PAULA WISEMAN

Faith and life meet in a story

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Posts that reference the book of Hebrews

A Covenant, Not a Contract

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Contract on typewriter

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)

As a writer, I’ve had opportunity to enter into a few contracts over the past five or so years. We’ve signed agreements with homes sellers to buy real estate from them. We’ve accepted bids from contractors to do work for us. We even have an informal arrangement with our son to cut the grass. He mows. We give him twenty dollars.

We like contracts. They seem instinctive and natural and ultimately fair or else we wouldn’t be a part of them. They are everywhere. The news is full of stories of athletes negotiating the terms they’ll play under, and of unions seeking the best terms for their members. Loan agreements are contracts. Even the terms of use for your favorite website are a contract spelling out the services provided and the limits of those services.

Because contracts are such a common part of our dealings, we often fall into a trap of thinking our relationship with God is like a contract. If we pay with the proper obedience and devotion then God will, in turn, render the necessary service of providing answers to prayers, or bestowing blessings or what have you. If we fail, then He responds with judgment or a curse or mild irritations depending on the offense and its severity.

You can hear it in subtle “if … then” statements. If I have more faith, then God will hear my prayers. If I stop swearing for a month then God will help me find a job. That is the language of contracts and God doesn’t make contracts. He makes covenants.

God’s covenants rely solely on His holiness for fulfillment. He doesn’t require anything from us but acceptance of the terms. They are eternally binding and utterly unbreakable. When Jesus makes a statement like, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life,” (John 5:24 NKJV), He’s making a covenant. We just accept the terms and it is irrevocable. When He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV), that’s a covenant that we cannot undo, not with actions or words or attitudes.

God knows our frailties. He knows that if our salvation, our blessings or any of His good gifts depended on our ability to keep up our end of a contract we would be left destitute. His boundless love and His infinite grace won’t allow that. He takes all the responsibility on Himself. We just have to accept it.

 

 

 

Working for God, part 2

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iStock_000032739122SmallLast week I posted the intro to a talk on work and service. Here are the rest of the points. (If you want to watch the video, it’s on YouTube.)

 

God is a God who works, and His people are designed to imitate Him that way. And it begins at salvation. God didn’t save us for nothing.  Ephesians 2:10 says For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

But because we’ve chosen to follow God, to accept His commission, we become the enemy’s target and a whole host of issues can interfere with our work and service. We’ll look at some of those issues, and some strategies we can use to minimize their impact on our effectiveness.

 

We are underappreciated. Often we work alone or unnoticed. No one knows how many extra hours we put in, how many times we are the first ones at church or the last ones to leave.

RESPONSE: We need to become each other’s advocates. Be a blessing and an encouragement to someone else. This goes double for your pastor and other leaders. So much of the time the only feedback they receive is negative.

We get tired. In an age when we have more comfortable beds, better, safer surroundings than ever before, we are less rested than we have ever been.

RESPONSE: God modeled rest for us as well. While the Bible never encourages laziness, Scripture does confirm our need to rest. Start by resolving to go to bed early one night a week or to take a Sunday afternoon nap. Rest is good. God said so. If we don’t rest…

We burnout. We’ve had periods where it seemed like we had church functions 5 out of 6 nights a week and 3 on Sunday. If that’s your life, you can’t sustain that. The best way to tell if you’re careening towards burnout is to check your level of JOY. If your joy has faded, then it may be time to do some objective evaluation of what you’re doing, and why.

RESPONSE: Refocus on God. Worship and service is about that one-to-one relationship. Try getting away for a weekend, a day, or even an afternoon. Leave your phone and spend some time alone with God and rediscover the JOY of your relationship.

We get stuck doing things we were never meant to do. Bless you for being willing to step in and work outside your giftedness, but that’s an indication that someone else should be stepping in.

RESPONSE: Don’t be afraid to talk to your leadership and work with them to identify and train someone to take over. Don’t let yourself feel guilty or lazy. When we take on things we weren’t meant to do.

We start to believe that if we don’t do it, it won’t get done. We become ministry hogs. We start get a little full of ourselves and start to believe God is really lucky to have us on His team. Worse, we prevent other people from using their gifts, from working and serving. We send the message – “There’s no place for you. You aren’t needed.”

RESPONSE: Look at the Biblical model – Paul and Peter were always pulling a young guy along with them. They were constantly turning the reins of ministry over to somebody else. We need to approach work with the mindset of working ourselves out of a job rather than settling in for life.

We mistake success for God’s favor and so we put tremendous pressure on ourselves. We feel like we have to do everything, and do it to perfection or we’ll be letting God down.

RESPONSE: Two radical words – Good enough. Trust God to bless your FAITHFULNESS, and not the results. Trust God to use what you’ve offered and let it go. Be like the kid with the loaves and fishes. What he had was totally inadequate to do the job of feeding the crowd, but he turned it over to Jesus – he LET GO of it – and because he did, Jesus did miraculous things with it.

 We begin to compare ourselves to others, and we get embittered toward our fellow believers, our fellow laborers, and maybe even God Himself.

RESPONSE: Rather than use other believers as our measuring stick, try answering these two questions. Did I do what God asked me to do today? Did my interactions with other people reflect and glorify Jesus Christ?

 

So when frustration is high and energy is low remember this. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10

God sees. You are NOT laboring in the shadows. If no one else notices, God does and He is keeping records. And one day you will hear Him say, “Well done.”

 

 

 

 

 

Salvation in the Now

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iStock_000014141353Small“[H]ow will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” Hebrews 2:3

Each of my kids has a special account at the bank. In exchange for a better interest rate on their deposits, they can’t any money out until they turn eighteen. Sometimes I think we treat our salvation that way, as if it were some glorious thing, held on reserve for us until we die. Granted, the eternal life doesn’t kick in until after we die, but Jesus intended for us to benefit from our relationship with Him now, in the course of our normal everyday lives.

 

So what is your salvation doing for you?

It gives you unlimited access to the King of the Universe. No limit to the prayers you can offer, the requests you can make, the time you can spend. (Hebrews 4:16)

It gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit. The mind-blowing reality is that God Himself comes to live inside us, taking over the reins of our lives, directing us in ways that never would appeal to us before we became believers. Those acts of kindness you do, those brilliant flashes of insight, those times you step out on faith, the Holy Spirit is behind all those. (John 14:16-17)

It gives you a purpose and the power to accomplish it. No more floating along wondering what in the world is going on and why you’re here in the middle of it. God has a unique kingdom work for you. (John 15:16)

It gives you freedom from performance. No more trying to earn God’s favor. You have it. Forever. Pressure is replaced by peace. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

 

And on and on… Here’s the thing– when we treat salvation only as a past event or even as a future hope, we miss the great work going on in our lives each and every day. After all, God only does great work. (Philippians 1:6)

By the way, these are just the first four I came up with. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

 

 

 

Struggling

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(I am working hard getting Sanction whipped into shape and ready for the layout designers AND getting backstory written for Resolute. In the meantime, enjoy this post from the archives.)

 

iStock_000015201397LargeFor we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

 

A few evenings ago, I was snoozing through whatever non-Disney Channel show happened to be on, when I heard rustling … and struggling … and fussing. The sounds of utter frustration. So I blinked myself awake enough to follow the sounds and found my son’s sheets stripped from his bed, new sheets in a wad, and Alan had had enough. He tried and tried and tried and he could NOT get the fitted sheet on that bed.

 

“Did you ask for help?”

“No.”

“Do you want help?”

“Yes.”

I picked up the fitted sheet and we had the bed made in a few minutes.

“Thanks for your help, Mom.”

“Anytime.”

 

While I could discuss the miracle of a 9-year-old boy changing his own bedsheets, I want to focus on his aggravation. I saw myself in Alan’s struggle. How many times do I wrestle with a problem, growing more frustrated, more discouraged all the time when help is readily available. I have a great High Priest who sympathizes with my situation, whatever it is.

 

“Did you ask for help?”

“No.”

“Do you want help?”

 

That’s where I fail. I set a false standard for what I ‘should’ be able to handle, and what is an acceptable difficulty level to warrant reinforcements. I stubbornly refuse to ask, determined to handle things myself. That’s stupid.

 

I don’t have to struggle. I just have to ask.

A Benediction: Hebrews 13:20-21

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Potter working clayNow may the God of peace 

who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

make you complete in every good work to do His will,

working in you what is well pleasing in His sight,

through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

(Hebrews 13:20-21, NKJV)

 

The God of peace.

Peace.

Quietness, calm, cessation of hostility, reconciliation, assurance.

May the God who has enough power to raise Jesus Christ up from the dead make you into exactly what He envisions, what He purposes for you.

Amen. So be it.

 

Who needs the encouragement of this prayer today?

 

 

 

The Throne

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Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
 
Not a throne of judgment,
 
Or a throne of wrath,
 
Or even a throne of petition,
 
But a throne of grace.
 
That's where God chooses to hear us.
 
And we don't approach just to ask. We approach to obtain, to receive.
 
Mercy and grace from the King.