Every few days I think to myself, "I am learning SO MUCH, I need to blog about it." But there is so little time! My life is like a music magazine lately--by the time I write about the newest thing, something else new has already happened and the other stuff has become old news. But, I am still going to talk about it, even if it is 'old news', because God is doing great things in my heart and deserves glory for each movement within me, big or small, past or present.
- I have realized some very significant truth about the fine line between serving self and serving God.
- Hard-heartedness, pride and unbelief can be realized as problems, but cannot be truly transformed without the Holy Spirit.
- The Word of God cannot be simply read page by page without
background study, because without background study, you miss the full
story, the full picture, the full depth of what the life, death and
resurrection of Christ actually means to us and the world.
It all started with the book of Hebrews. We've all heard about the transforming power of the Word. I've never experienced it to the extent that I did last week when we studied that book.
Hebrews has the highest theological content of any book of the New Testament. The description and detail the author takes in describing the significance of the new covenant vs. old covenant, as well as Christ's
priesthood vs the priesthood of man in the old covenant is beautiful and
eye-opening. It puts everything in perspective. Suddenly, the holiness of Christ makes sense, the kingdom of God makes sense, grace makes sense, forgiveness makes sense. But, the book of Hebrews is a letter written to Christians with a Jewish background, Christians in Rome enduring persecution in the time of Nero, tempted to leave this new freedom of Christianity for fear of death, and go back to the Jewish customs, the old covenant--in essence, renounce and reject the sacrifice Christ made for them.
The author of Hebrews acknowledges their doubts, yet warns continually throughout the text against the readers developing hard-heartedness and unbelief, such was that of their fathers in the wilderness.
The continual rejection of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the new covenant without repentance leads to a slow depreciation of spirit and is one of the ways that lead directly to hard-heartedness and unbelief. These two things create ears that are 'dull of hearing' as the author states, unable to hear the voice of God, as well as regression in faith and wisdom, causing a need for re-teaching of elementary doctrine instead of progressive learning and growth in mature doctrine. The author transitions to encouraging the readers to once again have faith, the 'assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen' (faith is necessary in times of fear, as fear can be so blinding), to not grow weary, and to engage and have hope in the priesthood of Christ once again, not only to be free of the law of the old covenant, but also to be free in spirit. He ends by naming different ways we can 'sacrifice' to God through Christ, our Priest, in a new covenant way, which are not animal sacrifices anymore, but sacrifices of spirit: brotherly love, rejecting sexual immorality, rejecting the love of money, being confident that Jesus will 'never forsake you', praise, prayer, etc. It is through these, and others, that we create rich communion with God.
I've known that I've had a hard and unbelieving heart for a while now, and I've also known I haven't heard the voice of God clearly in a very long time. But I didn't really know what to do about it. I tried to soften it myself, forcing myself to worship and pray and offer these 'sacrifices' of my spirit, even asking for forgiveness for my hard heart, but every day I was left with anger and frustration and disconnection with God. After reading this book, a few things jumped out at me. 1.
Continual repentance and reliance on the Holy Spirit is key to connection with him. There is a necessary heart-check that must take place on a daily basis: one that releases the worship of self and submits to the worship of God. 2. Sacrifices of the spirit are pleasing to God and don't necessarily always have to be done through gritted teeth, as I've been experiencing for so long. Sacrifices of the spirit, when coupled with a soft heart toward the Holy Spirit, and repentance, lead to a more vibrant communion with God, clarity in his voice and love for his people. 3.Study of his Word will lead to revelation and transformation beyond the wisdom of man--in order to grow in your faith, in-depth study is a must. I'm not sure anyone could have convinced me of these truths--it was the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit that convinced me.
These are necessary things. You can't expect God to be loud and clear, dumping blessings on you 24/7, if there isn't any sacrifice on your end. Because of the new covenant, Christ is now the way we connect to God, and we must offer ourselves up as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1), in order to bridge that gap. Granted, his love for us remains whether we do this or not--but does our relationship with him stay alive, and does it move forward? According to the book Hebrews, and according to the new covenant: it doesn't.
I have felt deep connection with the God that I love once again, freedom from negativity, selfishness, obligation and just an all around crappy attitude and spirit, after studying this book in depth. I want to encourage you in saying that the Word of God is alive, and He is alive. He wants to connect with us, but we must offer something on our end, as in any relationship. Studying the Word and being receptive to the Holy Spirit to teach you through the Word is something that guarantees connection. Maybe not without a fight, but it is guaranteed, because the Word
transforms. As it is written in Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Amen.
Even after writing all of this, I feel like I've barely summed up what Christ has been doing. If you have questions, please ask, or leave a comment. Thank you for reading and caring about my journey.
P.S. On a lighter note, I posted more pictures of my adventures here on the post below. Enjoy :))
