General Articles

Hebrews Lesson 50: Moral Conduct as God’s Children :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

Chapter 13: 1-6

“Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”

Over the last two weeks, we talked about serving the Lord with reverence. As I get older, I appreciate that I get to wake up every day and see my family. It is a privilege that many do not have. Each day many people see their loved ones for the last time. We live in a time when we can see the hand of God in supernatural ways all over the world in reports from missionaries, often in real-time. We live in a time when archeological discoveries continue to bolster our faith and help to give us confidence in the Bible. God has blessed us to live in a special time; many generations of Christians never got to see the resurrected nation of Israel or see the hand of God in the Six-Day War. Many Christians did not live in a time when scientific discoveries simply awed us with the power and accuracy of God.

When we are confronted with these wonderful things, a sense of awe and reverence should come over us as we see how amazing God is and the very world around us.

  • Love is the true mark of regeneration, verses 1-3

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was preparing them for His departure. These verses are not often mentioned when we talk about being a child of God and living as a Christian, but Jesus thought this was important enough to mention it on the very last day (John 12-19 covers about one day) that He was with the apostles before He was executed.

John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is our identifying mark, Godly love for each other, and in Hebrews 13, Paul is pointing this out to us as a part of true moral living as a child of God. Love is the first pre-requisite; all else is useless without Godly love. The root word here for love is ‘philidelphia,’ referring to brotherly love as we see it translated. Notice that Paul expected it to be already there: ‘let love continue.’ This a sense of deep friendship and partnership. Brothers and Sisters in the Lord working together to help and lift each other up. We supply each other’s needs and do so willingly. When we look at the first church in Acts, we see this very thing happening, chapter 4:32-36,

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

We see here that this was the common practice of the Lord’s churches and still should be. If someone amongst us has a need, WE, the Lord’s people, should be the first ones to jump in, give, help, reach out and meet the need. We are not to be stingy and hold back; we are to willingly give without expecting repayment.

  • Strangers, Angels, and Prisoners, verses 2-3

These are saved strangers; these are saved brothers and sisters in the Lord. Look at the context; this is a message to save people. Many of the Lord’s people were in transit a lot in these days of the book of Hebrews. They moved because of jobs and family, and many moved because of persecution. They went looking for safe spaces for themselves and their families. The Lord’s churches were to extend love and grace to these traveling spiritual family members. They were to show hospitality and godly kindness to people looking for a bit of peace. Some of the churches had entertained angels posing as people in need of help.

Paul also encouraged these churches to remember the prisoners. Again, once we understand the context, this is referring to prisoners for the sake of the Gospel. Paul knew about this firsthand. He had been in prison for the Gospel on numerous occasions, and in particular, when he was in Rome, he was allowed to have his friends visit him and help him as he awaited his trial before Caesar.

All around the world today, there are men and women who are imprisoned for the Gospel. Even here in North America, I just saw a video of a Pastor being arrested simply for reading Bible verses out loud during a ‘pride’ parade. There may be a time in the not-too-distant future when we will begin to be arrested and imprisoned for speaking the truth about sex, genders, and the like. Would it not be wonderful to know that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying for us and sending us a few treats if they can, taking care of our wives, kids and homes, if possible? What a blessing not to have to worry about those things because we know that our loving spiritual family will fill the gaps and meet their needs.

This is the biggest and most important part of the moral and spiritual growth in the Lord’s people. Brotherly love and kindness are more of a mark of spiritual maturity than any other thing you can think of, and when this is in place, all other endeavors have the right motive and thus glorify God as our Father.

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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On Living a Very Interesting Life :: By Jim Towers

Published on: by RR10

After receiving Christ over 45 years ago, my life took on new meaning and purpose – plus a sense of direction. Until then, I would have probably been a metallurgist or something akin to that. But after that life-changing experience, God opened for me a brand new world of possibilities.

As many of you know, I became a professional actor, artist, and writer with a concern for my fellow man, especially as it pertains to salvation.

As time went on, even during times of uncertainty, God also gave me the spirit of fearlessness. Sometimes to the point of recklessness abandon. (I enjoy the freedom to be what I’ve become and all with a sense of adventure as well,) able to do things that most others wouldn’t dare do, like sharing Christ openly and without reservation anywhere and anytime with anyone, even helping someone in spiritual distress, or even just picking up hitchhikers – as in “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

And that’s just where I’m headed with this little piece.

In my travels, I once picked up a destitute couple walking alongside the road, not even bothering to hitchhike anymore. They had walked for miles, and no one would stop to help. The women’s feet were blistered and bleeding from the sharp stones and debris along the roadside, and she was crying and hobbling from the pain. For many miles, no one would stop to give the downtrodden couple a ride. I did, taking them to the emergency room at the local hospital.

I also picked up a man on the beach whose feet were blistered and raw. It seems he had come down to sunny Florida to get away from the cold up north, and not having a place to stay, he slept on the beach. The following morning, his shoes were missing, and he went for three days barefoot on the hot sand, occasionally dipping them in the surf to cool off. I could almost feel the agony he was experiencing from the bloody and blistered feet. I bought him something to eat and took him to a homeless shelter where they treated his feet. Then I bought him a cell phone and gave him my number to call if he needed anything. He called to thank me profusely.

I’d decided to go fishing yesterday, but knowing the Naples fishing Pier was closed for repair again due to the last hurricane, I headed toward Marco Island to fish under a huge bridge where I knew there would be a lot of shade since it was getting hotter outside by the moment. Fifteen miles away, there was a huge platform under the bridge waiting for me.

I headed south on Collier Blvd. toward Marco. I had only gone a couple of miles when I spotted a person trudging along the sidewalk carrying a huge, overstuffed backpack. The small person was bent over and was struggling under the load while shifting it. The straps were biting into the person’s shoulders.

I made a vow to myself to never let a person walk in the blazing heat of the Florida sun. So, this had become a habit for me. But because I had gathered speed to get to my destination, I passed the individual and had to make a u–turn when I could find a lane to be able to do so.

In the meantime, the young woman, feeling faint, was crying out to God, “Please, Lord, send someone to give me a ride; I can’t go on any longer; I can barely stand.” The young lady sobbed with tears running down her cherry-red cheeks. She had just broken up with her boyfriend and was on her way to stay with relatives fifteen miles away. “I’m sending an emissary for you… just hold on.”

The girl was about to collapse when I got to her and shouted through the open passenger side window, “Come on; get in here!” while opening the door for her. “Put your backpack behind the seat,” I ordered as I pulled the back of the seat forward.

Reluctantly, she did as I asked, knowing she had no choice. The young lady had a blouse wrapped around her head in a turban fashion to ward off the hot sun. She looked over at me and scrutinized me carefully – this was the first time she had ever taken a ride from a stranger, and the way things were going in this country, she was scared.

To allay her fears, I turned up the radio a bit since I always have it tuned to “oldies but goodies.” There was a soothing song playing something on the order of “Bridge over Troubled Water.” She began to calm down but couldn’t stop staring at me – looking for a clue as to my character and motives.

“I told you I would send someone. Jim is one of my loyal servants; he will do you no harm.”

“Is he an angel?”

“No, he’s just one of my emissaries who tries to be available whenever and wherever I need him.”

At that, the girl looked into my eyes as if peering into my soul. Her clear blue eyes (from crying) were still trying to discern what manner of man I was. She knew man to be cold and calculating. Again and again, she gazed at me in wonder as we made a little small talk. (I tried not to alarm her by trying not to be talkative as we sped down the highway.) Now was not the time to be evangelical as God had already proven Himself to her; that would be enough for today.

I dropped her off at her destination, she thanked me, and we said our goodbyes. Then I continued off for a day of fishing. I would soon be there for a day of fresh air under the breezy and shady bridge but had forgotten that my rod was fractured from slamming it in my tailgate, so when I threw it out, the upper half just flew right off. A young Cuban man had been watching me struggle with the broken rod. He came over and handed me a Penn fishing rod and reel (one of the best) with a high-quality and costly braided line. I was flabbergasted and asked twice, “For me to keep?! Are you sure you want to do this?” He answered yes. I guess the adage holds true, “What goes around comes around.” Better yet, it was God’s way of thanking me for helping the young lady earlier in the day.

I tell these stories not to seek recognition but so that you may see how rewarding it is to serve God and our fellow man. “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, soul, and mind … [and] thy neighbor as thyself” (see Matthew 22:37-39).

Incidentally, my book titled Visions, Miracles, Peace and Power is rife with personal stories such as these and much more, and it is now available on eBooks. It can now also be found on YouTube!!!

YBIC

Jim Towers

Write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com. Or my own new and updated website, www.propheticsignsandwonders.com.