Compelled Toward Community

  • November 15, 2017
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  • Jon Polk

Scripture: Hebrews 10.24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Reflection: Compelled Toward Community
By Jon Polk

We have been made participants in a New Covenant of grace with God and we are beneficiaries of Christ’s inheritance of forgiveness. Along with these great gifts of love comes a great responsibility for us as God’s people.

God has forged with us and in us a new community of faith. Belonging to this community carries a responsibility to be accountable to each other.

Therefore, let us draw near to God. We have a High Priest in Jesus who has provided us with direct access to God. We have entered into a relationship with God through the death of his Son and we can enter God’s presence confidently. Our response should be to take advantage of this privilege through personal study and devotion and through public worship together.

Let us hold to the hope we profess. We have the promise from Jesus of assurance in faith and assistance in our time of need. We must lean forward into the future of our life in Christ and resist the temptation to lean back into our old lives of hopelessness.

Let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We have been given the gift of Christian community for our encouragement and edification. The Christian faith is not merely a personal, individual, internal exercise. It can only be truly lived in community. Even the concept of fellowship is more than simply socializing when we come together at church. True fellowship occurs when we encourage and build up our fellow believers.

Let us not give up meeting together. We have been given the gift of Christian community also as a place for service and ministry. In our consumer-driven culture, we often hear church seekers ask the question, “How will this church meet my needs?” Instead, our driving question should be, “How am I gifted to serve and meet the needs of my church?”

We are called to pursue a life of spiritual maturity and we are reminded that human infants in a physical sense require several things to grow and be healthy: nourishment, exercise and assistance. We receive our spiritual nourishment from God’s Word and exercise from service, but we cannot forget that we require assistance from one another to grow in Christ.

Let us not neglect our responsibility to love, care for, and encourage one another in the body of Christ called the Church.

The Refrain
Send forth your strength, O God; establish, O God, what you have wrought for us. — Psalm 68.28

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 5-6 (Listen – 12:23)
Hebrews 10 (Listen – 5:33)

Divine Will and Testament

  • November 14, 2017
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  • Jon Polk

Scripture: Hebrews 9.15
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Reflection: Divine Will and Testament
By Jon Polk

Our High Priest Jesus has mediated for us a New Covenant with God, the terms of which read more like wedding vows than legal terms. In a similar way, the gospel message, the announcement of the good news found in Christ, sounds a lot like a last will and testament.

A covenant is a behavioral agreement between two parties describing certain actions that one or both parties will take toward the other. A testament, however, is stated by one party regarding the disposition of personal property, i.e. an inheritance. The conditions of a last will and testament only take effect upon the person’s death.

The Old Covenant required sacrifices and had regulations for worship and an earthly tabernacle. But the sacrifices and gifts offered by the people of Israel were merely matters of eating, drinking and ceremonial cleansing and were ultimately unable to cleanse the conscience of the people.

As our High Priest, Jesus entered a heavenly tabernacle and offered himself as an unblemished and perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Upon his death, the conditions of Jesus’ last will and testament come into effect. When a person dies, he or she must trust the legal system to insure their will is executed as they intended. For Jesus, however, he has returned to life to personally guarantee that we receive the entirety of his inheritance.

 

The Last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ

I, Jesus Christ, of the city of Nazareth, declare this to be my Will, and I revoke any and all wills and covenants previously made.

I hereby give my grace, love, mercy and forgiveness to all of humanity, past, present, and future. I leave behind for my heirs the promise of eternal redemption. I give them clean consciences for the purpose of serving the living God.

Upon their acceptance of these gifts, freely given, they will also receive a portion of my eternal estate and a place reserved for them in my home in heaven. This inheritance is priceless and is pure, undefiled, and will never decay or fade away.

I declare that this Will for my brothers and sisters has been proclaimed by our Father to be “good and acceptable and perfect.”

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, I may purify myself as he is pure…

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 3-4 (Listen – 8:52)
Hebrews 9 (Listen – 4:40)

New And Improved

  • November 13, 2017
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  • Jon Polk

Scripture: Hebrews 8.6
But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

Reflection: New And Improved
By Jon Polk

The Old Covenant, the Law delivered through Moses, was a covenant of works, a legal contract. Do these things. Observe this rule. Act this way. Don’t act that way. It was full of ritual, hard to understand, and even harder to keep.

There’s the problem. And it is a problem. In fact, if there wasn’t a problem with the Old Covenant, then there would have been no need for a new one.

The people of Israel did not and could not keep the Old Covenant. Because they did not remain faithful to the covenant, God turned away from them. The Old Covenant served to highlight the unfortunate truth that no one is righteous, not even one.

Except for Jesus, the only righteous one. The Son of God, our great High Priest, has mediated for us a New Covenant, a better covenant, with God. This New Covenant is a covenant of grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

The content of the New Covenant, quoted from Jeremiah 31, reads more like marriage vows than a legal document.

Do you, God, promise to put your laws in the people’s minds? I will.

Do you, God, promise to write your laws on their hearts? I will.

Do you, God, promise to be the God of your people? I will.

Do you, God, promise that your people will be yours? I will.

Where God once wrote his laws to his people on stone, God will now write a new law in his people, in minds and hearts of flesh. This law written in us stirs us to obedience because it is inscribed on the deepest parts of our being: our mind where we reason, remember and reflect and our heart where we love, hope and give thanks. This is the soil in which God’s new law of grace and forgiveness takes root.

Where God had once turned away from his people because they were unfaithful, God now promises that he will be their God and they will be his people once again. This New Covenant is not dependent on our faithfulness, but rather on God’s faithfulness.

The New Covenant has made the old one obsolete. In his classic commentary, Matthew Henry declares, “It is antiquated, canceled, out of date, of no more use in gospel times than candles are when the sun has risen.”

Sisters and brothers, thanks be to God that we have this New Covenant because the Son has indeed risen.

The Call to Prayer
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. — Isaiah 1.18

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 1-2 (Listen – 11:18)
Hebrews 8 (Listen – 2:22)

No Spiritual Fast Food

  • November 10, 2017
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  • Jon Polk

Scripture: Hebrews 5.12
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

Reflection: No Spiritual Fast Food
By Jon Polk

Fast food. We love our fast food. The results of a 2013 Gallup Poll indicated that almost 50% of Americans eat fast food at least once a week. This is in spite of the fact that the majority of those who eat it at least weekly also agreed that fast food is not good for you. But fast food has become an integral part of our culture because of its convenience, portability, and low cost.

What if we managed our spiritual diet in the same way we treat our physical diet? What if we approached our spiritual health in the same way we ignore our physical health?

The reality is that we live in a fast-paced world. We eat fast food not because it is healthy, but because it is efficient. Often the same is true for our spiritual lives. We read our one-minute devotion, say a quick prayer as we head out the door, and maybe listen to a song or two on the local Christian radio station on the way to work. Quick, easy, convenient.

Unfortunately, spiritual maturity does not come quickly, it is rarely easy, and is definitely not convenient.

The recipients of the epistle of Hebrews wrestled with spiritual immaturity. They weren’t willing to grow in their faith and knowledge of God’s truths. They didn’t even try to understand.

The word of God is alive and active and ought to continually challenge us and reshape our thinking and living. We should not be lazy with our faith and simply remain as spiritual infants, but rather work diligently to love God and serve his people. Like the first hearers of this letter, some of us who ought to have matured into teachers and leaders of the faith are still repeating Christianity 101.

A CEO of a large company was interviewing a field of internal candidates for a promotion. When the announcement was made that a five-year employee received the promotion, another employee angrily challenged the executive, “I’ve had twenty years with this company and I was passed over for the promotion by a colleague with only five years of experience.” The CEO replied, “That is not exactly true. You have only had one year’s experience twenty times.”

There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. It is a lifelong process of learning and growing and training ourselves in the ways of God’s love, grace and truth.

The Refrain
I call with my whole heart; answer me, O Lord, that I may keep your statutes. — Psalm 119.145

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 23 (Listen – 7:43)
Hebrews 5 (Listen – 1:57)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Kings 24 (Listen – 3:21) Hebrews 6 (Listen – 2:58)
2 Kings 25 (Listen – 5:24) Hebrews 7 (Listen – 4:01)

A High Priest Like No Other

  • November 9, 2017
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  • Jon Polk

Scripture: Hebrews 4.15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Reflection: A High Priest Like No Other
By Jon Polk

According to the sacrificial system in Israel, the high priest, the chief religious official of Judaism, was the only one who could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people and for other priests and even for himself.

On the Day of Atonement (the annual Jewish festival of Yom Kippur), the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifices for the penance of the people of Israel. Only the high priest could enter this sacred inner sanctuary of the temple and he could do so only once a year, on this holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

However, there is one who is called our great high priest, whose power and authority supersedes that of the high priests of old.

Jesus, our great high priest, walked among us as a human being, therefore, he is able to identify and sympathize with us. He drew near to us in order to understand us. As a human being living alongside his creation, Jesus was tempted like us, faced trials like us, and endured suffering like us. Jesus participated fully in the human experience with one important exception, Jesus did not sin.

Jesus, the Son of God, while similar to us in his humanity, is also significantly different from us in his divinity. Although he faced temptations common to all people, he did not give in to sin. This critical distinction elevates Jesus above any earthly high priest.

As our great high priest who is without sin, Jesus mediates payment for our sins through the sacrifice of his own life. Through his death, resurrection and ascension back into heaven, we can receive God’s mercy and grace.

As a fellow human, Jesus is able to identify with us. As the divine Son of God, Jesus is able to save us.

Israel’s high priest was allowed access to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies only once a year. Our great high priest Jesus has provided each of us with access to God’s throne of grace in any time of need. May we live our lives in faithfulness and gratitude for the great high priest who redeems.

The Refrain
Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous stumble. — Psalm 55.2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 22 (Listen – 3:45)
Hebrews 4 (Listen – 2:43)