Maintenance is something that we all do, in various ways. Someone might take a shower, brush their teeth, comb their hair everyday. They maintain their appearance each day by following this routine.
In order to keep things in a functional, working order they must be taken care of. Heavy construction equipment must be regularly greased, oiled, and repaired to keep them in top working condition. If left unattended they will eventually wear down and break, and become practically worthless.
Many times I will get a pair of leather work gloves, and over time those gloves will become dry, and stiff, and what I will do to maintain those gloves is I will rub oil into the leather, making them nice and soft once again
That is what it means to maintain something: to keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state or conditions.) If you maintain something you are not neglecting it. You are not forgetting to do something.
Titus 3:8 “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
In the same way that you would perform regular maintenance to take care of something, we need to make certain that we maintain good works. We need to keep doing them as often and as many times as we possibly can.
And that is what we learn from Hebrews 10. Not only are we to do as many good works as we can, we should “provoke” each other to do good works as well. We need to edify each other and build each other up.
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”
In 2 Timothy 4, Paul had exhorted Timothy to preach the word, and not just to preach it, but to preach it all the time. “In season, out of season” he referred to it as. He was provoking, or encouraging, Timothy to do as much as he could.
In his other letter to Timothy, Paul had some commands for those who were rich in the things of the world that they should be rich in good works. To have an abundance of them, ready to help those in need.
1 Timothy 6:17-18 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;”
Some good works that we all can maintain and do is by daily reading of God’s word. Set apart some time in your day to study and meditate on some scripture, and fill your thoughts with Spiritual teachings.
Daily communication with our Lord through prayer is something else that we should never neglect. Spend some time thanking the Lord for all that He has blessed you with. Need help overcoming something? Take it to the Lord in your prayers! He is always there to listen, and He can help you to overcome.
Jesus’ days while He was on the Earth were filled with so many wonderful acts that “if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25) We need to model ourselves after His example, and maintain our faith.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 