SDCCM Blog

James 1:19 – You know this, my beloved brethren. Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

What a great word from James, the brother of Jesus! Every believer should know this principle of truth, but at the same time we all need to be reminded. The principle of quick hearing and slow speaking is especially needed this season of the year. Most will spend time with close friends and family members as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever we spend close time with others, sharing responsibilities and conversation, there is opportunity for misunderstandings to occur.

The saying, “think before you speak” is especially helpful in preserving peace. Listening carefully to another not only provides one with information about their reasoning or opinion, but an opportunity to keep one’s emotions under control. It is important to respond to differing views with respect and as few words as possible. Well thought out responses can provide for interesting and stimulating conversation. I have determined not to be pulled into emotionally driven political talk. If the discussion is not supported by an educated view, I am not interested in plunging into heated emotional opinions.

When I first began secular work, I realized I would see my follow workers daily. I did not need to reveal everything I thought at one setting. I prayed daily for the Holy Spirit to guide me in my conversation with my fellow employees. I can testify that God was faithful. Over the years, I had opportunity to lead some to Christ. Others were interested in what I had to offer and would seek me out in conversation; there are always those who reject your views no matter how you approach the conversation.

As believers, we need to give a listening ear for the voice of the Holy Spirit. He knows both how to nudge us forward and to hold us back from quick responses that could lead to anger. It takes discipline to stop and pay attention to His impressions. I have found more times than not, the Holy Spirit will have us listen a great deal more than having us speak. Early in my ministry life as I began to relate with pastors from many different streams and traditions, I practiced being the last one to speak. I wanted to hear what the others had to say and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit to instruct me in what I should bring to the conversation. It was a difficult challenge, but it proved to be helpful.

As we celebrate the Prince of Peace and His birth, let us take the lead in peaceful conversation and helpful participation in activities of the day. As James instructs, “Be slow to speak and slow to anger,” celebrating, not only Christ, but others and their life in relationship with you. You are Christ’s servant and a representative of His kingdom.

Father, I thank You for this season of the year. I ask for this to be the most peaceful and enjoyable Christmas my family has ever known. I pray for the Holy Spirit to be my constant guide and helper as I relate with others in this season. I pray for Your presence in all my holiday activities, all for Your glory.

Hebrews 10:26 – If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

The writer of Hebrews gives this severe warning based upon what he had previously written concerning the “one-time offering of the sacrifice of Christ.” Remember, these Jewish believers considered returning back to their Judaism because of the severity of the persecution they were experiencing. The writer of Hebrews established the truth of the “one-time sacrifice of Christ” as the finished work of God. There remains no more sacrifice, only a fearful looking ahead to judgment.

The threefold purpose of the will of God can be seen in a summary of the New Testament:

Christ’s sacrifice and the power of His resurrection
The coming of the Holy Spirit to bring forth God’s new creation in the earth through believers in Christ’s eternal work. The result being Christ revealed in each believer as a witness to the world of the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
The return of Christ when He judges both the “quick and the dead.” In other words, the living and those who had died.
There is no more sacrifice to be offered, only what Christ has already done. The only thing remaining is Judgment Day.

Hebrews 10:26-31 are difficult scriptures for some to understand, especially if they are not read in the context of the writer’s letter. “If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26a). The emphasis is on “willfully.” The Apostle John in his first letter says, “continues to practice sin” (1 John 3:9). Receiving the knowledge of the truth does not mean born again. It implies that one has heard the truth and understands its implication: Christ is the end of sacrifices. “There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (no more sacrifices will be offered), but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26b–27). The issue, is going back to the Law as a means of salvation. In the Law, there were continual sacrifices offered for sins. Christ became the end of the Law for dealing with sin. This is why the writer says that there is no more sacrifice. The one and only acceptable sacrifice is Christ’s death.

For these Jewish believers, going back under the Law would be trampling underfoot the Son of God. It would be regarding the blood of the sacrifice as unclean and would be an insult to the Spirit of grace. If the sacrifice of Christ is rejected then the only expectation is judgment. The Lord will judge His people. The writer uses the Law as his example. “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Hebrews 10:28). He then says, “How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and regarded unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29)?

The writer is making this point: don’t go back, because only judgment will lie ahead. He then reminds these Jewish believers of the entrance into the kingdom of God beginning in verses 32-34. “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35). Tomorrow we will devote ourselves to this great exhortation.

Father, I thank You for the blood sacrificed in Christ’s death. I plant my confidence firmly in His blood. My sins have been cleansed, and I am sanctified through Your covenant in Christ.

Hebrews 3:1 – Holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

The book of Hebrews has been called the “Royal Book.” It addresses the royalty of Christ. He is the One every true believer confesses as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is our High Priest. “He ever lives to make intercession for us,” We can draw near with confidence to the throne because our redeemer has passed into the heavens. He is able to understand the weakness we have because of sin. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who had been experiencing severe persecution. The intended readers were thinking of abandoning their faith and of lapsing back to Judaism. The author exhorts them to hold fast to their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Hebrews 10 is a powerful portion of Scripture that establishes what Christ has fully done for each believer. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:23-24).

In the past, these believers followed the Law of Moses which instructed God’s Covenant people to bring continual sacrifices for sin. The author wants these Jewish believers to understand the Law was only a shadow of the good things to come. Further, the sacrifices they once offered year by year could not make them perfect. If the Law could have produced perfection, the worshipers would no longer be conscious of sin. Instead the law was a constant reminder of their need to receive God’s forgiveness. In Hebrews 10, he writes of the impossibility of the blood of animals to take away sin. Those sacrifices atoned or covered up sin so God could have mercy upon His people. The Father looked ahead to the better sacrifice which He would offer on behalf of lost humanity. Only one sacrifice was needed now, the sacrifice of Christ. The one sacrifice of Christ is sufficient.

A new and living way has been established. Through the blood of Christ, we have confidence to enter into the holy place. “A new and living way was inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). Because we have a great high priest over the house of God we can draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith because our hearts have been washed in His blood. Our confidence is in these facts. The writer says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). From this position, we are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.

The writer encourages these Jewish believers in what God accomplished through the faithfulness in Christ when he exhorts, “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). Tomorrow, we will consider why it is important to encourage one another as the Day of Judgment draws near.

Father, I thank You for Your ultimate sacrifice on my behalf, Your own Son. Thank You that my conscience has been cleansed through the blood of Christ so I can have confidence to enter into Your presence. I commit myself to hold fast to my confession, drawing near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.

1 John 4:12 – No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

The subject of the love of God is enormous. John reminds us that no one has seen God at any time. Jesus was the manifestation of God in human form. “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9). John goes on to say that “God abides in us.” If we have repented of sin and received God’s love in the person of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is abiding in us. If that is true, then His love is being perfected in us as well. In Christ, we are in a state of growth and development that has its manifestation in God’s love. He gave us the Holy Spirit for the purpose of developing in us the same love of Christ revealed in Jesus’ earthly life and ministry.

John writes, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” How can we reconcile the divisions and sometimes mean-spiritedness seen in the body of Christ? First, we need to understand that John is giving us the ideal. The goal of maturing is the “love of God” manifested in a believer’s life. God’s love is being perfected in us. Second, it is understood that believers are in a state of development, “working out their own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). There are some who deal with the brokenness of their lives for many years. The important factor is an effort to press into God’s love and allow His love to be expressed through the stages of growth.

Many wrestle with their own security in the “love of God” because they have difficulty receiving His love for themselves, let alone abiding in His love, and then releasing it to others. This is why it is so important to take time in the initial process of coming into the Christian faith. It is tempting to hurry people through the process like cattle, rather than leading them like sheep. We make joining the organization the greater importance, when healing of their past wounds and receiving God’s love for specific areas in their life should be our objective. As the believer learns to die to “the old” self and embrace “the new” in “the Holy Spirit,” they can learn to abide in God’s love and His sustaining power.

Father, I ask You for help in perfecting Your love in my life. I ask for the same love to fill me that worked in Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. Show me anything which blocks Your love from growing in me. Help me to repent and forsake any obstacles that are in the way.

John 13:3-4 – Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.

The thirteenth chapter of John brings together a number of important insights for our own development in the love of God. Before the Feast of Passover, Jesus knew His time had come to die, passing from this world to the Father. The Scripture says of Jesus, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1b). As Jesus partakes of His last meal with His disciples, He knows that the devil already put it into the heart of Judas to betray Him. He knows, that the Father had given all things into His hands. With that knowledge, He prepares to wash His disciple’s feet.

Once again, Peter becomes an example for us. His human nature is so much like all of ours. I thank God for Peter. Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet. Peter responded in a way which was typical for him when he said, “Never shall You wash my feet!” (John 13:8a). Jesus was very clear with Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8b).

The love of God was being demonstrated in the upper room toward these disciples. Jesus the Servant, modeled the love of God to each one of His disciples, even with the knowledge that one of them was about to betray Him. He told His disciples, “You are clean, but not all of you” (John 13:11). The love of God was about to be demonstrated to the whole world as Jesus, God’s Servant, hung on the cross for our sins. He took the punishment for sin and death. He went to hell in our place. He overcame death and hell and now reigns in victory over all. By faith, as we embrace what the Lord accomplished for each one of us, the love of God is born in our hearts.

In his letter to the church, the Apostle John is very clear about the operation of God’s love in the believer. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this, the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (John 4:8-9). The manifestation is in the transforming work of God’s love in us. The world can only know the “love of God” by what is manifested in our lives. When someone is “born again,” they are born into the love of God. The true sign of God’s rule in our life is God’s love.

Maturity in Christ is evaluated by the manifestation of God’s love. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (John 4:10-11). Jesus came to bear our sins. We then, must forgive others. Forgiveness demonstrates the love of God in our hearts. Let me be clear, the believer is in a state of growth. Some have worked through their issues of unforgiveness more than others. Our salvation is witnessed by God’s love manifested in us. The Holy Spirit wants to show us the areas we have not yet developed in His love. If You are aware of issues in your life where you do not have God’s love manifested in you toward others, the Holy Spirit wants to help you.

Father, I thank You for Your love poured out at the cross through my Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the cross, I thank You for the Holy Spirit who is now poured out in the hearts of believers such as myself. Fill me with the love of God, especially towards those who are difficult to love.

Romans 5:4 – The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Imagine, the God of all creation has poured out His love in the heart of every believer. The Lord does this through the Holy Spirit when He is given to the believer. We have been devoting ourselves to the subject of faith and hope. We now will consider love and how it is the foundation to faith and hope.

“In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). A major issue which Paul had to address was the question concerning the need to be circumcised in order to legitimately be a Christian. Paul is clear on the subject. Only faith working by love matters.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians and listed many things that confirmed his calling and apostolic ministry. Within the list he cites, “. . . in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love” (2 Corinthians 6:6-7). Every believer has been called to freedom in Christ. This freedom empowers us to serve others. The heart of the gospel of the kingdom is in “serving others.” This involves reaching out to another who is hurting, broken, and trying to find their way to God. We are to use our freedom for their benefit. We are to never take advantage of a brother or sister to benefit ourselves. Paul says, “Through love serve one another.”

The love of God is difficult to grasp. It is foreign to the various types of human love. The love of God requires one to give up their life for the sake of another. It is impossible to operate in God’s love without the Holy Spirit’s participation. He has to impart the Love of God and then we must receive His love. Finally, we choose to administer His love to another.

In John 21:15-19, the Lord sought to help Peter come to know the love of God by asking him, “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus did this three times. Each time, as Peter answered in the affirmative, Jesus directed him to take care of His lambs. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were called by the Holy Spirit to go to the Gentiles, proclaiming the love of God. They experienced beatings and stoning in their ministry. In spite of the despicable way they were treated, they pressed forward in faith and hope motivated by the love of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, I ask You to fill me day by day with Your love, drawing me ever deeper into intimacy with You. I pray to know more and more of the love of God found in Christ Jesus, my Lord. I ask You to help me to grow up into a fuller manifestation of Christ’s love for others, and to come closer to loving as You love.