Hebrews 1:13-14 – Heirs of Salvation

Hebrews 1:13-14
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

An heir is defined as “a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another upon that person’s death.”  Such a claim can only be enforced in the presence of a legal document like a will and testament.  Jesus provided that legal basis as He shared in Matthew 26:28 “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  In today’s verse, the Bible calls us “heirs of salvation”, and this brings to light one of the most important aspects of salvation.  Christ has already died for the sins of mankind and that means our inheritance has already been legally transferred.  Salvation is not something that we are hoping to get at the end of life’s journey; it’s what we get immediately upon the profession of faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning death on the cross.  “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

2 Corinthians 6:18 – Children of the Father

2 Corinthians 6:18
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

-In almost all cases, children will bear the image of their parents.  There are certain traits passed down genetically that give families an overarching resemblance.  For example, most of the men in my family have the same nose- for better or worse.  It is also important to note that children often share the personality traits of their parents.  Generous parents will typically have generous children; parents with prejudice will in many cases raise children with similar prejudices.  What is a Christian other than a Child of God?  It is important that those of us who claim to be His children bear a resemblance to Him.  Christians should never be mistaken for the world and Christians should never act or look like the world.  Whether it is a matter of looks, dress, or behavior, Christ-like is the standard.

Genesis 7:21-22 – No Pleasure in Judgment

Genesis 7:21-22
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

Imagine the solemnity in the Lord’s voice as He inspires the words in verse 22.  Almost the entire human race has just died, and this is their epitaph. The Lord is reminding us that it was He Himself who breathed life into each of them (Genesis 2:7).    He is reminding us that although humanity had become wicked beyond imagining, they were more than just pieces of trash to be tossed away.  Judgment must come, but the Lord does not take vengeance with joy.  “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?”  (Ezekiel 33:11)

Matthew 6:12 – Forgive and Forgive Much

Matthew 6:12
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

-What an expectation and a promise- as you forgive, so will you be forgiven.  How do you suppose that Jesus meant this teaching?  Was He telling us that we would be forgiven as soon as we forgive others or that we would be forgiven as much as we forgive others?  I think it is safe to draw both conclusions.  We can expect to receive mercy and forgiveness when we begin to manifest mercy and forgiveness, but we can also expect to receive mercy and forgiveness to the extent that we manifest mercy and forgiveness.  If we forgive others none, how can we expect the Lord to forgive us any?  Likewise, if we forgive others little, how can we expect the Lord to forgive us much?  “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7:2)

Genesis 50:18-20 – God Meant it For Good

Genesis 50:18-20
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

-There came a day in Joseph’s life when all of his brothers turned on him,  They threw him in a pit and planned to kill him before ultimately selling him into Egyptian slavery (Genesis 37:18-36).  God took this circumstance and eventually positioned Joseph so that all of those in the land would depend on him for survival including his brothers.  It would have been easy for Joseph to approach this day with thoughts of revenge and bitterness, but Joseph had only love and kindness to offer his brothers despite how they had treated him.  How did he manage that?  The answer is found right here in verse 20.  Joseph recognized that what his brothers had intended as bad, God made it good.  What’s more important than the happy ending here is the fact that Joseph didn’t see the evil of his brothers as a separate thing from the goodness of God; he grouped them together so that whenever he looked at one, he automatically saw the other.  Do the same when evil befalls you; wrap your circumstance up so tightly in the fact that God can use it for good that whenever you look at that bad thing, you can’t help but see God instead.

Psalm 66:18 – The Lord Will Not Hear

James 4:2-3
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Psalm 66:18
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

-A healthy prayer life with God is the most vital aspect of our lives- physically, mentally, and spiritually.  No matter what part of life is in question, prayer is the single greatest thing we can do to impact our circumstances.  The Bible discusses a multitude of things that can hinder prayer, but these few verses do a great job covering the problems that keep us from having an effective prayer life.  I want to look at the three ideas contained in these verses separately.  1) We don’t have because we don’t ask; 2) We don’t have because we ask for the wrong reasons; 3) We don’t have because we regard iniquity in our heart.

3) We don’t have because we regard iniquity in our heart– This one should be obvious, and I think it is to most of us.  The problem comes from not realizing how absolute God’s zero-tolerance for sin really is.  We harbor secret sins and don’t think God will mind or we let little things slip and we don’t even really think about it ourselves.  But God doesn’t have grey areas or middle ground, and nothing escapes His notice.  In speaking of those who displease Him, God says in Isaiah 65:5, “these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.”  Imagine trying to carry on a conversation with someone who was constantly blowing smoke in your face; you would seek to turn away, gag, and put some distance between you and the other person.  That’s what it’s like for God when we approach Him while holding onto our sin because He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” (Habakkuk 1:13)  He can’t help but turn away in disgust and distance Himself from us.

James 4:2-3 – Because Ye Ask Amiss

James 4:2-3
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Psalm 66:18
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

-A healthy prayer life with God is the most vital aspect of our lives- physically, mentally, and spiritually.  No matter what part of life is in question, prayer is the single greatest thing we can do to impact our circumstances.  The Bible discusses a multitude of things that can hinder prayer, but these few verses do a great job covering the problems that keep us from having an effective prayer life.  I want to look at the three ideas contained in these verses separately.  1) We don’t have because we don’t ask; 2) We don’t have because we ask for the wrong reasons; 3) We don’t have because we regard iniquity in our heart.

2) We don’t have because we ask for the wrong reasons– How many of us have ever done the right thing for the wrong reasons?  We did something nice but only because we wanted recognition.  We helped someone out but only because we hoped they would reciprocate.  There is a difference between actions and intentions and the Lord is very interested in both.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  When we do anything, God can see why we did it and when we pray, God can see why we prayed.  God is always eager to give bountifully unto His children, but just as should be the case with earthly parents, He will never give just to satisfy our carnal whims and desires. 

James 4:2-3 – Because Ye Ask Not

James 4:2-3
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Psalm 66:18
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

-A healthy prayer life with God is the most vital aspect of our lives- physically, mentally, and spiritually.  No matter what part of life is in question, prayer is the single greatest thing we can do to impact our circumstances.  The Bible discusses a multitude of things that can hinder prayer, but these few verses do a great job covering the problems that keep us from having an effective prayer life.  I want to look at the three ideas contained in these verses separately.  1) We don’t have because we don’t ask; 2) We don’t have because we ask for the wrong reasons; 3) We don’t have because we regard iniquity in our heart.

1) We don’t have because we don’t ask– We may know of God, we may even know Him personally, but how can we say we are effectively communicating with God if we aren’t talking to Him?  How many friends have you had over the years with which you’ve lost contact?  It doesn’t matter how close that friend was at one time, if you haven’t spoken in 10 years, you don’t really know that person anymore.  If you have let yourself become estranged from God, you have made yourself a stranger to God.  God will always desire to rekindle such a relationship, but we must “draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to [us]” (James 4:8)

James 1:5 – Ask For Wisdom

James 1:5
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

-How often do we find ourselves in situations where we just don’t know?  We don’t know what to say, we don’t know what to do; we just don’t know.  It may be that we are ignorant a lot more often than we need to be simply because we aren’t asking for wisdom.  A lot of people read a verse like this and assume that God is just talking about spiritual wisdom, but I don’t see any special stipulations anywhere in the text.  God is very interested in our spiritual well-being of course, but His word makes it clear that He is also concerned about every aspect of our lives.  If we need wisdom in our jobs, we can ask God.  If we need wisdom in our earthly relationships, we can ask God.  If we need help figuring out how to budget and save for a car or a house, we can ask God.  There is no limit to the Lord’s ability to bestow wisdom and intelligence.  Our only limit is that we “have not, because [we] ask not.  [We] ask, and receive not, because [we] ask amiss, that [we] may consume it upon [our] lusts.” (James 4:3)

Matthew 4:23-24 – …and He healed them.

Matthew 4:23-24
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
 
-There are certain professions that should be seen as callings rather than careers; physicians or social workers come to mind.  By entering into these professions, you are making the choice to surround yourself with people experiencing some of life’s worst circumstances.  When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He made the same choice.  When Jesus started healing and teaching, the people didn’t bring out the kings, wealthy people, and high society to break bread with Him; rather, they brought those who were experiencing the worst of life’s problems.  That didn’t stop Jesus from reaching out though.  What can be seen in the physical sense becomes even more apparent in the spiritual sense.  When God reached out to fallen humanity, He knew He wouldn’t be met with the best and brightest because there are no best and brightest (Romans 3:11), just a bunch of sin-sick lepers ignorantly marching to Hell.  The Lord could have surrounded Himself by anything or anyone, but He made the choice to come to us; to become a part of humanity so that we could become a part of Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)