Hebrews 13:20-21 - And now may the
God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with
all you need for doing his will. May he who became the great Shepherd of the
sheep by an everlasting agreement between God and you, signed with his blood,
produce in you through the power of Christ all that is pleasing to him. To him
be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The writer of Hebrews ends this reflective book with a
powerful prayer. He packs as much practical advice into 19 verses as he can. First telling us to make sure our love is
practical and has feet and hands. Then
he requests the essence of what we will need to do exactly what God wants us to
do. He prays for God’s power to equip us…change us…and use us to give him
glory.
This writer faced the disbelief of many Jewish …and Gentile
people who just didn’t accept that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews were looking
for. He knew that times would get worse before Jesus came back. I bet he never
thought that Christ would have waited as long as he has. But here’s the saddest thought of the day. Those disbelievers are still out there. …multiplied
by thousands.
There is some good news embedded in verses 13-14. The key commands
the writer placed here help us lessen the numbers and remember that this is not
our permanent home if we choose to believe in Christ. It says… “ So let us
go out to him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this
world, being willing to be despised) to suffer with him there, bearing his
shame. For this world is not our home; we are
looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” He is talking about sharing
our stories of how God changed our disbelief in to glorious belief. He is talking about praising God for all that
he has done….outside the walls of our comfort zone.
It sure convicts me to step up my game. I realize more than ever than I can always do
more for Christ than what I am currently doing.
It’s like a jar of golf balls….it might look full…but pour in some
smaller pebbles…then some sand….then some water. Even then the water will evaporate over time…and
need to be replaced often to keep it full. My belief is that if I ever manage
to get life so correct to fill it with water the first time…my passage to
Heaven will be instantaneous.
One last thought. If
we…and I do more than I don’t….start filling the jar God gives us with sand…or
pebbles…or water out of order….there won’t be room for even one golf ball. God
has to wait for some water to evaporate…or even break our jar and replace it
with a new one before we can even start working on His plan again. Even though
I know he promised to never leave or forsake us…it makes me wonder how many
times he has started over with me.
Father….thank you for the reminder that my main prayer
should be for you to equip me with the right jar to fill with your goodness and
love. Use me to share the story of how you are filling my jar with blessings
and goodness …so that others might believe that you are their only hope.
Forgive me for the times that I forget that jar is not near full…or I try to
put things in in the wrong order. Give
me the strength and patience I need to wait on your timing. Amen.
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