The Daily Dose

Hard Heart

Exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  Hebrews 3:13

What does it mean to have a hard heart?  To be insensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within your life?  This portion of scripture talks about how God’s people hardened their heart when they were in the wilderness. Because they were afraid to move forward in the direction He was leading them, they refused to go and as a result, they remain in a place of tests and trials for forty years. 

I have had my share of wilderness experiences and although they were not all because of my hard heart, mostly, I just spent too much time holding back the power of God in my life.  Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.  Many times in my life I would sense a nudging in a certain direction, but I would say “I don’t want to do that” or “I don’t feel like doing that”.  Mostly because I was afraid or didn’t want to exert the energy to do it.  After many years of living life by the rule of “I don’t want to”, I began to recognize that these promptings were coming from the greater One inside me and my response should be.  “Father, I’m not sure if I can do that, but if that is the direction you want me to go, I’m going to trust you to put my desire there and give me the strength and faith to begin to head in that direction.  This is the same response the Israelites could have had and God would have led them step by step to their promised land. That is what ultimately happened to God’s people years later when the next generation was ready and willing to go.

Today’s verse says to exhort and encourage each other daily.  Speak the Word and plans of God to your friends and family members to remind each other not to let your heart grow hard.  It is so easy to become distracted by the pressures of life and the issues of today’s world.  You can begin to wonder, “where is God in all of this?”  The truth is He is right where He has always been, leading and directing your life by the Holy Spirit on the inside of you.  However, it is up to you to seek the faith and grace to follow His direction and keep your heart from growing hard.

Today I want to encourage you to press into God your Father and turn over any hard areas of your heart to Him. Become aware of hidden and secret places you may be hiding from Him. Use the phrases “I don’t want to” or I don’t feel like it” to alert you when you are rejecting the Holy Spirit’s direction inside of you. Submit all your ways to Him and offer your life as a living sacrifice to do your part in His plan. Get out of any wilderness you may have found yourself stuck in by surrendering all to Him today.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 3:7-15

What is the focus?

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.  Hebrews 3:1

What is your focus, and how do you maintain it from day to day?  I used to be distracted with the cares of life.  As my mind would wander from tasks I was doing, my thoughts would go to the things that were heavy on my heart.  How am I going to fit everything into my day?  How am I going to make ends meet until my next pay?  How am I going to keep my family protected and what is going to happen in my future?  Then when I did have time to just escape, I would day dream about how good I wished my life was.  Oh yeah, I did pray some, but mostly just when I needed something new, like a job or place to live.  Mostly, I considered I was on my own to work out my problems.  Jesus was my Savior, but my mentality was that it stopped there.  I’m saved, but now I’m on my own.

Then one day, I realized I don’t have to do this life alone.  God sent His Spirit to help me through.  That meant I could turn to Him and trust Him with all the details.  I asked Jesus to be my Lord and gave Him the cares that I was trying to carry myself.  I gave Him control over all the details of my life.  I no longer had to worry about what  would or could happen, now I consider that Jesus is faithful and will handle every detail perfectly.  He is my Lord, Apostle/sent One and High priest of my confession and all that I speak.  Now when I am distracted with thoughts, I consider and think about Him.  He is taking care of my concerns, my finances and my family.  When I have time to escape, I run to His Word.  I meditate His promises and talk to Him about how those promises apply to my life.  I am thankful and let Him know how much I love Him!

This is exactly what today scripture reading is all about.  We are encouraged to consider/think about Jesus our High Priest.  He is the faithful one and He can be trusted.  We don’t have to worry about if things are going to go badly, this passage emphasizes His faithfulness and how much more He is faithful than even Moses was to the people of God at the beginning. You can trust Him with every detail of your life.

Today I want to encourage you to consider/think about Jesus.  Think about how faithful He has been in your life so far.  Think about the things you have trusted Him with and He has carried you through faithfully.  Think about the great love He displayed for you when He paid the debt of your sin.  If you have received Him as your Savior, but never turned over every area of your life to Him, do that today.  Ask Jesus to be the LORD of all and expose every hidden thought and worry in your heart to Him.  He knows about them already, so go ahead and let Him handle them.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 3:1-6

Don’t live in bondage

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14 & 15

Many times in the old testament, God intervened in the world by using angels, prophets, judges, kings, even animals and weather.  However, these were mostly sent to bring messages or to get people out of trouble.  I wonder why, God didn’t choose to get rid of sin’s power by one of these methods or beings.  Even when God completely destroyed everything in the world except one family and the animals with water, sin’s dominion was not removed.   It was necessary for God Himself to come into the word as a person to take care of the sin problem because man’s dominion was lost through a man and had to be taken back by a man.  That is why a man’s blood had to be given to satisfy the requirement that God had already established to destroy the thief and get that power back to us.

Now we know that sin was not eliminated in the world.  Obviously, sin is still here and running rampant.  But when a person enters into the blood covenant with God through the blood of Jesus, they are no longer subject to the requirement and penalty for sin.  We have been set free and released from the hold that sin once had over our lives. In Christ Jesus, we regain the dominion that God originally designed us to live by.

Today’s scripture says that Jesus destroyed the one (devil) who once had the power of death.  That means, Satan no longer has power, he has been destroyed.  However, he still pretends that he does and is always trying to get it back through the same way he got it the first time, through people.  It is up to people to not let him lead them back into bondage of sin and the fear of death. 

This is the message that God has been trying to get to us since the beginning of time.  If we look at the examples of those who have gone before us, we can clearly see that living a sinful life leads to bondage and a deliverer has always been required to get us out.  God’s people were in slavery to the Egyptians, then He sent Moses to lead them out.  They were trapped in the wilderness because of their sin, then Joshua led them out.  Over and over again, God’s people found themselves oppressed and needing a “savior” to get them out of messes they had created for themselves.  Finally , He came down to take care of this problem once and for all and became the flesh and blood Savior that would allow people to individually get free from sin’s grip.  In Christ Jesus, we no longer need to be afraid of death or satisfying the requirement for our sin.  That has already been done by our Savior.  Now He wants to lead each one of us into His promised land to live a life of peace, contentment and enjoyment by lining up with the kingdom of God’s ways.

Today I want to encourage you to enter into His rest.  Don’t be carried away with all the bad news of the world.  The world is still a sinful place and fear has a stronger hold than ever, but we are not subject to the bondage/hold of that fearful way.  We have a Savior and He wants us to be free and has made the way for us to live in that freedom.  Press into Him and receive His peace right in the middle of the turmoil.  By focusing on His love and His Word, you can purge out the fear of death in your own life personally.  Trust Him to get you through to the missions He has planned for you each day and don’t be afraid of failing.  He has a path right through the middle of the valley of the shadow of death and will walk through it with you to success.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

He calls us brothers and sisters

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”  Hebrews 2:11&12

Jesus isn’t ashamed, afraid or shy about calling us His family.  In fact, this passages actually says that we are His brothers and sisters.  This is an amazing revelation, not only are we brothers and sisters with all who have been born again into salvation through Jesus, we are also brothers and sisters to Jesus, personally.

Next comes the really amazing part . . . Jesus praises our Heavenly Father with us.  When we come together, in church, each week and sing praise and worship to God, Jesus does too.  Right along with us, in fact, He is the one that is offering our praise to our Father.  He is our go between.  Not only does He give our requests and prayers to God, but He also gives Him our praise, worship and thanksgiving!

Now, something I have never considered before, the passages say that Jesus is declaring God our Father’s name to us.  He goes to Father on our behalf, and He brings back His response to us on God’s behalf.  Through the Holy Spirit within us, we can know that God is not only hearing our praise, worship, prayers and request but we can also know that He is receiving and answering through Jesus our brother and high priest, our go between.

A simple down to earth example of this would be like a family of brothers and sisters together that want to ask their father for permission and provision for something they want to get or accomplish. They select one sibling, probably the oldest, to go to their father and represent what is in their heart to do. When the selected member of the family gets the father’s answer, he brings it back to the other children that are waiting for the response. That child is the go between and that is what Jesus does for us. He is our family mediator.

Today I want to encourage you to consider that Jesus is our brother in the family of God.  As children of the most high God, Jesus represents all of us to our Father, then He represents our Father back to us.  When you talk to God, consider that your brother Jesus is there interpreting for you.  When you worship God, Jesus is there getting the message through in worship with you.  When God gives the answer, Jesus declares it back to us through the Spirit of God inside us.  Then the Spirit of God bears witness with Jesus and puts peace, love and joy in our heart so we know we have the petition we have asked.

Today’s scripture reading:  Hebrews 2:10-13

Crowned with glory and honor

You have made man a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:7&8

This section of Hebrews 2 starts out by saying: God didn’t put the world we live in today in the hands of the angels.  It quotes a passage in Psalms 8 that talk about why God is interested in people.  It says even though God made people “lower” than angels, He actually crowned the first people (Adam and Eve) with glory and honor and gave them dominion over the created world.  It goes on to say in verse 9:  Now we don’t see the dominion that people once had because of sin. Instead we look to Jesus who became a man to suffer death, raise up and once again be crowned with glory and honor.  He, by God’s grace took on death for all people and then came back to give us all a life crowned with God’s glory and honor.

Oh I know we do not have our glorified bodies that we will one day get, but we do have God’s love, grace and power on the inside of us through His Holy Spirit.  So once again, we cannot see by looking at our outward appearance, but on the inside and in Christ Jesus, we now have our dominion back.  We are children of God and as a child of the King, He backs us with all the grace, glory and honor of heaven.

Today I want to encourage you to receive His Glory and honor through Christ Jesus the Lord by praying this salvation prayer.  Jesus will come into your heart and into your life and will change you from the inside out.

God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior.  I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me.  Please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new.  I know your Son, Jesus died for me.  I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead.  At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward.  I now have a right relationship with God my Father. I also ask for Your Holy Spirit’s grace, glory and honor to guide me and to empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus name, Amen

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 2:5-9

Your priority

Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,  Hebrews 2:1 & 3

Here you go!  If you have ever wondered what you are supposed to be doing here in this world at this time, this is your answer. First, you are to be paying close attention to the things you have learned and read in the scripture to make sure you do not drift away in your relationship with your Father in heaven.  Second, don’t neglect your relationship with your Savior, Jesus.

This is a good guide for life here in this world.  We must nurture and grow our relationship with God.  It is vital, not only for our survival in today’s world, but also for our effectiveness in it.  Verse 4 of this chapter says God bears witness or testifies the validity of our message of salvation through answered prayer and with signs and wonders as He wills.  His signs and wonders will not be seen to the outside world through us if we neglect and don’t give priority to our relationship and partnership with Him.

The example is the disciples of Jesus that spent their time ministering and walking with Jesus everyday. They maintained a close relationship with Him.  Their relationship was the priority of their life and they proved this by leaving all they had and giving their life to the work of His ministry.

You may not be employed in full time ministry, but you should still be in full time ministry wherever you are employed.  God has assigned you to that place to be His representative there.  It is so very important that your relationship with Him is first place in your life, in that way He will be able to accomplish the things in this world through your life that He needs to.

Today I want to encourage you to give attention to the things you have learned in Christ Jesus so you don’t drift away.  Don’t neglect His great salvation by making the busyness of life your priority.  Become aware of your position as His ambassador wherever you have been placed in this world and display His love for the people He brings into your life.  Help others to see that there is hope for the future in salvation through Jesus and lead others to the understanding of the world beyond this one.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 2:1-4

Ministering spirits

But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, untill I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?  Hebrews 1:13&14

This is a good questions.  Did God ever say to one of His angels, “Sit here at my right hand.”?  The answer is no.  He only gave that seat to Jesus.  The angels are God’s ministering spirits that He sends to serve.  To who?  People.  All through the scripture there are references to the angels in all kinds of ministering positions.  Some bring glad tidings.  Some bring prophetic messages.  Some bring protection against armies, some bring battle plans and some minister physical strength and encouragement.

Angels are still around today.  Oh we may not be aware of them, but they are close.  Even though we cannot see them, we know they are there because God’s Word tells us they are ministering spirits and Hebrews 13 says many have entertained angel and were unaware of it.  Psalms 91:11 says that God puts His angels in charge of us to keep/protect us in all our ways.  Psalm 103:20 says they listen for those who speak God’s Word to do it.  Today’s verse says they are sent to serve those who have received (heirs of) salvation.

To sum up this first chapter of Hebrews, we could say: Jesus our Savior is holding all things in place (including our lives) by His powerful Word.  God raised up Jesus with His powerful Word to sit at His right hand and now God’s angels are ministering His powerful Word to all His people by serving, protecting and strengthening them.

Today I want to encourage you to think about the angels.  Consider that they are close and even hear the things we say and see the things we do.  Ask yourself if you have spoken God’s Words recently for them to heed and do.  Then ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom concerning the angels that have been assigned to your life.  They are ready to be sent into action, all they need is the command of God’s Word!

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 1:10-14

What is Man?

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? Hebrews 1:5

Some days I have an attitude of “Why bother?”  I know it’s not right and it’s not often that I feel this way, but I think we all have moments in life when we consider “What’s the point?”  On those days, the second thought that usually comes is “Why does God bother with me?  What in the world could He possibly be interested in?”  King David asked this question in Psalm 8.  He asked, “What is it about man that You are interested in him? And why do You visit and give attention to this human race?”  It’s a good question for sure!  Why is God interested in us?  What have we ever done to deserve His attention and involvement in our lives?  The answer?  Nothing.  God is not interested in you because of anything you have done. He is not interested in you because of your great accomplishments and He is not interested in you because you are so beautiful.  He is interested in you because of what He has done.  He created you!  You are His workmanship!  His handiwork!  His masterpiece!  You are God’s greatest creation!

Think about this:  Did God ever say to any angel, you are my Son, today I have given life to you?  Or did He ever say, “I am to Him a Father and He is My Son?”  Nope!  He said that to a man.  A human person.  Above every beautiful thing that God has created, He only loves people!  He doesn’t love the universe even though its vastness and beauty are unmatched.  He doesn’t love the angels even though they are mighty in strength.  He doesn’t even love animals that He created for our enjoyment.  Your design and uniqueness are qualities that God takes great pleasure in.  When God’s created people fell into sin, it was the greatest loss for God!  He desired to get His “man creation” back so much that He was willing to become one.  Yes, we needed Jesus to rescue us from the sin we had fallen into, but God wanted us back in a relationship with Him even more than our need.  As much as we needed Him, He wanted and loved us more!

Now, in heaven, there is a glorified human man, Christ Jesus, sitting next to God and ruling every created thing.  This was God’s creation that He actually became a part of.  He literally put Himself into His-story

Today I want to encourage you to consider God’s love for you.  Press into God and thank Him, first for creating you and making you so special and unique.  Then thank Him for the provision He made to get you back into fellowship with Him, the blood of Jesus.  Spend some time thinking about this today because it is so far beyond us that it requires some meditation to really get a grasp on the idea.  We love Him and that’s because He loved us first!

Today’s scripture reading:  Hebrews 1:5-9

The word of His power

His Son, being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:3

I struggled quite a bit with the decision to write the Daily Dose through the book of Hebrews.  It has always been an overwhelming book for me to handle.  I have grasped it only through holding on to a verse here and there throughout the chapters.  However, after much prayer, I am impressed to proceed.  It was almost as if the Lord was showing me that I would learn much through this writing, and I fully expect that He is right.

Having said all that, it started almost immediately.  I began reading chapter one, but started with this prayer: “Lord, you know I am trusting you to reveal what you want me to write about, so please make it plain and clear.” 

I didn’t have to read far before He answered this prayer.  When I got to verse 3, I remembered how this phrase “by the Word of His power”  Had always tripped me up.  I didn’t get it.  What was its meaning?  I stepped away from reading to pray about it and meditate on it for a little while.  I began to break it down into sections:  His Son, Jesus, being glorified became the exact image of God (looks just like Him) and holds everything in heaven and earth in place by His powerful Word! By coming into the world as a man to get rid of sin’s power and dominion over people, then He finished that work and now sits with God the Father at His right hand in His glory in heaven. 

That’s it!  Now I get it.  Everything that exists is being kept and held in place by the Word of God, His powerful Word.  He created it all by His Words and now, that is what is holding it all together (Hebrews 11:3).  God’s Word is eternal, and once it is spoken, it sticks!  His Word is so powerful, that He not only created the heavens and the earth through it, these things can never be destroyed until He says so.

Then it occurred to me.  If God’s Word is powerful enough to hold worlds together, surely it is strong enough to hold my life together.  If I apply God’s Word to the sick, broken or missing parts of my own life, it is most certainly strong enough to heal, mend and restore them.  This is why the scripture says:  Death and life are in the power of the tongue/words. (Proverbs 18:21)  If we begin to speak God’s Word into our lives and the lives of those we love, these words will hold them together just like they are holding all of creation in place!

Today I want to encourage you to speak the Word of God over your life, over your health, over your finances, over your family and over those you love.  He has given it to you in writing, to read, learn, live by and speak.  Let the power of God’s Word be the force that holds your life together and pray His Word over all the many people that you love and care about.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 1:1-4

You are profitable

I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. Onesimus was unprofitable to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.  Philemon 1:10&11

Have you ever felt useless?  Like you just didn’t have anything to contribute in a situation or the place you were in the past?  Maybe you feel that was today, like you just don’t know if your life has a purpose.

The book of Philemon is about someone like that.  Philemon was a pastor of a church that met in his own home.  He had a slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus was in a place where he was not living up to his potential.  Being a slave probably had something to do with it, but for whatever reason, he stole from his master Philemon and ran away.  He went to Rome and his path crossed with the apostle Paul there.  Paul took him in and discipled him and finally, Onesimus found his place of usefulness and purpose.  Now Paul was sending him back to Philemon to deliver messages of encouragement from Paul to the church there.  Paul’s message to Philemon was to receive Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother in the LORD.  Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus is now useful and helpful to both of their ministries.

This is the way I lived my life.  I ran away often only to find another place of being unproductive and useless.  Shattered relationships and burnt bridges were always in my wake.  Until one day I met someone wise enough to help me repay my debts and reconcile my relationships.  No I didn’t become healed overnight, but gradually and over time with consistency in growing in my relationship with my Heavenly Father, I began to become useful and productive.  Now, many years later, I have confidence in who I now am as a child of God.  Jesus has reconciled me to my Father and given me a place of usefulness and purpose.  It didn’t happen over night and truthfully, I never thought it would.  I just began to take steps toward Him as He drew me closer and continued day by day.

Today I want to encourage you to first of all, don’t give up!  Even if you are at a place where you think your life doesn’t matter, I assure you, your Heavenly Father has the perfect assignment in His body just for you!  He loves you and wants you to step into the design for your life.  Ask the Lord to bring a friend into your life that can help you stay on course with Him. Then start taking simple next steps and do them consistently. Some suggested next steps would be: Make your relationship with God the priority of your day by spending quiet, personal time with Him and His Word. Start asking Him to reveal the place where you fit.  Join a small group or bible study to connect with other believers to strengthen your walk with the Lord.  Attend church service weekly and begin to serve in some capacity.  Lastly, look for opportunities to bless your family, friends and neighbors.  It doesn’t have to be big, something as simple as asking them if they would like prayer for anything or even just being there when they need a friend can make all the difference in their world.  Start today to take your next step in God’s direction . Doing this consistently will begin to open unlimited opportunities that you never thought were possible.

Today’s scripture reading: Philemon 1