is, the created things) will be taken away, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain.

Well, then: we are to receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken! This calls for gratitude! That's how to offer God true and acceptable worship, reverently and with fear. Our God, you see, is a devouring fire.

After a lot of contrasts the author now wants to remind us that we are still dealing with the Creator God. While Jesus has established a new way for us to interact with and come to have intimate relationship with this God, even calling Him Father, that this God is not a pushover Dad who is no longer concerned with holiness and the ultimate resurrection of all things.

It is one thing to rebel against external commands given by angels, Moses, prophets and those who warned against idolatry and other dehumanizing activities; it is a whole other ball of wax when God himself is speaking, when his law is written on your heart, when you are part of a body being constantly prepared to be used by Him.
What torment must one endure in such spiritual turmoil. He is not only going to shake the very foundations of the world they know, but the heavens themselves are going to be shaken. God is doing these things in order that anything that is not meant to be in His New Creation, New Heavens and New Earth will be taken away. Temples and their regimes that have become idols and spirits and demons that have used created things and even the things of God as a front to control, manipulate and oppress through physical and spiritual violence.

The kingdom left after this turmoil, after this great act of new creation. This is God saying enough, we are going to get this sorted out both systemically and individually. God the Father is saying in this promise which doubles as a warning to all forms of evil and corruption, you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee! I AM a consuming fire!

This is where God's kids say ...my Dad will kick your dad's a$%^&. This is where we have an astounding promise of the whole cleansed, resurrected and Shekhinah covered new creation from Hebrews 2v5, Isaiah 65, 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 21/22. Now is the time to worship God for all He is worth!!! Now is the time see our Father for who He is...faithful and true.

They answered him,"Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

Hebrews 12v18-24

You haven't come, after all, to something that can be touched - a blazing fire, darkness, gloom and whirlwind, the sound of a trumpet and a voice speaking words which the hearers begged not to have to listen to any more. (They couldn't bear the command that 'if even a beast touches the mountain, it must be stoned'.) The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, 'I'm trembling with fear.'

No: you have come to Mount Zion - to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to where thousands and thousands of angels are gathered for a festival; to the assembly of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which has better words to say than the blood of Abel.

If God's will was not being done on earth as in heaven because of the fall then the earthly manifestations of the heavenly realities must have been all out of whack. We must have had gotten some crazy ideas about the nature and character of God. Not because Torah was bad, not because the Law in ordinances was bad, but because man's heart and creation was that out of tune. Something better was to come, something better is here, to give us a clearer picture and to draw us to God in trembling awe and wonder.

A journey toward something better is always progressive that means things ought to be changing and that ought to be an unchanging feature. The closer we get to Zion the further we get from Sinai (Exodus 19), the closer we get to the law of grace the further we get from the redundant law in ordinances. The more faithful we are to the new covenant the more pointlessly the old seems. The closer we get to the Father the further we get from the things of the flesh. Not because these things aren't included in the story, but because the story has moved through its climax at the cross and onward towards its finale. For the recipients of this letter the judgment on the regimes and systems that murdered the Son of God and then continued to refuse His Lordship and the Way through persecution. For everything Torah, Land, Race and Temple did to mark out God's Holy people it never created image bearers. They couldn't do it they were merely shadows of Messiah and couldn't accomplish what was and is being accomplished in and through Messiah. These people are going to have to let go and move on and not be dragged into fear and loss of hope when a building gets destroyed or a land is overrun, as we discussed this path leads to destruction, but when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me" A people to carry His image and purposes into all the world.

What GREAT NEWS!!! Live by Faith and Hope!!! And so NOW WE HAVE COME to the New Creation, if anyone is in Christ that is. If we are in Christ then we can go to the Father for his wonderful judgements. The living God has a dwelling and Zion is her name.

Zion was the central part of Jerusalem, the first royal city of David and eventually the site of the temple. We are the temple, we are the royal city, we are the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven, ambassadors of New Creation, hosts to myriads of angels, the spirits of the holy ones made perfect in and through our faith and yes in our very midst, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ our Lord ruling and reigning over us and through us and in and upon us. The Lord of Hosts is who he is. How wonderful for those hungering for justice and mercy and faithfulness that God is here to judge and set things right, that the blood of the Son cries out forgive them, rather than vengeance! (Genesis 4v10). How wonderful are the feet of them who bring Good News! What wonderful things are there to be found in Zion!

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.

For behold, the kings assembled;
they came on together.
As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight.
Trembling took hold of them there,
anguish as of a woman in labor.
By the east wind you shattered
the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the LORD of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God will establish forever.
Selah

We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!

Walk about Zion, go around her,
number her towers,
consider well her ramparts,
go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
He will guide us forever.

Hebrews 12v12-17

So stop letting your hands go slack, and get some energy in your sagging knees! Make straight paths for your feet. If you're lame, make sure you get healed instead of being out out of joint. Follow after peace with everyone, and the holiness which is necessary before you can see the Lord. Take good care that nobody lacks God's grace; don't let any 'root of bitterness spring up to cause trouble', defiling many people. No one must be immoral or worldly-minded, like Esau: he sold his birthright for a single meal! You know, don't you, that later on when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected. There was no way he could change either his mind or Isaac's (literally, he did not find a place of repentance), even though he wept bitterly in trying to do so.

This verse alongside 6v4-8 and 10v26-31 coupled with Jesus statement regarding the unforgivable sin, blaspheming the Holy Spirit hold me firmly in fear of the Lord our God. What does falling from grace look like? Let's just take our central hope: Jesus. That is to say God's New Creation has been birthed in and through Jesus by the power of resurrection, that the separation between Creator and Creation, God and man, heaven and earth has been taken away. This new reality is breaking into the midst of the old, consuming it by the fire of the Holy Spirit and everyone is invited to participate by the blood of the Lamb which purchased eternal forgiveness and reconciliation. This new world is always forward looking, self-giving love is the "dynamic currency" within this eternal kingdom. This kingdom will one day cover creation as the waters cover the sea then God who is self-giving love will be all and in all. If you've been born again into the royal priesthood by water and spirit then this is your eternal inheritance, the glory of God himself, grace fully manifest, the very face of God which we have seen in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Falling from grace...lose the hope, character infestation and degradation, endurance crumbles and spiritual weakness overcomes, leading to pain in suffering and looking for the easy way for temporary relief, start trusting (having faith) in the parody or the idol over and above the true and living God.

We have some magnificent promises and a faithful God, but let us not be so bold as to test the Lord our God. If there is something spiritually wrong in us seek the Lord's council and accountability with brothers or sisters that we trust and find healing through confession and repentance, if we need to be reconciled to someone, go to that person. Lack of shalom between us and others results in lack of shalom between us and God and it is a slippery slope. It may be hard and it will most of the time be very uncomfortable, but when you come to the Father through the Son with such issues you can be sure to find mercy in time of need. Just don't sell out for anything less than the real thing because it can not only take you out, but many others can get dragged down too...everything in God's world is interdependent.

Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.

Reading for today... Isaiah 35...be blessed and a blessing!

Hebrews 12v4-11

You have been struggling against sin, but your resistance hasn't yet cost you any blood. And perhaps you have forgotten the word of exhortation which speaks to you as God's children:

My child, don't make light of the Lord's rebuke,
or grow weary when he takes issue with you;
For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
And chastises every child he welcomes.

You must be patient with discipline. God is dealing with you as his sons and daughters. What child is there that a parent does not discipline? If you are left without discipline (we've all had our fair share of it!), you are illegitimate, and not true children. After all, we had earthly parents who disciplined us, and we respected them; shouldn't we much rather submit ourselves to the father of spirits, and live? Our earthly parents disciplined us for a little while, as they judged best; but when he disciplines us it is for our advantage. It is so we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems to bring joy at the time, but only sorrow. Later, though, it produces fruit, the peaceful fruit of righteousness, for those who are trained by it.

As a dad disciplining your children takes some getting used. My two boys personalities are near polar opposites. If I'm too light with Ayden he is off jumping off the roof or something within five minutes of being corrected for jumping on the couch. Sebastian on the other hand is very sensitive and it just takes a stern word and "the eyes" and he's in tears with remorse. Sometimes I want to throw my hands up in the air other times I have a hard time not just laughing my head off.

Either way discipline is a touchy subject and there are a million schools of thought on how best to do this (if at all given some strategies). As I said before I am not an expert at it, I'm not even really good at it. What I do know is that I learn more from my mistakes than from my successes and the times my father disciplined me as a child, I knew I had it coming. Even if I was mad at him for a little while.

If we are too firm with our kids they get the idea that whoever is the strongest or hits the hardest is the one with power, well that is not the mentality that I want to send my child out into school, work and marriage with. If we ignore the area of discipline they end up knowing no limits and getting themselves and others in bad situations. This is particularly an issue when dealing with children from previous marriages which come from entirely different backgrounds, the bond of holding the child through the night at infancy is most likely not there and a million other things that make it hard to discipline from a place of genuine love and compassion. There are a million other social and psychological things that come into play.

So what does all this have to do with our relationship to our heavenly Father, the Father of Spirit's who disciplines us so that we may truly have life and life more abundant? It has to do with resistance to the things "of the world", the things that we see Jesus battling with throughout the gospels and the things we see the early Church being persecuted over. We see both the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness after his baptism and the never ending barrage of groups trying to get him to stumble in word or action so that they can put him and his Kingdom message that threatened their power down.

We read earlier in Hebrews 5 of Jesus who, "In the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek."

So we have this common theme of discipline through suffering that leads to a learned obedience being the marks of one who is truly loved by God, truly a son or daughter of God...one who is being made perfect servant rulers and a nation of priests. Such privilege is not gotten without discipline from a loving Father. This goes beyond getting saved and gets us firmly into the territory of regaining our image bearing personage that was lost at the fall. You're in the family by grace and grace will empower you to suffer well and learn obedience. If we are taught by the discipline. We ought to test ourselves often to see if we are indeed walking in the true faith and discipline in the form of suffering for the sake of the Kingdom is key as it is a characteristic of every glorified child reflecting Jesus own character.

"Suffering can be the trowel which digs deeply in the soil of our lives, so that the plant of peaceful righteousness - a life of settled commitment to live as God's new covenant people - may have it's roots deep in the love of God."

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

and again...

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known.

and again...

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

"If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

AMEN

Hebrews 12v1-3

What about us then? We have such a great cloud of witnesses all around us! What we must do is this: we must put aside each heavy weight, and the sin which gets in the way so easily. We must run the race that lies in front of us, and we must run it patiently. We must look ahead, to Jesus. He is the one who carved out the path for faith, and he's the one who brought it to completion.

He knew that there was joy spread out and waiting for him. That's why he endured the cross, making light of it's shame, and has now taken his seat at the right hand of God's throne. He put up with enormous opposition from sinners. Weigh up in your minds just how severe it was; then you won't find yourselves getting weary and worn out.

Those are some great points Pastor, but what about us? I'm comfortable in my current job. My kid's go to good schools. My wife is accustomed to a certain type of lifestyle, nothing too extravagant, but she is looking forward to a nice easygoing life. I know God is moving and I've tasted the torment in my soul of what He must have endured with these weights those he loved were bearing and the sin laid out in his way to trip him up. I know all this and yet I want to get in the fight right away. I want to bring the love of Jesus everywhere I go and that's ALL I want to do. It's simply complicated though. Pastor, my family thinks I've lost my mind, but I'm just worn out from battling the enemy, the man's got me down. My friends are praying for me, but they don't know what to think. I feel like a caged lion who just needs to seek after the Kingdom with my all. Everything about me wants to domesticate me and stick me in a pew, but there is something else that just won't go down that road. It's wearing me down. Nothing else matters but the King and the Kingdom.

Patience.

There is a long race ahead and many have run it and are running it with you. This is not a race to be first, but to finish and to help others along the way to finish as well. You are right all the temporal stuff will come and go, but you do not want to be like the seed that came up too quickly and had no depth of root. There will be hurdles of sin to overcome, things put in your way to obstruct the path or constrain you, as a matter of fact the first thing to do is lay down any baggage you've been carrying about and all the Lord to heal those wounds and show you His power so that you will be able to run without hindrances. Keep looking forward to the New Heavens and New Earth, the joy and righteousness...you are surrounded by those who have gone on before you and they are cheering you on and in the center of that cloud is Jesus himself indwelling you and empowering you to not only run the race, but to heed these words of wisdom. He is the one who blazed the trail we now run so stick close to the path and keep your eye's forward. They will all be there waiting for you at the end. Let's not forget all that our King patiently suffered and endured, really think about it - daily, that you could even run this race. At the end of the day if everything came crashing down, just keep running in His wisdom and His power. They are all with you. He is with you. Keep the faith, keep the pace.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Hebrews 11v32-40

What more can I say, then? I've run out of time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. It was through faith that they overcame kingdoms, put justice into practice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were strong where they had been weak, became powerful in battle, and sent foreign armies packing.

Women received their dead by resurrection; others were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might receive a better resurrection. Others experienced painful derision and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were put to the sword, they went about in sheep skins or goat-hides, they were destitute, they were persecuted, they were ill-treated - the world didn't deserve them! - and they wandered in deserts and mountains, in caves and holes in the ground.

All these people gained a reputation for their faith; but they didn't receive the promise. God was providing something better for us, so that they wouldn't reach perfection without us doing so as well.

If God really loves me and He's really there why is this happening to me? Has anyone ever been there? Yes, says the author the very best have suffered at the hands of evil and they didn't even have what you have! So we run into the problem of evil in the world.

In other religions there is a circular pattern, that is to say that things go round and round and whatever you did in a previous life will either be rewarded or punished in the current life. They would assert that the physical world is of little concern and what was really important was just the life inside you. This is true in the cases of Buddhism and Hinduism which see circumstances and the physical body as bearing very little importance. Gnosticism and certain strains of Platonic philosophies and myths from the Hellenized Greek and Roman cultures saw the physical world as a place to be escaped from forever and the physical world to ultimately be done away with. Certainly not to be re-made or resurrected...such a thought would be absolutely ludicrous...foolishness.

However, in Judaism and Christianity we see the spiritual world and the physical world, heaven and earth, as essentially good, but fallen having become separated by sin only to be re-attached at the point of Jesus on the cross. So for us evil is a parasite on creation, both parts, heaven and earth, that are coming together in such a way as to eradicate evil in all it's forms. The point is that Jesus has already gone ahead of us into that future and is working everything out so that those who love God and are called according to His purposes will arrive there safely, even if the getting there is straight through death and hell themselves. It is then that all the suffering for the faith, all the torture and endurance required of us in real life...it is then that His people will be ultimately vindicated as we take possession of creation.

Don't worry about all this turmoil, keep the faith, remember the teachings of Jesus , stay the course, don't be discouraged look forward with hope and passionate expectations. You are not the first to be called by God to endure for His name's sake. He who promised is faithful. Evil will lose and besides look at this great cloud of witnesses showing forth the glory, the weight, the majesty of the Lord! They surround you! He indwells you! His law has been written on your hearts His Spirit has come upon us! Abide! Abide! Abide in His Love! They could not reach such perfection without us standing strong in the promises!

'I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land'

...and again...

The Kingdom of Heaven is like this! Once upon a time a man sowed good seed in his field. While the workers were asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds in among the wheat, and went away. When the crop came up and produced corn, then the weeds appeared as well. So the farmers servants came to him.

"Master," they said,"didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?"

"This is the work of an enemy," he replied

"So," the servants said to him, "Do you want us to go and pull them up?"

"No," he replied. "If you do that you'll probably pull up the wheat as well, while you're collecting the weeds. Let them both grow together until the harvest. Then when it's time for harvest. I will give the reapers this instruction: 'First gather the weeds and tie them up in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn'"

This is the word of the Lord and we see both progressive and final victory over the corruption of evil. Blessed be the Lord, who can fathom the depths of his wisdom?
Amen

Hebrews 11v23-31

It was by faith that, when Moses was born, he was hidden for three months by his parents. They saw that the child was beautiful, and they weren't afraid of the king's orders. It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, preferring to suffer hardship along with God's people than to enjoy the short term pleasures of sin. He reckoned that reproach suffered for the Messiah was worth more than all the treasures of Egypt; He was looking ahead to the reward.

It was by faith that he left Egypt, without fear of Pharoah's anger; he kept the invisible one constantly before hi eyes. It was by faith that he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn wouldn't touch them. It was by faith that they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground, while the Egyptians, when they tried to do the same, were drowned. It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. It was by faith that the prostitute Rahab was not destroyed along with those who didn't believe; she had welcomed the spies in peace.

Seeking the Kingdom will get you in trouble with the world around you. It will cost and it will mean suffering. To seek God's justice, mercy and faithfulness is to act in direct opposition and subversion to the ways that would lead to injustice, violence and self-centeredness. It means giving up status, giving up rights, giving up wealth and giving up personal agenda's. It says that until there is perfect Love upon the world and in and amongst the people God loves then I cannot, as an individual, attain to being whole or enjoying shalom and being permeated with God's Shekhinah glory. This is a profoundly Hebraic understanding of Messiah, thank you Lord for the book of Hebrews. To trust God in this way leads to more abundant life...and it's worth all the treasures of Egypt and then some. For those who've tasted it know.

It's not about being different just to be different, it's about giving weight and importance to God the Father and to Messiah over and above and despite any and all prevailing winds. We see this in Jesus life and ministry and He is the one we are to follow, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This may include counter-culture acts. This may include leaving everything we know and are comfortable with. This may include the miraculous and watching the Lord crush our enemies and pursuers. It may include suffering at the hands of the very same. This may include keeping a celebration such as the Passover or for us, Baptism and the Eucharist, commandments that not only tell the story so it doesn't get lost, but invites active participation from the whole people of God. There is power in these ordinances commanded by Jesus that a sermon about freedom or taking Messiah into ones self and becoming the dwelling place of the living God or a theological exhortation on remembrance or about how to properly do them will never touch. It is a matter of simple faith and obedience. Between baptism and communion, something every Christian ought to know and cherish as part of our great familial heritage... it blows my mind the two simple things that interactively tell the story of what is going on become such a source of chaotic ramblings and discord. Satan would attack there though wouldn't he. Peeve of mine...moving on...

By grace, His faith will take us through trial after trial and deliver us from the hand of the Destroyer and into the heart and people of the one living and true God known in the person of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if we've have been a prince of Egypt or a prostitute...just listen, just trust, just walk.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand...I am the Way, the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father, but by me. - Jesus

Hebrews11v13-22

All these people died in faith. They hadn’t received the promise, but they had seen it from far off, and had greeted it, and had recognized that they were strangers and wanderers in the land. People who say that sort of thing, you see, make it clear that they are looking for a homeland. Had they been thinking of the place from which they had set out, they would have had plenty of opportunity to go back to it. But as it was they were longing for a better place, a heavenly one. That’s why God is not ashamed to be called ‘their God’ since He has prepared a city for them.

It was by faith that Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac; yes, Abraham, who had received the promise, was in the very act of offering up his only son, the one about whom it had been said that ‘In Isaac shall your family be named.’ He reckoned that God was able to raise him even from the dead; and, in one sense, he did indeed receive him back from there.

It was by faith that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. It was by faith that, when Jacob was dying, he blessed the two sons of Joseph, and ‘worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff’. It was by faith that, when Joseph was coming to the end, he spoke about the Exodus of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his own bones.

A heavenly place a place in the future but not yet realized. A child received, but still there is something more. The Hebrew scriptures always point beyond themselves. They point to a place and time that is better. They point to a reality that is better. They point to Truth, to a Way, a Life and a life more abundant. This is not a place one can get to by going backwards in the story, but to see that those of old looked forwards and their faith would be incomplete without ours. Everything is interconnected. Everything has been groaning with the pangs of childbirth up until Messiah had come. Abraham’s descendants would be named or called out by God Himself by faith, not by flesh, that is race, nationality, tribe, etc. Those seeking a homeland where righteousness dwells.

The homeland that the first hearers had in their possession (but not really – they were still in exile in their own land) was thought to be the fulfillment of those age old promises. Imagine the confusion, the crushed hopes…this is it? This is not the land of milk and honey? Our temple is corrupt. Pagan’s control our trade routes and give us permission to worship our God. There is constant upheaval. The people are in turmoil, infighting abounds. Jesus speaks not just for himself, but taking on all Israel’s anguish and torment as their King and High Priest on the altar of the cross … Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? In our pain and confusion and torment He cried out for us as well, His own body that includes the old and the new. Because God can do more than we can ask think or imagine even when we find ourselves having to bear a cup that takes us straight through death and out the other side. Remnant theology ended at the resurrection, the Spirit broads over the chaos again, the Word speaks new things into being again. Faith cannot be stopped, like the mustard seed…crush us and we are even more potent. Or do you not know that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Faith spreads like wildfire… even a faith the size of a mustard seed can move an entire people into the sea and out the other side unharmed, renewed and better than before. God is doing this for the cosmos and it is his intention to sum all things up in Messiah.

The bible is not as concerned about life after death as we have tended to focus on for quite a while. To quote from the book Surprised by Hope and the phrase coined by NT Wright the bible is much more concerned with life after life after death. There is a crucifixion and there is a burial…but those things were happening en mass. What gives them power and sets Jesus apart from a hundred other failed Messiah’s is resurrection. It is resurrection that says Jesus is the Messiah and you crucified Him! Turn toward the risen Lord!!!

The Hebrew understanding (and our understanding should be) is that God is going to reclaim fallen creation and he started to do it through this very peculiar man Abraham and his descendants by faith and ultimately at the lowest point in history accomplished it at the cross in and through Jesus and began implementing that victory at the resurrection and then corporately at Pentecost. You see, it was because of their faith that He was not ashamed to be called ‘their God’. They believed God that not only would he fulfill the promises to their children or their children’s children, but they would somehow be able to participate as well. ‘Bring my bones’ indicates that we can make a pretty safe assumption that the faith of the bible is in a literal resurrection within creation and not just going to heaven when you die, but something even more awesome, more powerful than that. The devil loves gnosticism because it sets up the majority of professing Christians with only a secondary concern for God’s purposes for us and through us right here and right now. Jesus did not see the Father’s purposes that way, nor Paul, nor anyone else in the scriptures, yet we are plagued by this neo-gnosticism. That’s a stream we should stop floating down.

This God raises the dead to new life. In the New Heavens and New Earth, we will be able to participate then even if the getting there costs us the life we know today which it will. We will live in renewed bodies and worship in temples not made with human hands, but having foundations that cannot be shaken, incorruptible… a city that lives and breathes grace and truth and justice and mercy and faithfulness. A city set on a hill; a lamp that lights the whole house. We are not there yet, but the journey has begun the question is are we standing around pointing fingers heckling because we think we are more spiritual, are we even aware that this ark is being built? Seek the Lord and He will make all things clear to you.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

Come Holy Spirit fill us up. AMEN

Hebrews 11v11-12

It was by faith that Sarah herself, who was barren, received power to conceive a child even when long past the right age, since she considered that God, who had promised, was trustworthy. Thus it came about from one man, and him more or less dead, there was born a family as many as the stars of heaven in number, as uncountable as the sand on the seashore.

Abraham lived in a time when certain behaviors were acceptable that would not be today. Then there are things like pretending your wife is your sister to save your neck regardless of the ramifications that may have for her. That is just wrong on multiple levels. This was not Abraham at his best. However, God's grace was sufficient and apparently so was Sarah's.

Being a husband who tries his best to do the right thing can sometimes lead you into dangerous territory though. Many times there is no right thing to do, just trust God and make decisions that are as God honoring as possible. Not everyone will be able to appreciate this and that also is understandable. The Father chooses the foolish things to shame the wise. We see this with most every character of faith, every single prophet, the apostles and of course Jesus himself (the one we are to model and reflect)and we also see, in many cases where faith stumbles or in Judas case...when faith fails - some sin leads to death, some does not.

To be a man of faith, it helps to have a woman of faith to stand along side you. Now when Sarah first heard that she was going to be with child, given her age, she just about busted a gut. The three did not think it so funny and she was quickly rebuked for her unbelief. Then she considered who had made the promises and that the creator of the universe just might be able to get it done. Not only from Abraham, but through Sarah. This is the picture of Jesus and his Bride, the Church. Light giving birth to Light until the whole everlasting city, she shines. By the blood of the cross, we have been given the right to be called children of God...whose glory is in his wife and children. He gives his glory to no one else.


And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Amen

Hebrews 11v8-10

It was by faith that Abraham, when God called him, obeyed and went out to a place where he was to receive an inheritance. Off he went, not knowing where he was going. It was by faith that he stayed in the promised land as a stranger, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were joint heirs of the same promise. He was looking ahead, you see, to the city which has foundations, the city of which God is the designer and builder.

I’ve spent a lot of time walking recently with no specific idea where I was going. This concerned a lot of people and lets face it…for someone to drop what they’ve been doing and start wandering around…well it’s not normal. It was weirding me out for cryin' out loud. For me I knew God had something for me and at the time the destination was not really what God was so much concerned about, rather obedience. Go to a place where I will show you. I am amazed by all the people I met on my journey. Some people I witnessed to on the street, not something I’ve ever been particularly good at. Almost every person received me well. Color me stoked. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable, like I was opening a door that the Lord didn’t…and they ended up just being uncomfortable interactions because I got in the way. The Lord also sent me messengers.

On the way, walking to church to see if there was anything I could do to help out and a man on a bike stopped me and said,” Praise the Lord, I was praying this morning and the Lord told me I’d meet you right here like this. Here is someone not doing it for the money!” He blessed me, gave me a card for his church and off he went. I started to cry he was was a breathe life on hot wilderness day. I went on to get attacked ferociously by the enemy the rest of the day, but that interaction got me through as best as my faith would allow.

One time, when I started thinking too far ahead I got confused about where the Lord had me headed, but then a brother from the church saw me pulled over and asked if I needed some direction. He wanted to know if I wanted a ride home or to church to see the pastor. I opted for the latter.

During my walks the Lord dealt with me on a lot of issues and we fought many battles and lies too. It was some of the most intense time I’ve spent with God during this past few months. Some of the closest time I’ve ever had.

Abraham’s journey was a lot like this with many twists and turns and some interesting people crossing his path. He was moved to some really weird things and messed up and struggled with much. He was chosen of God to launch creation’s rescue mission. The creator God was going to reclaim his fallen creation and the plan started with this one man and his faith. By faith he sojourned in a land that was going to be his, or rather his descendants. He was passing through, but would ultimately be the possessor of this land and all of redeemed creation. How? Faith. Healing. Love. Spirit. Resurrection. Jesus.

For the Hebrew you and those who come from you are one and the same as you (we already discussed this from Hebrews 7v9-10). This is why murder is so wrong to kill one man is not just to kill that man but a nation of people who would come from them. This is where we get in tune with Paul’s use of the word Christ and we are the body of Christ growing and being knit together with power over against the flesh, but by the spirit. This is how Abraham becomes a father of many nations and the scriptures are fulfilled in Christ.

As we have Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwelling in tents moving throughout the middle east. So we have the triune God living in and among our body. Or do we not know we are the temple of the living God. Jesus being the chief cornerstone, the Apostles the pillars? Each living stone growing into mighty city coming down from heaven above.

Just as they sojourned in a land that would be theirs, so we experience heaven and earth now in the midst of hope that it will one day be flooded with God’s own presence as the waters cover the sea. What kind of body must we have for that? Read 1 Corinthians 15v35-58… a spirit driven body, not a body driven by the old nature. The external stuff gets changed race, creed, color, nationality, culture, faith practices … rolled up like clothes…in the twinkling of an eye this can happen. The Word remains. He is incorruptible and eternal. Let us not set our hope on the flesh which is here today and gone tomorrow, but on the things that are above, the living God revealed fully in Jesus. The name above every name.


So the Messiah came and gave the good news. Peace had come! Peace, that is, for those of you who were a long way away, and peace, too, for those who were close at hand. Through Him, you see, we both have access to the Father in one Spirit.

This is the result. You are no longer foreigners or strangers. NO: you are fellow citizens with God’s holy people. You are members of God’s household. You are built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with King Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together, and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. You, too, are being built up together, in him, into a place where God will live by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2v17-22

AMEN and HALLELUIA

Hebrews 11v7

It was by faith that Noah, who had been warned by God about things that were not yet seen, took the warning seriously and built an ark to save his household. He thus put the rest of the world in the wrong, and became heir to the righteous standing which accords with faith.

From this point on the author is gonna start hammering it home. We are going to look at one of the hero's of the faith at a time. Before we go any further though it's good to stop and acknowledge that this epistle is not some theological treatise, that's not it's primary intended purpose anyway. It is a pastoral letter. It is as much a narrative, as I hope I've brought out as we've moved through it, as the gospels. We have to always keep in mind who he's writing to and why and where and when. We serve the God of history and that is the back drop God has chosen to walk with us, get to know us, guide us, protect us and love us. It is with this reality in place that we can start to allow God to make life application for us. In other words, what the author intended to say is of greater importance than what I want it to say so that God can speak more clearly concerning His will rather that confusing it with my own imagination and thus what I'd like it to be saying.

Noah and judgment...I love Noah because he just walked humbly and did the right thing. He didn't picket, he didn't rally. He had a job to do and he did it to the best of his ability despite all opposition. He listened to God and did what was required of him and thus cast judgment on the naysayers and hecklers and persecutors. This is exactly what this congregation in Jerusalem needs to be reminded of. Destruction is coming. Yes to the mighty and glorious city of Jerusalem made with human hands judgment has been pronounced by God himself and the waters have already started to rise and carry away the weak hands in waves of dead works, dying ideologies, politics and misinterpretations of scriptures (Only God's interpretation really matters, how He works it out).

Be still and build the ark, be at rest and make haste... build up one another, build the body of Christ in love, gather in those of faith, what types of people out we to be when the fires come? A prepared people, not surprise by wrath or the judgments against those without faith, yet crying out for mercy and grace as we bear their burdens, we are their priests, their servant rulers...Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do. While we are responsible for being the Light of the world, it is not God's desire that we should shine it in people's faces. But that He should open their eyes and ears that they would choose to come into the Light and take refuge there in the midst of whatever storm may or may not be raging that season.

For this community in Jerusalem, life has been hard. By the time all is said and done there has been 40 years for this first generation to repent and turn towards the Lord, to worship in all it's various forms from evangelism to fellowship. Forty years for the first harvest or generation of the New Creation to grow and develop and be saved, to serve and suffer at the hands of the people for the people, to walk in all the good works prepared for them. He is a patient and loving God desiring mercy over judgment in Who's image we have been made, but vengeance belongs to Him alone and He will not be trifled with and He certainly will not have his name taken in vain forever nor his own decrees used against his people and purposes. There will come a time for heaven and earth, spirit and temple to flee (Mark 13v13-23) He despises such violence to His image, the image that is self-giving, self-sacrificing Love.

'Nobody knows what day or time this will happen,'Jesus went on. 'The angels in heaven don't know it, and nor does the son; only the Father knows. You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the days of Noah.

What does that mean? Well, in those days, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were getting married and giving children in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. They didn't know about it until the flood came and swept them all away. That's what it will be like at the royal appearing of the son of man.

Let us not be of those who are swept away, but let us seek to gather in as many as possible prepared to move when called.

Hebrews 11v1-6

What then is faith? It is what gives assurance to our hopes; it is what gives us conviction about things we can't see. It is what the men and women of old were famous for. It is by faith that we understand that the worlds were formed by God's word; in other words, that the visible world was not made from visible things.

It was by faith that Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain. That earned him the testimony that he was in the right, since God himself bore witness in relation to his gifts. Through faith, he still speaks, even though he's dead. It was by faith that Enoch was taken up so that he wouldn't see death; nobody could find him, because God took him up. Before he was taken up, you see, it had been said of him that 'he had pleased God.' And without faith it's impossible to please God; for those who come to worship God must believe that he really does exist, and that he rewards those who seek him.

Keep the faith! Ok, what is faith? Well we see here what it does it gives assurance to our hopes. Here the author launches into some deep theology, but then backs off and returns to the Hebrew scriptures to put the powerful narratives that his audience had understood since their youth the work. Between Cain and Enoch we have two men who truly believed that God existed. It wasn't just a cultural thing they did to express and cope with things they did not understand as with the idols and narratives found in other cultures. With everything they were they sought God and trusted in Him. That's faith. Faith heals, saves and rewards with God himself. It gives assurance of our hopes. What are our hopes if we already have God and trust God? If our lives are lined up with who God is then our hope is a future with the one true and living God revealed in Jesus. Our hope is in his judgment, that is to say that the good, creator God loves his creation and will act decisively time and again and finally to set things right. Our hope is in resurrection, that though all things must die they will rise again and be better than we can ask, think or imagine. Our hope is in a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells.

If we are to truly worship God with living sacrifices we must truly believe he's there, present and available to love us and be love in us. Then we can trust Him with full assurance of the future he has promised that is not disconnected from this world, but is being reconciled to this world all things on earth and in heaven. In it, but not of it. So we can live and act as though everything we do in this life matters, because we are promised that nothing we do in faith assured by the hope of the resurrection future, none of it will be lost (1 Corinthians 15v58)

Hebrews 10v32-39

But remember the earlier times! When you were first enlightened, you went through great struggles and suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public reproach and physical abuse. Sometimes you stood alongside people who were being treated in that way. You even shared the sufferings of those who were imprisoned. When people looted your property, you actually welcomed it joyfully, because you knew that you had a better possession, a lasting one.

So don't throw away your confidence. It carries a great reward. What you need is patience, you see; then, when you've done what God wants, you will receive the promise.

We are not among the hesitators, who are destroyed! We are people of faith, and our lives will be kept safe.

When Jesus came to the disciples behind locked doors after the resurrection they were amazed and he breathed new life on them and then told them to go wait until the promise came. When the promise came, He blew the doors off and they were on the Way. We call this Pentecost and it is what some have called the independence day of the church. You can read about these things in John 20 and Acts 2 if you are so inclined to do so.

We are here to share the world's burdens and to suffer alongside the wounded and afflicted. With the Spirit of God upon us everything is magnified, it's Jesus own spirit so we begin to not only be convicted of our own sin as He is cleaning house, but Jesus knew the hearts of men. He was able to discern intentions and fears and hopes and faith. Add to that the attacks of the Accuser and all the demons we carry around and never deal with in confession...many times not even knowing they are there. Now all we can do prepare our selves with his help to take them on, fully armed. Are we though? I wasn't. Do we know who we are in Christ enough to bear confronting our own junk? How about sharing in the sufferings of Christ?

I'm convinced that Jesus gave the disciples that time waiting for Pentecost for a reason...the flesh is weak and it is faith that carries us. Often times we really 'can't handle the truth' the weight of our sin is a heavy burden and when our eyes are opened to the sheer magnitude of it, well it'll scare the hell out of you 'it is a terrible thing to fall in the hands of the living God'. Praise God for his mercy and the taste he gives, how can one not live a life in trembling reverence after that type of thing. Now we have opportunity to be truly fruitful and we can battle, by the power and grace of God, not only our own but the weight of our brothers and sisters as we share in one anothers sufferings and battles.

Now you're a different person and you stand against the grain, that kind of love that is not interested in borders and knows it's inheritance launches you into arenas most had no intention of going into.

To say Jesus is Lord and I belong to Him therefore I'm not concerned with all the arguments going on between these infighting sects and Rome and etc, etc. That's a violently political stance for someone with no interest in politics. It's saying I reject your world, the old world whether pagan or Law based, liberal and/or fundamentalist.

It's all old and dying, indeed if anyone is in Christ there is a New Creation. So we reject the way things have been done because God is sovereign and is ultimately in control, moving things forward...so all I'm interested in is the Kingdom agenda. I'll submit to authority except where it conflicts with His authority, but ultimately God's justice will prevail and so those in Christ will be vindicated. In the meantime, for those with ears to hear, hear...with eyes to see, see! We will endure tyranny for the sake of love, persecutions for the sake of Christ, battling with demons for the sake of healing, carrying the burdens in ourselves not one mile, but two for the sake becoming a living sacrifice, we will endure legalism, liberalism, nationalism, paganism, imperialism, materialism and mysticism because we were once caught up by these things too and stumble at times too but we have learned more and more to live and serve like Jesus lived and served. With unwavering confidence and connection to the Father by His awesome grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh Lord, do we pray for patience to endure in love all these things, boldness to call things to account when we hear the cry of the oppressed come to our ears and the you directs us how to bear the burden for them in whatever way we can from ministering to pregnant teens to connecting an inmate back to a broken family to whatever and whereever and whenever You call. So let us not hesitate to walk humbly and do what is right...whatever the situation calls for. Lord help us not to judge by what we see, but to judge rightly. We have utmost faith that you will keep us Lord and so you have.

Hebrews 10v26-31

For if we sin deliberately and knowingly after having received the knowledge of the truth, there is no further sacrifice for sin. Instead there is a fearful prospect of judgment, and a hungry fire which will consume the opponents. If sets aside the law of Moses, they are to be 'put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses', with no pity. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be appropriate for people who trample the son of God underfoot, and dishonor the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and scorn the spirit of grace? We know the one who said, 'Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay everyone back,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It's a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Sin is and has always been a touchy subject, today more than ever before. There are pressures to be politically correct both in the church by attending to traditions, doctrinal statements and other lists of 'distinctives'. As we've been discussing in Hebrews this was not at all uncommon in the Judaism of the first century and it continued to splinter off into different directions. We have seen the same thing in Christianity and though it stands in direct contradiction to Jesus prayer in John 17 the gospel has gone forth all the more. Should we go on sinning that grace may abound? May it never be.

I am not going to deal with the pressures from the 'world' here which are obvious and would take quite a bit more time to rummage through. Rather to look at those having 'received the knowledge of truth'. Sin is 'missing the mark'...an archery term. So the obvious question is what's the mark? The Sunday school answer is of course Jesus. I think we would do well to unpack that a bit though. Particularly since we are dealing with a 'fearful prospect of judgment'. Three things come to mind when I think of hitting the mark: King, Kingdom and Covenant.

The King is of course the God revealed fully in the person of Jesus. The Kingdom is the will of that God done in spirit and truth through the people that belong to the King, His will done on earth as it is in heaven. Finally, covenant is what it takes to hold citizenship in the kingdom and all the practical out-workings of faithfulness to that covenant.

The first thing then is that we must accept the royal declaration and make it our own. This is what Paul calls the Gospel of God, that is to say that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one true Lord of all creation and that God is fully available and known in and through Jesus and the power of His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus who the author of Hebrews stated is the 'shining reflection of God's own glory, the precise expression of his very own being; he sustains all things through his powerful word.' This is the body to which we are called to be a part.

So now we have a King enthroned in our hearts and minds holding sway over any other authority in all of creation. A King who is that close to his people want's to get intimately in tune with them. He wants to care for them and protect them like a Father looks after a Son and if there are two or more of us gathered we have a Kingdom, we have a family, we have a royal priesthood. The Father's will is presence. It is taking His proper place in the lives of His people and everything else taking it's proper place through that body in relationship to a specific end goal, namely that the Father should be all and in all. That we should be one as they are one.

Finally the covenant people of God understand that we are to think and act as if we are to be judged based on the law of grace. To think and act and feel in as part of Messiah, a people empowered by his own spirit and you will know by the fruit. This is how His kingdom comes. We watch and listen and see and hear how the King interacts with people, who He associates with, who He rebukes, who He heals what His priorities are. He is a King who cannot ignore the cry of the oppressed, the beaten down those who are overcome by sin, it is outside the realm of possibility for Him. He is a King who is love, who is compassion, who is grace. If we are to come into intimate relationship with our King to offer ourselves a living sacrifice and serve the God revealed in Jesus toward His will and not our own then we would do well to pay closer attention to what we've seen and heard. The living God will not be trampled on and will not just let things slide that violate His nature and purposes. We may be saved in the end, but I tell you the truth it will be as through fire. May we turn our hearts toward the King.

Father give me the strength and wisdom today to follow wherever you would lead, to do all my work as though it was for you. Lord, let your Holy Spirit reign throughout my whole body in the things I think, speak and do. I can't do this without you, our glorious King. Teach me this day humility and patience, teach me forgiveness and grace. Keep me from the perilous trials and stand guard over me and all my house. I plead the blood of Jesus over this day, in whose name I pray.

Just Out For A Walk

The high priest said to Jesus, "I put you under oat before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God" and Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Messiah from a human point of view, we know Him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Messiah, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Messiah, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Messiah God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Messiah, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Messiah, be reconciled to God."

"For in Him we live and move and have our being"

Father help us to worship You in Spirit and in truth.
We hope for a body driven by your Spirit, for we know the body driven by the old nature can never inherit the kingdom.

Holy Spirit lift us up and take us where we would not go on our own. Lord Jesus, surround us with your messengers to protect us and help us when we are stumbling and can barely walk. Cover us in the midst of trial and pour your grace upon us. Come to us in our prisons and set us a table before our enemies.

Lord Jesus, cleanse Your house and drive out the oppressors. Guard our hearts from the flurry of accusations as our enemies encompass us. Help us to trust even in the depths of fear. Help us to be bold even in the face of Death himself.

Lord, empower us to walk a path of compassion and understanding seeking always your Kingdom, Your will, the Way You would have us go. Help us, oh Lord, to trust You, to worship You, to walk with You in spirit and truth always and everywhere. May you make our cup to run over. I pray this in Jesus glorious name.

Amen and Hallelujah.

Ephesians 3v7-13

Prayer for a Day in the Spirit...Today

Father bless us this day

Cleanse our hearts and direct our thoughts

Give us food for our soul

We ask new wine for passion

Help us to love with willingness to die to self

Open us to receive your joy and, oh Lord, please send it upon us

Calm our minds, take captive our thoughts that we may know peace

Give us patience toward one another and towards ourselves

Help our lips to speak kindness into the one another

Shower us with goodness and pour it forth from our being

Strengthen us in faithfulness to the Kingdom and our callings

Give us, oh Lord a gentle spirit to touch and heal the wounded

Guard our hearts from ourselves that we may be self-controlled and wise

Give us, oh Lord, compassion to truly live

Help us trust in the storms and quiet moments

Give us a single eye and clear vision

Open our hearts to our neighbors and those you'd place in our path

Holy Spirit fill us up, clean us, shake us and transform us

We ask all these things pleading the precious blood of Jesus over every
moment.

AMEN