God Calls Us to be Faithful

10/7/2021 0 Comments

God Calls Us to be Faithful

Beloved of God,

    In the coming weeks, the church council is going to be asking that the congregation submit nominations for the 2022 council. The church council is tasked with stewardship of the church finances, real estate, property, and personnel, other than the pastoral called staff. I hope that if you hold these gifts, or know somebody among us who does, that you will consider submitting a nomination.
    We are currently a congregation of about 125 members, and not all of us will have gifts that suit the task that the council is given. Please be thinking and praying about this over the next few weeks. It may be that you are more gifted than you realize, or that you see a gift for this work in someone that they do not yet see in themselves. More information will follow through the month.
    Please mark your calendars for our BASIC kickoff event on the 20th of October. I am so excited to have this opportunity for fellowship to start up again, and to renew the ancient Christian discipline of eating together. Adults can eat for $6, children 6-12 for $3, and anyone younger than that is on us. See you soon. Come hungry!

Our Scripture reading this week is from the book of Hebrews 4:12-16, and it's a set of verses that will be deeply familiar to us as Baptists. It is obviously a grand endorsement of the power of God’s Word. It is also a picture of astounding grace, and a call to proper Christian confidence. But I want us to notice the way these verses caution us against despair, and give us a reason for hope.
The previous passage, from about Hebrews 3:12 on, is offering a word of caution from Israel’s history. It seems that the community who originally received this message had been dealing with the problem of apostasy, folks who lived as Christians for a while and then just...disappeared. We’ve seen this before says the author of Hebrews and this breach of faithfulness doesn’t end well. The most pointed word about this comes right here in Heb 4:12-13. We are on the hook even for our small breaches of faithfulness, not just the big ones that we find when people turn their back on their faith. God sees all of it, and we’re accountable for all of it.
You can see why somebody with a clear view of themselves might despair, can’t you? And this is why the next verses are so very important.

Heb. 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. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

God calls us to be faithful with a perfect understanding of just how weak we are. While God doesn’t soften the call, God gives us a High Priest in Jesus who offers perfect help where our imperfect faith may fail. Beloved of God, be faithful in everything. But when you are not, seek out our High Priest, who will not withhold from you His mercy and grace.

Please join me this week in praying for:

An end to this pandemic
Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics, and others working to keep us all well.
Those facing difficult circumstances personally, professionally, and financially in a season that is already hard.
Those among us who are hurt or sick in body, mind, or spirit.
For young people, especially students, who are bearing the effects of COVID on themselves and their friends.
First responders as they address emergencies on our roads, in our wildlands, in our towns and even our homes.
The church council as they enter the last quarter of the year, and for next year’s council as they are called into service.
Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
Each other (please contact [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).