the components of brotherly love

​Let brotherly love continue. Hebrews 13:1

I believe this first exhortation of Hebrews 13 is built out in the next nineteen verses to show us what love among the brothers (that is in the church) really looks like. Here are the components of brotherly love:

1. Be hospitable (Hebrews 13:2). There should be no strangers in church. We open our hearts and our homes to all in need. There are no cliques or insider relationships.

2. Remember the suffering (Hebrews 13:3). Specifically in the culture of the original audience this was tested by helping those persecuted in prison. We join in suffering willingly through love when we help those that society rejects, hates, and persecutes. And Christian faith is always under fire, but now particularly so.

3. Honor Christian marriage (Hebrews 13:4). Christians marriages counter the defiled sexuality of our culture, and this defiance of God’s design is a full blown war these days. Creation is mocked with fluid sexuality, same-sex marriage, and self-driven autonomy. Respect for Christian marriage however creates true family and a new culture of care for one another as Christ cares for the church that speaks the truth about sexuality. The culture needs to be lovingly but firmly shown the gospel in Christian marriage to turn the confused to Jesus!

4. Foster contentment financially (Hebrews 13:5-6). We don’t live for careers, achievements, salaries, or material gain. We trust God to provide. We give of ALL we have to get the gospel into the lives of our neighbors and the nations.

5. Remember the teaching of the sound doctrine and practice of God’s Word from church leaders (Hebrews 13:7-15). This is the largest section for a reason. Sound doctrine leads to lives that are solid with sound practices. This shows up in the church with a culture of love based on the love of God in Christ. It changes marriages, families, and worship communities. This is transformation! Leaders have a God-given mandate to foster that culture by the clear teaching of the Word of God, refusing to add to it or subtract from it.

6. Do good and share (Hebrews 13:16). Love for brothers meets physical and material need. It’s a simple concept. It is a profound experience.

7. Submit to godly leadership in brotherly love (Hebrews 13:17-19). This involves obedience to God’s Word, submission to godly authority, and prayer for all who serve one another within the Body of Christ. It starts with all of us submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over His Church. Good leaders only point to Jesus’ authority.

a soul that yearns, seeks, learns, and rejoices

My soul yearns for you in the night;

my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.  Isaiah 26:9

You, O Lord

Encourage my soul

Advancing Your grace

Relieving my fear in the

Night

Shadows.

Salvation

Enters into

Every broken struggle

Knowing You will bring

Security to my troubled heart.

Leaning back into

Everlasting arms I

Anticipate that You will

Reward faithful trust and meet the 

Need of Your people who

Seek Your face.

Ready to follow You

Every need abundantly supplied

Jesus is all I ever want.

Only You are my King!

I will worship You.

Christ is in control.

Every trouble fades as I

Sing of Your salvation.

warned

​See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.  Hebrews 12:25

Angels spoke to us.

The Savior would come.

A child would be born.

A Son given.

His name is Jesus

and He will save His people.

Angels announced His arrival.

To shepherds, in worship, they proclaimed:

To you

is born this day

in David’s town, Bethlehem,

a Savior

Who is the Messiah…

a Savior

Who is God.

The Father spoke His favor

when coming out of baptism’s water

the Holy Spirit lighted on Him:

This is my beloved Son

in Him I am well pleased.

And again

upon the mountain

with Moses and Elijah:

This is my Son!

Listen to Him!

Voices from heaven tell us

that our Savior is Jesus.

We have been told to 

see in Him God’s blessing.

We have been told

with attention to listen:

Jesus is God.

Jesus is Savor.

Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is our Judge.

Listen and follow Him!

He is the Lamb of God.

He is the Lion of Judah.

He is not safe, yet He is very good!

We have been lovingly warned.

faith’s gateway

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Sandwiched between the brief “faith biographies” of Enoch and Noah is this important observation on the nature and importance of faith. It stands as a call to faith for all people everywhere and is where trust in God and belief in the gospel embark on a journey of revealed truth and increased trust in it. I believe this definition, though broad, is essential to saving faith… although by itself is is not saving faith.

The faith described here is the gateway to the gospel. The place to start is with God. We must believe that God exists and that He wants people to draw near to Him. He is approachable… and personal. Faith first seeks God for the salvation the soul desperately needs. We must be theistic in orientation in order to come to know the fullness of salvation that God has provided in Christ.

Some quick observations:

1. It is impossible to please a God that you deny. Atheism is in substance a clear path to the displeasure of God. It is not possible to find grace by rejecting the premise of God, therefore those who reject God outright forfeit concepts like grace, mercy, and divine acceptance. In order to be accepted by God, we must accept Him.

2. It is possible to draw near to God by starting with theistic belief. In fact, that is the only logical first step toward really knowing Him. Denying God, daring Him to show Himself, but expecting to find Him in your denial, is not promised to be a rewarding experience. Those who choose to walk toward Him, believing that He is somehow there, will find God, and be found by Him.

3. Faith is essential, not optional. We “must believe that He exists” in order to have knowledge of God. Faith is the ecosystem where spiritual trust thrives in the fact of God’s being. And the final promise in this verse is that God Himself personally rewards all those who believe that He exists. He makes faith real for them!

All this must precede hearing the gospel and receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. Once that gate opens however, the path of eternal life stands gloriously before us!

Once… for all!

​

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

The doctrine of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ has fallen on hard times of late. There are a lot of churches that used to be biblically faithful that avoid the gospel in favor of “feel good” messages of social activism and human effort. But to deny this doctrine is to deny the gospel and clear biblical teaching. Jesus is the final sacrifice to atone for all sin, for all time, for all people… everywhere. It doesn’t get any more direct than this verse here in Hebrews 10:10! God willed that we would be made holy by Jesus offering His body as a once for all final sacrifice for sin. This is our salvation! There is no other way. There is no more important truth.

Critics sinfully accuse God the Father of being an indifferent “child-abuser” by putting His Son to death on that cross. But what is forgotten with that bold lie is two-fold: 1) the “wrath of God” is not capricious or violent like human anger often is. God’s wrath is an eternal displeasure against what is unholy. And it must deal with sin because He is absolutely righteous and just. Jesus became the sacrifice of love for the world, given by God the Father, so that faith in Him and His complete sacrifice would save those who come by faith. Love was the motivation, not some kind of divine fit of rage! 2) Jesus gave Himself freely to the cost. He told His disciples in advance. He was not “abused” by God, but by the people He came to save. And He gave Himself humbly to the indignity, to the rejection, to the scourges, and to the nails so that we might enter His family and find full relief from sin, death, and hell!

An old hymn speaks this doctrine better than many made impotent by social and politically correct idolatry:

Now we are free, there’s no condemnation

Jesus provides our perfect salvation

Come unto me, O hear His sweet call

Come, and He saves us, once for all.

Once for all, oh sinner, receive it;

Once for all, oh child, believe it;

Cling to the cross, the burden will fall;

Christ has redeemed us, once for all!

my forgiveness

​Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 9:22

My forgiveness

came at great cost

the life Jesus lost

was given for me

so I could be free

Without His shed blood

I’d be unforgiven

My forgiveness

cost Jesus everything

so that in anything

I’m seen as forgiven

destined for heaven

Without His shed blood

I’d be hell bound

My forgiveness

is a mercy given

A gift from heaven

atonement full and free

covering all of me

In Jesus’ shed blood

all is forgiven

sing praise

Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;

let this be made known in all the earth.​

Isaiah 12:5

Sing praises to the LORD. Singing His praise isn’t just a Sunday morning experience in a congregation. There is a daily call to worship in song. God’s people have always sung His praises. It is a mark of worship. It is a call to celebration. It engages our spirits with Him in a meaningful and emotionally satisfying way. Singing is how the soul expresses artful emotion. We sing because God is worthy of our praise and our souls grow closer to Him in the song!

God has done gloriously. There are always reasons for praising God in song. He is our Creator. We were made for His worship. If even the rocks would cry out, why shouldn’t we as well? He is our Savior. Through Jesus we are saved from sin and death’s cruel eternal separation from God. We are redeemed to new life and to eternal life. That’s quite a reason to sing! Jesus motivates us to music! He is our Lord. He leads us. He provides for us. He cares for us. He sovereignly controls the universe and each event in our lives for our good and His glory. Sing to the God Who has done gloriously!

Let this be known to all the earth. The world must hear our song. Worship is a worldwide phenomenon. We are all called to sing. We are all called to praise. And in a choir of all the nations, Jesus is praised… every day… and forevermore!

Amen!

Let’s sing!

A manger, a cross, and a crown

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.​

Isaiah 9:7

As familiar as I am with Isaiah 9:6 (For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.) reflecting upon it at Advent time is a yearly meditation, the truth that follows it in verse 7 is equally comforting. Yes… a child is born. Thank God, a Son is given. The government is on His shoulder right now as head of His body the Church. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. He is Mighty God over all. The Everlasting Father now saves those who believe in the gospel of His Son. And in Jesus is the comfort and stability that comes from the Prince of Peace.

His kingdom keeps growing as His people obey His command to preach the gospel to all the world. There is now a peace that rules hearts and His kingdom will one day be never ending when He returns to bring peace and usher in a new heavens and a new earth. The future is real!

Jesus is both judgment and righteousness. He will put an end to the curse of sin. His throne, now ready to be established in His imminent return, will bring about all that God has willed. In zeal, the God of heaven’s armies will rule forever and life will be what it always meant to be. Sin and evil will meet a violent end at His return. This is a certain future as real as yesterday was. It will be brought by the One born of a virgin… the child born… the Son given… the Lamb slain… the Savior risen… the King Who rules!

#cutoff

Put no trust in a neighbor;

have no confidence in a friend;

guard the doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your arms;

for the son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

a man's enemies are the men of his own house.​

Micah 7:5-6

There was a cultural phenomenon that occurred as ancient Israel fell into hard times and the disarray of exile. With enemies arrayed against them, the Jews of the Northern Kingdom began to experience a societal collapse. People could not trust neighbors, friends, spouses, or even their own children. There was social, and most sadly, generational chaos across the board. It was painful for those caught in the chaos.

There is a very similar kind of thing going on today. People are leery of trusting others. They are told that self is the measure of what is right or wrong, good or bad. And if my self does not trust your self, I am told I am free and right to keep myself protected by dictating the terms of any relationship. This pain is being acutely felt in families right now.

The same kind of cultural phenomenon that Israel felt with the Assyrian threat is now eerily similar to what Boomers and Gen-X’ers now find happening in their families. A recent trend generationally across social media is the #cutoff or #nocontact movement. Adult children are ending all ties to family members. Using therapeutic and self-agenda language fed to them by a selfish, psychologized worldview, they are cutting off all ties with family, with siblings, with parents, and with past friendships. The societal pain is vast. Over 20% of families now report at least one estrangement as part of their household. The stress this creates is high. And the number is growing.

Only the gospel can mend this need for reconciliation. Only God can be the hope of those now living cutoff with no contact with people they love. Micah 7:7 provides perspective and help: But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

earnest to endure

​

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end… Hebrews 6:11

Lord keep me earnest:

always pressing on

keeping the faith

resting upon

salvation by grace

Lord keep me faithful:

to You my Lord

to Jesus my Savior

to Your Holy Word

consistent in behavior

Lord keep me true:

trusting Your supply

obeying Your promise

I will not deny

the sufficiency of Jesus

Lord give me assurance:

that in You I am safe

that this world is temporary

that You reward feeble faith

that hope is extraordinary

Lord I hold onto hope:

confident in You

I fear nothing

believing what is true

I have everything.

schemes and scams

Woe to those who devise wickedness

and work evil on their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it,

because it is in the power of their hand.

Micah 2:1

Just because something is possible to do does mean it is something that is the right thing to do. “Means to gain” does not make good motivation or lead to a right thing in the end. God will judge what we think to do, what we plan with selfish hearts, and He knows the motives of the heart. We live in a world where people cannot be trusted. Sinners are out for personal gain all the time. And even seemingly harmless actions can be rotten by selfish motivations.

There literally are professional schemers who cannot stop thinking of ways to take advantage of others. Be they con men, financial planners gone amuck, entrepreneurs who worship the buck, or “business-minded” professionals who only view the bottom line, they are out for one thing: themselves. The incessant stream of scam calls that hit my phone daily show how such wickedness is always being devised. It is even easier today than the picture Micah paints of a con man devising his next takedown from his bed. With a computer and some robo-calling software, the schemer can now sleep while his wickedness is devised and perpetuated.

We live in an age of “me-first” driven social behaviors. It drives all relationships… economically, emotionally, and even hurts families. Relationships tend to be shallow and tenuous. Once a need is met, it is on to the next request. There is no recognition of authority or relationship value. And if a person feels like a need cannot be met, well… the world tells them to move on… cut off the old… seek out something new. This is justified for a host of selfish reasons, not the least of these is “emotional stability”. But the result is a kind of emotional terrorism, demands are made, threats are issued, and if the benefit is not given, the hurt is justified. This too is evil scheming!

Micah the prophet was confronting rampant selfish greed that stripped the poor from the land where they could eke out a meager living for their families. Wealthy land barons who schemed to amass more wealth by crushing the impoverished and seizing their property would soon themselves be crushed by an invasion from an army that would consume Israel. God would end the scheming with His judgment. Justice would come for the mistreated.

Just because there is an advantage to take against someone, does not mean that it should be taken. Righteous thinking is the opposite of such evil scheming. It plans ways to help, to trust God, not money, and to seek His provision and deliverance as the only outcome.

desperate prayer

Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress!

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call!​

Psalm 102:2

There are times when prayer is urgent… pressing into God with pain, emotion, and purpose… powerless to meet need. The title to Psalm 102 is a rare glimpse into the emotion that is driving every word of the psalm: “A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.” These are words pouring from difficulty. These are words dripping with weakness, raw, unfiltered emotion, and insecurity. These are words of intensity. These are words of unhappiness. These are words dumped out in desperation as a soul empties before the only hope: the LORD Who hears and answers.

This is prayer that begs to be heard. It will no longer stay silent. All the feelings… all the frustrations… all the fears… come rolling out to the God of heaven, begging for an answer as distress drives for a quick reply. The tone is desperate. Days feel like they are burning away, going up in wisps of smoke. Bodies are tired and sore. Grief and depressive symptoms accompany the request for God to take notice… NOW! Look at the language:

• my heart is struck down (102:4a)
  
• my bones burn (102:3)
  
• I forget to eat (102:4b)
  
• I groan (102:5a)
  
• I lie awake (102:7a)
  
• I am lonely (102:7b)
  

But desperate prayers are indeed heard! God, Who is enthroned forever, remembers, arises, has pity on us, and favors His people (102:12-17). God does not despise His desperate people (102:17b)!

Lord,

May we be confident in our desperation to trust in You, waiting as You hear, answer, deliver, and display Your glory. May our messy feelings and our pain punctuate our petitions! May Your people bravely let real trouble bring out real need to a real God Who really saves!

Amen

gladly serving

Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Psalm 100:2

Gladly serving God today

seeking Him with what I do and say

there is no greater joy found

in His will, service-bound

I sing with glad joy to my God

Joyful singing of His praise

with His people, voices raised

the joys of our salvation

proclaimed in every nation

we worship the saving love of Christ

Come enter His courts with me

Come serve the Lord gladly

We His people, Christ our Savior

Live with joy in His favor

Loving our gracious, good God.

Worship does my heart good

as I center on my perfect Lord

He sang over me first in love

by sending Jesus from above

God clothed in flesh, my Redeemer

Serving is the best part of living

there is no loss in such giving

His steadfast love endures forever

nothing from Him can sever

our hearts are safe in the hands of the Father

never beyond restoration

​

I will heal their apostasy;

I will love them freely,

for my anger has turned from them.  Hosea 14:4

Although there are stern pronouncements of judgement against Israel throughout the fourteen chapters of Hosea, the book ends with repentance, mercy, and restorative forgiveness. Our God is a God of grace! The book of Hosea is both a short story of human betrayal and tragedy, and a call to consider the great offense of our own sins against God. It shows us that even in our worst choices, stupid decisions, and most hurtful rebellions, God will still take us back in love when we humbly and confessionally return to Him.

The first three chapters of Hosea are a strange and very candid story. Hosea is commanded by God to marry Gomer, an unfaithful whore, as a real life symbol of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. As you can imagine, the marriage is full of unhappy consequences. In so doing, Hosea would be compelled to feel what God feels. That makes his prophetic announcements particularly poignant. 

Three children are born to this union and the kids are given names that are in themselves prophetic messages:

Jezreel — coming judgment on the kingly line of Jehu in Northern Israel.

Lo-Rohamah — (“not loved”) — God would end His mercy on the Northern Kingdom because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant.

Lo-Ammi — (“not my people”) — this name signifies Israel’s broken covenant with God.

Later, in chapter three, Gomer sells herself into prostitution. Hosea is commanded to buy her back from her pimp, binding her back in a kind of re-marriage, forgiving her unfaithfulness, thus illustrating God’s love for His repentant people. God makes all the effort. Again… the prophet feels as God feels. It is powerful stuff.

I have these takeaways from my time in this prophet:

1. God’s mercy and grace are always bound to true experiences. They are not just hypothetical. They are real. They reach our deepest pains and redeem our worst screw-ups. Spiritually, I am as slutty as Gomer when I disregard God for what I want to do. The gospel does call us to be like Hosea. God’s Word gets in the grittiest of our realities as the gospel isn’t afraid to get the messenger dirty in order to cleanse souls. We are commanded by the friend of sinners to get the gospel into the darkest places. It is messiness that Jesus redeems! No one cleans house first.

2. God’s anger and judgment are very real and very conclusive. Assyria would indeed annihilate the house of Jehu. Broken covenant commitments by Israel brought upon them justice and the curses of the Law. And God is clearly in charge when that happens.

3. God’s mercy heals even the worst ways in which sin rebels against Him. God will receive back the most hurtful of betrayers if there is indeed true repentance. God’s grace always wins over our failures.

perseverance vs disobedience

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.​ Hebrews 4:11

This verse contrasts the goal of perseverance with the threat of disobedience. Real faith will persevere. Unbelief will disobey God. That is the point of this exhortation. It calls the Jewish believers in its audience to remember the history of the Old Covenant. God delivered His people Israel out of Egypt only to have them turn away from Him, grumble, complain, disbelieve, and disobey Him. The result was that an entire generation fell dead in the wilderness. They would never find rest in the Promised Land.

The possibility exists for those in the Hebrews original readership to similarly fail with a false profession of faith. In a climate for the original audience of dual persecution (Rome actively attacked Christians, Jewish authorities and families rejected Christians) the original audience might choose to reject Jesus even as they found the gospel initially attractive. Doing so would be a rejection of the rest (eternal life) offered only in Christ. It would show itself in the disobedience of turning from the gospel and returning to ineffective works-based efforts that Jesus fulfilled and ended with His perfect high-priestly sacrifice of Himself.

Jesus,

You call us to persevere in Your perfect work for us. We believe. You empower us to love You and live for You. This is in spite of all that may lure us away from faith. How can we turn away? In this Advent season we celebrate You, Lord Jesus, the gift of God for our salvation. We sing of You as “King and God and sacrifice”.

I long for Your rest, my Lord! I am closer to the end of my days than I am to the prime of my days. And as I keep seeing my mortal decay, feeling it in my body, accepting it in my soul, I also witness the world spinning into the chaos of evil. I feel the brokenness evident even in what I love most in life. I feel loss after loss as the result of all this brokenness, and I long for Your rest to make the pain end and pour the eternal beauty and joy of You to fill my weary soul. I hold to the promise of Your rest… there by Your side with loved ones already home there. I will soon know what I now believe! Faith will be sight as I persevere to the end. Until I am in such glory, I say now… Amen.