Author: Brian Burdett

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

Biblical faith is about confidence in the future that you can’t yet see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. It’s the choice to believe that because your Savior died and rose from the dead, you will also rise from death to be with Him eternally. There are plenty of stories in the Bible to help build your confidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God, God Himself come in human flesh, the Christ, and your Savior. But faith is still required. You must simply believe some things which won’t entirely be proven until Jesus returns and your faith becomes your lived experience.

Not only is this OK, it’s absolutely necessary! Faith isn’t faith if it’s easily proven in every last detail. Hebrews 11 is full of examples of the faith of God’s people throughout history and how God has blessed and rewarded that faith. The saints of old trusted God’s promises and He delivered them, even through suffering. God’s grace, favor, and blessing come through faith. Faith isn’t foolish acceptance of fairy tales. It’s the thoughtful and confident assurance that God is good, faithful, trustworthy, and powerful enough to keep every promise He has made.

The life of faith is the path of ultimate joy and reward now and forever. Embrace your faith, even, and especially, when your senses and feelings point in a different direction. Be confident in what God has revealed through His Word (the Bible) and His Word Made Flesh (Jesus). Live your life in confident faith. #FollowJesus

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.” – Hebrews 10:19-20

In ancient times, a heavy curtain separated God’s presence in the most holy place of the Tabernacle from everyone and everything else. This was for our protection. Mankind in our sinfulness couldn’t survive the in the presence of our Most Holy God. The only human who could pass through that curtain was the High Priest, once a year, on the Day of Atonement. At all other times, we had to keep our distance from God for our own safety.

However, when Jesus died on the cross, everything changed! That curtain was torn from top to bottom as Jesus breathed His last breath. Its responsibility to separate mankind from our Creator was obsolete! We have been reconciled through Christ’s sacrifice. The curtain has been opened for everyone who embraces Jesus Christ as Lord. Through faith in Jesus, every believer is washed clean of their sins by the innocent, divine blood of Jesus. We are welcomed through the curtain and into God’s presence! That includes you!!!

Do you now live in that confidence the writer of Hebrews of speaks of in these verses? Do you gladly enter into the holy presence of God every day in prayer, praise, and petition? Are you delighted to grow closer to the Lord, knowing that there is no curtain to keep you separated from Him? Do you pursue your relationship with God zealously, studying His Word, praying, meditating on Scripture, praising and testifying to His goodness, and serving Him in the power of His Spirit? There’s no longer a need to keep your distance from God, so don’t! #FollowJesus

“This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.” – Hebrews 7:22

Celebrate this truth! By His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ guarantees the new and better covenant God has made with mankind. This covenant isn’t based on what we do. It isn’t a covenant of rules and laws that we’ll inevitably break and lose the benefit of. This is a covenant based on God’s grace which can never break. The benefits of the new covenant can never be lost. Jesus Himself sits at the Father’s right hand to guarantee it!

This is truly good news. If you’ve embraced Jesus as your Lord, then you are under God’s new covenant. Your sins have been forgiven not because you sacrificed animals, but because of the voluntary sacrifice of the eternal Son of God Himself. Jesus gave Himself to be your once-for-all-time sacrifice on the cross, ratifying the new covenant with His innocent, holy, divine blood.

Jesus is the guarantee of the grace in which you stand! That grace can NEVER be shaken. That grace NEVER ends. The unending, indestructible life of Jesus is the proof and guarantee that in Christ, your life is eternal as well. Praise the Lord and #FollowJesus!

“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.” – Hebrews 6:10

Know this for certain – no good work that you do for the Lord ever goes forgotten, unappreciated, or wasted! It doesn’t matter if any other person ever knows about the good that you do for others. It doesn’t matter if nobody ever remembers to say “thank you”. God knows what you do. He knows why you do it. He will bless and reward you for it.

God is perfectly just, perfectly wise, ever-present, and all-knowing. So, He knows. No matter how invisible your efforts, God knows. No matter how behind the scenes, anonymous, or even misconstrued by others, God knows. God will reward you in heaven for the faithful work you do to glorify Him. He will bless you for the love you have demonstrated in His name.

With that worry out of the way, feel free to love and serve others extravagantly and sacrificially. Work hard in the knowledge that God appreciates your efforts. Pour out your life in the knowledge that He will one day declare, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Don’t hold back. #FollowJesus

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food” – Hebrews 5:12

Hopefully this isn’t true for you! However, it’s certainly worth doing a little honest self-assessment…

Are you actively growing in your knowledge and understanding of the Bible? Are you hungry to learn even more and go even deeper? Are you taking specific steps to do exactly that? Are you more confident about your understanding of the message and teachings of Jesus than you were a year ago?

Are you more like Jesus than you were a year ago? More loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled?

Are you currently teaching at least one other person about Jesus, the Bible, and how to follow Jesus?

If your answers to these questions are all yes, then keep up the good work! God is going to bless you in many wonderful ways as you grow ever closer to Him! If some or all of your answers are no, what are you going to do to change that? Living things grow and you’ve been given new life in Jesus Christ. You need to grow because you’re missing out on many of the sweetest blessings and joys of Christian life.

How will you grow in community with other believers? How will you serve God in new or more sacrificial ways? How will you be more faithful in sharing your hope in Christ with others? What new (or renewed) personal spiritual habits will you develop? How will you deepen your devotion to worship? These are the elements of Five to Thrive and if you pursue them, you will experience the growth that God expects and equips you to have. #FollowJesus