Tag Archives: hope

Now Let Us . . .

March 28, 2015Bible Studyencouraging, hold, hope, professLuella Campbell

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 . . .

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Anchored In Hope

March 8, 2015Bible Studyencouraged, fled, hope, impossible, lieLuella Campbell

ANCHORED IN HOPE

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6: 18-20).

When God makes a promise and seals it with an oath, we have the assurance that what He has promised is of great significance. His promises are all unbreakable, oath or no oath, because He is God and He cannot lie. However, the oath is for us, not for Him, to reassure us that He means every word He has spoken.

Our hope of receiving what He has promised is anchored to Jesus, who has taken His own sacrificial blood into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly realms as an atonement for our sin. His blood guarantees that God has forgiven and blotted out everything that was written against us. Our high priest is neither a weakling nor a sinner like the Levitical high priests and the blood He presents is not animal blood which cannot atone for sin.

To go back to the old religious system, which was only a picture of what Messiah had come to do, was as unthinkable and impossible as adults returning to infancy. Why would his readers want to throw away an unshakeable hope that their salvation was secure, to go back to rules and rituals that did not bring them the peace of sins forgiven – forever?

What does an anchor do? It secures a vessel to something immovable so that it will not drift off course and be dashed to pieces on the rocks during a storm. These Hebrew Christians were in the midst of a violent storm – such hatred from the authorities that their lives were in constant danger.

Their circumstances offered them no security. Where did their security lie? It lay in God’s promises – nothing that humans could do to them could separate them from God’s love. Whether they lived or died, their eternal destiny was sure because they had a high priest who spoke for them. This high priest did not enter an earthly sanctuary which was only a model of the heavenly sanctuary. He entered heaven itself to present His own blood to the Father.

Those of us who have believed and received this promise are anchored in hope to the mercy of God in the Holy of Holies in heaven. Jesus is not a Levitical high priest who will die and be replaced by another mortal man. He is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The writer had tried several times to introduce his readers to Jesus’s high priesthood in the order of Melchizedek but he was aware of their immaturity and inability to understand the “meat” of the word. This time he plunged on because he wanted them to understand how Jesus fulfilled the entire system of Judaism, so that they were no longer bound by its rules and rituals. There was no more need for animal sacrifices and all the rigmarole that went with them. These were a reminder of the instructions and teachings – torah – of Yahweh which were intended to show them, in practical ways, how to fulfil the greatest commandment both to love God and to love their neighbour, and how to make atonement when they failed to love.

Unfortunately, what was intended to be a provision for sin had become an excuse to sin. Sacrifices and rituals became a way out for them so that they could go on sinning with impunity. Instead of teaching them the heinousness and infectiousness of sin, they became hardened to sin’s seriousness because their sacrifices were always a way out, so they thought.

When God laid all the judgment for sin on His own Son, and then raised His from the dead as proof that sin’s debt had finally been paid, He showed us just what sins does to human beings. He ordained Jesus to be the eternal and never-to-die-again high priest who is at the Father’s right hand making intercession for us, presenting His blood so that we might be forgiven and so that we might turn away from sin and live according to His word.

Can we have an anchor and a hope more secure than that? Absolutely not!

Be Prepared

January 30, 2015Bible Studyblessed, do not fear, hope, reason, suffer, threatsLuella Campbell

BE PREPARED

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3: 13-16).

Wise counsel again from Peter! Be prepared.

Keep in mind the reason for his encouragement, that this section of society to which he was writing, most of whom were Jews and believers in Jesus, were the butt of Roman society’s animosity because they were misunderstood. These believers were part of a new cult, according to the pagans, which was not Jewish. They had tolerated the Jews but this group was spurned even by the Jews. Oh, they worshipped a Jew who was executed by the Romans and was said to have risen from the dead. However even this phenomenon of resurrection was not new in their religious teachings.

The pagan Romans and Greeks worshipped many gods, including Nimrod by his many pagan names and derivations. His evil wife, Semiramis had elevated to him to a god after he died. Semiramis also proclaimed herself to be a goddess – the Queen of Heaven. Her son, Tammuz, who was born after Nimrod’s death, whom she claimed was Nimrod’s son, conceived supernaturally after he died, was said to have risen from the dead after being killed by a wild beast in the forest.

Christians were accused of cannibalism because, during their love feasts they celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus by ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood.’ Although they were, in the main, model citizens, they kept to themselves for fear of persecution, and worshipped in secret. This kind of behaviour made them suspect, and spawned all kinds of false rumours about them.

Peter’s counsel was, ‘Don’t be afraid of them’ – a quote from Isaiah 8:12b. You have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to fear from them. If you are living your life according to the standards of God’s kingdom, their malicious lies will have no substance. You will put them to shame by you respectful behaviour, your good deeds and by your courteous your response to their questions

Answer them when they question you. You have a very good reason for the hope in you that buoys you up and keeps you going in the face of hardships and unfair treatment. They don’t understand how you can do it? Tell them that is through God’s grace powerfully at work in you that you can put up with injustice without retaliating. You don’t only grin and bear it. You accept it joyfully because it gives you the privilege of suffering alongside your Master who suffered for you.

Jesus said that we must not fear the people who threaten to kill us. They can do no more than put our bodies to death. They cannot kill the indestructible soul within us which belongs to God. The one we are to fear, not be in dread of, but to reverence as Lord, is the one who has the power to destroy both body and soul in hell.

Peter encouraged these sufferers to focus on Jesus. This is the antidote to fear and to the temptation to resist or retaliate. If we keep on gazing at Jesus instead of allowing bitterness and resentment to fester inside, our spirits will remain calm as we draw strength from His suffering. We remember that ‘He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.’

If Jesus trusted the Father and died trusting Him, can we not also trust Him when we are mistreated for His sake? If we keeping thinking about Him, what He did and what He said, and how He suffered, trusting the Father for justice, it will take the focus off ourselves and save us from suffering from PMS (Poor Me Syndrome!) PMS is the root cause of depression in many people, not chemical imbalances. Imbalances are often the result, not the cause of depression.

There is nothing more medicinal and uplifting than a grateful heart. Gratitude for what Jesus did for you will lift you out of the pits of despair because what He did gives you access into the fullness of His life, His favour and His blessing.

Alert And Sober Minds

January 20, 2015Bible Studyalert, grace, hope, minds, soberLuella Campbell

ALERT AND SOBER MINDS

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance (1 Peter 1:13-14).

“Straightforward and serious, not exaggerated, emotional or silly” is the definition of “sober”, according to the Free Dictionary. Alert and fully sober! How much we need minds that are not cluttered with unnecessary information and irrelevant junk in order to focus on what really matters.

Because of our access to the media in all its forms, we are a people who suffer from information overload. It’s as though we think we will somehow suffer damage or deprivation if we are not constantly informed about everything that goes on in the world. As soon as we have an unoccupied moment, we tune in. We flick on the TV, switch on the radio, or pick up the newspaper and fill the air with sound or our eyes with words – and we blot out the opportunity to think soberly.

Even in the Christian context, we are constantly bombarded by every “wind of doctrine” that Christian thinking produces. Never has there been a time when so much confusion is being sown in the minds of believers through the media and Christian writing. Everyone who broadcasts or writes makes his or her own contribution to the chaos. It’s imperative that God’s people switch off the radio and TV, put away the Christian books and magazines for a while and get back to God’s word. It’s there that the simplicity of Jesus’ teaching and what He came to accomplish will be rediscovered.

To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32).

Peter’s three basic instructions are as relevant today as they were for the believers of his day who were in urgent need of redirection. They were in danger of being swamped by the threat of persecution. How much more are we in danger of being drowned in the sea of misinformation because everyone is intent on making his or her opinion known!

What were they to do? Be alert! Let your mind be like a sieve, Filter out everything that does not come from the Word or does not match the teaching of Jesus. He is the authority, not the theologians, no matter how many degrees they might have.

Jesus gave His disciples the mandate and the authority to ‘bind’ His yoke on those who believe their word and choose to follow Him. This is a huge responsibility – His yoke is His interpretation of the Torah and His application of the spirit of the Torah in their everyday lives. Our interpretation and application of Jesus’ teaching must match His disposition: ‘I am gentle and humble in heart.’

Be sober! Be straightforward and serious, not full of exaggerated or silly ideas which do not come from God’s thinking but ours. Take the Christmas and Easter seasons, for example. Where did these traditions originate? Certainly not from God’s mind but from the minds of people ‘drunk’ with their own ideas and the deliberate plan to deviate from the truth.

Santa Claus, snow and reindeer, Christmas trees and lavish decorations, presents and feasting? From God? Really? Merry Christmas – wishing you a merry sacrifice of Jesus! Does this come from God? And as for Easter bunnies and Easter eggs! The very name ‘Easter’ has a pagan origin. Are these the product of sober minds or the stupidity of our ‘sheep’ nature who follow tradition because everyone else is doing it!

The ‘silly season’, we call Christmas. Why? Because God’s people are no longer alert and have lost their ability to think soberly. Overindulgence, spending sprees, debt, drunkenness etc. in Jesus’ name? I don’t think so.

What is the antidote? Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. There is a reward for those who live in the light of Jesus’ return which presupposes that they will live as obedient children of God and no longer according to their old, evil desires.

Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing (2 Tim, 4: 8).

Fully Mature

December 19, 2014Bible Studyfully mature, hope, mystery, richesLuella Campbell

FULLY MATURE

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:27-29).

Fully mature! Paul’s goal was to present everyone fully mature in Christ by teaching and admonishing them with the truth in the hopes that they would respond and become what he urged them to be.

Of course he had no guarantee that they would respond to his teaching as fully as he hoped. All he could do was to provide the food; whether they ate it or not was up to them. He had two powerful weapons with which he contended – the Word of God and prayer – and he used them both with all the energy which the Lord provided.

The Scriptures present God’s Word as a weapon.

‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ (Jer. 23: 29).

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb.4: 12).

By prayer, Paul interacted with the Father through the Holy Spirit, discerning His mind and becoming one in spirit with the Father so that the Father’s will would be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Although he could not make anyone respond, he trusted his weapons to break down opposition and resistance and open up the channels of the heart for the light of God’s truth to penetrate and transform.

What was his goal? Fully mature in Christ! Those two words open up a world of meaning for those who aspire to maturity in Christ. It is the Father’s purpose to restore every believer to the image of His Son.

For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom. 8: 29).

God’s goal is that every child of God become an exact replica of His Son. What does He mean by that? Jesus was the perfect and model Son. He was submissive and obedient to His Father, serving Him by doing what the Father wanted. He lived in union with and dependence upon the Father. He refused to do anything the Father did not tell Him to do and He did everything to protect the unity He had with the Father, even to laying down His life to fulfil the Father’s will.

Yet is was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring, and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. (Isa. 53: 10).

Surprisingly enough, it seems, maturity is not about learning to be independent, as we train our children to be, but about growing in dependence upon Him as our source. Paul contended with the energy supplied by Christ through the Spirit. The secret is ‘Christ in you’. If we are ever to come anywhere near to maturity in this life, we must learn to become one with Jesus, living in union with Him in our everyday walk, doing His will in His way.

Working for Jesus is not what we are called to do. It is a mistake to think that our job is to be busy doing His work. We are called to live out His life wherever we are, because that is His work. It is Christ in us, being Himself through us that will accomplish His will. Working for Jesus does not mean doing what we think He wants us to do in our way. Working with Jesus means allowing His Spirit to recreate us in His image so that the world can see who He really is.

Paul called it a ‘mystery’? This doesn’t mean that it cannot be understood. It means that this truth was hidden until the moment when Jesus revealed it to His disciples to whom He gave the responsibility and authority to interpret His ‘yoke’. It was their duty to ‘bind’ it on all His followers and to free them from the ‘yoke of bondage’.

As I have explained many times, Jesus’s ‘yoke’ was His way of interpreting the ‘Torah’, God’s teaching in the books of Moses, and the way He lived it in His own life and taught it to His disciples.

It is only by following His way that we can every hope to become ‘fully mature’.

Ebenezer Family Church

HE IS RISEN!