Hebrews 10: 23-25
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.
What is the hope that we affirm? Is it a wish that everything would turn out all right? That's the World's meaning of hope, an "I hope so" kind of way of thinking. No, not at all.
When God talks of hope in His Word, He refers to what He is going to do, without fail, but hasn't yet. This is a firm confidence that everything God says, He will do, exactly the way He says it will happen. That's why we can trust Him to always keep every promise He's ever made, all through the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. If He didn't intend to do exactly what He says, then He would have said something else.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
This is a nice thought. How are we to know how to motivate each other if we don't know each other?
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another,
Oh, so this is how we are to get to know each other, we need to meet together regularly. This refers not only to attending a worship service on the weekend, but also meeting with a smaller group of believers that we can get to know as friends. That's where "church" actually happens, in the smaller groups of brothers and sisters in Christ who have come to trust each other with their personal sorrows and joys. These are those we can know how to encourage, being acquainted with what's going on in their lives.
especially now that the Day of His return is drawing near.
Believers in every age have had the notion that Jesus could return in their lifetimes, because there have always been some of the "last times" happenings present in every age. But never has there been all the signs being displayed in the World at the same time, as seems to be today.
It is true that Jesus' coming again is closer than it ever has been, every day is another day closer to that Day. I keep my eyes open to catch the news of every sign that has been predicted, and I haven't found one yet that I can't point to somewhere today.
So we need to count every day as if it may be our last. If today were your last day before Jesus calls you out of this world either by death or by rapture, how would you live it? Would you change anything? We never do know when we will live our last day.
So we need to pay attention to holding to the faith we have been given by the church fathers and the Spirit of the Lord. And continue to look for how we can minister to one another, encouraging each other to not give up.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
