Preaching the Good News (Heb. 4:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-25-03

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Preaching of the good news

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 4:2

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”  (NKJV)  “For this Good News—that God has prepared a place of rest—has been announced to us jus as it was to them.  Bit it did them no good because they didn’t believe what God told them.”  (NLT)

            The word used for “gospel” in the NKJ and “Good News” used in the NLT are words that were used in the OT as well as in the NT.  Strongs gives some insight on this word when it says, “1) to bring good news, to announce glad tidings, 1a) used in the OT of any kind of good news.”  It seems to me that the NLT makes the message of this verse clearer than that of the NKJV because it tells that the “rest” was the source of the good news.  The NKJV brings out at the end of this verse a message about faith where it says, “not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”  Now if this is a picture of salvation and those that it is speaking of in the OT, those who came out of Egypt were not saved.  However if it is a picture of not entering into a “spiritual” rest or a rest you get when you turn your life completely over to God as spoken of in Romans 12:1-2 then the good news is about the walk with the Lord as opposed to the saving faith of the Lord.  You need faith for both of these rests.  Paul says in Colossians 2:6 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  This shows that you have to have faith in your walk with the Lord in the same way as you received Him as your Savior.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that one of the key words in this passage is faith, faith as indirectly spoken of in the verse in Colossians 2:6, and faith as spoken of in Romans 12: 1-2, where Paul says that in light of all that the Lord has for you, which he explained in the first eleven chapters of Romans, then by faith you ought to give yourself as a living sacrifice to the Lord for worship and for service.  I think of the faith that it took for Abraham to put his son Isaac on the alter knowing that he was the child of promise.  I too, need that kind of faith to enter into a higher level of worship and service to the Lord.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To, by faith, give myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ today for worship to Him and for service to Him.

 

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 12:5

 

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

 

   

A Promise Remains (Heb. 4:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-23-03

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A promise Remains

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 4:1

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.”  (NKJV)  “God’s promise of entering His place of rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to get there.  (NLT)

            The writer says that there still remains the promise of entering into His rest.  He goes on to say that those who have not entered His rest should fear lest you come short of it.  The rest that I believe that the writer is talking of hear is a picture of the rest that the first generation of Israel that came out of Egypt did not enter because of unbelief.  The rest for believers today, I believe is the rest of trusting the Lord to lead and guide the believer.  There is a rest when a person believes in Christ for salvation, and that is salvation rest.  It seems to me that the writer is writing to those who are already believers in Christ and so he must be speaking of the rest one receives when he trusts the Lord each day for his daily walk with Him.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I to need to fear lest I do not enter this rest of walking with the Lord day by day, knowing that He is the only one who gives me the grace to obey Him and to live my life totally for Him.

 

The Word of God did bring conviction to me today and also it was refreshing to me to realize that I can still enter into His rest.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Even though I did have trouble with my IBS this morning as I went over to give Dave his key I still have a desire in my heart to trust the Lord and to give thanks even for these problems that I experience from time to time with IBS.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 12:5

 

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

The Importance of Obeying God (Heb. 3:19-19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-22-03

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  The Importance of Obeying God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 3:18-19

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”  (NKJV)  “And to whom was God speaking when He vowed that they would never enter His place of rest?  He was speaking to those who disobeyed Him.  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  (NLT)

            This verse concludes this exhortation and gives the example to whom the writer is speaking about.  The writer is speaking about the children of Israel who were not permitted to enter the promise land because they believed the majority report that they could not concur the giants who lived in the promise land.  As stated before, these people had seen many miracles done by God to get them out of Egypt and also to keep them going while on their way to the promise land.  The sin that kept them out of the promise land was the sin of unbelief.  They did not have faith that God could conquer the giants in the land for them.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I see from these verses that I need to trust the Lord for everything in my life, even though things do not seem to be going right I need to trust the Lord to work things out for good.

 

The Word of God continues to teach me the benefits of trusting the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I trust the Lord to work thing out for this situation with Dave and his birthday party and also the things that are going on between he and us.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 12:5 (NIV)

 

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 

 

Who Was it that Rebelled? (Heb. 3:16-17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-21-03

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Who was it that rebelled?

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                             Reference:  Hebrews 3:16-17

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?  Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?”  (NKJV)  “And who were these people who rebelled against God, even though they heard His voice?  Weren’t they the ones Moses led out of Egypt?  And who made God angry for forty years?  Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?”  (NLT)

            In the book of Numbers, chapter fourteen, the story of what the writer of Hebrews is speaking of is found.  I have a couple of verses to help explain this sad story:  “Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word;  "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD--  ‘because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,  ‘they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.”  These verses summarize the story of these people and their sin and how God dwelt with them.

 

            2.    Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Lord has taught me much concerning these passages in Hebrews as far as what it means not to enter His rest and how it applied to those who came out of Egypt and also how it applies to my life.  I believe the key is to have faith that God will do what he says He will do because of the wonderful miracle that He did for me when He saved me from my sin.  If He did this for me when I was His enemy, they He will do wonderful things for me now that I am His child, things that He has described in His Word.  He will never leave me nor forsake me.

 

The Word of God brought refreshment to my life today as I read it.  It also made me sad to read how God had to deal with the children of Israel who He brought out of Egypt.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord to care for me in all that I do today.  Trust Him to give me strength as I serve Him at GBC today.  Trust Him with IBS that He will bring glory to God through the effects that this problem has on me.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 12:5 (NIV)

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

 

 

Perseverance (Heb. 3:14-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-20-03

 

My Worship Time:                                                                Focus: Perseverance

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 3:14-15

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’”  (NKJV)  “For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  But never forget the warning:  ‘Today you must listen to His voice.  Don’t harden your hearts against Him as Israel did when they rebelled.’”  (NLT)

              The writer repeats the exhortation of that in verse six.  The theme of perseverance is also repeated.  In verse fifteen the writer again quotes from Psalm 95:7-8.  The first time he used these verses he had his emphasize on the word “today” but now he has his emphasize on the word rebellion and is presenting the theme of obedience by using the opposite of that term, disobedience.  The history of this quotation is about those who died in the wilderness because of unbelief, and that means they were rebellious. 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would guess that you could say that the theme, or at least one of the themes of Hebrews in unbelief, or a lack of faith.  Whenever I sin it is rebellion against God and it also evolves a lack of faith or unbelief.  I could say it another way and that is that I do not trust God and that is sin in and of itself. The Lord seems to be making this point more and more clear to me as I study this wonderful letter to the Hebrews.

 

The Word of God brought conviction to my heart today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I need God’s wonderful grace to get me through this day as I work with Sandy on Dave’s room.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 12:5

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Partakers of Christ (Heb. 3:14-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-18-03

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Partakers of Christ

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                Reference:  Hebrews 3:14-15

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’”  (NKJV)  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  But never forget the warning:  ‘Today you must listen to his voice.  Don’t harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled.’”  (NLT)

            I believe that the writer is again talking about the rest that the people of Israel missed because they did not enter into the promised land, and if you look at that spiritually for believers in the NT you will see that we will miss the rest of walking closely with the Lord if we do not believe like those given as an example here.  The NLT shows this more clearly.  It must be noted again that the people that the writer is writing to were Jewish believers who were tempted to go back to Judaism, which is similar to those who died in the wilderness, and wanted to go back to Egypt, but God would not allow it.  Verse 15 is again a quote from Psalm 95: 7 & 8, (I believe verse 16, is from Psalm 95:8).  In this section the writer emphasizes the word rebellion (verses 15-16) while the first time he quoted this he was emphasizing the word “today.”  He presents the theme of obedience by using the opposite words to begin this theme.  The opposite of obedience is rebellion.

 

2. Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As a believer in Jesus Christ I need to learn about the warnings that the writer of this book is explaining so that I do not follow the bad examples that the infant nation of Israel followed by disobeying the Lord after the wonderful miracles that He did for them to get them out of bondage.  He did an even greater miracle to get me out of the bondage of sin, therefore I must live my life for the cause of Christ because of the great love that He has for me.

 

The Word of God brought needed teaching to me and was a wonderful learning experience.

 

 

 

Memory verse for the week:  Ehp 2:10 & Mark 12:30

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

Encourage One Another (Heb. 3:13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-17-03

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: Encourage One Another

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 3:13

 

1.      Message of the verse:  “but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”  (NKJV)  “You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.”  (NLT)  The writer encourages the readers of this letter to encourage and exhort one another both in their daily lives and also in their corporate worship when they met together with other church members.  The needed to exhort each other because of the persecution and also because of their temptation to go back into Judaism.  One of the reasons he was encouraging them to exhort each other was so that they would not have their hearts become hardened because of the deceitfulness of sin which he point out in the latter part of the verse.

 

2.      Spiritual meaning for my life today.  As the writer points out sin is very deceitful and if I allow myself become continually involved in sin then it will get control of my life and I will not be able to live a life for the Lord Jesus Christ and His cause.

 

The Word of God did bring conviction to my heart today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord for His success for our Bible study and also for the way Dave’s room turns out.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Ehp. 2:10 & Mark 12:30

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.