A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, ² instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And we will do this, if God permits. ⁴ For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. ⁷ Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.” Hebrews 6:1-8

“Dave Branon puts it this way…

Few of us look in the mirror and come to the conclusion of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. During his heyday as a player, Namath wrote a book titled I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow … ‘Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day. As egotistical as that title sounds, it can help us see how we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should view ourselves in the lifelong process of becoming like Him. Scripture tells us that to become more like Christ, we need to keep getting better every day. The development of Christlikeness is called sanctification. It begins the moment we put our faith in Christ for forgiveness of our sins. In God’s eyes we are sanctified, or “set apart” from the ungodly, and placed in God’s family. But sanctification is also the ongoing process in which we become more and more like our Savior as we allow the Holy Spirit to develop in us His characteristics. Our part is to “press on,” striving to reach spiritual maturity. Ask yourself this question: Am I better-looking spiritually than I was yesterday? It’s a good test of whether you are becoming more like Jesus.” (Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries)

What a question: Am I better looking spiritually today than I was yesterday? Are you? What strides have you made in your spiritual life, your spiritual understanding, your biblical literacy, and the sharing of your gifts with the church and others? We never can say we have achieved all we need to achieve when it comes to living the Christ-like-life. That kind of life is a journey – the journey ends when we die. We cannot retire from this life – we live into this life – from one day to the next, into eternity.

We are all made beautifully and wonderfully in G-d’s eyes. And since G-d already sees us as loved, children of G-d, we should seek to keep our spiritual—outernature in the best possible shape. How? By exercising our spiritual muscles, running the race of faith, and eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ often.

Pastor Dave