Written by: Phil Pusey - Burton Youth For Christ
Still, we do not yet see them ruling over everything. But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. And now he is wearing a crown of glory and honour because he suffered and died. And by God’s grace, he died for everyone.
Notes
I remember a discussion I had with my parents a few years ago about crosses and crucifixes. My dad was happy to have a crucifix up at home (a cross with Jesus represented on it), whereas my mum would rather have had an empty cross. She said Jesus wasn’t on the cross any longer but risen and therefore it was more accurate.
Yet I wonder sometimes in our haste to move onto the resurrection story if we have neglected to linger at the foot of the cross, in order to understand fully the lengths God went to win back the possibility of relationship with him. It also re-emphasises the implications of our own individual rebellion towards God, and hopefully keeps us from the desire to sin.
But it seems a little odd meditating on something like the cross. It’s a bit like saying when I ponder the amazing electric chair, or when I meditate on the glories of the firing squad. Yet that is what the writer to the Hebrews is saying in our passage. Jesus is crowned with honour and glory because he endured the cross. He was obedient, even through suffering and death. I don’t know about you but I would be very happy to receive a crown of glory and honour for eternity, but the challenge is to follow Christ, even if that means suffering and death. For some that is a literal challenge, whereas for me it is more about daily dying to self-interest in favour of God’s plans and purposes than any real likelihood of being killed for my faith.
Take time today to meditate on the cross and all its implications, and to lay your life down again in response to God’s incredible love.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for dying on that cross to pay the price of sin. Help me to reflect on your sacrifice, remembering the cost, as well as the power of love that held you there. Once again I offer my life in service to you today. Amen
God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory, so he made the One who leads people to salvation perfect through suffering.
Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. He says, “Then, I will tell my fellow Israelites about you; I will praise you in the public meeting.”
He also says, “I will trust in God.” And he also says, “I am here, and with me are the children God has given me.”
Notes
I am so looking forward to the day when I am totally transformed into Christ-likeness and become perfect. It’s a day I long for because I am so aware of the daily tension between what I long to be and the poor imitation I often settle for. My subconscious hope is that one day I will suddenly be transformed into everything God intended, although scripture does not back this up. Jesus was made perfect through his personal suffering.
Do you often wonder why your life seems so hard? Or is it just me? Take heart, my friends, God is at work with the sole agenda of making you and me more like Christ in attitude and character. However, he knows that this will only come about as we walk through the refining fire of life’s circumstances and situations. This is how the rubbish comes out and we become more pure.
One of my team members asked me the other day why she felt more sinful now than six months ago. She has come along way in that time and has experienced God in many new ways, and yet felt less worthy than before. From my experience, the closer you get to the holiness of God, the more aware you become of your own shortcomings. She is being refined and, although more aware of her sin, is actually on the road to holiness.
We can kick and scream against God (one of my favourite activities), but unless we are prepared to trust in God and the truth that he is working his purposes out today, we will not experience his transforming power changing us into Christ-likeness.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, that you are more committed to me becoming like you than I am. Help me see your purpose in every experience I face today, and use each situation to teach me more about you. I want to be more like you, Lord. Amen
Since these children are people with physical bodies, Jesus himself became like them. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death - the devil - and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the people who are from Abraham.
Notes
What a great relief it is to know that Jesus, the Son of God, knows what it’s like to be human. When he came to live amongst us, he became like us. In my early days as a Christian, I used to struggle with the idea that Jesus was totally human, and yet totally divine at the same time. I convinced myself it must have been easier for Jesus to live as God intended than it is for me. I guess the truth is that he had a truer desire and commitment to live as his Father wanted, whereas my motives are always mixed with self-interest and self-gratification, and my commitment is often less than 100%. Jesus knows completely the struggle of being human.
Why did he have to become like us? It was the only way to truly rescue us. An interesting contrast with the way the church usually does mission. We often expect people to become like us and then join us, when maybe we need to go and identify with them where they are, in order to reach and rescue them. That isn’t an excuse to sin, as Jesus demonstrated by being fully human and yet living a perfect life. His identifying with us was complete and yet he remained holy. That is our challenge, to identify fully with those not-yet Christians, whilst demonstrating a holy, attractive lifestyle of service and compassion.
Prayer
Thank you Jesus that you know what it is to be human. You know my struggle to be holy, and you understand and accept my weaknesses. Help me to commit to following you wholeheartedly in every aspect of my life. Amen
For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way so he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for their sins. And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself suffered and was tempted.
Notes
Have you ever felt totally alone? Maybe it was a real experience of being in a place where no one else was, and totally cut off from the world around you. When walking in the Derbyshire dales, I have been able to see for miles, yet not see another person.
It can also be an internal battle over a hidden sin or shameful experience which made you feel totally isolated, even in the midst of a crowded room. I remember suffering as a teenager honestly believing that I was the only person alive with this particular problem, and that God could never forgive or love me again.
As Christians we have an enemy whose job is to destroy us because each of us carries the image of God stamped upon us. The best way to destroy an opposing army is to divide and isolate individual troops. That way they can be picked off. Our enemy is subtle and devious in isolating us from fellow Christians, either literally by us not being in regular fellowship and accountable relationships, or by making us feel alone even when we are with fellow Christians.
Nothing we can reveal to Jesus about our lives will make him love us less than he currently does, and equally nothing can make him love us more than he already does. His acceptance of me, just as I am and not as I should be, actually provides the foundation for life change to be possible. When I know I am fully loved and accepted, I desire to become more like the one who loves me. I learn to accept myself with all my flaws, and then miraculously change occurs.
Prayer
Lord, help me to be completely honest with you, including those areas I find really hard to talk about. Convince me today of your real and complete acceptance of me just as I am today. Keep me from being isolated, and help me to watch out for others who may feel alone. Amen
So all of you holy brothers and sisters, who were called by God, think about Jesus, who was sent to us and is the high priest of our faith. Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was in God’s family.
Notes
What a wonderful motto we have here for life. If you want to know what job you should be doing, who to marry, how to live your life, what to do with your money, how to treat people, etc., then fix your eyes on Jesus. Watch him, study him, but above all know him. Look at his character, his attitudes, the way he spoke to and treated others. Look at his rhythm of life, ministering to others then withdrawing to be with his Father. Imitate his totally single-minded approach to obeying his Father’s plan for his life, his faithful commitment to God.
He is the one we look to copy by following his every example. He is our standard, we should compare ourselves only to him, yet how often do we compare ourselves to others? I remember being on a gap year team with another guy, and at the end of the year we were looking back. In chatting we realised we had both fallen into the trap of wanting to be like the other person, instead of getting on and being ourselves. We laughed but have never forgotten the learning experience.
Our only aim is to imitate Christ, the author and perfector of our faith. If you have a perfect example to follow, why follow imperfect ones? I’m not saying we don’t need each other, we certainly do, but don’t settle for being like someone a bit further on than you, aim to be like Christ. Fix your eyes on him, follow his example and imitate him in everything you do. If you need a continual reminder, because I know I do, then get yourself a WWJD wristband, so that in every decision of every day you can ask, “What Would Jesus Do?”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me an example to follow. I aspire to imitate you closely, but am aware of how often I readily accept a half-hearted approach to following you. Help me to involve you in every moment of the day and do as you would do. Amen
Jesus has more honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself. Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant, and he told what God would say in the future. But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are God’s house if we keep on being very sure about our great hope.
Notes
The builder of everything is God himself – so says our reading today. I wonder what would happen if we lived as if that was true. One of the hats I wear is chair of a countywide voluntary youth services network. Because of that, I was invited to speak at a conference in front of 140 statutory youth workers. I believed God had given me that opportunity and prayed hard about what he wanted me to say. Afterwards, a colleague texted me with encouraging words saying that although I hadn’t mentioned Jesus by name, he noticed a number of people significantly moved by what I had said. He described it as the good news of God’s kingdom at work. If God is the builder of everything, it means he can operate anywhere and through anyone. Jesus modelled this too. He wasn’t always in the synagogue, he was more often in the market place or on the hillside.
God wants you to be available to be used by him right where you spend most of your time! He needs a representative in every workplace and every college. He invites you to reflect him to those around you, in word and deed, so that he can build his kingdom right where you are. Are you up for it? Is it scary? Well it should be, but remember God takes the small, insignificant people everywhere and amazes the big, important people with what he achieves. Be faithful as a son or daughter over your part of God’s house!
Prayer
Father, today I commit myself to serving you right where I am. I am weak and a bit scared, but your spirit is with me in this great task. Let your kingdom come in and through me today as I carry you through my everyday life. Amen
So it is as the Holy Spirit says: “Today listen to what he says. Do not be stubborn as in the past when you turned against God, when you tested God in the desert. There your ancestors tried me and tested me and saw the things I did for forty years. I was angry with them. I said, ‘They are not loyal to me and have not understood my ways.’ I was angry and made a promise, ‘They will never enter my rest.’ ”
Notes
Listening is such an important skill in today’s world. It is a great gift to offer another person, the time and energy really to listen. Listening isn’t the same as hearing. We hear lots of stuff every day, but it barely impacts on us. We might have the radio or TV on or music playing and the noise of everyday life goes on all around us. But to listen actively takes discipline. We choose to do it.
Many of us hear God, through reading his word or listening to people speak about God, sometimes even through daily notes like these. But listening is only ever the first step. When you’ve heard, the choice of whether to obey follows. People who didn’t hear have an excuse not to obey; those who hear have no excuse at all.
Are there things that God has said which you are ignoring or avoiding? Maybe he has put his finger on an area of life that needs to change, or a relationship which needs to be healed by a sincere apology. Or maybe he has been prompting you to use a particular gift but you are fearful of the outcome.
Trust is the key to obedience. Your level of trust will always be shown for what it is when an opportunity to act upon what God has said comes up. To paraphrase an old song, will you trust and obey? For there is no other way, if you’re to be happy in Jesus, you must learn to trust and obey.
Prayer
Father, thank you for speaking to me. Please help me to tune into your voice, and to be quick to obey whatever commands you give me. I want my trust muscles to grow, so that I can achieve the amazing plans you have for my life. Amen
The views expressed by the writers of our daily e-mails are not necessarily those of Church Army or word-on-the-web but of the individual writers.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes