Daily Bread 3-18-19

Hebrews 13:1-6

1. Let brotherly love continue.

2. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

3. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

4. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

5. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

ref. - v.2 - Mt 25:35 - For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Gen 18:3 - And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.

v.3 - Mt 25:26 - Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Ro 12:15 - Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

v.5 - Dt 31:6,8 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

v.6 - Ps 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. What a strong statement. And what a courageous act to be able to say it and truly believe it. We think of boldness and courage and it brings puffed up visions of strength and might. But what about when our boldness has to come from someone else, and our strength lies in our dependance on someone else? If we are going to be able to shout from the rooftops that Christ has truly helped us and that he is our protection and our strength then we must exhibit the qualities of the one who is our protector. Verse 6 would be easy to read and to "pep" us up but in the first five verses of the chapter it tells us exactly how to get this bold proclamation and really mean it. So let us go to the beginning of the chapter and go over each quality or trait that will help us to trust in the Lord and receive His protection and favor.

First, we must love our brothers. Well, thats an easy one, it is the second and equally important as the first commandment. But instead of acknowledging the commandment, we must actually be transformed in a way that we can actually love our brothers.

Secondly, we must be decent to those who we don't know. The ones who aren't part of our family or Church or basically, strangers. Just as the disciples were good to Jesus when he came to them. You never know who God will put in your path. Be kind.

Next, We are to be good to our ministers and those who have been put in authority in the Church and given special callings of God. We must remember, they didn't choose this, they were chosen. It was not a decision they had to make, it was a bond between them and God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We must be good to them as we are under the same bond to Christ if we are serving God according to this gospel.

Fourth, we are to be faithful in our bonds. The carnal marriage is only one part of this. The Spiritual marriage that we have to Christ is even more important in our spiritual lives. The gospel of Christ is a pure and undefiled gospel as he is a pure and undefiled bridegroom. Those who dabble in other doctrines and gospels are doing no less than mating with another savior, and if they take up practice in these foreign gospels or gospels that were superseded(replaced)by the gospel of Christ, they will be judged. So, you see, it goes much deeper than just don't cheat on your spouse and no sex before marriage. It is Spiritual, and we will be judged by our own actions.

And lastly, we must have enough faith to know that no matter what state we are in, God's got this. We mustn't get the "why does he get this and I have this?" attitude. We must believe that God has us where we are at and with what we have because he has purpose for every bit of it. We must believe and be content with these things as well. We must increase in faith to the point where we are focused on what he has given us and how we can work our own salvations and not find ourselves desiring something that was meant for someone else.

It is in all these things, if we can have the courage to attain them, that we will finally be able to boldly say that what he have has come from God and that no man can discourage us or take us away rom what God has given us. We will know that it was not man's will or our own but God's will. We will know that we weren't protected or saved from harm by any other than our Lord and savior Jesus Christ! He will see us through and he will give us absolutely everything that we need to find eternal life. Why? Because it is the will of his Father that we should inherit the good things of the kingdom and spend eternity in glory!! Let's work on these things and be encouraged and strengthened in the love and mercy that is Jesus Christ!!!

Have a great day!!!