The writer of Hebrews warns us to be careful and make sure we don't fall away from Christ. This doesn't mean we need to strive in our own efforts to make sure we remain close to God. That will produce the opposite result. We strive; we fail; we get tired; and we end up far from God. We actually end up trying to operate under the old covenant law, rather than trusting in the new covenant grace of Jesus. If you want to remain close to Christ, don't depend on yourself, but trust that His is grace is sufficient. He is faithful to complete the work He has started in you.

In 1 Samuel we see David in one of the lowest times in his life. Like David, many of us are facing hard situations. We have two choices. We can try to twist God to our circumstances or we can adjust our hearts to God. Many opt for the former, striving to force the hand of God so that we don't have to be uncomfortable; but David shows us that the latter is the choice that pleases God. Wait on the Lord and believe Him for His promises. He is loving, merciful and mighty and will not leave nor forsake you. He is faithful! 

Throughout history man has failed to uphold his end of covenant with God. For that reason Christ had to be made like us, fully human. Jesus completely fulfilled the old covenant and invites us to partake in its benefits. Through him we are fully cleansed, full of God's peace, fully at peace with God and abounding in his grace. We cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ. His grace is fully sufficient. It is our role to receive it as the gift that it is and enjoy it.

An Intercessor is not just someone praying for some generic things in their own life. They see the need, the peril that people are in and they are suddenly gripped with it. Intercession is from the Holy Spirit, something that God puts into the heart and calls you into His presence. Intercession begins with self-denial.

God is calling us to a "Crazy Generosity." It isn't one birthed out of the Law, compulsion or guilt, but a generosity driven by the grace of God. We shouldn't have to be commanded to give. When we fully understand Christ's love and generosity toward us, we can't help but pour out all that we can for others. 

We're all involved in spiritual warfare—no matter our standing in life—and like a predator, our enemy goes after the weak. We must be strong in the Lord and wield the shield of faith, which extinguishes all the fiery arrows of the enemy. These aren't just arrows that kill, but they hit and set the whole body aflame. That can be lust, resentment, anger, worry, etc. Faith produces an assurance of future things to happen and a certainty that things unseen are just as real, or more real in some cases, than what we can see with our eyes. Faith comes by God's word being revealed to our hearts. Lord, increase our faith! 

Crazy faith is believing that the best is yet to come. Before God can bring the best in our lives, he must do something deeper in our lives. He needs to take away the one thing that is holding you back. God wants to give us victory but we must allow him to remove that one thing that is holding us back from complete devotion. God also sometimes asks us to add one thing to our lives to bring his best. In Acts, before Pentecost the disciples needed to add a new member, Matthias to replace Judas. The disciples needed to deal with their past hurts and add one thing to their lives in order for God to release the blessing.

The Tree of Life, planted in the Garden, demarcates a point in time, before which, God always was. He was complete and had need of nothing. Creation was meant to reflect His character. Man was meant to be in line and in synch with God, but sin entered into man's heart. Through history and even today man tries in his own strength to reconcile his relationship with God — an impossible task. In His mercy and love, God plants another tree in time — the old Roman cross. Through Christ's perfect life and sacrifice on the cross we are reconciled back to God and our relationship is restored.