12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it
is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end; - Hebrews 3:12-14
Exhort one another daily
Fellowship is so important in a Christian’s life. Without the exhortation and encouragement of other believers, one may fall rather quickly and be sucked into the vortex of the flesh and world. I need fellowship. I cannot live without it. Without the daily encouragement of others, I am prone to stop fighting the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). I need Christian men of good character to build me up, and to lift me up every day. Not just once a week. We need to keep our eyes on the prize daily.
And what are the things the bible teaches us to do daily:
• Take up our cross and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23)
• Teach and witness (Mat 26:55, Luke 19:47, Acts 5:42, 17:17, 19:9)
• Deny and Die to ourselves (Luke 9:23, 1 Cor 15:31;
• Read and search the scriptures (Ne 8:18; Acts 17:11)
• Worship God and Fellowship with other believers (Acts 2:46-47)
And what can I do to exhort and be exhorted?
• Find Christians with like passions and share ideas on how to be better equipped.
• Share your victories with people who need encouragement.
• Encourage others.
• Set in your heart a goal of reaching one person a day for Christ.
• Work on asking yourself questions that may be asked by someone and using Scripture to answer them.
Hold the beginning of our confidence, steadfast to the end
Actions speak louder than words…correct? A man’s choices will follow the belief in his heart. If he believes (or not) whether God, the bible, heaven, hell, etc are true…his life will correspond to those beliefs. They have to. If a person doesn’t witness, and doesn’t care to either…it reveals the lack of need in his heart to do that very thing. It reveals he or she does not believe the words of the bible and the need to preach the gospel to every creature.
What are some things we hold onto or grasp tightly? They are those things that are valuable, and secure. When I asked my wife to marry me, I wanted it to be a special place. It was ten rows center of a standing room only of an Alice Cooper concert in an outdoor venue. It was a perfect night, but it could have ended in perfect disaster because I was holding in my hand a $3000 ring. Instead of carrying it in my pocket for fear of losing it in a mosh pit, I insisted on holding it…very tightly…so tightly that when I finally gave it to her it was covered in blood. Secure is something that is safe, immovable, solid and firm. When people find themselves in earthquakes they run towards the safest, strongest place in their house, which is a doorway and hold on. While everything all around is falling, shaking, and breaking, they are protected by the one thing that will not move. As Christians, the one thing in our lives that is valuable and secure is the Word of God.
What is the beginning of our confidence? It’s basically the time when we first believed. When we first knew true that God was real, that Jesus was our Lord, and the cross saved us from the penalty of sin in hell. We heard the gospel and believed it (Romans 10:13-17). With some of us though, as we get older in our Christian walk, we tend to fall backwards. We don’t go to the bible studies we used to, or not pray as much. We forget what it was like to be amazed at Christ and the power of His amazing grace. Paul writes Timothy to, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you…” (2 Timothy 1:6). Three times Paul gives examples of remembrance here also in vs 3, 4, and 2:8. In 2 Timothy 2:14 he writes Timothy to remind the faithful, teachable men of what Paul instructed him to do. Remembering is a powerful tool from the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Peter 1:12, 3:1: Revelation 2:5, 3:3.
Final Thoughts
I have to admit, one of the hardest things being an American Christian is living in America. It is so full of pleasures, and pulls, things to do; wants and desires. With the added duties of being a husband, employee, among other titles, one has to think it would be impossible to do things on a daily basis. But the thing is that we do what is important to us. Ask yourself, “Is reaching the lost important to me?” If yes, then ask, “What am I doing about it?” If not, then ask, “Why not?” Conquering apathy is not easy in America, but it is so needed. Take the first step in climbing out of the pit of apathy today.
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