December 11, 2011 (Philemon, Hebrews 1-4)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.” Hebrews 3:6 NLT
Observation: The writer of Hebrews is establishing the superiority of Christ over the religion of Judaism. The first four chapters of Hebrews contain great truths and great warnings. A person that studies the book of Hebrews must be careful not to miss the “key” words in the verses. Words like “if” in the verse above provide the actual meaning of the verse. If we removed the word “if” from the verse above how the meaning would change. The statement would still be true, but the meaning of the verse would change. Living a Christian life is more than just a confession, it must be a commitment. We must not only place our faith in Christ but we must guard and protect our faith as well. We must place our faith in Christ and continue in that faith until the very end. For by grace have you been saved, through “faith”. By faith we become, and remain, God’s house.
Application: Guarding, growing, and continuing in faith are not attributes of the “Christian Life” that are spoken of much in our modern society of great wisdom. Finding the Lord has become the most important goal, rather than continual faith and obedience after one has been born again. The fact is Jesus was never lost so we cannot find Him; He must find us. Many profess they have “found the Lord” yet the Lord has not yet found them. How I know this, you may ask, “You will know them by their fruits”. To be a part of God’s house we must remain full of courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. Our obedience to the teachings of Christ and our surrender to Him completely bare witness of our true conversion. Our faith will initially connect us to Christ and our faith will keep us connected as well. Our faith must remain.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this wonderful day. Thank You for Your strong right arm that fights for me and wins! Thank You for Your mercy and grace that provide and protect me every day. Crush my enemies’ plans; catch them in their own trap! I plead for Your mercy and assistance; You are the only one that can rescue me! Give me wisdom to know what’s right and the courage to do what’s right, even when it’s hard. In Jesus name, Amen!