Year 6, Day 133: Ezekiel 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

So often when I talk about the idea of King, I am talking about an all-powerful God who can accomplish anything.  Usually when I think of God as king, my mind goes to positive actions as He bestows His grace and mercy upon us.  It is easy to think of a king who is benevolent and wraps His subjects in love, grace, and mercy.

That being said, today is not one of those days.  Today we get to see the angry king.  Today we get to see the omnipotence of the king.  Today we get to see the judgment.  God’s own people have rebelled.  They no longer see their rebellion as bad.  They are rebelling and not looking back.  Therefore, God will judge them.

Furthermore, we see God’s judgment against the Babylonians as well.  God will bring the Babylonians to serve judgment against the Hebrew people.  But the Babylonians will also be judged.  God’s wrath will burn against them.  This shows us the kingship of God.  God is king not only over His own people, but all of the people of the world.

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Year 6, Day 132: Ezekiel 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

“Go yell at the hills, Ezekiel.”

Isn’t that a really strange command?  After all, what did the hills do to God?  How could the hills deserve to hear about God’s wrath?

It isn’t the hills that are bad.  It is what the human beings are doing in the hills.  The Hebrew people have adopted the Canaanite gods.  They’ve adopted the gods of the nations around them, too.  They’ve even adopted the foreign gods of nations that come to trade with them or who make political alliances with them.  Judah is absolutely full of people who have created worship spaces to other gods in the mountains, the hills, beside the rivers, etc.

God’s point in this chapter is to focus on the places where idolatry has been happening.  What’s the main problem here?  The Hebrew people have something in Up that isn’t God.  It is truly that simple.  They were worshipping just about anything other than the Father.  Because of that, they would find themselves in judgment.

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Year 6, Day 131: Ezekiel 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

There are several foci that can be applied to just about any chapter in the books of the Bible that we call the prophets.  We can almost always talk about the nature of the prophet.  We can often talk about obedience.  We can talk about calling on most days.  But one of the topics that we can always bring to light is God’s nature as king.  This is especially true about the earlier prophets when God is describing the rationale for His judgment against the people.

Where do we see evidence of God as King?  First of all, notice that God tells Ezekiel to shave with a razor.  Here we see a symbol of God’s wrath against the people.  They will be met with the sword of judgment: the Babylonians beckoned by God’s own call.

After Ezekiel shaves, he is to weigh out the hair.  The scales are a clear sign of judgment.  God can and will weigh out the attitude of His people.  God can and will look at the relationship – or lack thereof – between the king and His own people.

He truly is an omnipotent king.  He is the only one capable of righteous judgment.  He is the only one true power in the world.  He is the one who empowers Ezekiel into his ministry.

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Year 6, Day 130: Ezekiel 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

There is a simple reality about God.  We don’t have to be forgiven.  He would be completely righteous if He judged us because in our free will we chose sin.  He would be completely righteous if He were to let us perish when we so readily choose to abandon His ways.

That’s the meaning of the iron pan in God’s command for Ezekiel.  Clearly this first vision in this chapter is given with respect to the siege of Jerusalem.  The iron pan shows that there is an impenetrable barrier between the brick (Jerusalem) and Ezekiel (God’s messenger).  In the same way, the real Jerusalem is under siege because their sinfulness is an impenetrable barrier between them and salvation.

When we realize this, we come to an understanding of God’s grace.  Our sin in our life is no less of an impenetrable barrier than the people of Jerusalem.  Just because we understand that it is wrong does not make it okay.  What makes it okay is that God has atoned for us in our sinfulness.  He has paid the price; He asks us to live repentantly as a response to what He has already done.  That’s grace and forgiveness.

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Year 6, Day 129: Ezekiel 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Prophet

• Prophet: A prophet is one of the fivefold ministry categories that is used throughout the Bible and especially lifted up in Ephesians 4:11. The prophet is primarily concerned with whether or not the people are hearing the voice of God.  The prophet is also concerned about whether or not the people are responding to God’s voice.

God instructs Ezekiel about being a prophet.  Ezekiel is told that that his job will be hard.  He is told that the people are stubborn.  In fact, he is told that they won’t listen to Him.  The reality for many of us is that we are called to proclaim God to the world.  But we can’t force people to listen.  Many of the people to whom we talk just won’t listen.  Remember what we learned in the last few days?  Success is determined by our obedience to God, not by whether we convert the world.

Then, God tells Ezekiel that he is to go and lock himself in a room.  At first, this sounds rather un-prophet-like.  After all, what good is a prophet that never goes into the world to speak?  What we have to remember is that while God bound Ezekiel to the house, God did not bind him in isolation.  God simply didn’t let Ezekiel go out and about.  In other words, as a prophet Ezekiel had to learn that the real people that he will be able to reach are the ones who come looking for God’s truth.  Ezekiel can take God’s truth anywhere, but it will only find harvest when it finds fertile soil because a person wants to find it.

This brings us back to the scroll.  Ezekiel sees that the scroll is full of words of lament and mourning.  But the scroll is sweet in his mouth.  The work of a prophet is hard and difficult.  It’s not easy experiencing rejection.  It’s not easy pouring yourself into the lives of others only to get no response. But when our frame of reference is right, we are reminded that all obedience to God is sweet work.

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Year 6, Day 128: Ezekiel 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling, Obedience

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.
• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from our Father.

Ezekiel 2 is such an incredibly powerful chapter when we consider spiritual leadership.  First, look where it begins.  God tells Ezekiel to get up.  As I say in my theological commentary from three years ago, God is the one who decides who can stand in His presence.  Our default position is humbleness as we bow before Him.  He tells us to get up.  Furthermore, notice that it is God who enables Ezekiel to stand up.  God’s spirit enters into Ezekiel and stands him up.

After God sets Ezekiel on his feet, God calls him to a task.  This is important, too.  How many of us decide for ourselves what God is calling us to do?  We sit down and decide what we are good at and we determine that God must want us to do it, too.  It shouldn’t be that way.  God establishes us in His presence; God calls us to a task.  Our job is to patiently listen to God’s calling.  Far too often God’s people – and God’s leaders especially – jump too quickly to the task rather than to consider if God is calling us or we are calling ourselves because we want the recognition, praise, or glory.

Third, notice that God calls Ezekiel to a hard task.  God tells Ezekiel that the people are rebellious and won’t be quick to listen.  In fact, God hints that his task may not even be what Ezekiel would call successful.  This is why calling and obedience are so important to bring together.  God’s definition of success is different than our definition of success.  We are successful when we are obedient in our calling.  Even if the task does not bear the fruit we desire, we are successful when we are obedient to our calling.

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Year 6, Day 127: Ezekiel 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

As I read through the commentary I wrote three years ago, there was a comment that I thought is important to once again bring into the forefront of the study.  Ezekiel saw visions of God as this book opens.  Ezekiel doesn’t just see a vision from God; Ezekiel sees a vision of God.  That’s really significant.

The reason that I find it significant is that it truly cements the idea that this book begins in Up.  Ezekiel starts off his book with the focus on God. 

• When God comes, He comes like a storm.  But when He comes, He doesn’t cast darkness upon the world as a typical storm does.  God comes like a storm and brings light.
• Ezekiel sees a vision of a God who can go anywhere He wants.  Wherever God wants to go, the wheels turn and take him.  God brings light to any location He desires.
• Ezekiel looks upon the theophany – a vision of God Himself.  He sees a metal man.  In other words, God is strong.  He is powerful.  God is precious.  He is reliable.  He doesn’t break.
• Ezekiel also sees a man whose lower half is composed of fire.  In other words, God is capable of bringing judgment.  But God is also capable of purifying, too.  God can consume, but He can also burn away the impurities in order to allow the more permanent precious things remain.

How does Ezekiel respond to this?  Ezekiel worships.  He falls down and worships.  Ezekiel finds his Up and does what he is supposed to do.

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Year 6, Day 126: James 4-5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

James concludes with a great discussion on character.  Of course, one might make a great argument that this whole book has been a book about character.  Taming the tongue is about character.  Living in godly wisdom is about character.  Showing partiality is a matter of character.  Putting faith into practice is a matter of character.  Responding to testing and persecution is a matter of character.

James begins by warning us to not live in worldliness.  When we pursue our worldly passion, we put ourselves at odds with one another.  When we pursue our worldly passion, we think more about ourselves than others.  When we pursue our worldly passions, we destroy community.  The question James is really asking us is whether or not we have the character to be about God’s community or to be about ourselves.

Then James warns us against the corruption of wealth.  The real question that we need to ask ourselves is if we have the character to store up treasure in heaven rather than here on earth.  Do we have the character to trust both our eternal future and our worldly future to the hands of God?

Then James talks about suffering.  Do we have the character to endure suffering?  Do we have the character to rejoice in suffering?  Do we have the character to be patient and wait for God in the midst of our suffering?

James truly knows how to elevate challenge when it comes to looking at character.  I think that is why James is such a controversial book.  Those people who love challenge and grow out of being challenged tend to love this book because they enjoy looking at their character and exposing their weaknesses.  But rest assured, when we read James we have plenty of opportunity to look at our character.

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Year 6, Day 125: James 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Teacher

• Teacher: One who holds forth the truth and is excited by it. The teacher looks for ways to explain, enlighten, and apply truth.  A teacher's authority doesn't come from how smart they are but from the Word of God and the power of a transformed life.

I love how James connects the ideas of the teacher and the tongue.  Of course, he begins with the thought that not many should become teachers.  Yes, he is right.  Only those with wisdom should teach.  Only those who bear fruit comparable to their teaching should teach.  Nobody will follow a hypocrite.  So only those who can live without being blatantly hypocritical should even think about teaching.

But then James talks about the tongue.  The tongue needs tamed, but we are not capable of doing so.  This is another great thought to consider when we talk about teachers.  How do teachers teach?  They teach with their tongues.  They teach with their words and their thoughts.  If a teacher does not have their tongue under control, how will they be able to teach?  If a teacher cannot be relied upon to say what is true all the time, how can they be trusted any of the time?

Teachers need to be in control of their tongue.  If teachers want to be a part of helping others bear good fruit, then they need to make sure that their tongue only speaks that which can produce good fruit.  Outside of faith, which is given by God anyways, the tongue is the most important tool in the arsenal of the teacher.  It needs to be tamed and fine-tuned.

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Year 6, Day 124: James 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Bear Fruit

• Bear Fruit: We bear fruit after we grow.  Bearing fruit is ultimately the goal of abiding and the goal of being called into the Kingdom of God.  However, while bearing fruit is our calling, it is not the end.  We bear fruit so that we can then prune, abide, grow, and bear more fruit in another season.  Bearing fruit is not the end, but rather only a portion of the whole rhythm of life into which God has called us.

James gives us a whole chapter in which we can look at the fruit of our life.  The reality is that even Jesus tells us that we will know each other by the fruit of their faithfulness.  Talking about fruit is not a matter of works-based salvation.  Talking about fruit is a matter of responding to God’s free gift of grace and faith to us.

We begin with partiality.  If a rich looking person walks into a room and I show them better treatment than a poor person, what does my fruit say about my faith?  If a famous person comes in and I treat them better than an unknown person, what does that fruit say about my faith?  If I show partiality based on any sort of higher condition, what does that say about my faith?

What about the next section of scripture?  If I walk by someone, smile, and greet them without caring about the needs in their life, what does that say about my faith?  If I wish someone to have a good day but deep in my heart I can’t wait to pass by them and get on with my life, what does that say about my faith?  If I go to church and shake people’s hands and offer them God’s peace but I never pause to get to know them, know their faith, and hear their needs, what does that say about my faith?

In the last paragraph, James gives us one of my favorites quotes.  You believe in God?  Good!  So do the demons.  In other words, one has to do more than just believe in the existence of God.  Demons know God exists.  What does that get them?  James is arguing that we need to not just believe in the existence of God but also obey His will.  We need to submit to Him and bear that fruit in our life.  If our faith is genuine, our fruit will be present.

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Year 6, Day 123: James 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

James ends this first chapter on a really neat point.  We are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers only.  Our faith is something that is to be put into action.  Our faith is not just something to be bottled up and treasured in our heart.  Our faith is to guide our actions and be on display.

This should make sense.  God is the ultimate source of righteousness and faith.  But did God sit up in heaven and be content in His righteousness?  No!  God sent His Spirit through prophets to teach us and hold us accountable to His ways.  God sent His Son to teach us and model godly living.  God sent His Son to us to die for our sake so that we can partake in His righteousness.  We have a God that models doing.  We have a God that shows us first what it looks like to put faith into practice before asking us to go out and do likewise.

This is our calling.  God calls us to His side.  He calls us to listen to His Spirit.  But then He calls us out into the world to go and do and show the world what faith looks like.

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Year 6, Day 122: Lamentations 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Lamentations 5 ends as we would expect.  There is no happy ending.  After all, this is the book of Lamentations!  Lamentations ends with a final recap of the judgment of God.

However, it does end as though a prophet wrote it.  Jeremiah doesn’t finish this book in disaster.  He finishes this book in hope.  He calls to the Lord to restore them.  He calls to the Lord to forgive them.  He knows that through relationship with the Lord that anything can be redeemed.

This brings me to one of the greatest points of this book.  Do you see where Jeremiah ends his plea?  His ultimate plea isn’t for restoration to power.  He isn’t looking for restoration into glory.  He is looking for restoration into relationship with God.  Jeremiah knows the truth.  The true prize is relationship with the Father, our King and creator of the universe.

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Year 6, Day 121: Lamentations 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Prophet

• Prophet: A prophet is one of the fivefold ministry categories that is used throughout the Bible and especially lifted up in Ephesians 4:11. The prophet is primarily concerned with whether or not the people are hearing the voice of God.  The prophet is also concerned about whether or not the people are responding to God’s voice.

What good is a prophet?  What is the role of a prophet?  Are prophets important in modern world?  The answer to those questions are all a part of this chapter.

If we look at how this chapter opens, we hear several dark images.  We hear a remembrance that at one time the people of Jerusalem were considered valuable and treasured.  But they fell and became spoils of war.  The women of Jerusalem were once fair and kind and honorable.  But through the horrible life of a city under siege, they end up surviving by cannibalizing their own children.  The city is brought low.  The people are brought low.

Why does this happen?  Jeremiah is clear as to why this happens. The people fall because the prophets fell.  The people fall because people quit standing up for truth.  The people fall because the prophets quit holding the people accountable.  The people fall because the prophets let go of God’s teachings and start embracing the will of the people.  How important are the prophets?  The prophets – through their dogged pursuit of truth and holding people accountable to it – are key to holding society together and keeping it from falling into chaos.

As we look at prophets, I think that it is neat to look at Jeremiah’s reflection in Lamentations 4:17.  “We watched a nation that we could not save.”  Jeremiah’s voice in the end was too small.  His followers – the ones loyal to following God – were too small.  They could lift up truth within themselves, but they could not have a lasting impact upon the culture around them because the culture wasn’t willing to listen.

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Year 6, Day 120: Lamentations 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Abide

• Abide: This is a moment, day, or even a season when we focus on God.  It is a time when we are rejuvenated by God.  It is the time for us to gather up what we will need for the coming growth after a season of pruning.  However, abiding is not the end.  We abide so that we can grow, bear fruit, prune, and abide again.

For me, I think that this is one of the most powerful chapters in the book of Lamentations, and perhaps any book written by a prophet.  This chapter seems to start out so negatively.  Jeremiah’s spirit seems so broken.  But let’s remember what has happened to him.  He was called by God to proclaim a difficult message to a people who had little interest in listening to him.  He was imprisoned.  He was mocked.  He was starved.  People wanted him dead.  He was kidnapped.  He saw people reject the message of God.  No wonder he sounds broken and beaten down!

However, what I love about this chapter is that after Jeremiah bears his soul, Jeremiah asserts that his soul is not staying in the misery.  His soul belongs in the hands of the Lord.  Even after everything that he endured, Jeremiah knows that God’s mercy never ends.  He knows that God’s love is never lost.  God’s presence is always capable of being with us and ministering to us.

That’s what abiding is really all about.  Abiding is finding those moments in life where we need to rest in God’s hands and let Him fill us back up.  Abiding is about looking to God and imitating His goodness and kindness and mercy in spite of our circumstances.  Jeremiah is an incredible model of godliness in this passage.

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Year 6, Day 119: Lamentations 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Guidance, Protection

• Guidance: God grants us His guidance.  Sometimes this guidance is God leading us away from temptation.  Sometimes this guidance is helping us to follow in a direction for which He has chosen.  Our default position should be to wait for God’s guidance and then follow when it comes.
• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

This is a very bleak chapter.  Then again, the book is called Lamentations, after all.  We should expect a bleak chapter.

As I read through this chapter, I couldn’t help focusing on what it must have felt like to see your very own God taking steps to bring about your subdual.  Imagine watching holy people slaughtered in the very temple of God.  Imagine watching the people left in Jerusalem survive only by cannibalism.  Imagine watching foreign people invade your land and shake their head in awe at the destruction of what once was considered one of the most beautiful cities.  Imagine realizing that this is all happening because God has decided to righteously judge your nation.

Can you imagine what it would be like to live without God’s protection?  Can you imagine what it would be like to live without God’s guidance?

Of course, God did not abandon His people eternally.  Even when we are reaping the consequences of our sin, God does not abandon us eternally.  His guidance is always there for us when we are willing to receive it.  His eternal protection is always available to us.  Thanks be to God.

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Year 6, Day 118: Lamentations 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Obedience

• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from our Father.

If you haven’t studied the symbolism in the very way that the book of Lamentations is written, please read my blog post from three years ago.  I link to it above.  There is some really neat symbolism as well as evidence of some very skilled craftsmanship on the part of Jeremiah.

Looking beyond the symbolism, let’s analyze the point of the first chapter.  Lamentations 1 is about the people and their response to the captivity.  Allow me to lift out some of the quotes that we find in this chapter.

• Lamentations 1:18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled.”
• Lamentations 1:20 “My heart is wrung within me for I have been very rebellious.”
• Lamentations 1:22 “You have dealt with me because of all my transgressions.”

I don’t know a single person who likes to be found doing something wrong.  For those of us who try to be moral, it is embarrassing.  For those who don’t care about morality, it is still frustrating to be caught.  None of us enjoy having to face ourselves and our actions when we are in the wrong.

However, the reality is that we are all sinners.  We all transgress.  We all make mistakes.  We all are guilty.  This is our reality.  What we need to ask ourselves is whether or not we are obedient in our response to the moment when our sinfulness is revealed.  Are we obedient in the moment of judgment or not?

The obedient one is humble.  The obedient one accepts what they’ve done and the consequences that go with it.  The obedient one knows that correction and consequences help us fix our mistakes and allow us to not do them anymore.  When God comes to us and punishes us because of our sinfulness, we have two choices.  We can reject God and rebel even more.  Or we can humble ourselves in obedience and bring ourselves into His will.

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Year 6, Day 117: Hebrews 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up, In, Out

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.
• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.
• Out: This is the focus of our mission.  These are the people to whom God has called us to go.  These are the people into whom we are focused on attempting to speak God’s truth.

Hebrews 13 is packed full of goodness.  In truth, I could probably study Hebrews 13 for a full month and not honestly get through every point that I could make.  That being said, I decided that I couldn’t narrow it down to less than three points.

First, we start with Out because this is where the author of Hebrews starts.  Notice what he says.  Continue your hospitality.  Be with people who are imprisoned.  In other words, continue your mission.  Keep reaching people.  Keep showing love to your neighbors.  Keep demonstrating the nature of God to the people with whom you come into contact.

The author of Hebrews then moves into the In.  Remember your leaders.  Remember those who speak faith into your life.  Remember those who train you in the faith.  Imitate them.  Don’t be led astray from their foundational teaching.

The author then moves us into the place where we should both begin and end: In.  Remember Christ.  Through Jesus we have an invitation to a feast to which we have no right to go.  (Of course, recognize that after talking about Christ the author of Hebrews brings us once more through a focus of Out and In.)  But then we have the conclusion of God.  God brings us peace.  God is our Shepherd.  God equips us.  He deserves our praise.  He deserves our worship.  He should be our focus.

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Year 6, Day 116: Hebrews 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

There are two passages that I find hyper-challenging today, and I am a person who really appreciates a good challenge.  If challenge is your thing, keep reading.

Hebrews 12:4 says this, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”  This is a not so subtle reminder.  God knows that He asked His own Son to die for the sake of others.  God has not yet asked the same thing of me.  This keeps me humble.  Am I willing to give to God what He asked His Son to give for me?  I hope so!

At the end of this chapter we have another challenging thought.  We should approach God with a reverence that is highly deserved.  He gives us the ability to accept His grace and love and mercy and we don’t deserve it.  We deserve to be forced to wander the desert forever without His love and mercy.  We deserve to be shaken to our very foundation.  But instead He extends His grace and love and mercy and desires to be with us.

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Year 6, Day 115: Hebrews 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

It’s rather easy to hear that faith is the central concept of this chapter.  All of the people mentioned in this chapter lived by faith.  They lived knowing the promise of a future.  They lived as sojourners looking for a new home.  The lived by faith.

But today I am really struck by the verse that poignantly reminds us that they also died by faith.  Did Abraham see the generations that would number like the stars in the sky?  Did Joseph die knowing his return to the Promised Land?  Did Moses die seeing the people in power in the Promised Land?  Did David die seeing his descendant on the throne eternally?  Of course not.  All of those people died knowing that God would fulfill the promise – even if He didn’t fulfill it while they were alive.  Now that’s faith!

I also think there is a great place for identity.  Do we worship God for what He will do for us now?  How many times to we try and bargain with God, promising present faithfulness for immediate gain?  Yet these people of faith lived a life of present faithfulness in exchange for future gain.  Of course we know that is the higher choice; but it is often the harder choice.  Our identity should be a people who are content to live in faith now in exchange for a future revelation of God’s eternal promise.

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Year 6, Day 114: Hebrews 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

Hebrews 10 ends with a great string of verses regarding our calling.  Here we find challenge.  We should not throw away our confidence.  We must endure to do the will of God.  We should surely not shrink back.  We must have faith.

When I hear these verses, I cannot help but to think that the author of Hebrews is returning to the point that he has made several chapters back.  At one point we were children in the faith.  At one point we were young and just learning.  But now we are mature.  We should not go back to the spiritual milk we once required when we are capable of spiritual meat!

When we are called by God, we do need the support of the system.  Spiritual people pour themselves into us for a time.  But that circumstance should not continue!  We should not continue to be a drain on the system.  We should be creators and innovators who bring newness to the church!  We should be ministers who find new places to bring the grace of God.  We should not be people who constantly need to be fed; we should be people fed by God and capable of feeding others!  We must persevere.  We must continue on.  We must not shrink back.

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