Constructive Action

Hebrews 9:23-26

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. (NIV)

“But he will be curious to learn why his own convictions have not worked and why yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 93)

Faith alone.
Yep, tried that.
Didn’t work so well.
And was it self-sacrifice
I lacked?
Unselfishness?
Constructive action?
I sacrificed myself for everybody,
trying to please, trying to win
affection.
Unselfishness? I had no self
exposed, had merged myself
in someone else,
his thoughts, his feeling,
his will.
Constructive action?
Certainly action.
But not unselfish, not other-centered —
not constructive.

God, reconstruct me
so I can find myself in self-sacrifice,
unselfishness, constructive action.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Forgive me?!

Hebrews 9:18-22

That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. (NLT)

“It is harder to go to an enemy than to a friend, but we find it much more beneficial to us. We go to him in a helpful and forgiving spirit, confessing our former ill feeling and expressing our regret.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 77)

“Forgive us our sins
as we have forgiven those
who sin against us.”
I’d rather shed blood
than forgive sometimes —
my own, even, not the blood
of calves or goats.
In fact, I’d rather shed my blood
then kill – or hurt – calves or goats.
I feel so unworthy,
so low, so base
nothing could matter more than me.
Nobody could rank higher.
But this is about forgiveness —
how did I get here, to the ladder rungs?
Who’s sinned against me?
I have. I’ve dismissed me,
shunned me.
I forgive me.
I matter.

God, teach me to accept gifts —
yours, and others.
Teach me to reach out when I need help.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Vigorous Personal Housecleaning

Hebrews 9:14-15

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (NIV)

“Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house." (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 98)

A personal housecleaning
ridding my life not just
of pesky clutter,
undone todo lists,
well-aged New Years Resolutions,
but of deadly stuff,
acid eating away
at my heart, at my lungs,
at my being.
Fear, hate, envy,
self-loathing,
if-onlys,
shattered shoulds,
fractured woulds,
the lethal stuff
I’ve hauled around
all these years.

Create in me a clean heart,
O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
and do not take Your holy spirit from me.^*

* Psalm 51:10-11 (KJV)

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

New Life

Hebrews9:9-10

This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. (NIV)

“We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, ‘a design for living’ that really works.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 28)

Easter.
New life, resurrection,
new birth,
a design for living that works!
Only looking back can I see how hard
I tried, how many ways I attempted
to claim sanity,
to heal myself.
My gifts, my sacrifices,
my determination
were only ceremonial,
just lame attempts
flimsy reeds.
Useful for seeing how great this is,
for relating to others still clinging
to flimsy reeds.

God, you sought me
when I was too busy to find you.
Thanks for the patience.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Still...

Hebrews 9:6-8

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. (NIV)

“Nevertheless, I still thought I could control the situation, and there were periods of sobriety which renewed my wife’s hope.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 5)

Still: up to and including
the present time;
even now.
The time of hope
before the change,
before it comes,
before recovery.
Maranatha,
come, Lord Jesus.
Bring the change,
make it happen,
I crave recovery,
thirst for the change —
¡Ojalá que sí!

God, when I still don’t get it,
show me how to be still and seek it.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Stuff

Hebrews 9:4-5

In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now. (NLT)

Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 64)

Incense altar, Ark of the Covenant,
Aaron’s staff, manna,
Ten Commandments,
(first edition.)
Last year’s must-have
Christmas gift,
the gadget ready to
storm the market —
five years back,
the new electronic
masterpiece
that has them lined up
out the door.
Stuff. Just things,
though priceless or
out-of-date
discardables.
When things attain preeminence
it’s time to
set them all aside
without regret.

God, let me never put
anything ahead of
my need for a closer
relationship with you.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Faith Out of Fear

Hebrews 8:8-9

But God found fault with the people and said
     "The time is coming, declares the Lord, 

      when I will make a new covenant
     with the house of Israel 

       and with the house of Judah. 

It will not be like the covenant 

     I made with their forefathers 

when I took them by the hand 

       to lead them out of Egypt, 

     because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, 

       and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. (NIV)

“Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What was that but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful, abjectly faithful to the God of Reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time!

“We found, too, that we had been worshippers. What a state of mental goose-flesh that used to bring on! Had we not variously worshipped people, sentiment, things, money, and ourselves? And then, with a better motive, had we not worshipfully beheld the sunset, the sea, or a flower? Who of us had not loved something or somebody? How much did these feelings, these loves, these worships, have to do with pure reason? Little or nothing, we saw at last. Were not these things the tissue out of which our lives were constructed? Did not these feelings, after all, determine the course of our existence? It was impossible to say we had no capacity for faith, or love, or worship. In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else.

“Imagine life without faith!” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 54)

Faithful.
Full of faith.
Full of confidence
in someone, something.
Can fear survive
absent faith? Wouldn’t the void
be filled with resignation,
apathy, lethargy,
not fear?
Fear demands a counterweight,
a worthy opposite,
not some wimpy
void.
Maybe having so much fear
benefits,
makes faith easier to find,
builds capacity for faith.

God, can you really use the fear?
Is that why I have so much? Wow. Awesome!

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.