The True & Better Moses

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt,for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:23-27

Moses loved God and His people more than the privilege, comfort, and wealth he enjoyed in Egypt. Moses feared the Lord more than he feared Pharaoh. Moses understood that willingly enduring mistreatment would lead to contentment and freedom beyond anything he had ever known – not just for him, but for an entire people – even for you and me thousands of years later. 

Does this pattern sound familiar? 

Willingly laying aside royalty for mistreatment? 

Willingly discarding privilege for pain?

Moses, but a shadow of the Savior to come, appears in Hebrews because of his faith in the eventual coming of a true King superior to Pharaoh. This King, Jesus, didn’t only willingly endure mistreatment to provide rescue; he actually was and is our rescue. “Jesus is the true and better Moses.”

Moses walked in freedom and led others to freedom – both physical freedom and spiritual freedom – because his hope wasn’t in his status, his own abilities, the treasures of Egypt, or the fleeting pleasures of what his Egyptian life entailed. His hope was in God’s promise to Him and those who had come before him. He placed his confidence in this hope. The same things that grieved God’s heart grieved his heart. With this posture, God used him in amazing ways to build His kingdom on earth. (And as a bonus, Moses got to see some incredible miracles of God unfold before his very eyes!)

May we love God and people above privilege, comfort, and wealth.

May we fear the Lord more than we fear man. 

May we be willing to endure mistreatment on this earth for the sake of Jesus. 

May we taste God’s goodness, faithfulness, and love so intensely that the fleeting pleasures of sin pale in comparison.

And may we understand our lives on this planet as a part of a story bigger than our imaginations can fathom, set in a kingdom of which there is no end, serving a King who has defeated death, enabling us to live lives of freedom and contentment, not based on temporary circumstances, but based on the enduring reality of being loved by the King.

See you Sunday!
Erika

I Pity the Fool

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
to declare your faithful love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
with a ten-stringed hard and the music of a lyre. 

For YOU have made me rejoice, Lord, 
by what you have done;
I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
How magnificent are your works, Lord!
How profound your thoughts!

A stupid person does not know,
a fool does not understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish,
they will be eternally destroyed. 

But you, Lord, are exalted forever.
For indeed, Lord, your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.

Psalm 92:1-9

One of the truest signs of a heart satisfied by God is a spirit of thankfulness. Discontent reigns for the nonbeliever – and can eat away at the joy of the Christian who has been overtaken by comparison and covetousness. 

How is your heart today? Are you thankful? Or are you perpetually discontent, desiring the lives of friends or strangers above your own? This kind of discontentment makes it really, really hard to be salt and light in a world that so desperately needs preservation and illumination. And perhaps even more devastatingly, it makes it almost impossible to enjoy and love God Himself. 

If you’re in the midst of sadness, Psalm 92 has a word for you: God is faithful. His love is faithful. The wickedness of this world – the darkness we see around us – it is temporary. We talked about this last week in Hebrews 11! Even now, the light is overcoming the darkness. One day He will fully overcome, and all darkness will depart forevermore. One of my dearest friends just suffered a heart wrenching loss, and in sharing the news with me, she said this: “We are so sad, but we are not without hope.” We are not those who have no hope. We can – because of God’s faithfulness – still worship Him in the midst of hardship – even if through tears. He will never leave us, and His love is better than life. Continuing to worship in the midst of hardship isn’t just an arbitrary command; it actually draws us closer to life and joy in the midst of pain.

If you’re in a season of abundance, Psalm 92 has a word for you, too! He is the giver of all good gifts! Have you declared His faithful love in the morning and His faithfulness at night? Have you shouted for joy in awe of His goodness? Have you marveled at His magnificent works? 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be classified as a stupid person or a fool. The psalmist doesn’t mince words here! The fool lives and acts as one who has no hope. The fool lives and acts as one who does not trust that God’s love is faithful to the end. The fool lives and acts as if his or her worth and satisfaction depend upon things that pass away. I pity the fool! 

It seems as though the opposite of the fool is the thankful worshipper. So let’s be thankful worshippers this week and always. We serve a God characterized first by His steadfast love. What an extraordinary truth. 

See you Sunday!
Erika

P.S. Stay tuned for an announcement email tomorrow with details about a bunch of opportunities coming up at The Bridge!

A Better Country

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth...But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. – Hebrews 11:13,16

I'm sitting outside a tiny coffee shop in a sleepy town on a chilly day in northwest Michigan as I write this email to you. Many of you have offered words of encouragement and prayer as I’ve taken a few days to simply be. Thank you! 

Dallas Willard once said, “Solitude well practiced will break the power of busyness, haste, isolation, and loneliness. You will see that the world is not on your shoulders after all. Your will find yourself, and God will find you in new ways. Silence also brings Sabbath to you. It completes solitude, for without it you cannot be alone. Far from being a mere absence, silence allows the reality of God to stand in the midst of your life. God does not ordinarily compete for our attention. In silence we come to attend.” I can say, from my experience even over the last couple of days, that this is true. My heart is full of gratitude for this time with our Creator.

I want to impart one thing that God has made abundantly clear to me in this silence. 

He is faithful, but His faithfulness may seem confusing to us at times. His faithfulness deals in the eternal. All too often we are obsessed with the immediate. When we don’t receive immediate gratification, we become skeptical about His goodness. We doubt His faithfulness. 

Candidly, I never thought I would be 30 and single. I thought God’s faithfulness looked very specific – that by now, I would be a wife and mother, among other things. However, He had other plans, and He has been so good in the midst of those plans. I’ve seen His faithfulness firsthand, though my life has looked different than I expected! I was concerned with the immediate; He is focused on shaping my heart for eternity and drawing me nearer to Him. For some, this means marriage at a young age; for me, it has meant waiting. This process of learning about His love for me hasn’t been easy; it’s been riddled with seasons of loneliness, frustration, doubt, and grief. And yet it has been sweet, too. In the midst of the quiet, in the loneliest times, He is there. He is with me. He was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the desolate wilderness. He was with Sarah in her painful waiting. He is with you. 

Is there a situation in your life is causing you to question God’s faithfulness? A spouse who hasn’t held up to his or her end of the deal? A child who is far from God or far from you? Financial struggle? Betrayal by other Christians? Illness? Loneliness?

If our lives on this earth were the end of our existence, some of these situations would be crushing. We'd run far away from pain and toward what we perceive as pleasure. Even with the presence of God, they still feel overwhelming! 

But Hebrews 11 – and the rest of God’s Word – tell us there is a better country we are to long and hope for. God has prepared an eternal existence for us in which all of our hopes, dreams, and longings are fulfilled – where the pain and struggle of this world is no more. It's not an escape hatch, but it is a destination.

For now – as strangers and exiles doubling as salt and light, who are called to be a preview of the coming attraction of the better country to the watching world – for now, we live in the “already” and “not fully.”

We live in the “already” of Jesus’s offer of life for now and forevermore, but we live in the “not fully” of this present age. We live in a time when we continue to look forward to the city God has prepared for those He loves and for those who love Him.

Until that day, may we rejoice in hope, be patient in struggle, and be constant in prayer, all while experiencing the fullness of joy that exists in His presence even now. He makes life worth living, friends.

With great love and joy,
Erika

Faith, Hope, and Love

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 10:39-11:1)

Every human being lives by faith. Each of us believes in something, or someone.

Faith is what we anchor our hope to. What we anchor our lives to.

Sometimes we place our faith in family members, friends, political candidates, government policies, or wealth. We place our faith in our jobs, comfort, security, or education. We place our faith in our own abilities. Sometimes we even place our faith in our own spirituality or religiosity. We place our faith in things or people (even ourselves) who ultimately will fail. They will always come up short. We know this, don’t we? We’ve experienced the letdown that comes with their failure.

Our world doesn’t need anymore of this kind of faith – watered down, subjective, hyper-individualized, misplaced trust in failing things. It has no staying power! Our world desperately, urgently needs genuine, biblical faith. 

Hebrews 11 tells us what true biblical faith has been, is, and always will be. Biblical faith is assurance of things hoped for. It is conviction – undying belief – in what is real. This chapter gives us name after name after name of those who had faith that endured suffering, which sustained them through feast and famine, and led to lasting life. The strength of their faith wasn't what sustained them; rather the object of their faith sustained them.

James 1:3 says that the testing of true faith produces perseverance. This perseverance – this steadfastness – makes us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Does the object of your faith make you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing? 

According to Romans 5:1-5, faith produces peace, joy in suffering, endurance, character, and ultimately hope. This hope dismisses shame and replaces shame with love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Does the object of your faith produce peace, give lasting hope, and fill you with love for those around you?

Galatians 5:6 says that God values faith working through love. This is what He cherishes. 

Genuine faith is a loving, working, faith. If we have not love, we have nothing. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Do you struggle to love? Examine what you’ve anchored your hope to. 

Do you lack hope? Examine the object of your faith.

Have you placed your faith in that which will not save? Believe in Jesus, and Him alone, and be saved. Trust in the only Messiah who brings life. 

This is the only faith that will change the world. Church, we need more of this.

May we be those who unapologetically believe in and cling to the only One who brings life, hope and love, and may this faith radically transform our lives and our world. 

With great joy and love,
Erika

Remember when...

"Remember when..."

How often do we use this phrase when we’re reminiscing about the good old days? Usually when we refer to the “good old days,” we’re talking about a time we perceive as simpler - or as easier, perhaps. 

The author of Hebrews does this in chapter 10. But the “good old days” he’s calling to mind are a little different than our understanding of the “good old days.” He says, “Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

In other words, “Remember those days when life was terribly hard but you clung to your belief? When you sacrificed because of your faith but had compassion on those around you? When you and your friends were persecuted but joyfully accepted it? When you struggled but had confidence it was purposeful? When you knew that it was all worth it because of Jesus?”

Remember when you believed He was enough so deeply that everything else paled in comparison? Remember all the times He’s been faithful to you?

Remember when Christ was your first love?

Think about that time. Dwell on Him. Cling to Him.

That’s not it, though. The author of Hebrews isn’t finished.

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised...we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

evelation 3:3 says, "Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent..."

Philippians 3:16 says, "Only let us hold true to what we have attained." 

Hang on, friends. Your faith is battle-tested. Don’t shrink back. Let's not throw away our confidence in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. No matter what life throws at us, may we press on. May we return to our first love. May we allow Him to preserve our souls. For we have a better possession, and an enduring one. Let's keep our eyes on the prize.

With love and great joy,
Erika

A Crisis of Hope

Hope is a powerful thing. It sustains us when we can’t see the way out of tragedy. It gives us a reason to get out of bed when the pain of life becomes too much to bear. It invites us to search for the light when all we see is darkness. It provides assurance in uncertainty. It reminds us, in the face of death, that life is worth living.

Hope isn’t some abstract concept void of reality. Hope is real. Hope has a name.

Hebrews 10:22-23 says, “Let us draw near 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 the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

We hope because our God is faithful. We hope because He never fails, even we don’t sense His presence. We hope because Jesus, the One who endured suffering and overcame death, made a way for fullness of life. We hold fast to this hope because it gives us a reason for being – a reason for living.

But we can’t do it alone. We were never meant to. Life is too hard to endure in isolation.

Right after the author of Hebrews encourages us to hold fast to our hope, we read this: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together…but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Life in Christ is impossible apart from each other. We need each other, friends. We need actualface time – not screen Facetime. We need to love boldly and generously – and we need to be loved boldly and generously. We need to challenge each other toward Christlikeness – and we need to be challenged toward Christlikeness. We need to encourage – and we need to be encouraged.

This week, two beautiful, vibrant people who had risen to the heights of success in their fields – Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain – lost hope. A lump swelled in my throat when I read the news of their deaths. Life seemed too great a burden to bear. Despair reigned. As their families and friends try to put the pieces back together, there’s agonizing confusion about how this happened. It’s an all too familiar tragedy.

Over the last two decades, suicide rates have increased by more than 25% in the United States. Rates of depression and anxiety are at an all time high – especially among teenagers and young adults. People are looking for answers – for meaning. We are in a crisis. Healing looks different for each person: some need a shoulder to cry on, some need medication, some need a counselor. One thing is certain and universal, though: we all need hope, and we need each other.

Hebrews 10 offers us a needed reminder in light of this crisis of hope: in the midst of the pain is a God who invites us to draw near because He loves us more than we can imagine. As we draw near to Him, we also draw near to each other, refusing to allow anyone to live in isolation – doggedly loving those around us in the way He loves us, holding fast to this hope we have in Jesus.

Hold fast to hope, beloved. He is faithful.

With love,
Erika

Our Pleasure & Our Duty

Our pleasure and our duty,
Though opposite before,
Since we have seen His beauty
Are joined to part no more.

To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Transforms a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.

These words were written by John Newton, the once wretched slave ship captain turned abolitionist Jesus-loving minister. Something extraordinary happens when we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead. Our unbelieving hearts and self-worshiping minds, which were once hostile to God and viewed His law as enslaving and oppressive, are transformed. We find freedom, beauty, and pleasure in God Himself and in His Word. Hebrews 10:16 says that He puts His laws on our hearts and writes them on our minds. We become like children, desiring to respond to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus by worshiping our God in spirit and in truth and by following His example, which He empowers us to do through His Spirit.

My question for you this week is this – and it’s one I have to ask myself more than often than I’d care to admit – do you know the freedom, beauty, and pleasure of childlike faith?

I overthink things a lot. I have a tendency to associate adulthood with seriousness and independence – neither of which is biblical. I can be clinical about the way I study Scripture and view God as distant, rather than near. I can worry so much about obeying the rules that I forget to love and enjoy the One who fulfilled the law, who told his disciples this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatand first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is the law He has put on our hearts and written on our minds! Christ is this law – love itself - fulfilled!

Having childlike faith doesn’t mean checking our brains at the door. The word disciple means “one who engages in learning through instruction from another.” It means understanding our position as children of God – relishing it, resting in it, and loving Him – with everything we have. It means knowing Him as our Father who is always with us and trusting Him in the way a child trusts her daddy when he hoists her up on his shoulders for a better view.

Hebrews 10:1-18, our text for this week, is about Jesus’ sacrifice once and for all. He’s done it. It is finished. So let’s stop striving and start trusting as children who know their Father. "Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before, since we have seen His beauty, are joined to part no more." If an angry slave ship captain can become like a child, so can you, and so can the person you’ve been praying for. Jesus transforms hearts and minds. No one is beyond His reach.

See you tomorrow!
Erika

How's Your Joy?

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
 - Psalm 51:12

This morning, my mom sent me a devotion on 1 Thessalonians 5:16. The phrase, “Always be joyful,” resounded in my heart and mind early in the day. As the day wore on, though, I had to pray Psalm 51:12 more than once. The weight of suffering in the lives of friends and family – the weight of the pain in this world…I began to attempt to carry this weight on my own, and guess what began to wane? Joy.

“Father, restore to me the joy of your salvation. Refresh my joy. Realign my devotion. Deepen my faith in your goodness.”

How’s your joy? Does it need a refreshing? A renewal? Are you tired? Are you weary? Are you finding it hard to remain joyful in the midst of the challenges of life?

Over and over again, we read words like these in Scripture: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say, ‘Rejoice!’” God is serious about joy – and not just a forced smile and faux happiness, but rather “subterranean joy that is simultaneous with, and deeper than, the greatest of our sorrows.” (D. Mathis)

You might be wondering…what in the world does this have to do with Hebrews 9? What does joy have to do with sacrifices and blood and covenants?

It has everything to do with it. It’s the how and the why of the joy He commands – and invites – us to partake in.

When we read Hebrews 9, we are reminded of the lengths to which God has gone to save our souls. We are reminded of the totality of our sin and the completeness of His sacrifice. We are reminded that we live in a privileged time in the history of the world, because we get to know and follow a Savior who lived, died, and rose again, rather than simply await His arrival on the scene.

When it feels like life is overwhelming – when you begin to try to carry the burdens you were never supposed to carry – remember this: God is unreservedly committed to your endless joy in Him. Remember the Jesus of Hebrews 9 who loves you and shed His blood for you. In this world, you will weep at times. You will struggle at times. You will have trouble. But take heart! He has overcome the world.

As we head into the weekend, may we be so in awe of His sustaining love, burden-bearing sacrifice, and redemptive grace that our hearts are filled with His joy. In response to Hebrews 9, may we pray – wholeheartedly – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

See you Sunday!
Erika

The Better Sacrifice

“…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
- Hebrews 9:14

We’re reaching a critical point in Hebrews. The author has made the case that Jesus is better than the angels, the prophets, Moses, Joshua, and the Levitical priesthood. He has tried to explain to his Jewish Christian audience that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything they had been longing for.

Are you convinced that Jesus is better? Would you be convinced if you were in their shoes?

Is this Gospel – this Jesus – worth following even in the face of persecution? In the face of the threat of death?

If you’re not there yet – if you remained unconvinced – keep listening. God has more to say through the author of Hebrews.

After reading in the previous chapter about the beautiful new covenant Jesus has ushered in, in this week's passage, we read about Jesus as the better sacrifice through descriptions taken straight from the Old Testament.  Although you and I don’t talk about tabernacles and sacrifices often, the Jewish Christians did. They understood this language intimately. What they didn’t understand, though, was how these images had been filled to overflowing in Jesus.

The symbols in the tabernacle and temple, the sacrifices offered, the laws followed – these could not cleanse them internally. They couldn’t save them! All of these things were pointing to the only One who would: Jesus Christ.

These rituals had dealt with the externals, but Jesus came to cleanse our conscience from the inside out and to save us fully – once and for all.

Every human is born with a conscience. But for the person without Christ, the conscience is constantly condemning. There is nowhere for them to take their failures, and we all have failures. What do you do with your guilt without belief in Jesus? You wear it like a robe. It accumulates, and you limp under its weight, with nowhere to lay such a massive burden down. 

But here’s the thing: when we become believers, our conscience is redeemed and the Holy Spirit points us toward the path of life, which is serving God forever. We are brought into the marvelous light of His kingdom, because He bore the burden of our guilt. He ransomed us out of slavery to our sin and shame. He voluntarily put on the blood-stained robe that was too heavy for us. He secured our eternal innocence by shedding his blood, making the sacrifice of goats and lambs unnecessary forevermore. On one day, at one point in history, Jesus willingly laid down his life and shed his blood once and for all.

For the Jewish Christian, this was extraordinary. Is it to us? When we sing, “Lord I Need You,” do we understand the depth of our need, the breadth of the sacrifice and the overwhelming nature of the love it took to make such a sacrifice?

Let’s be blown away this week by the goodness of Jesus. Let’s not carry the burdens He has offered to take for us, because He doesn’t just save us from something. He saves us for something. He purifies our conscience "from dead works to serve the Living God." When we attempt to put our robes of guilt back on, we are forfeiting freedom He means for us to enjoy and works He has prepared for us to do!

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1

Let's be convinced Jesus is better.

See you Sunday!
Erika

Draw Near.

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. – Hebrews 7:25

Draw near.

Come close.

Move toward.

Apart from Jesus, we’re unable to draw near to God. It’s impossible. He is too holy, and we are too human. But Jesus, both holy and human, who sacrificed His own body on our behalf, as our High Priest, continuously prays on our behalf even as you read these words. He is able to save to the uttermost. Wholly. Fully. Completely.

The invitation embedded in this salvation is simple and clear. Draw near. God desires our communion with Him. He desires our attention and our presence. He knows that we flounder when we move away from Him. We were hardwired at creation to need Him, and when we run away from Him, it’s impossible to fill that need with anything or anyone else. I know. I’ve tried!

In Genesis, shortly after Adam and Eve disobey, God asks them a question: “Where are you?”

Even as believers, when we sin, our temptation might be to move away from Him, rather than drawing near. In response, God asks us, “Where are you?”

In James 4:8, we read, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Draw near. No matter where you are, let your response to the question, “Where are you?” be one of drawing near and seeking Him. No sin is too great; no shame too burdensome. Because of Jesus, our High Priest, you will find Him and He will draw near. 

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite poems from Jill Briscoe. See you this Sunday, when we’ll all draw near together!

Joyfully,
Erika

I ran to the deep place where nobody goes and found Him waiting there.

“Where have you been?” He asked me.

“I’ve been in the shallow places where everyone lives,” I replied. I knew He knew. He just wanted me to admit I’d been too busy being busy.

“I’m running out…” I began.

“Of course,” He said. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

He sat down on the steps of my soul in the Deep Place where nobody goes and smiled at me. Angels sang; a shaft of light chased away the shadows and brightened my daily day. I smiled back.         

   “I’m such a fool…”

“Shhh,” He said, putting His finger on my lips. He touched my hurried heart. Startled, it took a deep breath and skidded to a near stop. My spirit nestled in to nearness in the Deep Place where nobody goes. 

My soul spoke, then: He answered with words beyond music. Where on earth had I been while heaven waited? Such grace!

Discussion Questions: Hebrews 7:20-28

1. Have you ever "sworn an oath" or made a covenant before? (Think marriage or a court of law.) Does that make your commitment a bigger deal? How so?

2. How do you feel about God making an oath that Jesus would be a priest forever? What does that mean for our security and assurance?

3. What kinds of things does a priest do?

4. Have you ever had to co-sign on a loan? What does the co-signer promise to do? When Hebrews says that Jesus is a guarantor of a better covenant, in a way, He is saying He will be "on the hook" for us. How does this make you feel?

5. Hebrews 7:25 - read this in different English translations of the Bible. What words bring you comfort and hope in this verse?

6. What specific thing is Jesus praying for you about right now? Can you close your eyes and imagine him praying for you?

7. Hebrews 7:26 lists several descriptors for Jesus. Which one is your favorite and why?

8. Spend time praying together and encouraging each other to draw near to the Great High Priest.

A Better Hope

Have you ever tried to be perfect?  How did you do?  On the surface, this is not a bad goal.  After all Jesus Himself said, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  Perfection is required to be right with a perfect God.  But I'm far from perfect and I'm guessing so are you.  So, what do we do?  

We have some options.  We could just try harder.  We could come up with excuses.  We could blame someone else.  We could follow a system, work a program.  Seven Steps to a Better You.  It all sounds good...until it's not.  Until we realize it is all empty of the power needed for true change and transformation.

People are people everywhere and the original audience that first heard Hebrews looked for other ways to achieve righteousness and perfection also.  They were tempted to go back to the Law - a good thing, given by God on Mt. Sinai.  They were tempted to trust a system of sacrificing animals for the forgiveness of sins and this system had a purpose, but only to show us our sin.  The Law has no power to save us from our sin.

But then the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world died on a tree He died once for all and declared before His final breath "It is Finished."  And then He rose from the dead so the author of Hebrews can say, "He has become a priest by the power of an indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16).

We have an invitation brothers and sisters.  A better priest from a different tribe has come to accomplish what the Law could not do and what we could not achieve.  Look to Him.  Fix your eyes on Him.  

"For the law made nothing perfect...a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God" (Hebrews 7:19)

"Run, John, run, the law commands,
But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the Gospel brings;
It bids us fly and gives us wings."

May we be those who trust in the better priest from the tribe of Judah in the order of Melchizedek who fulfilled the Law and then bids us fly and gives us wings.  Fly high!  Be loved!  Soar!  Rejoice in this better hope which draws us near to God.

See you tomorrow,
Steven

Calling all sisters, daughters, mothers, and friends...

Dear sisters, daughters, mothers, and friends,

IF:Alton 2018 is almost here! Over the last year, God has been prompting, building relationships, challenging us, calling us deeper, healing wounds, reconciling, and creating a yearning and desire in our hearts for more.

We want to come alongside what the Holy Spirit began long ago and build upon it. 

On February 9th and 10th, more than a million women around the globe came together for a 2-day event called IF:Gathering. They met in homes, churches, and community centers to look at one of Paul’s letters to Timothy as he reminded him of the power and responsibility of sharing the gospel. 

Since that weekend in February, women have continued to host IF:Gatherings around the world - where together they worship, pray, open the Word, listen to the same teachings on perseverance and discipleship, and experience the presence of God. Although the IF lineup has many well-known teachers, pastors, and authors, such as Jennie Allen, Christine Caine, Katie Davis Majors, and more, this gathering is not really about hearing your favorite speaker...however great he or she may be. Rather it is about participating in a generation of women who believe God at His word and desire to spend their lives well for His glory.

The vision of IF is to come alongside local churches to gather, equip, and unleash women to live out their calling as followers of Jesus in their communities.

This is where you come in.

This Friday evening, April 27th, and Saturday, April 28th, we will gather, as women, at The Bridge Church for IF:Alton. This event is open to ALL women in our community. We want to give God away in the very places He’s put us, so we’re going to gather for the purpose of remembering why following God and making disciples matters. We all get tired, we all wonder if what we’re doing matters, so IF:Gathering 2018 will be the reminder--it will be the celebration. The work we’re doing to share the gospel on the earth is worth it and God DOES move through the little things that nobody sees.

If you're not already registered, we would love for you to join us. There is still time!

For more information and to register, click here or email Erika Paul at erika@thebridgealton.com. 

With love & great joy,
Erika Paul  

Mirror, Mirror

This week, our passage in Hebrews retells the story of Abraham and Melchizedek from Genesis 14. Abraham experienced a great military victory, and his response was generous worship. Not only did he offer praise to the Lord Most High, but he gave Him a tenth of everything through Melchizedek, the priest of the Lord Most High. His response to God’s goodness was surrender. Abraham knew the source of every good gift – even life itself – was the Lord Most High.

It’s easy today, in our culture and context, to believe that we are entitled to all we have because we worked for it! Because we aren’t often forced to desperately pray for our daily bread, we tend to credit ourselves for the blessings in our lives – without even realizing it.

If we are to take God at His word, every good gift has come from Him. The very breath in our lungs, the twinkling stars that hang in the sky on a dark night, the way our muscles work together to enable us to move and work, the way the synapses in our brains fire back and forth to allow us to think, the love instilled within us for one another…He has made all of this possible! He has lavished us with blessing! He is good, and He loves us.

Abraham knew this, and it compelled Him to worship generously. He recognized God’s generosity toward Him, and in return, from an overflow of His heart, He mirrored the God He knew.

Jesus Christ gave Himself up for us. He loves extravagantly and sacrificially. And He calls us to mirror Him.

The question this week is twofold: 1. Do I know the Jesus Christ of Scripture, who gives generously and loves sacrificially? And 2. What does it look like for me to more closely mirror Him?

We cannot mirror that which we do not know. Or more aptly, we cannot mirror One whom we do not know.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” – Galatians 2:20

Father, You are the source of everything good in this world and in our lives. The sunshine on a spring day, the blossoming trees, the colorful sunsets…the very breath in our lungs…you have blessed us so generously, Lord. Please give us hearts of gratitude. As we live our lives, please help us to mirror You – to reflect Your image. We want to be generous with our time, our talents, and our treasure…because it is all Yours. Help us to live accordingly, knowing You withhold no good thing from us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  

Anchored

Imagine you’re on a ship in the middle of a raging sea. Dark clouds are building. The walls of water become rougher and rougher and rise higher and higher. Your saving grace? You look for a “hurricane hole,” a port with high cliffs or mountains to shield you from the harshest elements. Then you drop your steadfast anchor and pray that it holds. As much as the storm may batter and frighten you, you hope in the anchor. Without it, the you’re likely to violently crash into the very cliffs offering you protection. The anchor, which has so faithfully been with you through the calm and the hurricane, preserves your life!

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71:3

“…We who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:18-20

For first century Christians and the original readers of Hebrews, they clung not only to the symbol of the cross, but to the symbol of the anchor. Inscriptions on Christian tombstones of that era often included anchors alongside messages of peace and hope. “If I'm a first century Christian and I'm hiding in the catacombs and three of my best friends have just been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake, or crucified and set ablaze…the symbol that most encourages me in my faith is the anchor. When I see it, I'm reminded that Jesus is my anchor." (Michael Card)

We serve a God who offers us peace in the midst of chaos, hope in the midst of uncertainty, and courage in the face of suffering. The anchor held for our brothers and sisters in the first century, and it holds for us today. If you’ve surrendered to Jesus, you’re already in your “hurricane hole.” Take heart, and drop your anchor!

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Father, thank you for your faithfulness. You never promised we wouldn’t face storms in this life. You promised you would walk with us, anchor us, and provide refuge for us in the midst of the storms of this life. Jesus, you endured the worst of storms so we could have the privilege of walking through our storms with You. Thank you. And thank you for Your promise that one day, storms will be no more. May we be people who know you, our Rock, our Salvation, our Anchor, and when we are tempted to drop an anchor that looks nothing like you, please draw us near to You so we’re able to recognize our only hope: You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Discussion Questions: Hebrews 6:13-20

Hebrews 6:13-20
An Anchor for the Soul  

1.       Have you ever been asked to provide a sworn statement or been required to take an oath? Did you take a greater amount of care in filling out the form or providing the testimony? Why or why not? This passage shares that the practice of giving an oath puts an end to all argument. Have you experienced a time when you could not determine the truth in a situation?

2.       What was the promise that God made to Abraham? Do you think God could be trusted to fulfill that promise? If so, why do you think God made an oath? Who did God swear by? Do you think Abraham had reason to doubt God’s promise? Do we sometimes doubt God’s promises? Are you waiting patiently for a promise to be fulfilled?

3.       How do you feel when you read that the nature of God’s purpose is unchanging? Can you think of some scriptures that describe God’s purpose?

4.       Are you going through a situation in which you need to be encouraged? Would you be willing to share this situation? What comfort do you receive when the writer says it is impossible for God to lie? How can we support one another while waiting patiently for God to answer our prayers? 

5.       What hope is the writer referencing? What hopes are you holding onto? Where and how are our hopes anchored firm and secure? How does this anchor hold us secure during the storms of our lives? Are you currently facing a storm?

6.       Jesus is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. What does it mean to you to have a high priest forever? We will learn much more about Melchizedek in chapter 7.

Do you know Him?

God is serious about redemption. He is serious about the Gospel. He is serious about bringing His kingdom. He is serious about loving us to the uttermost. He is serious about salvation. He is serious about accomplishing all things for our good and His glory.

He has shown us extravagant grace, goodness, and perseverance. While we were at our very worst, Christ died for us. God is so good that we cannot even begin to understand the shallowest depths of His goodness.

Upon first glance, Hebrews 6:4-12 may seem severe and perhaps even unloving. But the message of this passage, while serious and urgent, is laden with love. Biblical warnings don’t exist to diminish freedom; they exist to shift our hearts and eyes to the One who brings true freedom. This is love.

This passage is not a caution to those who have experienced genuine repentance and true conversion. No one can pluck you from your Father’s hand. This passage is a caution to those who are pretending.

“One of the ways that Hebrews makes us truly happy is with warnings about false security. There is a kind of happiness that will kill you. And the book of Hebrews is relentlessly loving in exposing this dangerous happiness and warning us to flee from its deceptions and pursue the solid happiness that will never let us down. In other words, Hebrews is written to deepen and strengthen the joy of our assurance in God, and one of the strategies of the book is to expose false assurances and fleeting pleasures.” (John Piper)

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. - Hebrews 4:9-12

Pretending and genuine belief both have eternal consequences. The former leads to death; the latter leads to life. The former may lead to fleeting pleasures, but the latter leads to solid joy that outlives time.

We played a video on Easter called, “That’s My King,” and the question asked over and over again in that video was, “Do you know Him?”

That’s the question of this passage too, and of all of Scripture.

“A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him.” – J. I. Packer

Father, we desire to know You. You've said that when we seek You, we will find You. So, God, give us hearts that seek You.  Thank you for your seriousness and your joy. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your relentless pursuit of us. Please make us sincere in our convictions and committed in our hope. And give us Your heart for those around us who don't know You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

See you Sunday!
Erika

Further Reading: John 13:1, Romans 5:8, Jeremiah 29:12-14, John 10:28-30, Ephesians 1:15-23

Discussion Questions: Hebrews 6:4-12

Hebrews 6:4-12
Make Your Hope Sure

1.     Have you ever purchased an imitation of the genuine item? It may have had all the external markings of the original but you knew that it was not genuine. Would you be willing to share your experience with purchasing such an item? Hebrews 6 verses 4-6 describe some characteristics that could be experienced but not reflect genuine faith. What were these?

2.     Can you think of someone who was close to Jesus, who experienced His earthly ministry but did not believe in Jesus? Is it possible today for someone to display the outward signs of a relationship with Christ but not be a genuine believer? What characteristics might this person display?

3.     The writer states that it is impossible for someone who falls away after having experienced such a strong witness (as described in verses 4-6) to be moved again to repentance. How does that statement make you feel? Could it be possible that a person reaches a point in time when their hearts become so hardened that it is no longer possible to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit? How would such a person be crucifying Christ again and subjecting Him to public disgrace?

4.     In verse 7, the writer uses a farming illustration describing two plots of land that receive the same rain and yet one plot produces a useful crop and another produces thorns and thistles. What do you think is the difference between the two plots? Do you recall a time when Jesus used a similar illustration? What were the differences in the plots of land in this story?

5.     In verse 10, the writer describes some characteristics of his listeners. What were these? Continuing with the farming theme, what evidence of true faith should a believer be producing?

6.     In verses 11-13, the writer references three characteristics that should be practiced so that they inherit what has been promised. What are these? Would you consider these a condition of the promise or a reflection of the hope in the promise? Why? What does the phrase, work out your salvation mean to you? Who has God sent to work in us?

7.     Can you think of passages within the Bible that provide assurance of salvation?             

Do you believe?

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. – Mark 16:6

Do you believe Jesus lived a perfect life on earth, died brutally, sacrificially, and lovingly on a cross, and was triumphantly resurrected on the third day?

If so, there is no part of life that the resurrection of Jesus does not touch.

The resurrection changes absolutely everything. It renews, restores, recreates, and breathes life into our deadness. It breathes strength into our weakness. It infuses hope into our desperation. It brings beauty from ashes.

“He has risen; He is not here,” is perhaps the most hope-filled, joy-filled, space and time-altering statement in the history of the universe.

The question then, for us, is this: are we living like we believe in the resurrection? Are we living as though the tomb is empty? Are we living with hope?

What we believe about the resurrection changes the way we wake up in the morning.

It changes what we see when we look in the mirror.

It changes how we respond to that Facebook post with which we so vehemently disagree.

It changes how we love the unlovable.

It changes how we go about our work.

It changes how we rest.

It changes how we respond to loss and suffering.

It changes how we value the stuff of this world.

It changes how we interact with the server who brings us our meal.

It changes how we treat our families.

It changes how we gain approval.

The resurrected Jesus changes us.

HE changes EVERYTHING.

Peter had denied Jesus three times, and Mary Magdalene had been possessed by demons...and yet both are radically loved, saved, and freed by Jesus Christ. No one and nothing is beyond the reach of His resurrection.

C.S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

Father, thank you for raising us with Christ! Please help us to see everything in light of the resurrection of Jesus. Help us to seek the things that are above. Help us to seek You...to set our minds and hearts on You. Please shift our gaze from distractions here on earth. Help us to put to death the idols we raise up and the sins we run back to. Replace our anger and gossip with compassion and praise. Show us how to be Your resurrection-minded sons and daughters. Thank you for making us Yours! For loving us! Please grow our kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. We want to be people known by our extravagant forgiveness, love, and peace. We want to know You and Your Word deeply, and we want to live our lives for Your sake. Please give us hearts overflowing with thankfulness as we approach this Sunday and everyday. We love You, we worship You, and we thank You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Can't wait to worship with you this Sunday! 10 AM. What a joy it will be to celebrate and worship our reigning and risen King and Savior together. A taste of heaven. See you there!

References: Mark 16:1-8; Isaiah 61:3; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 2; Colossians 3

Discussion Questions: Mark 16:1-8

1. In the first century, women had no legal status and their testimony was inadmissible in court due to the “levity – or frivolity – and boldness” of their gender. They were often put in the same category as slaves. This is why Jesus’ positive and inclusive treatment of women was so radical at the time. Why do you think Mark documented two women – Mary Magdalene and Salome, whose testimonies would not have even been admissible in court – as the first ones to arrive at Jesus’ tomb? What is the significance of this?
    
2. What are Mary Magdalene and Salome discussing in verse 3? Based on their actions up to this point, is there any indication they believe Jesus might not be in the tomb? Why or why not?
    
3. Jesus had predicted His own resurrection many times. His followers knew these predictions well. (Matthew 16:21; Matthew 27:62-64) Yet the women were still approaching the tomb as though He would be in it. Are there any promises God has made to you in which you lack confidence or faith? Are there any areas of your life that reflect unbelief in what God has said He will do?
    
4. Even in their unbelief that He would resurrect from the dead, Mary Magdalene and Salome were faithful to love and worship Jesus, bringing spices they had bought to anoint Him, unfazed by the challenges of entering a possibly closed tomb. They were the last at the crucifixion and the first at the tomb. Because they showed up, they discovered He had been telling the truth all along. They became believers in the resurrection when they met the man in white. What does it look like for you to love Jesus and to worship Him in spite of your unbelief, in spite of your uncertainty? What does it look like for you to continue “showing up,” even when you are disappointed that things haven’t turned out the way you hoped?
    
5. Could you describe a moment in your life when God met you in your weakness and unbelief and showed you who He really is? Were you terrified, as the women were? How did you respond?
    
6. What is the first command given to the women upon seeing that Jesus has risen? What might we learn from this command today?
    
7. Why does the man in white refer to, “His disciples and Peter,” rather than simply, “His disciples?”
    
8. “He has risen; He is not here,” is perhaps the most hope-filled, joy-filled, space and time-altering statements in the history of the universe. Why? How has the truth of the resurrection impacted you personally?
    
9. Read Colossians 3:1-4. Meditate on how you have been raised with Christ. Spend some time thanking Him for the truth of the Gospel. Ask Him what earthly things might be pushing out the “things above” we’re called to set our minds upon. Dwell on the things above. He has risen; He is not here.