Therefore do not throw away your confidence (1)

   Hebrews 10:32-36 says, “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

   The Christians addressed by the Hebrew writer had suffered upon their conversion to Christ. Some of them were held up before the public eye and ridiculed. Some were made a spectacle of as they were cast into prison. Some had their property plundered. The ones who may not have experienced these things first hand were so concerned and involved with the saints who were that they could truly be considered partners with them in their suffering. 

   Few things would be as stressful, particularly from the perspective of a father, as having his home and property confiscated. A father must provide for his family. He works hard to provide a place where his wife and children can feel safe, a place to which they can return each day confident that food, clothing, and shelter will be available to them. He may not be able to present them with an abundance of worldly goods, but love for his family and His God powerfully motivates him try and make their lives as comfortable as possible. How his faith must be shaken when those things are plundered from him!

   Or is it? The Hebrew writer reminds those first century saints of a time when they did not just accept such persecution, but they accepted it joyfully! “But how can that be?”today’s non-Christian and worldly-minded Christian ask incredulously? After all, Jesus’ statement in Luke 12:15 that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of His possessions” just sounds so strange, so unrealistic, doesn’t it? Yes, if approached from a worldly perspective. There is nothing praiseworthy or commendable in suffering to the one whose vision cannot see beyond his life on earth.

   However, early after their conversions the recipients of the Hebrew letter had been able to take a much longer view than that. Even as their houses and property were taken from before their physical eyes, their spiritual eyes were fastened upon a “better possession and an abiding one.” They were very much like Moses, of whom the Hebrew writer would remind them just a few verses later. “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26). One must not gloss over the fact that Moses knew of a reward exceeding that of being called the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet and enjoying all the vice and pleasure associated with it. One must be even further moved in considering that he thought of these sinful pleasures as merely “passing” when he could have indulged in them for the greatest part of a long life. The worldly-minded exclaim, “What a wonderful life this man gave up!” The spiritually minded exclaim, “What a wonderful reward he grasped!” In the beginning, the Hebrew saints kept that reward firmly in mind. What about you and I?

   

Draw Near To God--4

      James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

   This article will conclude the four-part series on drawing near to God. The consistent lesson of the preceding three articles has been that in order to draw near to God one must find out where He is. So far, we have learned that God is in His creation, in His word, and in the church, the body of His only begotten Son. In this article we will look at passages that show God is in heaven, His dwelling place.

   In the midst of listing the numerous laws contained in the Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 26:15 says, “Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Heaven is the holy habitation of God. Solomon, when he dedicated the temple, in 1 Kings 8:30 said, “And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” Heaven is God’s dwelling place. Cautioning his readers regarding their speech, the preacher in Ecclesiastes 5:2 wrote, “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”

   God dwells in heaven. That is where He is. If we would draw near to Him, then we must have heaven as our goal and be ever striving to get there. All of our time, energy, and our physical resources should be mere tools that help us on the road to heaven. That statement is not made to teach us that we should turn over all of our assets to some sort of central treasury. But it is stated to teach that we will have difficulty drawing near to God in heaven if we hold back from a total commitment to Him.

   How do we draw near to God in heaven? We draw near to God through prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9 He began, “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  Jesus knew where God, the Father, was and where prayer should be directed. If our prayers are to be an avenue whereby we draw near to God, then we need to direct those prayers to God in heaven. In Psalm 18:6, having been rescued by God from the hand of Saul, David wrote, “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” 1 Peter 3:12 shows how receptive God is to the prayers of the righteous. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

   In Jeremiah 29, God sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon instructing them to be good citizens of whatever city they found themselves in during the exile. They were to build houses, rear families, plant gardens, and seek the welfare of the city in which they lived. In this letter God told them that at the end of the seventy years, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:12-14)

   God is on His throne in heaven always attuned to those who pray in an effort to be nearer to Him. “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” (Psalm 73:28)  

Draw Near To God--3

    “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

   Previous posts in this series indicated that we draw near to God by perceiving Him in His creation and by studying our Bibles wherein God reveals Himself more fully. But where else can God be found? Are there additional avenues whereby we might draw near to Him? The answer, or course, is yes, and this article and the one to follow will explore two other means by which we can draw near to God.

   God can be found in the church, that body of the faithful. The faithful are those who have dedicated themselves to being as much like God as they can possibly be. “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) If we willingly obey God, that is, be holy as He is holy, then we draw near to Him and He to us. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) If we think like God, that is, fill our minds with the thoughts enumerated in Philippians 4:8, then we draw near to God and He to us. God always has our best interests at heart. The members of a church where God can be found always have each member’s best interests in mind. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

   We draw near to God, and He to us, every time we function collectively as the church. We draw near to God as we worship Him together. We draw near to Him when we read and listen to the public reading of the scriptures. We draw near to God when we encourage and assist each other to think honorable and lovely thoughts. We come closer to God when we exhort and encourage each other, when we lift each other up, when we help each other press on, when we mutually overcome all that Satan puts in our way, when we share our faith and work as a body to spread the gospel. If we are working to be a church that God approves of, then there is never a time that our work does not bring us closer to God, and He to us.

   “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

    Before our Father’s throne we pour our ardent pray’rs; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our fears.

   We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.”

    Truly the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.