NOW LET US  . . .

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another  – and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Heb. 10:23-25).

There is always the need for a positive response to what God has done for us. One wonders who and how many of them were sowing discouragement among them in this community of Jewish believers, and urging them to go back to Judaism where they could practise their religion without harassment.

They knew very well how their ancestors had responded to discouragement and a bad report. When the twelve spies returned from their reconnoitring trip into Canaan, they thoroughly disrupted the camp and destroyed their morale by their discouraging words.  Wonderful country, yes, but oh, the giants! Forgotten were the promises of God and the many evidences of His power and provision along the way. And so they got what they anticipated – death in the desert – and not even at the hands of the Canaanites whom they feared.

There was great need – and this writer jumped in to fill it – for his readers to be encouraged to persevere in spite of the hard times because there was so much at stake.

They needed to take a long look at Jesus. Who was He? What did He do? Why must we trust Him? What’s wrong with our old ways? Without true understanding and recognition of who He was, they could easily give up and slide back into so-called peace and safety, and lose the very salvation they were seeking in their incomplete religion.

‘Hold on,’ urged the writer, ‘and never let go of the hope you have in Jesus.’ Hope? What is hope? Not just a vague wish but an assurance, underwritten by God Himself, that everything promised in Jesus has a predetermined outcome – something like building a jigsaw puzzle. Ever done one? Your hope of the outcome lies in the picture on the box. All the disconnected pieces make no sense when they are all laid out on the table. As long as you put the pieces in their correct places, you know that your puzzle with be exactly like the picture on the box.

‘Live in community,’ said the writer. ‘It’s an important piece in the puzzle.’ When coals fall out of the fire, to change the metaphor, they lose their heat. The only hope we have of remaining in the faith is to stick together, and keep the fire burning in spite of the efforts of outsiders to put it out.

Community is much more than coming together once a week to have “church”. Community is doing life together as a family, with a strong support base of love and sharing. We don’t need complainers. We need encouragers. We need oil, not water, to keep the fire burning. Keep up the good deeds. Look around you in your community. Where can you fill the gaps? This is one sure way to show the world that you have a new heart.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Gal. 6: 10).

We live in a world of takers. Stinginess and greed are the name of the game in the ungodly communities around us. God calls us to be different. God is a giver. Look around you. There is lavish generosity everywhere in God’s world. Gods transforms us from takers to givers through the power of His Holy Spirit. We look at God’s mercy in our own lives, forgiving our sin, restoring us to His family as His beloved sons and daughters and providing everything we need to live godly lives. Our response can only be one thing – pour out our love and gratitude by meeting the needs of others.

Did the writer mean meeting together at church on a Sunday? I believe it is much more than that, important as that is. We can “meet together” in many different ways – sharing hospitality, a phone call to encourage, popping in for a cup of tea and a chat, praying over a need. Opportunities are endless to be a true community of God’s people. What better witness to a dog-eat-dog world that God is real and that He can make new people out of what we were!

And all because Jesus came, and gave His life for us. Now let us . . .

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

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