HOLD FIRMLY, WE ARE THE HOUSE OF CHRIST

Hebrews 3:4-6

For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. "Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house," bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:4-6

For me, one of the most compelling things about Christianity is its coherence, that the pieces of God's story come together to form a whole. The Bible isn't a bunch of different stories collected between two covers: it's one story, from beginning to end, and it's a story about Jesus. He has been identified as equal in might, majesty, dominion, and power, with God the Father, for He is God the Son, the Creator of all, both visible and invisible.

He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and yet He is the exact representation of the eternal, invisible, almighty God and Father. In the Bible, we see the design of God. We see God's plan and how He created the world with a purpose. The world is too complex and the organisms in it are too complicated to have just happened due to chance. Every house and building have a builder. You.

The same is true for us. Someone had to put us together. The complexity in each of our cells screams that we are not accidents. We have been created by God and God knows each of us in a deep and real way. So today, challenge yourself to really think about what it means that you've been created. That means that someone cared enough about you to put you here in this time and place in history. Indeed, someone knew you were designed with something this world needed, and you have value because He created you for His purpose.

In verse six, the author tells us it takes courage and perseverance to be a part of God's house. As we read in chapter two, the author addresses people drifting away from the faith. This truth of courage and confidence in Christ is the solution to drifting away. We all make mistakes, but when we persevere through trials and keep our hope in Jesus, we live in the abundance of being in God's house.

We face disappointments throughout life, and it feels like the world is falling apart. Persevering in faith looks like trusting the goodness of God even in the midst of difficult circumstances. We all struggle with sin. Persevering in faith looks like repenting and believing that God fully forgives you. We experience both complacency and passion towards God. Persevering in faith looks like choosing to draw close to God even when we don't feel like it.

Whatever the situation might be, God has proven Himself to be good, faithful, and worth following. Above all else, take courage in the character of God, especially when circumstances become difficult. He's worth it. He's better than you think. How blessed we are to be members of the body of Christ, living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house, whose Builder and Maker is God. Let's shout, Glory!!!

Father, thank You for this day and for creating us to have a relationship with You through Jesus. Lord, let Your abundant blessings be on my friends' and family's portion today. Lord, we thank You that by grace we have been made a child of God and are being built up by You into a spiritual house. Lord, thank You that our lives are hidden with You in God and that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. Lord, we pray we may live a life that is honoring to You today. Lord, use my friends to boldly proclaim to all the good news of the lifesaving gospel today.

Father, we love You. Amen.