November 2020
NEW VIDEOS ARE CONSTANTLY BEING ADDED
Link --> Video Index for My YouTube Channel
Mission and Ministry Schedule
With international travel restricted, I have cancelled all international mission and ministry travel for the remainder of 2020. Some online events are included on the 2020 Calendar. If you want to join me online for seminars, sermons, studies, and classes, please contact me for more information about events and dates.
Looking forward in faith, I am scheduling mission events and travel for the summer and fall of 2021. Contact me for more details.
Note: This month I share a sample devotional from my new book, Dwelling in the Word.
The book contains 260 devotionals, one for each chapter of the New Testament.
You can browse selected pages on Amazon -- a link is provided below.
Hebrews 6: Keep Growing
Selected Biblical Text
1 Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching of Christ, let us move forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, 2 teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God allows.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, hope that reaches the interior sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, entered on our behalf, becoming a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:1-3, 19-20)
Reflecting and Thinking
Most Christians start their Christian lives with high hopes. I have never baptized anyone who began the Christian life by asking how soon they could quit. Yet, quitting and falling away is an all too common experience among Christians. The writer of Hebrews does not doubt that some will fall away -- even of those who have known the truth, the gift of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and hope for the future. In fact, some will fall away with little or no hope of restoration. The point of Hebrews 6 is that our faithful perseverance is a shared challenge -- certainly we work and love and are diligent with faith and patience. But the promise is secured not by our actions but by God's nature. Our hope is secure because of our high priest.
When have you felt insecure in your Christian life? What were you focusing on in those times of insecurity? How much of your thinking was focused on the problems of life, and how much was focused on the hope and rescue God provides in Christ? On a scale of 1-10, how dependable do you think God is? On a scale of 1-10, how closely does your life align with your faith?
Prayer
Our heavenly Father God, thank you for doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Thank you for providing a firm anchor of hope and certainty concerning your promise. Help us keep on growing every day, help us not regress, and help us depend on Jesus, not only for our salvation, but also for our strength in daily living. In the name of Jesus, who makes the invisible visible, Amen.
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This article is excerpted from Dwelling in the Word (Tulsa, OK: James Kay Publishing, 2020, 333 pages), available for purchase on Amazon: Dwelling in the Word
For information concerning quantity discounts or bulk purchases for churches contact the publisher: James Kay Publishing.
