Hebrews 4:14 - "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."
When I was a kid, not quite a teen, I went to my first Boy Scout Summer Camp at Camp Davy Crockett. At one of the late night, all-camp bonfires, a group of older boys appeared out of the darkness, dressed as Native Americans. They made their way through the crowd, identified some of the middle-aged boys, literally picked them up off their seat, firmly pounded each boy's chest, and said, "You, go join your chief!" I remember the deep thud I heard when they firmly and rhythmically pounded each boy's chest. It was so loud that I thought the older boys were going to put a hole in the chest of the initiates. As it turned out, and as I myself experienced as both initiate and initiator in coming years, the "Tapping Ceremony" of the Order of the Arrow wasn't hurting anyone, instead it used the firm pounding as a way of calling new initiates to a deeper strength and wisdom and resolve as each boy was beginning an extended initiation, inviting them to grow deeper and stronger as a young man. Firmness communicated strength!
Such is the invitation in today's Bible verse from Hebrews 4:14, "let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." God is inviting us, even calling us, to become more firm, to grow deeper and stronger as people of faith in Jesus Christ. Firmness is strength!
Yesterday, at two different times, I was listening to two of our members. They were struggling. I heard and felt God move me to speak firmly to them. As I've always experienced through the years, I worried that I was about to be too harsh. So I gave it back to God and then spoke firmly to the person with confidence in God to strengthen the person's heart in Christ. Immediately, they responded, saying, "You're right! I need to..." And we made a plan for ongoing support, and we prayed, and they clearly were filled with renewed hope. Firmness was strength by the power and grace of God!
Friends, all sorts of matters will arise today. Yes, as Christians, we are called to be kind. But we are also called to be firm. We are called to believe firmly and speak firmly and act firmly, all the while standing on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. I know that firmness from others moves me to hear more clearly and think more deeply and act more confidently about the things that are said to me.
"Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess" in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 4:14) and bless one another by calling each other, and even new "initiates" to the faith, to the same firmness in Christ Jesus. For in so doing, we all will be blessed with a deeper strength and wisdom and resolve in the Lord!
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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