James 1

Yesterday we considered the phrase “Share with others.” Did you have a chance to do that? I hope so. When you respond to God’s Word affirmatively, He will give you more opportunities to do so.

My father, David Demos, passed away on January 25th. He built his life on doing what the Word of God says This concept ended his mental confusion, having even spent time in a VA psychiatric hospital. It put him on a path of spiritual health and productiveness. Several years into his marriage to my mother, I was born. I have only known him to be a spiritually solid, authentic Christian. If the Word of God said it, dad was going to do it. He truly was an excellent example of the man who built his house upon The Rock.

Heb. 13

The writer says, “Do good and share with others,” for with this God is pleased. It’s so easy to say, “I should cling to what I have. It’s not very much.” However, the God Who wants you to be generous is able to replenish what you share with others.

A very poor widow had only enough flour and oil to make a cake for her and her son The prophet of God came by and was hungry. He asked for some food. She shared. He thereby called for a miracle and her supply NEVER LACKED AGAIN.

A proverb says, “The liberal (quick to share) soul shall be made fat.”

Also, “Withholding tends to poverty.”

Jesus said, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

Heb. 12

Mt. Sinai was God’s Old Covenant mountain. It was burning with fire. It was gloomy, stormy, and if you touched it you were to be stoned to death. Wow! Scary!

God’s New Covenant mountain was Mt. Zion. It is the home of King Jesus. Angels are singing joyfully. God’s judgement there has been appeased by the blood of Christ Jesus. All who have been cleansed by His blood are eternal residents there. Love is there. Holiness is there. It’s a totally different mountain.

Mt. Zion is the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King. [Ps. 48:2]

Heb. 11

The roll-call of the faithful is in this chapter. We read of the heroic deeds and supernatural existence of those who persevered for God’s best. It should inspire us to an even greater commitment to God’s purposes. A rich reward awaits those who have given all for the Kingdom of God.

Hebrews 10

Patty and I memorized verses 24 and 25 many years ago – I was in the Army – and they have been quality benchmarks for our family ever since. Cultivating good church and devotional habits gave our children a solid spiritual platform to build their lives upon. Simply, it’s a good habit to be faithful to church and a bad habit to miss services frequently.

My dad, who just passed away January 25th, INSTITUTED in us excellent church and devotional habits. We were in church whenever there was a service. He read a page of the Bible after every supper meal. He prayed with us before bed each evening. On Saturday mornings, we had a family devotion. I can’t tell you what that did to put a healthy, holy resolve in me. Most importantly, he LIVED IT in front of us with no hypocrisy. I was so fortunate to be born as his son. I miss you, dad.

Hebrews 9

Our life is in our blood. It carries the power of oxygen to our entire body. It has within it elements for the healing of our body. Our health depends upon it. It is critical.

Sin brings death. God, our Creator, says whatever sins must die. The Old Covenant said you could take the life of an animal to take your place if you sinned. The animal’s blood satisfied the Creator’s requirement. Christ’s blood does just that – it takes the place of your blood and satisfies the Creator.

This is why we sing songs about the power of Christ’s blood. We owe our lives to it.

Hebrews 8

God cut a new covenant with us through Christ. The Old was not as good as what we receive in Jesus. Why would anyone want the old way when the new is better?

Better is a key word in Hebrews. A better path to righteousness , a better high priest, a better way of living … New Testament Christianity is BETTER. Why then would anyone want to live in a legal system of what you can do and what you can’t do? Pride? Attaining more spirituality through what WE can do?

An old car .. ’55 Chevy or similar … is not as good a car as a new one. Why do we like the old Chevy? It gives us ownership pride. We like to be seen in it. It only comes out in perfect weather.

The New Covenant is built to take all conditions, not just the perfect scenario.

Just give me Jesus.

Heb. 7

Christ Jesus is an eternal priest after the order of Melchizedek … like Melchizedek who was made a priest because of the resurrection power within him. Christ lives to make intercession for us before the Heavenly Father. It’s ongoing, like our intercession should be. The one-and-done prayers are a step in the right direction – we call out to God when we need Him – but God is grooming a consistency in our prayers. We can model our prayer life after that of Jesus. He prayed often. He is making intercession right now. We can too.

Prevailing prayer does not give up. It keeps asking.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? [Luke 18:1, 7]

Heb. 6

Are you a good farmer? Does your land produce thorns or thistles or good crops? The author of Hebrews uses this metaphor to say that the fruit of a person’s life that lacks God’s saving presence will be burned. The produce of their life is worthless.

This is stiff talk. Yet, it must be pointed out that a life that is so contradictory to God’s holiness is headed in the wrong direction. He says it’s impossible to bring them back to a changed life again. Can they recover themselves? We hope and pray that they do.

Don’t put me in a theological stereotype here, but I would hope we could see these lives turned around through patient, persistent prevailing prayer. (The prayer of faith!)

One of my best friends, the man who introduced me to my wife, turned away from God and was producing some thorns and thistles. He came back to the Lord and got his life straightened out after many years. I praise God for that. Somebody didn’t give up on him.

Heb. 4, 5

Christ became our High Priest who represents us before God’s throne. Since Christ was a man Himself, He knows what it is to be human. He felt pain. He knew hunger, He suffered rejection. He experienced humiliation. There is no human experience we endure that He doesn’t understand.

Life has ups and downs. It can be a roller coaster of emotions … victories and setbacks … and Jesus is right there with us. He is the precious treasure living deep within us. He knows how we feel and helps us through it.

For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [KNOWING exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. [Heb. 4:15 AMP]