Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I can't hear you (Hebrews story 8) (Hebrews 5:12-14, Phil. 4:13, Rom. 8:26-28)



The concert at Carnegie Hall, in NYC, is this weekend.  I have some CDs of the music so I can practice.  I'm not a trained singer.  I do best with cameras and paintbrushes : )  But, this will be fun.  Someone told me the acoustics in Carnegie Hall are amazing and the sound will be wonderful.  I'm looking forward to it with a minor sense of fear.  Humble is good, petrified not so much. When I start getting scared, I think about time with my husband this weekend.  And how much I love singing to the Lord.  One day we'll all be singing with the Angels. Hallelujah!  We won't be picky with each other anymore. We'll all sound out of this world.  Woohoo!  Talk about acoustics- it's going to be Heavenly.

Besides with 300 singers, if I do squeak, as long as I don't blush, no one will even know it was me : )  Err "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
As He also says in another place:
You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
(Hebrews 5:5-8 NKJV)
This reminds me of when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He cried tears of blood due to the intensity of what He would soon be facing.  I can't even watch a scarey movie; Jesus endured the ultimate nightmare for us.  He could have rubbed it in, telling people they were so horrible, He would have to die for them.  But He didn't.  He showed quiet humility and love.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:26-28 NIV)
In all things we should show the same dignity Jesus did.  But, I have a feeling, God's compassion for our weaknesses is larger than we could understand this side of Heaven.
Jesus never glorified Himself in the Bible.  He glorified God, the Father.  Most of His time was spent teaching and looking after the needs of people.  I remember a passage about Jesus spending time with little children.  I'm sure it was delightful, lots of fun and giggles.


12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
(Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV)

Ouch! 
The author of Hebrews is comparing weak Christians to babies.  They can only handle milk and baby food.  It reminds me of people who refuse to acknowledge or tell the truth.  I am not clumsy, I'm physically challenged.  I'm a good person and should get straight "A's" in school, even though I can't read or write.  I've noticed sometimes we tend to rank ourselves.  I'm "good."  He's "bad." God says that it's not the strong or the best who win, it's the servants.  The last will be first and the first last.  So being good isn't as important as being useful.

I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. (Hebrews 5:11 Message)
This is how it's worded in the Message Bible version. The NASB version says, "You have become dull of hearing."
So... this is what Pastors sometimes see from the pulpit.  /sigh

What is most important for us, as Christians, is in Hebrews 5:14.  We need to be able to tell the difference between good and evil.  When we can tell the difference between good and evil, the Holy Spirit can guide us to minister to others.  We gain discernment to know when God wants us to help someone.  For me to become a Christian, God had to call upon several different Christians.  I was a bit stubborn.  So glad they talked to me now.  There are also times that it's best to walk on, keeping eyes forward.  For me it's like a cold chill or fear.  I know to move on.

When I was visiting a woman in a Nursing Home, I knew she wasn't willing to study the Bible with me.  After spending some time making friends with her, she wanted to read the Bible.


The best way I've found to read the Bible is to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me through His Word.  And then find a quiet place and dig in.  I'm pleased the Lord gave me a desire to write this blog.  It's my favorite subject.

May God bless us all to keep from becoming dull of hearing : )

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