A Call To Faithfulness

We are surrounded by bad news.

It is everywhere we want to look. As I just read the headlines of the news from many sources each day I can be drawn in, not by the good nature of things but the eye catching negative story.

Our thoughts become actions.

Given enough time the thoughts which we think become the actions in which we do. When I think someone is mad at me, I will start to act as if they are mad at me and look for reasons why I am true. If I think I am sick, I will continue to find evidence to support I am sick. One of the greatest “new” findings in mental health over the last 10 years has been how some of our physical issues are caused by pain and trauma that we have not dealt with in years past. Our bodies will become sick if we do not process and overcome our mental and emotional trauma/pain.

Bitterness leads to a hard heart.

Bitterness can be very subtle. It starts with some truth and then before long we become cynical towards the thing we are bitter.

Pain leads to a hard heart.

The pain of unfulfilled dreams. Pain of life in general. The emotional pain of what someone said or did to you. Pain, pain, pain.

Sin leads to a hard heart.

Hebrews reminds us by the example of others the deceitfulness of sin. The example of the Israelites in the wilderness is a good one for us as the church.

A hard heart leads to unbelief.

This is the ultimate example of the Israelites. To take take things a step further the unbelief led to the wandering in the wilderness. We the people of God may start well but we need to finish well.

Remedy: fixate on Jesus!

The call at the beginning reverberates throughout the whole text. The more we fix our thoughts on Jesus the better. The more we think of Jesus the less bitterness has a chance to get in. How do we do this? We must make a decision to focus on Jesus daily. We must spend time with Jesus, the Word of God, often. We must cultivate discipline in our life.

Remedy: remember our calling.

Because of Jesus we have a great calling, a heavenly one. The bad news around us, the bitterness inside us, all gets us to think of the here and now. Yet, our calling is not of this world. We have a better home, the speaker will go on to say in a couple chapters.

Remedy: encouragement.

We all need some encouragement to make it through each day. We are all carrying around a bunch of baggage and sometimes hanging on by a thread. Be the person who is the thread by encouraging someone. Be specific in your encouragement. Just think about how much better our marriages would be if for every criticism or negative comment we shared there were 3-5 positive ones.

Let us be faithful.

It is not how we necessarily start but it is how we finish that matters. We know this is true in the sport world. You may have a brilliant first half but if you don’t finish what you started it doesn’t really matter. The same is true for us as the people of God. The only way for us to be faithful is to look at the one who is faithful. This is our task as God’s people today.

Hebrews for Everyone Hold on Tight! (Hebrews 3:14–19)

Once you stop believing either in the God who called you, rescued you and guides you, or in the future he has promised you, you may simply go round and round in the wilderness and never get anywhere.