Just do it!

Today's passage of scripture is James 1. The verse that really struck me today said this, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says
It is so easy to listen to what God tells us, but not so easy to always do what He says. In church for example. We sit there week in week out and listen to various sermons, but how many of them do we actually do something about? We even go to the person speaking afterwards and tell them that what they said really was good, and that it spoke to us, but does it actually penetrate our lives, do we act upon what God has said? This is so important, we have to live it, as well as believe it. God's word has to change us or else we are just grass blowing in the wind. Jesus came so that we could be different, not so that we could warm pews. We are meant to be followers of Christ working out our faith, not people that believe but do nothing. We have to work out our faith and make sure that we obey God's word. Let's remember that next time we tell a preacher that they spoke well - let's make sure that we hear the word and then act upon it. Let's make sure we read the word and act upon it. Let's be a people of action and not just people that listen and nod.

Love one another

In the last chapter of Hebrews we are told to, Keep on loving each other as brothers. This is something that is very important. As Christians we are told to love one another, we are told to love our enemies, we are meant to live out the love of Jesus in all circumstances.
As human beings we are easily offended, and so we don't find it very easy to love one another as we should. 
Jesus loved His enemies, He even forgave the people that nailed Him to a cross. We are told in Ephesians 5 to, be imitators of God, and so this means that we too have to love those who hate us.
However in this chapter of Hebrews we are told to keep loving each other, this is talking about other Christians. Surely this should go without saying, but unfortunately it doesn't as even Christians don't always love one another, or have the grace to forgive one another. 
One of the biggest reasons for people leaving the church today is offence. Like I've already said, we are so easily offended, but then we take that offence and hold onto it. We need to get rid of this offence and get on with life. So many people choose to leave church because someone said something that upset them. The fact of the matter is this, no matter what others do or say to us, we need to show the same grace and love to them that Jesus shows to us. How can we ask our Lord and Saviour to forgive us when we can't love one another and forgive those that hurt us?
Let's try and not be offended, lets make the best of one another and just love one another in Christ. If you are struggling with unforgiveness, ask God to help you today to love those that don't love you.

Run the race

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
These two verses are taken from Hebrews 12. This is what we all need to do, this is what we all must do! As Christians we are running the race for the Lord. We must get rid of all of the sin in our lives, no matter how hard it is, it has to be done.
We are called to live lives of righteousness, and with that in mind we must get rid of anything that could be in our lives that would stop us from running that perfect race with Jesus. 
Let's be realistic here for a moment. I know that we can never be perfect, as Jesus is the only perfect one. However, we are called to do everything possible to live a life that is pleasing to God. That doesn't mean that we will never sin, but it does mean that we would not CHOOSE to sin. We all make mistakes, we all do things that are not God honouring, however, by fixing our eyes on Jesus as it says in these verses, we can run the race and live our lives in honour and glory to Him. Let's make sure that whatever we do gives Jesus the glory so that we can run the race and be the person that we are called to be. 

Got to have faith!

Hebrews chapter 11 speaks of the great men and women of faith in the bible. The writer makes a long list of the greats and shows how through their faith in God they become great. Many of the list even though we see them as mighty men and women of God, at the time they would have not realised how iconic they would become.

Many of these people didn't even see what God had promised to them but they still trusted in God that He would fulfil His will in their lives. 

Abraham for example, he was promise to be the father of many nations. He saw his wife have a son when they were very old, and so by the time that God's promise came through, Abraham would've been long gone.

Do we have the same kind of faith in God? Do we have the same kind of staying power? When things get tough do we trust that God is with us through thick and thin? 

God has made us many promises in the bible, but do we have the faith to hold onto those promises? 

I know personally, when things are tough its very hard to focus on the fact that God is in control.

In the very first verse of Hebrews 11 it says this, 

Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.

Let's praise God today that we have a hope in Him. That He will always be there for us and that He will never let us down. Let's raise our faith in Him today and know that He will continue the great work that He has started whether we see it or not.

Forgiven and forgotten

Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more - This verse is found in Hebrews 10. What an amazing verse this is, what an awesome truth that we can hold on to.
When God forgives, He also forgets. How often do we forget when others hurt us? How often do we forget when others say things about us? We might say that we forgive them, but to forget about what has happened is a whole different ball game.
I think we should be thankful that God doesn't treat us as we treat others. I thank God that He chooses to forget my past so that I can have a future. Let's thank God today that He doesn't hold grudges, that He doesn't condemn us for our past sin when we come to Him, that He has paid the price for our sin, that when He says forgiven He also means forgotten. I think we should try and do the same. 

Out with the Old in with the New!

In today's chapter of Hebrews the writer compares the Old with the New. He shows us that under the old law the Priest wasn't worthy of offering the sacrifices of the people to God as he was a sinner himself.
This is why Jesus was perfect for the job. He was and is the only sinless one, the only man that could ever pay the price for the sin of the world. He was and is perfect and so because of that His death made everything right. He could pay the debt through His perfect sacrifice, unlike the Priests in the Old Testament that were sinners themselves who had to consecrate themselves just to be able to carry out their ministry. In fact if God wasn't pleased with them they could loose their lives during the act of sacrificing.
We can and should never forget what Jesus did for us that first Easter. He paid our debts and left us free. We don't have to go to a priest and ask him for forgiveness, we have a Saviour that's done it all for us - lets Praise Him and put away the old and receive the new today!

Jesus - The only Sacrifice

Hebrews 8 speaks of Jesus bringing in the New Covenant, that is the new law, the new way to live. Under the old law, there had to be a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. The person that needed forgiveness would take a sacrifice to a priest and then the priest would offer the animal or grain to God as atonement for whatever the person had done. If the person did the same thing again, he would repeat the sacrifice and so it went on. This became more of a religious ceremony than something that they did for God. This became more of an outward showing of being sorry than actually being sorry, which is why God brought in the New.
Under the new law, the debt for sin was and is paid once and for all. Jesus died just the once, so that the sin of the world would be dealt with. This means that we no longer have to make a sacrifice for the things that we have done. It means that all we have to do is come before the Throne of Grace and ask for His forgiveness. How glad am I that I live this side of the cross? Let's face it, if I didn't things would not look too great for me. Firstly the thought of having to kill anything bigger than a spider doesn't make me feel overly enthusiastic, and secondly, as a gentile woman I would be so far down the chain of blessing that the only person lower than me would be a gentile girl child.
I really am so blessed and grateful for being born this side of the cross. I just want to take the opportunity to thank God right here and now for what He has done for me through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus was the Ultimate sacrifice. God doesn't ask for religious ceremonies, He doesn't require us to put on a show of being sorry. All He asks is that we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and follow Him.