No Turning Back

No Turning Back

Hebrews 10: ³⁶ You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises. ³⁷ For, as the scripture says,

“Just a little while longer,
    and he who is coming will come;
    he will not delay.
³⁸ My righteous people, however, will believe and live;
    but if any of them turns back,
    I will not be pleased with them.”

³⁹ We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

 

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Changing majors was a thought that ran through my mind. I did not know what the future held, so I figured I would try something different. I met with a counselor. “You have close to enough credits to graduate. Are you sure you want to start over?”

 

• I was about to wander again.
• I was scared of starting over and scared to finish.
• I did not have a passion for anything and felt lost.

 

Paul, the assumed writer, gives sage advice to everyone. He tells us not to turn back from Gospel of JESUS. He knew the people grew impatient and wanted everything to be fine for a change. He probably saw weary faces and heard discouragement. He lets everyone know that we do not turn back, instead we have faith and are saved!

 

My Observations

• JESUS will return for me someday.
• GOD wants me to live an abundant life for HIM, believing that JESUS guides my life.
• GOD is pleased with me so much that HE saved me and gave me faith in HIS power.

 

Discouraging times makes me want to give up on GOD> I mean, when I am broke, lonely, wounded and in pain, praising GOD seems to disappear from my lips. In fact, temptation pops in and says “there is an easier way than following JESUS.” BUT GOD fortifies my mind.

 

HE wipes away any thought of me turning back to my old way of trying to live life without HIM. HE shows me how I should seek HIM to praise HIM daily. HE helps me navigate difficulties and endure pain. I will never turn back.

 

Challenge

• Why does the writer mention “Be patient?”
• Have you ever wanted to give up on GOD to try things on your own?
• Will you keep facing JESUS so HE will guide you to places you have never dreamed of today?

Saved from the Slide

Ezekiel 37: ²³ They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

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Going down the slide wasn’t enough for our playground; you had to be brave enough to run up its steep incline. As I tried over and over I found myself on my back as I tumbled down the slippery slope. The same goes for life. Many times I have told GOD, “I will NEVER do or say that again” and moments later I am doing or saying what I just said I wouldn’t.

• There have been times when I have slid back into the same old sins.
• There have been times when I left my promises to reach for my own protection.
• There have been times when I was on the wrong trail because I got off the correct one.

It seems like I go through periods when I am walking very close to GOD and other times it feels like I have slid so far away from HIM that even HE can’t find me. How can I be sure that HE will even look for me?

• GOD said to me “I WILL save you from your backsliding.”
• GOD said to me “I WILL cleanse you.”
• GOD said to me “I WILL be your GOD and you will be MY people.”

GOD does not need me to clean myself up or be perfect. In fact HE knows the more I try to be perfect the more highly I think of myself. HE simply wants me to “be” and let HIM do the rest. Yes, sin is awful, but that should not be my focus. GOD wants me to focus on what HE is doing daily.

HE is delivering me on a daily basis. Protection flows from HIS sinews as I crouch behind HIS strength. HE saves me in the middle of my sin and does not wait. HE picks me up and teaches me how not to slide back. HE and HE alone placed me in HIS family, never to leave me again!

• Are you sliding backwards to your old ways?
• Do you think you are far away from GOD?
• Can you understand that HE is right there with you?
• Will you allow HIM to rescue you from your idols and vile images and other offenses?
• Will you allow GOD to be your GOD and you HIS people? 

Times of Plenty

Jeremiah 34: ⁹ Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. ¹⁰ So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. ¹¹ But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

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“LORD, I will never do that again” were my words of fear. I had come through a trial and did not want to go back through another one like it. I decided I would not sin at all, not even the littlest sin. I mean, if JESUS could spend HIS whole life without committing a single sin, I certainly could for the rest of my life. After dropping off old habits things seemed to be going well for me. “You should stop sinning” were my immature words of judgement as I tried to get others to have what “I” had.

• It is sinful to think I can be sinless.
• It is sinful to think others need to clean up their act.
• It is sinful to think my righteousness keeps GOD’s wrath at bay.

I traded one sin for another, namely blindness. I had declared myself righteous and had not stopped to ask GOD what pleases HIM. When I realized what I had done, I returned to old sins. Now I was confused. BUT GOD straightened me out.

• GOD said to me “While your righteousness is like filthy rags, MY righteousness is pure.”
• GOD said to me “Turn from your sins without turning to yourself.”
• GOD said to me “Live your life a living sacrifice that all may go well with you.”

I soon realized that I was trying to manipulate GOD instead of serving HIM. GOD wants me to deny sinful indulgences “for” HIM, not to protect myself “from” HIM. When the trial is over I have to be on my guard even more. I should be hypersensitive to being susceptible to sins of puffing myself up and a judgmental attitude. And when I sin, I should keep my promises to GOD even though I feel sorry for myself. GOD is there to forgive and it is up to me to have the right attitude that pleases HIM.

• Are you experiencing GOD’s wonderful time of peace in your life?
• Do you feel you earned HIS peace?
• Will you take off your blinders and realize you are a sinner and GOD’s mercy is a gift?
• Will you stop trying to earn GOD’s love and accept HIS wonderful gift of freedom from sin?
• Will you keep your promises with HIM so all will go well with you?