April 26, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
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Daily Bread May 4, 2017
Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2017 by Bro_D
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Today is today and tomorrow … well… will be “today” when it gets here. As long as today is called “today” we have been commanded to exhort one another. There are certain exhortations that I like to receive --- everybody likes to here, “Good Job” or “keep up the good work”. While coaching soccer this past Spring, I would high-five each kid as they came off the field …. Every time – they were always ready to receive it. But, when the time to pull them aside and teach came, well, they weren’t as excited. They wanted to get back in the game quickly. The problem was, if I put them back in without teaching them what they were doing wrong, then they would continue to do that which was detrimental to both them and the team.
The author of Hebrews is not telling the believers to give each other a pat on the back each day. No, the author is commanding the believers to “teach” one another or “warn” one another every day of the deceitfulness of sin. The author is not saying that believers ought to just tell people, “hey, sin is bad.” – No, he is exhorting the believers to be accountable to one another. When (NOT IF), we see our brother or sister sliding down the slippery slope of temptation headed for the muddy pit of sin, we are commanded to step in – not with harsh words or condemnation – but more like a paramedic, policeman or fireman would. Someone coming to the rescue, to defend, or to put out a fire.
If I were to continue to allow one of my players to use their hands in the middle of the soccer field – never teaching, never trying to correct the behavior, then I am not being a coach – I would just be some old man on the sidelines watching these kids fail to become players of the game of soccer. When we don’t exhort one another, we aren’t much different than that old man watching from the sidelines. An overwhelming majority of the New Testament is written in a manner of instruction. Most of it is instructing people are what they are doing wrong and how to correct it. The authors of the Epistles wrote to “exhort” the church – rarely will you see an “atta boy” on the page. If we truly love one another, we will be exhorting one another. If we truly know the deceitfulness of sin, we will exhort one another. If we are simply on the sidelines watching…. Well … we must not be very loving, we must not understand to deceitful power of sin …. And … we probably aren’t what we say we are.
Sometimes, the Word of God doesn’t taste like slow roasted prime rib, sometimes, it tastes like kale. Problem is, the kale is usually better for us. Go, take a bite out of His Word today --- no matter where you bite, He will fill you.