The author of Hebrews wrote a stern admonition to Jewish believers and by extension it's also written to all believers, including us. Hebrews 5:11-14 declares: "About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (ESV) The implication is that when it comes to what God has spoken, His expectation is for us to take it to heart and not let it "go in one ear and out of the other." It further implies that being "dull of hearing" leads to stunted growth spiritually, or in other words, immaturity. So what might be the remedies for this?

God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us as His sons and daughters. He showers us with blessings and He gives us good gifts. But He also exercises His fatherhood over us through the disciplines of life. "He disciplines us for our good, that we might share in His Holiness." Since "all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant," (Hebrews 12:10-11) how should we respond under God's loving rod of correction and instruction?

Message from Roger Dempsey on June 8, 2025

As with everything, Faith requires some essential components.

In the time of Jesus there was a Jewish sect called the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the controlling sect in that time, holding the majority seats in the Jewish governing body--the Sanhedrin. More theologically liberal than the Pharisees, they didn't believe in an afterlife nor of resurrection from the dead. On one occasion they tried to trip Jesus up with an implausible scenario regarding an OT law regarding the obligation of a brother of a deceased brother to marry his widow in order to preserve his brother's lineage. They asked Jesus if this were actually to happen seven times, who'd be the woman's husband after the resurrection. They were sure they had Him! But in Luke 20:34-38 Jesus responds: "And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him.” (ESV) While eviscerating the Sadducees life after death theology, in just a few sentences, He most certainly affirms for we His children that death is certainly not the end...

Jude 1:20-23 says: "But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives." (NLT) While some believers may think they're called to be critical of others, point out their faults, and pile on the weight for those already heavily burdened, the better emphasis from Scripture is that believers are called to build up, lift up, and encourage those who wrestling with the things weighing them down. The Holy Spirit seeks to make us Christlike, not curmudgeonly. 1 Corinthians 14:12 sums it up this way: "So it is with yourselves; since you are so eager and ambitious to possess spiritual endowments and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, concentrate on striving to excel and to abound in them in ways that will build up the church." (AMPC) In times when we are bent low with discouragement, what kind of person do you want to encounter personally? So maybe let's be them…

In 2 Timothy 1:5-7, Paul writes these encouraging words to Timothy whom he considers to be his prodigy in the faith: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (ESV) While tradition tells us Timothy would go on to die a martyr's death, Timothy's Mom and Grandma disappear from the pages of Scripture. And yet the faithful sowing of God's Word by these Women of faith into the fertile soil of a young boy's heart have been bearing fruit for two thousand years and counting. The influence and legacies of Moms and Grandmas and Great-Grandmas are powerful! From one generation to another their impact continues! Proverbs 31:29-30 remain fitting words: "Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." (NASB) Yay and Amen!

In John 16:16 Jesus says to His disciples at the Last Supper, “In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me." (NIV) Leaving His disciples perplexed, in V20 Jesus seeks to clarify what He'd just told them by saying, "You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." (NIV) We of course need to understand that our notion of "a little while" and God's notion of "a little while" aren't always the same. Here, however, it means that after Jesus dies on the cross, is laid in a tomb, they will not see Him. But "in a little while" i.e. come, Sunday, they'll see Him again! And in V22 Jesus tells them, "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." (NIV) And not only is there joy and rejoicing in Jesus' resurrection, that same joy will be realized when we too rise from the dead! 1 Peter 1:3-6 puts it this way: "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last Day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while." (NLT) What an awesome promise! May our present joy and even the greater joy to come, rob us of every ounce of grief!

When Jesus' disciples were gathered behind locked doors on the eve of that first Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to them. They were stunned and overjoyed. But one of the disciples, Thomas, wasn't present. He also wasn't ready to believe his brothers despite their eyewitness accounts. The following Sunday however, Jesus made another appearance. John 20:26-28 records it this way: "Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” (ESV) Besides our Lord's merciful outreach to Thomas personally, what's also astounding is Thomas not only recognized Jesus as his risen Rabbi, but also as Christ, even God the Son! The tombs of all of Israel's great prophets, priests, kings and teachers had one thing in common--they were all occupied! Not so with the risen Son of God! Then Verse 29 follows with a blessing to all of us who weren't with Thomas and the others behind those locked doors: "Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’" (ESV) And what about you: have you received Jesus' blessing of believing in WHO He truly is?

Job 19:25 says: "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!" (NLT) Job, one who suffered affliction and loss so personally and painfully, is stirred within because He knows that after death, a never-ending life will be awaiting him! And WHO will bring it? His Redeemer! And WHO is that? Jesus the Christ! Written perhaps 500 years before the Incarnation, Job knows in his innermost being God will bring redemption. So how does He bring it? By way of His Son; by way of a bloody cross and an empty tomb. Better still, because of what Christ our Lord has accomplished, we too can stand shoulder to shoulder with Job and declare, "I know my Redeemer lives!" And best of all, we will live forever with our Redeemer in glory!