Greeting of the Leaders (Heb. 13:24)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-02-03

 

                                                                                                                       

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Greeting of the leaders

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 13:24

 

            Message of the verse:  “24 Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.”  (NASB)  “Give greetings to all your leaders and to the other believers there.  The Christians from Italy send you their greetings.”  (NLT) 

            The writer of Hebrews is telling all of his readers that they are to greet their Christian leaders and each of the other believers in their local church.  If you greet someone that means that you are probably on good speaking terms with that person and that you are not holding any grudges against them.  This is and important part of the Christian life, that is to be on good speaking terms with all believers.  It is not necessary to be in complete agreement with all believers about every subject, but it is important to have unity with them.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would have to say that it is difficult to be in good standing with every believer that you know at all times, and it is impossible without the Holy Spirit working in the lives of all believers.  I, as a believer must be willing to submit to the Spirit of God and to others in order to have a good relationship with them.

 

The Word of God proved to be challenging to my heart, and convicting too as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  First I would like to thank the Lord for the good reports that are coming in about the investments that have been up in the air for the last four months.  It seems that the Lord is working these things out so that we will get the return of our funds, along with many others who have been invested with Andrew Lech.  I have been trying to let the Lord handle this storm that He has seen fit to send my way, and I want to continue to do this even now.

 

Submit to Your Spiritual Leaders (Heb. 13:17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-01-03

 

                                                                                                           

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Submit to Your Spiritual Leaders

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 13:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “17 Yield to those taking the lead of you, and submit, for they watch for your souls, giving an account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning; for this would be no profit to you.”  (Greens LLIT)  “Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say.  Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God.  Give them reason to do things joyfully and not with sorrow.  That would certainly not be for your benefit.”  (NLT)

            The reason for jumping to verse seventeen is because I am following the outline in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Hebrews; “Be Confident.”  This verse and also verse twenty-four tie in with his sub-title, “Submitting to spiritual leadership.”   A believer in Jesus Christ is to submit to the leadership that is over him.  Now I must say that the leadership must not be a dictator, or someone who is not following the principles for a leader that is outlined in the Scriptures, especially the ones in the Paul’s Pastoral letters.  The pastor is appointed by the Lord to do His work of leading and guiding the flock that the Lord gives him to lead.  The believer’s responsibility is to follow that leadership, and yield to the leaders in matters of life.  The leader is responsible to watching over your soul, and he must give an account to the Lord Himself one day.  The Pastor wants to be able to given an account with joy for all those who are in his flock.  He does not want to have to give a bad report, for if he has to do that it will not be for the benefit of the one who is in question.

            In my closing remarks on this verse I would like to say that the Pastor who is called by the Lord has a very big responsibility to the Lord for all who are under his care, and a Pastor’s job is of the highest calling and not to be taken lightly at all.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Again, as in yesterday’s verse, I am glade to be studying about this subject in light of the up coming vote for our senior Pastor.  I know that I am responsible to the Lord for how I vote on this important issue, and I do not take lightly the importance of it.  After having conversation with my friend Bruce on this issue I have come to the conclusion that I am to vote by asking the Lord what will be the very best for Grace Baptist Church?  I have given a great deal of thought on this subject and have prayed about it in some length also, and I would ask the Lord to continue to give me peace about my decision and that His perfect will be done for His Church that I attend. 

           

 

The Word of God was refreshing to my heart, and it also gave conviction, and challenged my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to take the Lord at His Word, who is the Head of the Church, that He will provide, in His perfect will, for the Pastor that He wants for our church.

Jesus Christ is always the Same (Heb. 13:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-30-03

 

                                                                                                                       

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Jesus Christ is always the same

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 13:8- 9

 

            Message of the verse:  “8 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever.  9 Do not be carried away by various and strange doctrine; for it is good that the heart be confirmed by grace, not by foods, in which those walking in them were not profited.”  (Green’s LIT)  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  So do not be attracted by strange new ideas.  Your spiritual strength comes from God’s special favor, not from ceremonial rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.”  (NLT)

            As stated in yesterday’s “Spiritual Diary,” Dr. Wiersbe stated that it is possible that those spiritual leaders spoken about in verse seven had been martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ, and this could explain the reason the writer said what he said in verse eight.  As believers we are to heed to what our spiritual leaders teach us as long as it is from the Scriptures, and we are to follow their examples too, but the source of strength of a believer comes from the Lord Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Also because of this truth believers are not to be carried away by some strange new idea, or they are not to think that by eating certain kinds of food that they will become more spiritual.  In the OT Law there were dietary laws for Israel, but they were only a shadow of Jesus Christ who has now come and made them into a reality.  The Scriptures speak of foods in the NT on several occasions, and in the book of Acts Peter found out first hand from the Holy Spirit that food was not an issue to being holy any more. 

 

            Spiritual meaning form my life today:  This passage is meaningful to me because of Pastor Jacobs leaving and our church searching for a new senior Pastor.  It does put things a bit more into perspective as to Who I am to put my total trust in. 

 

The Word of God was very in tuned to what is going on in the life of our Church; it was up to date and very helpful to me as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I do want to trust the Lord that His perfect will is going to be worked out in the choosing of our next Pastor at Grace Baptist Church, Westlake.

Remember your Christian Leaders (Heb. 13:7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-30-03

 

                                                                                                                       

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Remember your Christian leaders

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 13:7

 

            Message of the verse:  “7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”  (NASB)  “Remember your leaders who first taught you the word of God.  Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and trust the Lord as they do.”  (NLT)

            This verse is speaking of those who had rule over these early Hebrew believer, and it could mean that some of them had already been killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.  These leaders were possibly the ones who led these people to faith in Christ, as he says those who spoke the Word of God to them.  In application for today this would refer to the Pastors of a NT Church who rightly divides the Word of God for his flock.  The writer says that these believers are to consider the results of their conduct, and also to imitate their faith.  If they were already martyrs for the cause of Christ these people should think about that in relationship with their conduct and honor them, as well as imitate their faith.  If they were not martyrs then they should imitate their faith as well as think of the good that has come from their lives.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This is a good verse to describe the way that a spiritual leader is to be treated today.  Pastors go through many difficult times if they are doing the job that the Bible describes for them to do.  I certainly have had some wonderful Christian leaders that God has provided for me to follow, even from the very earliest days of my walk with the Lord when I as not attending a Church, the Lord provided men of wonderful example for me to learn and grow from.  I can think back at how Fred Yetka took time to teach me many truths of the Scriptures and how Bob Fredrick was another wonderful example for me to follow.  Yes the Lord has blessed my life with some wonderful Pastors to follow, from Pastor Burns to Pastor Jacobs; God has used these and others to teach me how I should walk in my Christian faith.

 

The Word of God was both refreshing and challenging to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to continue to trust the Lord to have His perfect will in choosing our next Senior Pastor.  I would pray that the Lord would use me to vote for the man who is in the perfect will of God to lead our Church family.

 

 

Stay Away from the Love of Money (Heb. 13:5-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-28-03

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Stay away from the love of money

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                 Reference:  Hebrews 13:5-6

 

            Message of the verse:  “5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’  6 So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”(NKJV)  “Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have.  For God has said, ‘I will never fail you.  I will never forsake you.’  That is why we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?’”  (NLT)

            The word for covetousness means love of money; “1) not loving money, not avaricious.” Avaricious means greedy, and the opposite of it is generous, so this verse is saying that a believer should not fall in love with his money or his things, but should be generous with what the Lord has given to him.  It also says that we should be content with what the Lord has blessed us with, and the reason for that is because the Lord has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  These ten cross references are found for this section of the verse; “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  “#Ge 28:15 De 31:6,8 Jos 1:5 1Sa 12:22 1Ch 28:20 Ps 37:25,28 #Isa 41:10,17.”  I want to focus in on the word translated for “never” for it has a deeper meaning in the Greek; “1) never, certainly not, not at all, by no means.”  This shows how strong the word is.

The writer goes on to add to these thoughts in verse six, and does it by quoting Psalm 118:6.  This is a Messianic Psalm and thus it applies to the life of those who have trusted the Messiah as Savior and Lord.  It is interesting that Warren Wiersbe has name his book on the study of Hebrews, “Be Confident” for this is what this verse gives to believers, for this is a wonderful truth to grab hold of and to stand on, and to live by, because “the Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is a lot of things in these two verses that apply to my life at this time of my life, considering the circumstance that I find myself in with my investments with Andrew Lech.  There are things in this verse that directly apply to my life such as not trying to help the Lord out by taking a loan out on our house and getting more interest so that I can give more money to Christian charities.  God has made it clear to me that this was indeed wrong and that He does not need my help, for as verse six says He is our helper, and not the other way around.  This verse speaks about the love of money, and I believe to some extent that I am guilty of that too.  I have learned from this circumstance that the Lord has lead me into that we can live on a lot less money, and if the Lord would ever bless us with more then we could give more of it back to Him.  We have a desire to live on a fixed budget and if we are blessed with more then the excess will be use where the Lord directs us to use it.

 

The Word of God has challenged me, it has convicted me, and it was refreshing to me too.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Not to have a love of money, and believe that the Lord will never forsake me, nor leave me.  To believe that He is my helper, and that man can do nothing to me that is not filtered through the loving hands of the Lord.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-6

Love in the Home

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-26-03

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Love in the Home

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 13:4

 

            Message of the verse:  “4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”  (NASB)  “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.  God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”  (NLT)

            The writer now moves to love at home, and what better way can this be shown that in a proper marriage between one man and one woman.  Marriage in today’s society is under attack from the evil one as same sex marriages are being talked about as if it were a natural thing to do, and even the supreme court, (what a contrast in terms) has gone against God’s Law in recent weeks judging it okay for homosexual acts.  God says that He is the One who is the True Supreme Ruler and He will judge men and women for these acts against God and His Law.  There is no room for adultery in a marriage and continued acts of this type will result in judgment form the Lord. 

            A good marriage results in a good family, and that is like a bit of heaven on earth.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Reading this verse brings back some painful memories to me, and I am thankful for the grace and forgiveness of God, and for His love in giving me a wonderful faithful wife.

 

The Word of God was convicting and challenging to my heart as I read it over this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  By the grace of God to be a good husband to my wife.

 

True Concerns for Others (Heb. 13:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 07-25-03

 

                                                                                                                       

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  True concerns for others

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 13:3

 

            Message of the verse:  “3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”  (NASB)  “Don’t forget about those in prison.  Suffer with them as though you were there yourself.  Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.”  (NLT)

            This verse instructs us to minister to those who are hurting, especially those who are in prison.  We as believers in this country are not as yet being put into prison for our beliefs in Jesus Christ, but there may come a day in the near future that we will.  In the mean time we are to be in prayer for those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering and dying for the cause of Christ every day.  I have been told that there are on the average 400 people day who give up their lives for the cause of Christ, and many more who are suffering great persecution and pain too.  Because we are in the body and know how the body can cause us pain we should be praying and aiding when possible those who are suffering for the cause of Christ and also for our brothers and sisters who are in pain.  I believe that this is called compassion, and to have real compassion it is good to have gone through the same problems ourselves so that we know what the others are truly going through.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I think of ways to put shoe leather on this verse I think about praying for those who will loose their life each day for the cause of Christ and those who are suffering for the cause of Christ.  I can also have compassion for our neighbors next door and the circumstance that they find themselves in.  I have been through a troubled marriage that has ended in divorce and know what pain one can have when gone through trouble in a marriage so I can help and pray over this for them.  I have also had back pain so I can understand what Jimmy is gone through know.  I feel the pain that Wade is going through, but have never really faced the exact circumstance that he is facing now, but I can certainly pray for him and Cara and also Tracy that God will be pleased to show His mighty hand in all of their pain.

 

The Word of God has given a challenge to my heart to be more compassionate to family and friends as they go through different storms in life.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to pray for all of those involved in storms, and to put some shoe leather on the verse that I have studied and help when I can those who are suffering or going through storms.