GO WHERE THE ACTION IS!

Posted on July 1, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
We are always searching for better…better car, better home, better party, better clothes, better shoes and sometimes better family and friends (yeah, that’s sad). Many are searching for more. Many people are addicted to more. “I wanna go where love is” is a pop song that rings in my head from the masses. People want to go where the “action” is, where love and acceptance can be found.
 
Well, God is there, ready to help. God’s action in Jesus is where the action is. Jesus is the better and the more we are seeking. Jesus is God’s action in us to bring us back to Him through His sacrifice of unconditional, unchangeable love, mercy and grace. I found it! THIS is where the action is!
 
Hebrews 13, The Message
Part one
 
Hebrews 13 neverJesus Doesn’t Change
1-4 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.
 
5-6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote,
 
God is there, ready to help;
I’m fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?
 
7-8 Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself.
 
9 Don’t be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don’t seem to do much for those who buy them.
 
10-12 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. It’s the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God’s altar to cleanse his people.
 
13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.
 
WHERE is the action? Outside, where Jesus is.Hebrews 13 outside
WHO is the action? Jesus, let’s stay focused on Him.
HOW do we get in on the action? “Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.”
 
May ALL we think, do or say be in Jesus’ Name.
Amen. I believe.
 
Hebrews 13 same
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PROCLAMATION OF GRACE!

Posted on June 30, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Traditions and ways of thinking about life are sometimes shattered when tragedy comes to change our normal routine. A new normal forms as we live our lives differently to accommodate the new circumstance. Some people change and transform with strength and determination. Others have trouble seeing and believing that all will be well, just different.
 
Can you imagine what the Jews were thinking when Jesus came with the New Covenant that would change their traditional way of thinking and behaving? God’s action in Jesus rocked the Hebrew world and replaced it with an “unshakable kingdom” called eternity. What was Moses experience with God is not YOUR experience the writer exclaims. You’ve come to God through Jesus, “who represents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant.”
 
Hebrews 12 unshakable Jesus
“The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s–a homicide that cried out for vengeance–became a proclamation of grace.” Jesus, a proclamation of grace! Meditate on that statement today. This is what unshakable kingdom believing and living is based upon. Jesus, our rock that cannot be moved, is the King of the Unshakable Kingdom of God! God is on fire, consumed with cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn and He won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. Wow.
 
Hebrews 12, The Message
Part Two
 
An Unshakable Kingdom
18-21 Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—“If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead”—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.
 
22-24 No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
 
25-27 So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
 
28-29 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
 
Hebrews 12 worshipSO MUCH TO CONSIDER, SO MUCH GRACE, BE GRATEFUL!
Think about it…
 
–What we believe about Jesus saving us, being with us, our advocate to God, and our intimate relationship with Him is unshakable. He will never leave us.
–“Do you see what we’ve got?” Seriously, think about it. Do we behave like we say we believe?
–Be grateful, live gratefully…so others will get a glimpse of this unshakable kingdom.
–Be ready for a cleansing. We all need it. Repent. Be unshakable with God as we live our lives in obedience and gratitude.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
I will be spending much time in thought about what you have given to us meditate on today. We are grateful for your daily manna that you feed us each morning. We will chew on this while gaining strength to grow and mature in You. We are grateful for You, all you have done, are doing and will do in our lives of refinement through continual transformation. My “normal” is Your action in Jesus, a proclamation of Your grace to us. Thank you.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
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GET OFF THE STARTING BLOCK!

Posted on June 29, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Hebrews 12 get off the startI have watched runners at track meets with wonder, amazement and excitement. What a sight to see! Their muscled legs and arms show the discipline of training for this moment to run. They have shed extra weight that would slow them down. They eat protein and other healthy foods so that their bodies won’t quit in the middle of their long distant race. In rely races, you watch as they stay focused on successful hand offs of the baton to team members. They have done everything the coach has told them to do. They have listened, toned, disciplined their minds, bodies and hearts, and practiced. The runners are now ready to get off the starting block and run to the finish…to win!
 
Are we ready to run? Are we still posed on the starting block of life? Do we still carry the weight of past sin and brokenness which impedes our ability to run? Have we let God, our Father discipline us as His children because we know He desires His best for us? Are we trying to run the race all by ourselves, with no team members, no help, no forgiveness, no grace, no mercy? Are we still stuck on the starting block because we don’t know where to run?
 
Our next passage in Hebrews “shoots adrenaline” into our very souls reminding us of HOW to run the race with eyes FOCUSED on Jesus! Read, meditate, and be blessed!
 
Hebrews 12, The Message
Part One
 
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
 
4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
 
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
 
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
 
Hebrews 12 finish well12-13 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
 
14-17 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
 
LET’S STRIP DOWN TO RUN!
–Lay down all that concerns us at Jesus feet right now. “Strip down”. We can’t run well with two full suitcases of burdens and things we cannot do anything about. That’s God’s work.
–“Start running and don’t quit” with focused eyes tenaciously on Jesus who is at the finish line cheering you on and helping you run to win the prize HE has for you.
–Repent. God’s first act of discipline for His runners is for us to repent of our sin and yield to His blessed discipline. Lose the sin that adds pounds of burden.
–“No spiritual fat. No parasitic sin.” In that sense it is teaching us to strip ourselves of harmful things like fear, bitterness, worry and anxiety. And reminding us that that sinful acts can latch on to us and, like an invisible leech, suck the spiritual blood out us. These things can cripple us and disable for the marathon of life.
–When sweat pours from your face, keep running toward Jesus. Discipline is not easy but necessary to win.
–Coaches of track and cross country students are chosen because of own knowledge, discipline and past accomplishments in running. Jesus is our PERFECT example. We study how He ran and we run like Him. Our coach is God, His Holy Spirit and the Example of His Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We can’t lose!
–Give into discipline that saves us, refines us, and transforms us to be the runner that God designed us to be. We can’t lose!
–Race to win! Don’t quit. “God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God?”
–Who wants a coach who doesn’t care if you win or not? Satan is that coach who does not care and is throwing up roadblocks in your life to trip you up. Watch for it.
–Discipline (training) isn’t fun. But…”it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. We can’t lose with God!
–Help each other. Cheer each other on in the race to Jesus who is at the finish line of life’s marathon. Encourage each other over the obstacles of this life. Part of the word encourage is “courage”. Be courageously helpful to people on the path to Jesus. We get a glimpse of God when we do!
–Don’t trade away God’s life long gift for that piece of sin cake that will add extra wait to an already body of burden.
–Strip down, RUN! “My yoke (running clothes) are lighter and better fitting”, says Jesus.
 
Hebrews 12 runDear Heavenly Father,
You are the Great Coach that educates us with Discipline for Living Life to the full! Thank you for another lesson that convicts, encourages and sends of rush of spiritual adrenaline to our souls! Thank you for continuing to coach us, love us, never leaving us but always being with us, reminding us of the finish line.
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
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STILL BELIEVING…

Posted on June 28, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Where are you in life and what do believe? Stop and think about it. Take all the time you need. Are you waiting for God to part the sea of doubt? Are you going through a storm that is pelting you with a hail of trouble? Is your offspring not behaving in the ways you know you have taught them? Is the ark of debt multiplying instead of decreasing because of unexpected expenses? Are you now caring for children in your family because their parents are on drugs and don’t care about raising their offspring? Is your spouse suddenly deciding that you are not the “one” and is browsing the internet for more entertainment? Is you job not what you thought it would be?
 
Hebrews 11 believe by Ann
Better question…in the midst of life…are you still believing?
 
We will read in our next half of Hebrews 11 about a few of God’s faithful who still believed in God and their future with God in midst of pain, trouble, searching and homelessness. They knew where they were headed. They knew that earth was NOT their final destination. “By an act of faith” no matter what they were presently going through, they still believed.
 
Do we still believe? Can we accept what is going on right now with eyes that cast a glance for what lies ahead? If we can, we will have a different, more holy, perspective on life. Still believing is the action of faith in God, the unshakable foundation upon which we stake our lives. I’m still believing…are you?
 
Hebrews 11, The Message
Part two
 
Hebrews 11 believing is seeing13-16 Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.
 
17-19 By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—and this after he had already been told, “Your descendants shall come from Isaac.” Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that’s what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.
 
20 By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.
 
21 By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph’s sons in turn, blessing them with God’s blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff.
 
22 By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.
 
23 By an act of faith, Moses’ parents hid him away for three months after his birth. They saw the child’s beauty, and they braved the king’s decree.
 
24-28 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn’t touch them.
 
29 By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.
 
30 By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.
 
31 By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God.
 
32-38 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
 
39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
 
Hebrews 11 still peopleTHINK ABOUT IT…
–These people of faith were humans just like us.
–These people who still believed in the middle of trouble and questioning were people just like us.
–“Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves.”
–“Their faith and our faith come together to make on competed whole”…a legacy of still believing…joint heirs with Christ, the promised and fulfilled Messiah of all.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
I am still believing where I am right now. My faith tested, my trust in You evaluated. This is not our final destination. I know where I’m going and I am sure to meet you when you decide it is time. Thank you for these created humans of faith who are examples to us today. Thank you for always being with us. Thank you for the glimpse of a future with you through Your Word to us. Continue to transform us to think and behave more like you because we are still believing…
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
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WHAT HOLDS US UP

Posted on June 27, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Pyramids of young people is a sight to see as cheerleaders try to dazzle us with their skill and abilities. The wise will put the stronger people on the ground floor of this high rise acrobatic feat. Then there is a second and third layer of trusting kids who rely on the strength of the people who form the foundation below. If the foundation people lose strength then the whole thing topples. Trust is questioned before building another pyramid of faith. This feat of brave prowess make us question what we trust and what we hold onto without question.
 
Hebrews 11 faith of othersWhat holds us up?
 
Our next passage is a favorite of many as well as myself. FAITH is the foundation that holds us up, holds us together, keep us going, “It’s our handle on what we can’t see.” Faith allows us to get a glimpse of the future glory of residing with God. By faith, our foundation, our hope is built. By faith, our future is secure.
 
This passage also reminds us of all those God-devoted, trusting people before us who are the base of our own pyramids of faith in God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, upon which we stand. We stop and praise God for them, for their stories and for their example of faith to us. We should also thank God for all the people we know in our own legacy line of faith who spoke Life into us by their actions and sometimes their words.
 
Hebrews 11, The Message
Part One
 
Hebrews 11 whatFaith in What We Don’t See
 
1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
 
3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
 
4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
 
5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
 
7 By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.
 
8-10 By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.
 
11-12 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.
 
Hebrews 11 God goes before meTHINK ABOUT IT…
Powerful statement about the foundation of faith:
–“…faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.” Does our faith make life worth living?
 
–“By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word,” What is our faith based upon?
 
–“By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved…” What does God notice about our faith?
 
–Enoch pleased God. “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.” Does our faith please God?
 
–Noah became intimate with God…”His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world.” Does our faith do that? Are we intimate with God…because of our faith?
 
–Abraham said yes and left all he knew to follow God’s call. Is our faith strong enough to say yes to God no matter what…with our eyes on a future with Him?
 
–Sarah…Is our faith built on God’s promises?
 
Mm…a lot to think about.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do in our lives. We see you at work every single day. We wonder, at times, how you know just what is needed before we know. Then we realize once more, you are God and we are not. You are Creator, the Sustainer and the Giver of Life. Because of Jesus, we can have an intimate, forever relationship with You. Because of You we know where we are headed. Our eyes are on You, our future secured in You. Thank you, Father. My hope is built on nothing less…but on You and all the trusting people who have gone before me to pour into me a strong foundation of faith. Continue to transform me to pleasing to You. Help me to be a person of faith for someone else.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
 
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WALK RIGHT UP TO GOD!

Posted on June 26, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
“Walk up to him, you don’t have to be afraid”, we say to our young children upon seeing a hero for the first time. “He is waiting for you to come and see him and shake his hand”, we assure them. After waiting in line for a long time, the wait is over and they finally get to see him. What do they do? Hesitate.
 
Do we do that with God? Are we so afraid, unsure or think we are not good enough or valuable enough to come to Him? Is it His power and awesomeness that stops us? Is it our guilt and unworthiness that causes us to hesitate? We are right about one thing…we will never be good enough. But, JESUS is. Jesus is more than enough. Jesus cleans us up from the inside out, making us presentable and acceptable to God!
 
THIS IS GREAT NEWS! Jesus has cleared the way! We can now repent, believe, trust and follow Jesus right up to the throne of God! Don’t miss out! Run to Him. The path is clear! No waiting. No lines!
 
Hebrews 10, The Message
Part two
 
Don’t Throw It All Away
 
Hebrews 10 walk right up to God19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
 
22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
 
26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.
 
Hebrews 10 keep on32-39 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.
 
It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;
he’ll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.
 
But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.
 
Hebrews 10 to GodWhat do we learn?
–Believing, trusting, following Jesus is the way to God, Our Father.
–Saved by the sacrifice of Jesus, we are confident and assured, inside and out, ready to meet God.
–Keep a firm grip on believing, trusting and obeying God.
–Help each other, worship with each other, encourage each other as we get closer to the Day when Jesus comes again.
–Don’t give up.
–Don’t forget what we have learned. Don’t look at past mistakes but forward to our future with Jesus who wipes away every sin.
–God is the one and only judge. We are not.
–Remember when you first came to Jesus and accepted Him. Only return to that memory and build your life on Him. Peace in troubled times will return when we look to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.
–God always keeps His Word…count on it. Live by it.
 
“So, let’s DO IT”…full of belief and confident…to walk right up to God, hand in hand with Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord! Talk to Him right now. Seriously. Thank you for all He has done, is doing and will do.
 
No regrets when you say yes to God!
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
I am remembering the first time I stepped away from the wooden bench pew in a small church in Oklahoma City and took those steps to the altar of prayer of repentance and love for you. I was young but I knew what I was doing because of those who taught me well. Thank you Jesus for that beginning of our confident walk together. It’s been a wild ride since then and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Apparently, you wouldn’t either. I am so glad I said yes to you then, later and now. Continue to speak to my heart. I’m listening…still.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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PERFECT

Posted on June 25, 2018 by randscallawayffm

Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus

Hebrews 10 we are not perfectWe want everything to be perfect when we are planning a wedding, a family reunion, or any event where many will gather and celebrate. We tend to the details. We create ways that will enhance the experience of being together. We also plan ways to avoid pitfalls that might occur at the event. We try to think of every scenario and have a plan for it. We also have a plan B if plan A is failing. We are mere humans, however, and nothing we do is absolutely perfect.

Praise God! HE is perfect. I love this sentence in our next passage that sums up God’s action in Jesus to save us from our imperfection:

“It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people.”

Wow. We are not perfect. God knew that. God made a way. Now, by repenting, we are perfectly forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. Done. Finished. Complete.

Hebrews 10, The Message
Part One

The Sacrifice of Jesus
10 1-10 The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old “law plan” wasn’t complete in itself, it couldn’t complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution. If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. The plain fact is that bull and goat blood can’t get rid of sin. That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ:

You don’t want sacrifices and offerings year after year;
you’ve prepared a body for me for a sacrifice.
It’s not fragrance and smoke from the altar
that whet your appetite.
So I said, “I’m here to do it your way, O God,
the way it’s described in your Book.”

When he said, “You don’t want sacrifices and offerings,” he was referring to practices according to the old plan. When he added, “I’m here to do it your way,” he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan—God’s way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.

Hebrews 10 perfect Jesus11-18 Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this:

This new plan I’m making with Israel
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time “I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.”

He concludes,

I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.

Once sins are taken care of for good, there’s no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them.

DO WE REALLY GET THIS? I am reminded of a chorus we sang as kids…

“Gone, gone, gone, gone
Yes my sins are gone,
Now my soul is free
And in my heart’s a song;
Buried in the deepest sea
Yes, that’s good enough for me–
I shall live eternally
Praise God!
My sins are G-O-N-E gone!

Let us celebrate and live like the redeemed people of God we are! NO, we are not perfect, but we are perfectly forgiven. DON’T forget that…

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, thank you, thank you is not enough for what you have done for us through the sacrifice of Your Perfect Son, Jesus Christ! But we accept, repent, and grow in our faithfulness and love back to you. We are blessed to be blessings to you. Help us to remember and celebrate the new life we have because of the new covenant you provided.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Posted on June 24, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
Let’s get to the heart of the matter. We say this when, after much discussion, we want to hear only the bottom line. I say this with every caller on my cell phone who calls to sell me something. Get to it, bud. Lay it out. What is the bottom line? Then I will make a decision. Is this for me? Or not. Yes or no. Two choices. This is getting to the heart of the matter.
 
The writer of Hebrews gets to the heart of the matter with God’s action to Jesus reminding his readers of the old way which was limited to rituals and the mere obedience of them. The old system of coming to God was “essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made.”
 
Then the long awaited Messiah came. The New Covenant was put into place with his coming, living on earth, dying as the complete sacrifice for all our sin then and now and rising again to show people the power and glory of God in the complete forgiveness of sin. Jesus showed us who God is and what His Love means to His created.
 
“Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.”
 
This is the Heart of the matter. This is Jesus.
 
“And so, when he next appears, the outcome for hose eager to greet him is, precisely, SALVATION.”
 
Bottom line. Who do you choose? Yes or no. Accept or reject. Only two choices. Life or death forever.
 
Hebrews 8 so much betterHebrews 9, The Message
 
A Visible Parable
 
1-5 That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and “the bread of presence” were placed in it. This was called “the Holy Place.” Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called “the Holy of Holies.” In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don’t have time to comment on these now.
 
6-10 After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can’t really get to the heart of the matter, can’t assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It’s essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made.
 
Hebrews 9 sacrificePointing to the Realities of Heaven
11-15 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
 
16-17 Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.
 
18-22 Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.
 
23-26 That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. It also accounts for why, when the real thing takes place, these animal sacrifices aren’t needed anymore, having served their purpose. For Christ didn’t enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. He doesn’t do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own; if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin.
 
27-28 Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.
 
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
I love you because you first loved me. I choose You, say yes to you, accept and believe you died for my sin, once and for all. Thank you for your salvation. Thank you for always being with us. Thank you for your Spirit that guides, corrects, directs, comforts and teaches. Thank you for abiding in us as we draw nearer still to you. There is no one like you!
In Jesus Name, Amen
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RELATIONSHIP

Posted on June 23, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
God knows us well. He created us. From Adam to Christ, He designed a plan to take humans from merely obeying the rules (and failing) to a new plan that provided an intimate, loving relationship with Him. God loved Adam, loves the humans he has created since Adam.
 
The Old Plan gave specific rules to follow. “I will be your God and you will be my people” IF you obey these rules. People began to look more at the rules than to God. When they obeyed it was only from a heart of obligation and duty at best. When they sacrificed animals for their sins in front of the priest, the system became only dutiful. People flawed the system. Many looked for loopholes in the Law and created ways to get around it. Others made up and added human “by-laws” to gain power over people. They lost the main intent–To love God back.
 
God knew His created humans would completely miss the point. So, a New Plan was ready to go into action at God’s command. This action involved His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, as the once and for all sacrifice for all sin. Forever. God was not after puppets who would obey out of duty, He is after a relationship with each one of us that is honest and complete, loving and full of joy in just being together. This New Plan gives us the opportunity to do just that. If we reject this New Plan, we are missing out on the greatest relationship we could ever have with the God of all, who knows us by name. We are missing HIS action in Jesus Christ to save us.
 
Hebrews 8 more graceHebrews 8, The Message
A New Plan with Israel
 
1-2 In essence, we have just such a high priest: authoritative right alongside God, conducting worship in the one true sanctuary built by God.
 
3-5 The assigned task of a high priest is to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and it’s no different with the priesthood of Jesus. If he were limited to earth, he wouldn’t even be a priest. We wouldn’t need him since there are plenty of priests who offer the gifts designated in the law. These priests provide only a hint of what goes on in the true sanctuary of heaven, which Moses caught a glimpse of as he was about to set up the tent-shrine. It was then that God said, “Be careful to do it exactly as you saw it on the Mountain.”
 
6-13 But Jesus’ priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he’s working from a far better plan. If the first plan—the old covenant—had worked out, a second wouldn’t have been needed. But we know the first was found wanting, because God said,
 
Hebrews 8 JesusHeads up! The days are coming
when I’ll set up a new plan
for dealing with Israel and Judah.
I’ll throw out the old plan
I set up with their ancestors
when I led them by the hand out of Egypt.
They didn’t keep their part of the bargain,
so I looked away and let it go.
This new plan I’m making with Israel
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.
I’ll be their God,
they’ll be my people.
They won’t go to school to learn about me,
or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
They’ll all get to know me firsthand,
the little and the big, the small and the great.
They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,
with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.
 
By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust.
 
Hebrews 8 sins gone foreverThink About It…
–What a patient, loving Father, God we have!
–Who could turn their backs on accepting Someone who laid down His life for us?
–We are “kindly” forgiven as we repent of our sin. Why? Because of God’s great love for us!
–Love God. Commune with God. Repent and Stand before God redeemed and ready to grow a loving relationship with Him!
–Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Jesus added, “Love others like I have loved you.”
–We obey because of our relationship with the God who created us and made a Way for us…not because of our religious practices. Obedience becomes an honored privilege and opportunity to love God back…not a mere obligation to satisfy a rule. Do we get it now?
–God wants us to love Him back. That is the main focus of His Word from Genesis to Revelation. What are we waiting for?
 
Hebrews 8 my people
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for wanting to have this intimate, loving, relationship with us. Thank you for listening to us, helping us, kindly forgiving us, gently teaching us, and always being with us. You are just a whisper away. Thank you, Lord for saving us so that we can relate to You with freedom, joy and peace, unashamed and ready to listen to you speak to us. I love our relationship, Father God.  In Jesus Name, Amen
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OUR PERMANENT PRIEST

Posted on June 22, 2018 by randscallawayffm
Hebrews – God’s Action in Jesus
 
When we were kids playing a game, we would change the rules, if we didn’t have all the pieces. We would make it work even though it wasn’t what the game rules said to do. I assumed that was a creative action to take as long as everyone agreed.
 
As a teacher who invented new games for her classroom to teach a lesson or build them as a team, I would change the rules as we went along so that the game would accomplish my intended purpose. Sometimes I didn’t know what would work best until the game was actually played by real kids. Have you ever done that? Changed the rules so it would work better? I think we have all made adjustments in life so that the main goal was met.
 
Hebrews 7 gamechange
God had a plan, commands, and a game plan that his people chose not to follow and live out in their lives. Their hearts became hardened. Many stopped listening to God. God knew that they would. So God changed up the way to Him so that His promises, that are unchangeable, the goal of reconciling us to Him, could be met.
 
Our next passage is the CENTER of God’s action taken in Jesus Christ, His Son, who became our permanent Priest, our Advocate, before God. The old line of imperfect humans as priests was abolished. Jesus Christ, Son of God, perfect, without sin, became our suffering sacrifice for all our sins, then and now. Gamechanger. This is the New Covenant. The Promise ratified and delivered. The New Way. Life eternal with God.
 
“God gave his word; he won’t take it back; ‘You’re the permanent priest.” AND it works!
 
Hebrews 7, The Message
 
A Permanent Priesthood
11-14 If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. But since it didn’t get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line.
 
15-19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—“priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.
 
20-22 The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. But then God intervened and called this new, permanent priesthood into being with an added promise:
 
God gave his word;
he won’t take it back:
“You’re the permanent priest.”
 
Hebrews 7 our priestThis makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God—one that really works! A new covenant.
 
23-25 Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.
 
26-28 So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect.
 
JESUS has done it, once and for all. Let that sink in…
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
There is NO ONE like You. You created all. You are in all. You know how we will respond, how imperfect we can be and you made a Way, the only Way back to you and it doesn’t cost us anything but our repentance and surrender to You. You paid it all, the entire cost, to bring us back to you in reconciliation. Thank you, thank you, thank you. A love like this has no bounds, no limits. Continue to transform me now into all you intended for this creation to be. Help me to love like you love. You are incredible and awesome at the same time. Life is all about you and nothing else.
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
And I’m singing….
(Resurrecting by Elevation Worship)
 
The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now
The Savior knelt to wash our feet
Now at His feet we bow
 
The One who wore our sin and shame
Now robed in majesty
The radiance of perfect love
Now shines for all to see
 
Your name, Your name
Is victory
All praise, will rise
To Christ, our king
Your name, Your name
Is victory
All praise, will rise
To Christ, our king
 
The fear that held us now gives way
To Him who is our peace
His final breath upon the cross
Is now alive in me
 
Your name, Your name
Is victory
All praise, will rise
To Christ, our king
Your name, Your name
Is victory
All praise, will rise
To Christ, our king
 
By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me
In Your name I come alive
To declare…
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