Daily Bread

‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds’,

he also adds,

‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The writer in this letter to the Hebrews quotes the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, and what strikes me about these quotes is that we really do live under a new covenant or a new deal. Truly, we are free from sin and death. God remembers our sins no more and God's Holy Spirit now lives in our hearts and fills our minds. Of course, the way to this freedom was and is through Jesus Christ, and so, the question now posed is, given that we live in this freedom, and that we no longer have to live in guilt in shame for our sinfulness and pride, how should we conduct ourselves? What do we do now?

The writer suggest we do three things:

1. provoke one another to love and do good deeds
2. not neglect to meet together
3. encourage one another

I love that first one, 'provoke one another' — for we are to egg each other on. When we see one of us doing a good thing, we are to celebrate it, and when one of us is trying to decide what to do in a given situation, we are to gently push them to do the right thing and act with love (especially when they don't feel like it!)

Secondly, we are to gather together. We're not meant to do this thing called life on our own. We need each other. How can the Holy Spirit living in me reach out to you, or the Holy Spirit in you reach out to me, if we don't stay in touch either online or in person.

And thirdly, we are to encourage one another. We all struggle from time to time. We all get down or low. We all face situations and 'impossible' circumstances. At times we feel the pain of loss and loneliness. We all occasionally suffer from anxiety or stress. Life is not easy, therefore it is vital we prop each other up and support each other.

Provoke, gather, and encourage, or perhaps being a good preacher I can find an alliterative form? Here we go:

Dear friends, let us mobilise, meet, and motivate.

Holy God
Thank you for my church community —
my fellow believers who encourage me to
do the right thing and act with love,
who minister to me through your Spirit,
and who support me in my walk with you.
May I never take them for granted
and always give thanks for their steadfast love.