Hebrews 6-8.9.21
SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 6:12
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
OBSERVATION-What does it say?
The writer of Hebrews had observed those who came before him and what they did to inherit what God had promised them, and he encourages his readers to imitate their example.
UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?
We inherit what God has promised, specifically speaking of the promise of salvation, through faith and patience.
What I find interesting is that the posture of faith and patience is contrasted with laziness. Our faith and patience must be active, not passive sitting around waiting to die or for Jesus to come again. He explains what this active faith and patience looks like a few verses prior:
Hebrews 6:10-God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
If we want to inherit what God has promised, we must be faithful to work, to demonstrate our love for God by helping other believers. And not just having stories of helping them in the past, but continuing to help them until the very end.
LIFE APPLICATION
Consider how I can demonstrate my love for God today by helping others.
God, I long to inherit all you have promised me. I don’t want to forfeit it because I become lazy or self focused. By your grace, give me strength to endure and fill my heart with your love. May I never settle where I am but continually pursue you for more! Amen.
-Pastor Levi Thompson
Proverbs 1-8.6.21
SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 1:5
let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
OBSERVATION – What does it say?
The author of this portion of Proverbs, Solomon, is letting his audience know from the outset his purpose in sharing these proverbs. The purpose of the sayings in this book is to help us to gain wisdom. A couple good definitions I've heard for wisdom are applied knowledge and skill in living.
In this verse he invites the wise to listen along with the simple. These wise statements are not only for the fool, but for those who are already wise and discerning. Wisdom cries out, “Come to me and I will teach you!” And to anyone who would respond to the invitation - wise or foolish, discerning or simple, old or young - wisdom is available.
UNDERSTANDING – What does it mean?
First of all, I’m reminded that I’ve got a lot to learn! I wouldn’t be quick to identify myself with the wise. I still make mistakes, I still make dumb decisions, I still have struggles in my life that are a result of my actions. And, it’s not because I’m trying to sabotage my own life. It’s because I’m desperate for wisdom! Solomon, who wrote these proverbs, was extended the most incredible invitation from God in Scripture: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Kings 3:4) Imagine God said that to you. What would you ask for? Solomon asked for wisdom. He recognized his desperation for wisdom. We would be wise to recognize the same. It will do us no good to read through the rest of the book of Proverbs unless we first recognize our need for wisdom.
Second, I’m reminded of the source of wisdom: God.
Job 32:8-98 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.9 It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right. Wisdom does not come with age. There are plenty of old people living like fools. Neither does wisdom come with experience. It’s possible for us to have experiences and rather than learning from them we just continue making the same mistakes. Wisdom comes from God. And since it comes from God alone, there is only one place to turn when we need it. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
If our desire is the same as Solomon’s, then we have a promise from God that he will fulfill that desire. If any of you lacks wisdom ask God and he’ll give it to you!
LIFE APPLICATION
Follow Solomon’s example and respond to God’s invitation in James by asking for wisdom!
As we continue through Proverbs, be teachable and open, reading with an awareness of need and an expectation to gain wisdom.
God, I humble myself before you. Uproot any pride in my life and notion that I have it together. Thank you so much for your invitation and promise to grant wisdom to each of us who ask. So today we ask - Please fill us with wisdom. As we continue to read your word, speak to us. And may it not just be head knowledge, but give us the strength to apply it to our lives. Amen.
-Pastor Levi Thompson
Leviticus 19 - 8.5.21
Scripture - What stood out?
Leviticus 19:1-4
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. (ESV)
Observation - What does it say?
Because the Israelites have chosen God to be their God, teaching ensues.
The Lord continues to lay down the law through Moses by instructing the Israelites on what to do regarding several major areas of their lives. God teaches them a basic and fundamental structure on how to behave towards Him and how we are to be with each other.
Understanding - What does it mean?
“Rules are life(giving),” one of the desert streams pastors brightly exclaimed to me as I was catching him up on my goings on. And while I have always thought of rules as necessary I have never thought of them as life-giving. We live in a society that regards individuality as its highest goal. Rules were always a necessary evil to achieve MY goals.
But over the years my views as well as my values have changed. No longer is self-actualization and self-realization and self-fulfillment my highest value and highest goal. Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is my highest value and my highest goal. Self-actualization, realization, and fulfillment happen to follow as a by-product as counter intuitive as that may seem to somebody who is not a believer.
Leviticus chapter nineteen lays down many rules for the nation of Israel. Fascinating chapter because there are so many of the ten commandments strewn into it. At the end of each section God reminds us who he is, he names himself Lord - our unequivocal boss. And while I believe it is a mistake to blindly apply all of God’s rules for Israel to our society today (ie, there is no longer a physical temple), I have come to believe that to dismiss a single word from God our Lord is also a mistake.
“Rules are life(giving).”
Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?
Write your commands on my heart, oh Lord!
There is so much of the bible I still do not know. But Father I want to be your faithful servant. I accept you as my Savior. And I accept you as my Lord. I desire to obey Your laws:
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22 ESV)
In the name of Jesus do I pray, amen.
-kenneth lee