“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith… Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:22-23) Yes! After last night’s contentious church conference, I need these pure words of scripture, with the writer’s encouragement to draw near to God and to hold unswervingly to the hope of the resurrection and the kingdom of God which is coming.
Jesus has taken our sins upon himself, and as he lived the life of a teaching, healing, life-giving Rabbi, he faced much opposition, mainly from religious people. Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, all faced opposition from people firmly rooted in religious tradition. For every Christ-follower, the challenge is to draw near to God, to hold firmly to the hope, and to act boldly to bring about change.
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Verse 24) All of us need to be “spurred on toward love and good deeds.” There is within the human heart a desire to settle, to stay where it is comfortable, and to allow the inertia of inactivity to control. The King James Version (400 years old this year!) translates this verb as “let us provoke one another…” In modern usage, the word “provoke” is rarely viewed in positive light, it is almost always negative. And I think that every believer needs to be provoked to love and to do good deeds.
Guide me today, Holy Lord as I serve you with joy, drawing near with a sincere heart, holding fast to the hope, because you are faithful. Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth you have for me. Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for thee, ready my God, Thy will to see, Spirit divine! (Words from hymn by Clara H. Scott, 1841-1897)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment