Hebrews: We have a Great High Priest Who is ABLE...

The Pope is very much in the news these days with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.  And there's a lot of controversy surrounding the election of his successor. So since we are talking about popes, here's a bit of papal trivia:  did you know that the pope is referred to as Pontifex Maximus...the highest priest?  That's what a pope in the Dark Ages decided would be a good title for popes from then on.  He was borrowing from the title for the head priest in ancient Rome at that time.

But maybe this isn't trivia at all!  As you may or may not know, by definition a priest is a mediator.  According to Unger's Bible Dictionary, the term priest is

...used of one who may "draw near" to the divine presence (Exo 19:22; 30:20), while others remain afar off...

And there's nothing trivial about that!  In fact, it means life or death...and I'm talking ETERNAL life or ETERNAL death!

Why?  Because there is only ONE Mediator between God and man, and it's our Great High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ!

And our Great High Priest is the All-Sufficient Christ...a glorious truth for all of us!  Do we really get that?  God wants us to get it...that it's all about His Son...He is All It, as I like to say!

But HOW, you ask, HOW is He All It?  In the early chapters of Hebrews, God the Father begins to tell us HOW.  He says that the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, is our Great High Priest Who Himself is ABLE...dynamically so at all times!  In fact, the word "is able" in the Greek is in a continuous tense and is the word from which we get "dynamite"  and "dynamic."

Let's look at three ways Jesus Himself, our Great High Priest, is ABLE on our behalf:

1. He is able to help (Hebrews 2:14-18). He "takes hold of" us believers and "comes to our aid" ("runs to our cries for help"). HOW? with mercy toward us (because "He was made like His brethren in all things") and faithfulness toward God (as our Sin-bearer, making satisfaction before a holy God). Think of how Jesus was "made like us in all things."  Go to the Gospels and trace His human life from conception to death.  How can He run to your cry and help you because of all He went through merely as a human walking through a fallen world?  Thank Him!
2. He is able to sympathize (Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-10). We have a risen, enthroned Christ who is sympathetic (compassionate) toward us at all times.  Why?  Because He was tempted, tried, and tested every day of His life, just as we are.  But there was one big difference...He didn't sin.  But He was truly tempted...He had soul fluctuations toward evil, as Dan Stone put it in The Rest of the Gospel.  The definition of temptation is a "solicitation to do evil."  So those negative feelings and struggles we have that we judge ourselves so mercilessly for may be temptation not sin.  Sin involves choice. It was very freeing and comforting for me to discover the passage in Hebrews 5:7-8 where we see our Savior struggling with the will of the Father.  The verses in Hebrews are referring to Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Take a look at Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:39-46. Jesus didn't sin because of His fear and dread and agony.  He desperately didn't want the suffering in His humanness...and wasn't ashamed to express that.  In fact, He had been willing and actually wanted His disciples to be with Him in it!  But in the end of course, He chose to "drink the Father's cup."
3. He is able to save forever (Hebrews 7:1-28). The word "save" is "sozo" meaning to deliver, make whole, preserve from destruction, rescue.  So our great High Priest saves us forever and completely, wholly and entirely...past, present and future.  Why can He do that?  Because His Priesthood is superior to that of any other kind of priest, before or since. It is based on His indestructible, indissoluable life (Hebrews 7:16).  As Spiro Zodiates says in his Word Studies in the NT: The life of Christ is declared as distinct from the life of someone else, life that was not acquired and that cannot be done away with.   It is inherent life (John 1:4 "in Him was life").  His life has no derivation and is interminable. So He always lives to intercede for us...He never stops, because He always lives...He's I AM! So what should we do, dear friend? Come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need! Why?  Because we HAVE as our ever-present possession our Great High Priest Who... ...communicating even here and maintaining an everlasting, unchangeable life in us, that lifts our inner experience out of the region of effort and change and failure into the rest of God. Andrew Murray, Holiest of All

   BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD ABOVE Selah

   Before the throne of God above

   I have a strong and perfect plea

   A great High Priest whose Name is Love

   Who ever lives and pleads for me

   My name is graven on His hands

   My name is written on His heart

   I know that while in heaven He stands

   No tongue can bid me thence depart

   No tongue can bid me thence depart

   When Satan tempts me to despair

   And tells me of the guilt within

   Upward I look and see Him there

   Who made an end to all my sin

   Because the sinless Savior died

   My sinful soul is counted free

   For God the Just is satisfied

   To look on Him and pardon me

   To look on Him and pardon me

   Behold Him there the risen Lamb

   My perfect spotless righteousness

   The great unchangeable I AM

   The King of glory and of grace

   One with Himself I cannot die

   My soul is purchased by His blood

   My life is hid with Him on high

   With Christ my Savior and my God!

   With Christ my Savior and my God!

   [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPyLcY6Zv4[/youtube]

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   Homework --   Read Hebrews 5:11-6:20 Answer questions in Hoping for Something Better, p. 195-196 Read chapter 5,  Hoping... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

   OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST  -- revised class notes PRIESTHOOD- chart for Hebrews 7:11ff Jesus' Priesthood acc to Melchizedek2 --  diagram of Jesus' priesthood/Melchizedek/Covenant

Hebrews: "The Rest of God" Quiz

Students of Hebrews, try your hand at this pop-quiz...open book (Bible, that is).  Search out the answers from the passage (chapter and verse).

Reflections (a.k.a. answers) down below...but try them on your own first :)

The Rest of God Hebrews 3:11-4:15

1. What is God’s rest?
2. When do we have this rest?
3. How is it entered?
4. How is it missed?
5. Who can enter?
6. Where is that rest?
7. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Answers:
   1. A finished work, the rest of completion (Hebrews 4:3-4)
   2. "Today" (Hebrews 3:7,13,15; 4:7)
   3. By faith/obedience (Hebrews 4:2-3) By ceasing from own works--works that originate with us (a.k.a. self-effort), not God (Hebrews 4:10)
   4. By unbelief/disobedience (Hebrews 3:12,18-19; 4:2,6,11)
   5. Anyone who hears and believes/obeys (Hebrews 3:7-8,15; 4:2-3,7,10-11)
   6. In Jesus, our Sabbath (Hebrews 4:9-10)

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Abandonment

crucified Christ

Abandoned!  Left on the "doorstep of Life"...but with no Rescuer in sight! What happens next in the unfolding drama of the crucifixion of our Lord is incomprehensible!

It's an abandonment so profoundly mysterious that it boggles the mind...but ravishes the believing heart! Let's watch it unfold...

It is noon.

By this time, Jesus has already forgiven His executioners as they cruelly hammered Him to the Cross...as they, careless for His pain, roughly lifted and dropped His Cross into the ground...Father, forgive them.

By this time, He lovingly has received the confession and cry of a repentant thief with a word of hope...Today you will be with me in Paradise.

And by now, He has tenderly cared for His suffering mama by entrusting her to His beloved disciple and friend...Behold your son...behold your mother.

Three hours of agony are yet to come...as if enough suffering hasn't already been His cup. This agony will be beyond understanding and description!  But this is the crux of theFather's cupthat Jesus has chosen to drink...and drink it He must...to the full!

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.” Matthew 27:45-49 NLT

crucifixion with darkness

Strangely silent, God the Father abandons Jesus, God's Son...for three hours.

This is the same Father who validated Him at His baptism with the words:

This is my beloved Son in whom I'm well-pleased. Matthew 3:17 ESV

...the same Father who declared Him superior to Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration:

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" John 17:5 ESV

...and the same Abba who responded to Jesus' prayer just days before His crucifixion:

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ...Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:27-32 ESV

But now nothing but darkness!  What kind of rift could be happening in the Trinity?

Whatever it is, it's so mysteriously real that we hear the very human God-Man ask the question we all ask when we face the "unanswerables" of life...WHY?

Theologians* down through the centuries have basically scratched their theological heads, trying to understand and explain this mystery of mysteries.

But it's the pages of Scripture that give us the answer to Jesus' WHY?

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed forour sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.Is 53:4-6 NLT

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2Cor5:21 ESV

God turned His back on His Son so He wouldn't have to turn His back on us...

Because the wages of sin is death...spiritual as well as physical; because death means separation...separation from God (spiritual death) as well as separation of the soul from the body (physical death); Jesus our Brother underwent spiritual death as well as physical death to be our sinless Sin-Bearer, our Perfect Substitute.

Jesus the God-Man was spiritually separated from a Holy God in order to take our place...and bring us to God.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit... 1 Peter 3:18 NIV

And WHY?

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.John 15:13

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 1John 3:16

Prayer:

"We twist in anguish at Your cry ..."My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  God forsaking God, this is a mystery beyond understanding.  A forsaking that was meant for us, but wretched alienation and blackness experienced by You.Because of that tormented howl, the barrier that kept us from God tears in two.  And we who have insulted and mocked You, denied You and crucified You, we fall on our knees and whisper Good Friday truth: "Surely this man was the Son of God." Ann Voskamp, Trail to the Tree

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Something to Think About:

Tears

Have you ever been forsaken by someone you love?  Jesus understands...He was no stranger to abandonment.  He was abandoned by His nation, His people, His "so-called disciples, His brothers, Judas, Peter...and in reality, us as well.

He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Is 53:3 NLT

Have you ever felt abandoned by God?  Jesus was!  And this has been the experience of devout believers through the ages.  (See Dark Night of the Soul) Of course, we will never experience it to the extent of the Son of God.  But we know that because He has gone through it before us, He understands and comes to our aid even when the Heavens may seem like brass...silent and dark.

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT

Have you asked the WHY? question...without getting a reply?  Read what our Mysterious God says:

The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions. Deut 29:29

Bible student:

Bible Students:

Many Bible scholars consider Psalm 22, the psalm Jesus quoted here, a Messianic Psalm. There are at least four points of comparison between Psalm 22 and Matthew 27.  See if you can find them. Look especially at Ps 22:1,7,8,18 and Mt 27:35,39,43,46.

You may also like to read through the Gospel of John during this Lenten season.  As you do, make note of how intimately connected to and dependent on the Father, Jesus was.  This made the abandonment the Son experienced all the more painful...all for you and me!

* A Theological Word:

God forsaking God.  Who can understand that? Martin Luther (quoted in Abiding Christ Church, Lenten study 2012)

The first three sayings were probably all spoken before noon.  This one, which is in every way central, was uttered about 3pm, after three hours of darkness and silence during which the Son of God bore the sin of the world.  In that work He had to be forsaken by God, and yet at the same time there was no splitting up of the Trinity.  All that is involved is inscrutable, but He gave Himself, He was made sin, He bore sins, and His soul was made an offering for sin.  His work was to bear sin.

Charles Ryrie,  Biblical Theology of the New Testament, p.69

Hebrews: "Lord, let Your Rest take hold deeper & deeper in my life!"

True Sabbath REST is not an external thing...I knew that, but I still need to KNOW that!  Thus my conversation with the Lord the other day...listen in if you'd like:

Lord, let Your Rest take hold deeper & deeper in my life!

You don't need it deeper...You already have it as deep as it can be.  I gave it to you, remember?

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

I gave you REST when I gave you MYSELF! 

What you need is to live from Me your Sabbath Rest.   I'm the One Who dwells deep in your spirit, in the eternal realm. 

Live from ME united to you deep in your spirit, so that My rest can permeate the outer levels of your being, in the temporal realm...your soul and your body....and then pour forth to others.

But how can I do that, Lord?

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

You will find rest as you take MY yoke upon yourself, moving as I move, stopping as I stop, speaking as I speak, doing as I do...

And learn from Me...by stopping and spending time with our Father...letting Him speak and refresh you, as He did Me.  He is the Revealer of mysteries...He leads you into restful service because My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Thank you, Lord!  I receive Your mysteries revealed by You to my resting, learning heart because...

 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us...that we may follow all [His] words. Deut 29:29 NIV

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His revealed mysteries for me this week...that I may live from His Sabbath Rest...my Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe for you too?

1. His rest is His adequacy:

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:5-6

2. His rest is His fullness:

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made full... Col 2:9-10

3. His rest is His grace:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God [united]with me. 1Cor 15:10

4. His rest is His power:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 1Cor 2:1-5

5. His rest is His life:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal 2:20

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You may like to read these beautiful sermons by Ray Stedman:

 Jesus is our Sabbath Rest, Stedman

Living out of Rest, Stedman

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You might also like:  Jesus, I am Resting, Resting...(in previous Hebrews post)

Jesus, I am Working, Working...how to work but not work :)

Jesus, I am Coming, Coming...including some great excerpts from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Family Affection

Dear woman, behold your son...behold your mother.  John 19:26 Jesus has a special love for His own.

As we've already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering.  Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.

What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary's face. Calvin Miller describes the scene well:

Beneath the tree stood the grieving mother of the heretic.  She was a woman whose face was rimmed by little wisps of silver hair that protruded defiantly from under her mantle; occasionally she trembled with uncontrollable spasms of despair.  Before the tree a young fisherman gazed in blurred glances at his dying friend; his broad arm cradled the head of the convict's mother.  But he was unable to console her.  The man on the cross was her son... Miller, Once Upon a Tree

This was her little boy...her precious son that she nursed and rocked and raised to be a man to fulfill God's plan.  Yes, she had warning of suffering ahead...remember Simeon's prophecy when the baby was presented in the Temple?

This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul. Luke 2:34 NLT

Little did Mary know all this sword would entail.  According to Miller, romphia (Greek) was a huge Persian sword that literally skewers its victims in pain.   Jesus Himself knew all this and yet submitted to the Father's plan.

But now He would care for His suffering mama by entrusting her to the man He knew would care for her as his own.

When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27 NLT

Years later the apostle Paul would write to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith:

Michelangelo's Pieta

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8

But this begs the question...where were Jesus' brothers?  Surely, this first-born Son could have entrusted His mother to one of his brothers, James or Jude, or perhaps another close relative.

There was obviously something more going on here...something that includes you and me.

Perhaps a year or so before...

...as Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you.” Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” Matthew 12:46-50 NLT

So by entrusting His mother to His beloved disciple and friend, Jesus was "creating a new family based not on kinship to one another [blood relationship] but solely through their relationship to him."*  Although his brothers were related by blood, they had not yet become related in the Spirit through faith in Him, God's Son and Savior of the world.

And that brings us back to us believers...those of us who are related to Him by faith.  We are His family...children of the same Father:

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Jesus the God-Man is our Brother, and we are his brothers and sisters:

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers … For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. Hebrews 2:10, 11, 17

And Jesus cares for His own with a special love and care:

Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested...So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 2:18; 4:16 NLT

We also belong to one another...brothers and sisters in our Father's and Brother's family.

On the night before He died, Jesus gave us the new commandment, Love one another as I have loved you...

Why? because then the world will know you are my disciples. Why?  because the world will hate you. Why? because in this world you will have trouble.

So we will need each other!

Love each other with brotherly affection, and delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10

Dear brothers and sisters, ...who is it in your human family that needs your affection and attention? ...who is it in the family of God that needs your brotherly (Or sisterly) affection and attention?

Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone--especially to those in the family of faith.  Gal 6:10

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Bible Students:

Go back to the night before Jesus died (John 13-17). Mark every time that Jesus says love with a red heart. Who is loving whom? Now do this for the epistle of First John. Did you notice that LOVE is John's emphasis? No wonder...He's the disciple Jesus loved.

You may also like this post:  "Love's Abiding Harvest"

The New Testament is filled with "_________________ one another verses." Click here and read through all of them, including the Scriptures. Which ones jump out to you and why? Is God telling you to do something about it...attitude or action-wise?

You may also like this post:"It Takes a Village..."

Activity:

In the center of a piece of paper, write your name.  Around your name, write the names of all the other persons that you consider part of your family.  Those closest to you might be written close to your name, those further away may be written a greater distance from your name. *

Now do the same with your "spiritual family"...fellow believers in your life, whether in your church body, Bible study, family, neighbors, etc.

Then answer the closing questions above...

Dear brothers and sisters, ...who is it in your human family that needs your affection and attention? ...who is it in the family of God that needs your brotherly (Or sisterly) affection and attention?

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Salvation

repentent thief

lost sheep

Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Luke 23:43Jesus seems to have a special love for lost people.  I love the stories He tells in Luke 15.  The first is the beloved story of the shepherd who has a hundred sheep but leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost.  Then when he finds his lost one, he calls in his neighbors and friends to rejoice with him.

lost coin

The second story is of a woman who has 10 coins but loses one.  She is so distraught that she searches high and low for it.  When she finds the coin, she calls in her neighbors to rejoice with her.

prodigal son

The last story is of a father who had two sons.  One of the sons decided to go his merry way, away from his father's love and provision. The son then squandered his inheritance with loose living in the far country.  The father never stopped watching for and longing for his beloved son.  So when the lost son finally came home, his father threw a party so all could rejoice with him.

At the end of each of these stories, Jesus says,

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent...I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents...we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Jesus & 2 thieves

This makes me think of the criminals executed with Our Lord Christ. They certainly were the lost sheep, ...the lost coins, ...the lost sons...and Jesus came to seek them.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

They obviously had been running away from God...who knows what kind of crimes they had committed!  The Bible just calls them "criminals" [thieves, malefactors KJV].  Maybe God didn't come into their thinking...but that's the point.  They had gone their own way.

But here is an incredible thought:

Of all the possible condemned criminals in the Roman world (and there were many!)... through all the centuries that Rome practiced the cruel punishment of crucifixion... God in His sovereignty placed those two, side by side...with the SON OF GOD!

Jesus & the good thief

And this, at the time of the victorious Crisis of the Ages -- the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ!  Hardly a coincidence!

But of the two hanging there next to the Son of God, only one was saved! What made the difference?

They each perhaps heard Jesus' "Father, forgive them..." but only one responded in repentance and faith:

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left...

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly ["we are sinners"], for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong ["He is the sinless Messiah"].”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:32-42

Look at our Lord's response:

Truly I say to you, TODAY you will be with ME in Paradise [heaven]. Luke 23:43

So one desperate, believing lost one was found...captured by the seeking, pursuing Lover of Sinners!

We are not unlike these criminals (or the straying sheep, the lost coin, or the prodigal son, for that matter)...

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

We all go our own way -- wandering off and needing God's rescue.  And we're all faced with a choice (as these two criminals were), God's salvation or our own.  Yes, even as believers, "saved ones."

The Divine Pursuer is always on a "Rescue Mission"...sovereignly orchestrating our circumstances (as He did for the thieves on the cross) so we can encounter HIM in new and life-giving ways.  He rescues us from our self-centered attitudes and ways of doing life [SIN].

As C.S. Lewis once said,

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.   C.S. Lewis

Where in your life today, dear friend, is the Divine Pursuer seeking you out, perhaps even shouting at you? Is it in your relationships? ...in your finances? ...in your attitudes and thought life? ...in your health? ...in the health crises of loved ones? ...in _______[fill in the blank]_____?

Call out to HIM in your distress...TODAY!

For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2Cor 6:2

Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:17

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Listen, view, and reflect on our suffering Savior [with scenes from The Passion of the Christ]:

jesus with crown of thorns

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, now scornfully surrounded with thorns, thine only crown: how pale thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn! How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!

What thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners' gain; mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve thy place; look on me with thy favor, vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest friend, for this thy dying sorrow, thy pity without end? O make me thine forever; and should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for thee.

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reading the Bible

Bible Students:

Salvation is much more than just going to heaven when we die...and just doing the best we can in the meantime.Salvation is the NT Greek word sozo.  In its broadest sense, sozo means "to save, to deliver, to preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction, to make whole."

The Bible uses the word salvation in three tenses:

1. past = I have been saved from the penalty of sin. (Eph 2:8; Titus 3:5)
2. present = I am being saved from the power of sin. (Rom 6:14; Gal 2:19,20)
3. future = I will be saved from the presence of sin. (Rom 5:9,10; 8:18-24)

Spiro Zodiates summarizes it this way:

Salvation of the soul is deliverance from death unto life through Christ (John 6:56-57; 14:20; Rom 6:7,11; 1Cor 1:30; 9:1.2; 2Cor 5:17; Eph 2:13). The believing sinner receives the spiritual life of a new nature from God (2Pet 1:4) and is freed from the power of sin (spiritual death) while having to endure its presence until the resurrection.  Deliverance of the body will occur at the resurrection when an entire creation will also be renovated (Rom 8:21-23).  The Complete Word Study Dictionary

Another way to look at salvation is through Ephesian 2:*

1. I am saved from__________________________ (vs 4-5).  See also Rom 6:23.
2. I am saved by________________________ through __________________ (vs 8-9)
3. I am saved for_______________________(vs 10).

Hebrews 3 & 4: Consider Jesus...and Rest!

STAR-GAZE at JESUS!  That's what these words mean:  CONSIDER JESUS!

Why gaze at anyone or anything else?

• He is God's final WORD!
• SON of GOD
• SON of MAN
• BUILDER of God's House (us!)
• Our SABBATH REST

Let us be diligent to enter HIM, our SABBATH-REST Let us enter day in and day out! Let us live in HIM and let HIM live in and through us!

Amen and amen!

Homework --   Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10; 7:1-28 Answer questions in Hoping for Something Better, p. 193-195 Read chapter 4, p. 55-72, Hoping…

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I've attached two posts that you may enjoy as you bask in Jesus our Sabbath:

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting  (April 2012)

Ah! REST...what a glorious word!  I inhale and exhale deeply at just the sound of it!  And oh, how we humans need deep, glorious rest...

Moms especially need it...as do dads.  Single folk need it; workers need it; retirees do too...even kids need it (although they would protest most loudly...especially after no-sleep sleepovers!)

This is the time of the year that I begin to really drag, needing my rest!  I'm a teacher...among other things like wife, mother, grandmother, friend, sister, etc.    A year or so ago, I also became a blogger/amateur writer.  Right now, I'm hitting Blogger's Block/ Writer's Block -- that brain-draining fatigue that hits everyone (including students) who has put pen to paper regularly.

So let me say it again -- we humans ALL need deep, glorious rest...no matter what our role in life.  And we need rest, not just for our bodies, but for our souls most of all!

I don't know about you, but I am going to the only Place I know to go for the rest I need...and that place is my Lord Jesus Christ!  HE is Rest!  I'm responding to His gracious invitation, 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

We who are burdened and work to exhaustion can find anapausis (REST in Greek). But this is not just the "take a nap" kind of rest...it goes much deeper:

In Matthew 11:28-29, the Lord promises "anapausis" (inner tranquility) to the weary and heavy laden who come to HIM while they are engaged in necessary labor. Spiro Zodiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, New Testament, p. 156

Isn't that good news, dear friend? Even when we cannot take a break from our duties, we can have inner tranquility because of our relationship with our Lord Christ.

And there's an interesting emphasis in that short phrase, Come to Me, in the original Greek.  Literally, Jesus says,

HERE (Hither, KJV)...to ME!

That's right, the word COME isn't found in the original!  It's just implied...and I think, for a reason.

I picture Jesus Himself beckoning to the battered and beleaguered crowd of ordinary people following Him.  He points to HIMSELF as the source of spiritual rest:  HERE...to ME...for rest!

The religious rulers, who hounded them, burdened them with duties above and beyond what God required.  Jesus, on the other hand, joins (yokes) Himself to His people to give them rest on every level.  So in a sense, He says,

Don't go to THEM! HERE...to ME!

And the same is true for you and me, dear friend.  What is hounding and harassing you?

Is it the pressures of mothering? ...the stress of financial needs? ...the guilt of not being spiritual enough: reading the Bible, praying enough? ...the confusion and grief of relational rifts? ...the concern for struggling/straying loved ones? ...the fatigue/uncertainties of your job? ...struggles with ill health? ______[fill in the blank]______?

In every situation and in every stage of life on this earth, He Himself is our Rest. Join me in responding to His invitation:   HERE...to ME!

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Jesus! I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And Thy beauty fills my soul, For, by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

Jesus! I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart.

Oh, how great Thy loving kindness, Vaster, broader than the sea: Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness, Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, Know what wealth of grace is Thine, Know Thy certainty of promise, And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art, And Thy love, so pure, so changeless, Satisfies my heart,

Satisfies its deepest longings, Meets, supplies its every need, Compasseth me round with blessings, Thine is love indeed.

Ever lift Thy face upon me, As I work and wait for Thee; Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, Earth's dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father's glory, Sunshine of my Father's face, Keep me ever trusting, resting, Fill me with Thy grace.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm9_MHAbbIE[/youtube]

For the rest of the Resting in Jesus series, click here.

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Job Descriptions in the Father’s Vineyard (April 2011)

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8

Have you ever started a job with no job description?  I have, and it’s pretty confusing.

About 8 years ago, I was looking for a part-time teaching job.  A friend asked if I would like to apply to substitute teach in ESL & GED classes.  I told her that I didn’t have a clue about either one of those.  She assured me that it wasn’t difficult.  All I had to do was follow the teacher’s lesson plans.  So I naively applied.

Well, guess what?  As my application reached the supervisor’s desk, the beginning ESL teacher was in a very serious accident.  This was at the end of the first week of class.  By then, beginning ESL students don’t know much more English than the day they walked in.  There were no lesson plans and no curriculum, because the teacher was so experienced that she did her own “curriculum”.  Needless to say, I was terrified.  But God met me in my need (and that’s for another post!).

BUT that first year, I had no job description.  I just took the bull by the horns and prayed and taught and loved it.  And I think the students did too, by God’s grace!  (I’m still teaching that class 8 years later.)

However, without a job description, I made many mistakes and often got myself in trouble.  Most of the time, my mistakes were from my ignorance…or from my zeal to “do things right”.  As a result, in several instances, I unknowingly went over the head of my supervisor and assumed her role.  Not good!

That’s what happens for us believers with living the Christian life.  I don’t think we truly understand our “job description.”   We try to do in our own strength the things that only God can do.

John 15 is a perfect place to start to understand what it means to be a Christian (the branches) in relation to our Father (the Owner/Gardener) and His Son (the True Vine).  So let’s look at WHO does WHAT in a vineyard?

First there’s the Gardener or Vinedresser.  His job is to care for the vine and branches by watering, fertilizing, and above all… pruning. Without that almost “violent” pruning, a rich crop cannot come forth.

And after all, the vineyard owner’s reputation is at stake!  If someone sees a barren vineyard, no one shames the branches or even the vine, but rather the owner/vinedresser.  That’s because whoever does the work gets the credit or the blame!   So it’s his job to do whatever is necessary to ensure an abundant crop of grapes.  Even the good, new growth gets cut back so as to bring forth an abundance of fruit.

As we’ve seen in a previous post, that is what the Father does for us branches.   Sometimes we may feel like we’ve grown so much and have been “fruitful”…then all of a sudden, the desert! dryness! seeming barrenness!  But the process is not done yet!

Then there’s the Vine.  The Vine is the source of life for the branches, which then enables the fruit to come forth.  Without the life of the Vine flowing through healthy branches, nothing fruitful can happen!

Jesus is the Source of life for us His branches.  In another post we saw that Jesus, the I AM, is LIFE itself! In Him was life, and the life is the light of men…I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly. John 1:4; 10:10b

And that’s why the main job of the branches is to abide or stay connected to the vine.  The branches are the vehicles for the life of the vine to flow through so that fruit will come forth.

Jesus said,  Abide in Me and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  John 15:4

So what does it mean to abide in Christ?  It means to live in & from, remain in, sink down deep into, rest in, stay [experientially] connected to HIM!

Here’s a feeble, but hopefully helpful illustration of what I think it means to abide.  I have this wonderful couch in my living room.  It is hard to sit or lie on this couch without falling asleep.  When I come home from a full day of teaching, I look forward to sinking my weary body into that couch.  I’m often able to just put some instrumental music on and surrender to the comfort of my glorious couch. Later, I leave that place refreshed and energized!

However, sometimes I still have things I need to do before supper time.  So I abandon my tired self to my life-giving couch and make my phone calls or read my lessons or do whatever duty or desire dictates.  I still come away refreshed because I’m working from a position of rest.

That’s what I think abiding in Christ means.  I do what I do from my position of rest in my Glorious Vine.  I’m secure in Him and He in me.  His resurrection life flows through me, His branch, to bring forth the fruit designed by the Father for my unique life.

What about you?  Are you living the Branch-life?  Do you do what you do from the position of rest in your Glorious Lord Christ? Or are you trying to do what only God can do — give life and produce fruit?

I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.  John 15:5

For the rest of the Vine & Branches series, click here

Lenten Meditation: a Word of Forgiveness

Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet, once said, To err is human; to forgive, divine.

So true...but we humans more readily echo what someone else has said,

To err is human, but to get even? THAT is divine.

We struggle so, with forgiving our offenders!  Perhaps that's why we are amazed and awestruck to realize that Jesus' first words from the Cross were ones of forgiveness.

And these words came after hours of suffering:  agony in Gethsemane, betrayal, arrest, abandonment and denial by his own, illegal trial after trial, scourging, mocking, carrying His cross.

Then as He was being nailed to and raised on that same cross, He said,

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34

Jesus seemed to have a special love for those who betrayed and abused Him.  Think about it...Judas, He called "Friend"; Peter, He had already interceded for and later restored; the deserting disciples, He loved still; His rejecting nation, He wept over; and now this angry mob and these vicious executioners, He forgave.

And aren't we all in that list?  Put yourself there and realize that when Jesus was suffering and dying, He was forgiving you and me:  all our evil deeds -- past, present, and future;  all the evil that dwells in our flesh -- the self-sins: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, and a host of others that make up the self-life (AW Tozer, Pursuit of God).

And sin separates us from God...so we need Christ's forgiveness.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit... 1 Peter 3:18

And sin also separates us from one another...and that's where the struggle comes in.  Here's a question that I've been pondering:

Did Jesus struggle with forgiving as we do? Or could it be because of our self-sins that we struggle so? What do you think? (You can weigh in below in the comments if you'd like.)

Here are a few of my thoughts:  Maybe that was part of what went on in Gethsemane.  Jesus struggled there with the will of the Father, but He surrendered Himself to it:

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. Luke 22:42-43

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him... Hebrews 5:7-9

When we struggle with forgiveness, we need exactly what Jesus needed...surrender to the Father's will and purpose, even in our hurt and pain.  As we go through the decision as well as the process (because for most of us, it's both), we can remember the loving and forgiving Christ who lives within.  He will forgive and love through us if we let Him (that's called faith).

A few years back, I was struggling with forgiving in a certain situation.  I asked the Lord to give me a picture of Himself in my mind and heart when I felt offended, rejected, left out, or neglected.  Immediately what came to me was a picture of Jesus' face as He was dying on the Cross and speaking the words,

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Are you struggling with forgiveness, dear brother or sister?  Fill your mind and heart with the forgiving Christ.  Invite Him into the hurt and surrender to the Father's child training.  He will love and forgive through you as you trust Him.

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.  Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 4:32-5:2

Amazing Love

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken, I’m accepted, You were condemned. I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me, Because You died and rose again.

Chorus Amazing love, How can it be That You, my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.

You are my King Jesus You are my King You are my King

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPFTFvs8rQ[/youtube]

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Bible Students:

The New Covenant was inaugurated through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper (Communion) to remember this new covenant in His blood.  Luke 22:14-20 Basic to all the New Covenant promises is forgiveness of sins. Read through Hebrews 8:6-12. List the promises/provisions of the New Covenant.  Be sure to note the reason all these are possible in verse 12.

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Explore the Greek words for forgiveness:

1. aphiemi, aphesis= to send forth or away; to let go from oneself This is the word used in Luke 23:34. "The expression 'to forgive sins' or to remit sins means to remove the sins from someone. Only God is said to be able to do this (Mark 2:10).  To forgive sins is not to disregard them and do nothing about them, but to liberate a person from them, their guilt, and their power."  Spiro Zodiates, NT Word Study Dictionary. See also Romans 4:7; 1John 1:9, 2:12; Ephesians 1:7-8
2. charizomai = to show someone a favor, be kind to; to give or bestow something willingly; derived from charis, "grace" "The most common meaning peculiar to the NT is to pardon, to graciously remit a person's sin (Col 2:13)...also to forgive someone, be gracious   to (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13)."  Zodiates.
3. apoluein = to release, pardon a prisoner, release a debtor. See Luke 6:37, Matt 18:27
4. paresis = to disregard, a passing over, an overlooking of faults.  See Romans 3:25

Recommended Reading:

Lewis B. Smedes,  Shame & Grace. Chapter 17 ("Coming to Terms with Our Shamers") has very helpful thoughts on forgiveness.  Smedes has also authored a book, Forgive & Forget.  I haven't read it, but it might be worth looking at by clicking on the link.

A beautiful, "hands on" forgiveness devotional by Ann Voskamp

Lenten Meditation: Last Words & Conversations

The last words of a dying person are important.  They can communicate good or ill to those left behind.  Why?  Because the last words are so final...and so revealing of what was uppermost in the person's mind as he was leaving this earth to face his Maker. I've never been at the bedside of a dying person.  But I have been with a few people just days before their death.

My "Babci" (Polish for grandmother) was hospitalized after a heart attack.  She wasn't expected to die then, but she did just before being released.  But I had visited her from out-of-town, and I remember her looking at a picture of Jesus knocking on the heart's door saying, "O how much He suffered for us!"  To me, these were her last words that reflected a lifetime of devotion to her Lord.

Another person I visited shortly before his death was the father of a young friend.  As I took his hand to pray for him that night in hospice, this dad struggled to say something.  I waited to hear what he was trying to say.  Finally his words came..."I'm concerned about Mary's [not her real name] relationship with Jesus."

I told Mary the next day about her dad's concern.  That day she had time alone with him and said, "Daddy, I love Jesus."  And right then her daddy went home to his Lord.  His last words were those of loving concern for his daughter.

Sadly though, that's not always the case.  I had close relative who spoke angry words to his sons just hours before he suddenly died of a heart-attack -- no time to make things right...no time to express the love he really felt.  Needless to say, the sons struggle, but live with, the memory of these final harsh words from their father.

So last words can have an incredible impact.  This is especially true of the last statements of our Savior from the Cross.

And this will be the subject of the next few weeks as we prepare to celebrate the greatest day for us believers, the Resurrection of our Lord.

When we realize the agonizing death caused by crucifixion, it's incredible to think that our Lord would say what He said hanging from a cruel cross.  Angry, blaspheming words,  like those spoken by the criminals crucified with Him, would more readily come to mind for most people.

Bible scholar, Bernard Guy, says of crucifixion:

Crucifixion was a form of torture that literally knocked the wind out of a person. The weight of the body suspended by the arms caused immediate pain in the chest, paralyzing the pectoral muscles and making breathing extremely difficult. The person being crucified could inhale but had great difficulty exhaling. To exhale he had to push on his feet and straighten his legs to release the pressure exerted on his arms and chest. But the pain that this caused to his feet was so excruciating, because of the nails, that he would immediately cease any such effort. Death usually occurred within two or three days. But when the Romans wanted to shorten his agony, they would break his legs. So, unable to straighten himself with the help of his legs, the man would suffocate rapidly. The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus to hasten their deaths, but Jesus’ legs were not broken because he was already dead (John 19:3133). Thus was accomplished a prophecy from Scripture saying that none of his bones would be broken (John 19:36). It is in this context, while he was fighting for his every breath, that Jesus uttered his last words. ("The Last Seven Words of Jesus," bible.org)

Here are the seven last statements of Christ from the Cross.  Let us be amazed as we reflect on these one by one in the weeks ahead.

1. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34
2. I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43
3. Dear woman, here is your son...Here is your mother. John 19:26-27
4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46
5. I am thirsty. John 19:28
6. It is finished! John 19:30
7. Father, into your hands I commit My spirit. Luke 23:46

Next time: Father, forgive them... A Word of forgiveness

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Bible Students:

On the night before He died, our Lord had an intimate time with His disciples.  He poured out His heart to His beloved followers.  In Jesus' own words, we hear His longing for His own:

I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.  Luke 22:14-16

Put yourself in that group of disciples and join the conversation.

Read, meditate, and journal on the final thoughts and words of your Lord to YOU.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  John 17:20-21

Here are the passages in chronological order according to the Harmony of the Gospels:

Chapters 14-17 [of the gospel of John] are called the Heart of Christ.  Nowhere does the Master lay bare His very soul more than here in chapters 15 and 16, with the allegory of the Vine and the teaching concerning the Holy Spirit. AT Robertson, Harmony of the Gospels

• Luke 22:14-16, 24-30 -- a New Covenant in His blood, kingdom conversation
• John 13:1-38 -- Jesus washing the disciples feet (washing and being washed)
• Luke 22:17-20 -- Communion
• John 14 -- a place and a Comforter promised
• John 15 -- the Vine and the branches
• John 16 -- the world's hatred and trials, work of the Holy Spirit
• John17 -- Jesus' High Priestly prayer (listen in to prayer within the Godhead...wow!  For you and me!!!)
• Mark 14:26, 32-42 -- Jesus' agony in Gethsemane

If you would like to view a very moving dramatization of John 12-17 (all scripture), click on the youtube links below in the order given.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyc4ET1iXwY&feature=channel[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcST07H8-y0&feature=channel[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDpj17RhoFg&feature=channel[/youtube]

Hebrews 2:5-18 -- The Beauty of the Incomparable Christ...the Son of Man

CS Lewis calls the Incarnation "The Grand Miracle."

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation...God became Man.  Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this….it was the central event in the history of the Earth–the very thing the whole story has been about. Miracles, “The Grand Miracle,” C.S. Lewis

In chapter 2 of Hebrews, we continue the thought that Jesus Christ is better than the angels...not just because He's the Son of GOD, but because He's the Son of MAN.  What an incredibly important truth for fallen man!

Our destiny that was lost (Hebrews 2:5-8) is now regained in the God-Man Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:9-18).  Here are 3 suggestions for your study of this passage:

• Play and read through the lyrics of your favorite Christmas carol or enjoy the one below.  Take 2 colored pencils and mark in one color, references to Jesus as God and in another color, references to Jesus as Man.  If you are really ambitious, do the Bible study associated with each line.
• Go through Hebrews 2:9-18 and see if you can give 5 descriptions of Jesus as our God-Man.  They are listed for you below,* but why not try them on your own first.
• Spend time reflecting on how your Great High Priest has come to your aid in the past and how you need Him to come to your aid today.  Praise and pray!

Homework --   Read Hebrews 3:1-4:13 Answer questions in Hoping for Something Better, p. 190-192 Read chapter 3, p. 37-53, Hoping…

Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing!

Hark!  The herald angels sing,        Luke 2:13 “Glory to the newborn King!            Luke 2:14 Peace on earth and mercy mild,      Luke 2:14 God and sinners reconciled.”   Luke 2 :14; Rom 5:8-11; II Cor 5:18-19 Joyful, all ye nations rise,                 Luke 2:10; Luke 2:32 Join the triumph of the skies; With angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem.            Luke 2:11 Hark!  The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heaven adored;    John 17:23-26; 15:9; 3:35; Matthew 3:17 Christ the everlasting Lord!              Luke 2:11 Late in time behold Him come,        Galatians 4:4 Offspring of a Virgin’s womb.           Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34,35; Galatians 4:4 Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;       Hebrews 10:20; Romans 8:3; John 1:14 Hail the incarnate Deity.            Colossians 2:9 Pleased as man with man to dwell, Philippians 2:5-8 Jesus, our Emmanuel                   Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Matthew 1:21,25 Hark!  The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!  John 1:14; Isaiah 9:6 Hail the Son of Righteousness!               Malachi 4:2 Light and life to all He brings,       John 6:35, 8:12, 10:2, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:5 Ris’n with healing in His wings.             Malachi 4:2 Mild He lays His glory by,                       Philippians 2:5-8 Born that man no more may die            John 3:16; 1John 4:9, 3:2 Born to raise the sons of earth;  I Corinthians 15:20-28, 35-49; Philippians 3:20-21 Born to give them second birth. Hark!  The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Words: Charles Wesley (1707-88), George Whitfield (1714-70), Music: Mendelssohn, from a chorus by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47), adapted by William H. Cummings

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiP6HtIaJ70[/youtube]

For the story behind the carol, click HERE

Just for fun...a story and a song.  We closed with this in our group this week :)

A Cake and a Savior:  Welcome to our World

*Descriptions of Jesus Christ, the God-Man:

1.  He is my Substitute (2:9)

2.  He is my Savior (2:10-11a)

3.  He is my Brother (2:11b-14a)

4.  He is my Deliverer (2:14b-15)

5.  He is my Helper / High Priest (2:16-18)

Lenten Meditation: Dust to Dust

I grew up in a liturgical church.  So from my childhood into my early adulthood, I observed the church calendar.   Ash Wednesday marked a real turning point in the calendar year.  It was a turn from comfort, frivolity, and enjoyment (think Mardi Gras) to a time of repentance, self-denial, and mortification called Lent. Ash Wednesday was a day when we all remembered that someday we would each die and face our Maker.  The priest would put the sign of the cross on our foreheads in black ashes and say,

Remember, Man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. [based on Genesis 3:19]

A  very sobering reminder...and I took it all very seriously.

Even though I'm not a part of a liturgical congregation now, I think it's a good thing to remember that death is up ahead for each of us.

But why death?  The Bible says,

The wages of sin is death...  Romans 6:23a

But the good news is

...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 6:23b

Pastor and Bible teacher, Chuck Swindoll, takes the symbolism of the ashen cross a step further.  He says,

The mark is a sign of Christ's ownership of the person and a symbol of sorrow for sins...We are His possessions and a true appreciation for the cost of our salvation begins with an understanding of the seriousness of sin.

So while Ash Wednesday reminds us of our sin and our mortality, we can look ahead to Good Friday and Easter Sunday because we are His possession.  We know the end of the story, and (as someone has said) "We win"...because HE won!

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  1Peter 2:24

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  Hebrews 2:14-15

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Cor 15:54-57

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For more about Lent and Ash Wednesday, visit the Voice blog.

A "must view" by the author of Almost Amish

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Coming soon:  Lenten meditations:  Jesus' Last Words from the Cross

Subscribe via email (right) or RSS (top right)

Hebrews: Christ's Ascension to the Father...Key to my Life on this Earth!

ascension

A while ago, I heard a sermon on the Ascension of Christ.  To tell you the truth, I had never thought much of the Lord's Ascension.  My focus has always been on the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord...and the incredible benefits to me as His child and disciple. But now that I am back in Hebrews again, I've remembered that sermon...and I'm pondering!  Pondering the glory of it all and its vital importance to my own spiritual walk in this sin-cursed world.

Andrew Murray, in his monumental work on the epistle to the Hebrews, says:

Faith has its foundation on four great corner-stones on which the building rests -- the Divinity of Christ, the Incarnation, the Atonement on the Cross, the Ascension to the Throne.  The last is the most wonderful, the crown of all the rest, the perfect revelation of what God has made Christ for us.  And so in the Christian life it is the most important, the glorious fruit of all that goes before. [emphasis mine], Holiest of All, p 65.

He goes on to say,

The Holy Spirit was sent down after the ascension.  Why?  That He might witness to us of a heavenly Christ, and bring the kingdom of heaven into our hearts and lives. [emphasis mine], Holiest of All, p 66.

How about exploring with me the five passages in Hebrews that speak of the ascended Christ sitting on the Throne at the right Hand of the Father?  What do you discover in the context of each?  Here they are --

Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:13

Hebrews 8:1-2

Hebrews 10:11-14

Hebrews 12:1-3

Because our great High Priest is on the Throne, we can...Hebrews 4:14-16

Why?  Because of our key verse:  Hebrews 7:24-25

Now look at other related passages and start making your list of the benefits that are yours because Jesus our Great High Priest ascended to the right hand of the Father and sat down!

John 20:17 -- after the resurrection

Luke 24:44-53 -- the ascension into heaven

Acts 1:6-14; 2:1-36 [see especially 2:33-35!] -- the ascension & Pentecost

John 7:37-39 & John 16:7-14-- promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14:16-17 -- promise of indwelling of the Spirit; also look at Col 1:27

Ephesians 1:3, 20-23 -- spiritual blessings; power toward us who believe!

Ephesians 4:7-14 -- Christ's victorious ascension & giving of spiritual gifts

Col 3:1-4 -- life union with Christ -- Hallelujah!!!!

Romans 8:28-39 -- nothing can separate or condemn (see esp v34)

This brings us back full circle to our  key verse -- Hebrews 7:24-25

And then to the culmination of time:

Revelation 3:20-21; also chapters 21 & 22 -- awesome!

Christ's Ascension and Enthronment is so important, we dare not ignore it:

The ascension completes the resurrection. Without the resurrection Christ’s death would be meaningless as far as the great issues of life are concerned. And without the ascension, the resurrection would also be incomplete and meaningless. We would have a resurrected person, but not one who was now at God’s right hand in the place of authority.

Please note the progression:

• First there is Christ’s descent to earth--God becoming man, the incarnation.
• This is followed by Christ’s death and resurrection as the God-Man Savior.
• But for God’s purposes to be fulfilled and our need supplied, there must also be Christ’s ascent into heaven as the God-Man Savior and King of His people.

“The ascension is the important link between His work on earth and His work in heaven which begins with the ascension” (Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, p. 224).

It is important to remember that the New Testament was written by men who were thoroughly convinced that Jesus was at the right hand of the Father, and that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit they were in union with this ascended Lord and were, by His commission and through His ascended authority and power, left here to continue the work which He began. J. Hampton Keathley III, "The Ascension of Jesus Christ,"  p.4 on bible.org

right hand of the father

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At our Friday class in the book of Hebrews, one of our sisters shared that there is just one place in Scripture where it says that Jesus was standing at the right hand of the Father.  It was when He welcomed Stephen, the first martyr of the church, home to heaven.

It's an awesome passage and an awesome thought:  that the reigning King of glory, who had completed the work of redemption and sat down in the privileged place of power, would then get up to receive His child home. Could it be that He receives each of us that same way? Glory!

But he [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments vat the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:55-60 ESV

Jesus receiving us to heaven

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Here's a free download of Andrew Murray's above mentioned devotional commentary on Hebrews...you will love it!

The Holiest of All by Andrew Murray

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bible.org

For a more theological and scholarly approach, check out:

 The Ascension of Jesus Christ by J. Hampton Keathley III

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BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD ABOVE Selah

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea

A great High Priest whose Name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me

My name is graven on His hands

My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God the Just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb

My perfect spotless righteousness

The great unchangeable I AM

The King of glory and of grace

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Him on high

With Christ my Savior and my God!

With Christ my Savior and my God!

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A reminder about our homework.  After so many weather cancellations, it's easy to loose track of where we are in our study.  Here is the homework for the next lesson.  After our group discusses Heb 1:1-2:4, I may revise this post or do an addendum.  But in the meantime, here's the next homework:

Homework --   Read Hebrews 2: 5-18 Answer questions in Hoping for Something Better, p. 188-190 Read chapter 2, p. 21-36, Hoping…

Class notes for Hebrews 1:1-2:4 : THE BEAUTY OF THE INCOMPARABLE CHRIST

For a well-known sermon by A.B. Simpson, click on HIMSELF.  It is well-worth the few moments of reading!

Hebrews: Cocooning Again!

GOD IS IN CONTROL!  Even of the weather in Ohio! So here we are for another week...reading and meditating...trusting in God's timing.  There are no mistakes with Him, and so I have to believe even our decision to cancel wasn't a mistake.  Thank you, Lord!

So for our Snow-Day Students of Hebrews:  We are again resting in the glorious first chapter of the epistle, and chapter one of Hoping for Something Better.

Here are some suggestions for this week of study if you already have your homework done:

• Why not read through the book of Hebrews with colored pencil in hand.  Mark every time you come to a reference to Jesus as our great High Priest...there are many!  You can also summarize what is said about Him in each of those references, if you care to.
• Also with colored pencil, read through marking the word "better."  Jot down what Jesus is better than.
• Explore the study in the next post (coming soon) on our Great High Priest seated at the right hand of God.  Make a list from what you see in Scripture and from your own meditation on the benefits to you personally because Jesus is seated at the Father's right hand.
• PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER FOR NEXT FRIDAY!  We are "hoping for something better!"  :)  Don't give up!

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Total "Cardiac Rehab"--It takes a Village..

February is American Heart Month. How appropriate since February is also the month of Valentine’s Day, celebrating the heart’s favorite emotion — LOVE.

Well, these past Februaries,  "American Heart Month" has taken on new meaning because the “love of my life” had a heart attack a year and a half ago.  So the last eighteen months have brought lots of changes to both of our lives, but especially his.  And cardiac rehab has played a big part.   As many heart patients know, cardiac rehab takes a village…

cardiac rehab

It has taken a village of medical personnel.  There were the paramedics who responded when we called 9-1-1; the doctors who did the heart cath; the nurses who cared for John in the hospital; the physical therapists and technicians who exercised and educated him so he could find his “new normal”…and the list goes on and on.

Then there were the neighbors, family, and friends who prayed, jumped in to help, and emailed, facebooked, called, and sent cards with words of encouragement. There were also fellow heart patients, past and present, who empathized and spurred John on.

It has taken all of these folks using their expertise, gifting, and care to enable John to recover from a “widow-maker” level heart attack.  Now he can live in relative good health for as long as God ordains.  We thank God for the village He’s provided.

All of this makes me think of the village the Lord has provided for our “spiritual cardiac rehab.”

Through our personal heart relationship with the Lord Christ, we have received a new heart and new spirit, so we are complete in Him.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you….And I will put my Spirit within you…  Ezekiel 36:26-27

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  2Cor 5:17

i2 hearts with faces

But while we are living in our broken humanness on this earth, we need our minds, affections, and wills continually renewed.  And in God’s eternal plan in Christ Jesus, it takes a village…the Body of Christ, the community of believers, His church.

Our minds get darkened by the enemy’s lies.  Our affections get wooed by the “sweet-talkin’” world.  Our wills are weakened and pulled away from God and His ways.  And all of this even while we have the indwelling life of God in Christ through the Spirit.

Oswald Chambers (July 12, My Utmost for His Highest) says it well:

THE SPIRITUAL SOCIETY “Till we all come . . unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13

Rehabilitation means the putting back of the whole human race into the relationship God designed it to be in, and this is what Jesus Christ did in Redemption… The rehabilitation of the human race on Jesus Christ’s plan means the realization of Jesus Christ in corporate life as well as in individual life.

Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this purpose – that the corporate Personality might be realized. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy spiritual retirement; we are here so to realize Jesus Christ that the Body of Christ may be built up. Am I building up the Body of Christ, or am I looking for my own personal development only?

The essential thing is my personal relationship to Jesus Christ – “That I may know Him.” To fulfill God’s design means entire abandonment to Him. Whenever I want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. It will be a big humiliation to realize that I have not been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ, but only about realizing what He has done for me.

So our growth in Christ not for our own spiritual “pleasure.”  We all need each other for our “spiritual cardiac rehab” on this earth.

How does this work?

1. Connect to a community of believers who know and love the Lord, His Word, and His people. Today, there are many options: from small groups to house churches to mega-congregations; from contemporary & casual to formal and even liturgical. The important thing is…where does GOD want you. No matter what you choose, it won’t be perfect. As one Bible teacher I know used to say, “If you find the perfect church, don’t join it…because you’ll ruin it.”

2. Give to & receive from others in the body of Christ. I love the story in John 13 where Jesus washed His disciples feet. Most of us immediately get the lesson that we are to “wash each others’ feet” by serving them. But tucked in that passage is the added lesson that we need to let our feet be washed by our brothers and sisters. When Peter protested about the Lord washing his feet, Jesus responded: Unless I wash you, you have no part with me. John 13:8 It dawned on me one day when reading that verse that perhaps part of what Jesus was saying was…if you don’t let your brothers and sisters serve and minister to you, you are rejecting ME…”no part with ME!”

3. Use whatever gifts the Lord has given to build up one another and glorify God and His grace. One of my favorite Bible words is “manifold.” It means various, multi-colored, variegated (like yarn), multi-faceted (like diamonds)…and it’s used in my favorite verses about spiritual gifts: As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1Peter 4:10-11

So each of us is a “facet” in the brilliant diamond of God’s glorious grace when we serve in the fulness of the Spirit in the gifting He’s given us.  What a privilege!  And what a protection as we walk through this sin-cursed world.

diamond

Don’t try to do it on your own, dear brothers and sisters.  We need each other in the Body of Christ!  As a friend once said when going through some dark trials in his family, “The Body of Christ is at its best when a believer suffers!”  Why?  Because we are part of each other.   And the Lord’s multi-faceted grace ministers through His people!

reading the Bible

Bible Students:

If you would like to read and study further about spiritual gifts, look at these additional passages:

Romans 12:3-13

1 Cor 12:4-31

Eph 4:7-16

Be sure to note what the goal or purpose (anticipated outcome) of the gifts is in each of these passages.  Our unity in diversity is a beautiful thing to behold!

Hebrews: Viewing the Light of the World

glass igloo

A friend on facebook posted this picture of thermal glass igloos to view the Northern Lights in Finland.  Isn't that a fun, amazing thought?!  I just had to share it on my wall with the caption "Field trip, anyone?"  I was just kidding, of course, but I was shocked at how many people commented, "Count me in!"  "Me too!"

Here in the Dayton, Ohio area, it began snowing this morning after rush hour got going.  So we thought it the wise thing to cancel our afternoon Bible study in Hebrews because of impending road conditions.

bible and tea

As I settled in to enjoy my warm, free day at home, I thought of those igloos to view the Northern Lights.  How much better, as I grab my cup of warm "something" this winter afternoon, to view the Light of the World from my warm "igloo" of God's Word.

Would you like to join me?  If so, here are some other passages to meditate on as we rest for another week in the glorious first chapter of Hebrews:

John 1

Colossians 1

Then in connection with the first warning of Hebrews 2:1-4:

Matthew 13 -- especially the parables of the wheat and the tares, and the sower and the soils

HAPPY COCOONING WITH THE LORD!

See you next time!

Hebrews 1:1-2:4 -- The Beauty of the Incomparable Christ...the Son of God

images-2

Back in 1995 we lived in Centerville, Ohio.  Centerville had a wonderful little post office in those days right behind Bill's Donuts.  In February of that year I stopped by to buy some stamps, noticing a large poster of the current stamp. As I awaited my turn in line, I reflected on the picture of the cherub I saw on the wall.

sistine madonna cherubs

"Wait a minute," I said to myself, "I've seen that cherub before, but in a bigger painting."

I had taken art history in college and loved it! So I was wracking my brain to try to remember what painting it was part of. I couldn't let it rest...so it sent me to the library to those big, dusty art books.

Sure enough, here's the painting those little cherubs are part of:

sistine madonna, raphael

The cherubs are hardly noticed in this painting.  The obvious focal point is the mother and child...but the mother, more than the child!

"Wow," I thought, "Isn't that just like what we do in our Christian life?  We loose our focal point -- the Lord Jesus Christ!  Rather we focus on all the peripheral Christian things, as good as many of them may be...things like the spiritual disciplines, godly behavior, our motivation, the latest Christian best-seller, the current Christian "band-wagon," the retreat or conference everyone is talking about...the Christian to-do list!

Those of you who studied the book of Colossians with us had our focus sharpened to see that truly...

Jesus + nothing = Everything

And that is what we will see again in the book of Hebrews.  In fact, right here in the first chapter, we see the exalted Christ...God's final revelation...the culmination, the fulfillment of all that has gone before.

He's better than prophets and preachers; better than angels and other emissaries; He's God's Son...God Himself!  The Father has spoken in His Son, the Logos, the Word (John 1)!

And as with any speaking, there's the expectation that someone will listen.   So it is and much more so when it comes to hearing God in His Son:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! Matthew 17:5

Why must we hear HIM? He's the Darling of Heaven! He's the Indescribable One, beautiful beyond human words! The Incomparable Lord Jesus Christ! 

He's the One our God describes and compares in the letter to the Hebrew Christians of the first and second century.  And He's the One our God wants US to hear in the 21st century.  So, my friends...

Let us HEAR HIM!

I Stand in Awe by Mark Altrogge

You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words, Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can grasp your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above.

(Chorus) And I stand, I stand in awe of you. I stand, I stand in awe of you. Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you.

You are beautiful beyond description, Yet God crushed You for my sin, In agony and deep affliction, Cut off that I might enter in. Who can grasp such tender compassion? Who can fathom this mercy so free? You are beautiful beyond description, Lamb of God, Who died for me.

(Chorus)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgUvKan0i3I[/youtube]

Homework --   Read Hebrews 2: 5-18 Answer questions in Hoping for Something Better, p. 188-190 Read chapter 2, p. 21-36, Hoping…

Class notes for Hebrews 1:1-2:4 : THE BEAUTY OF THE INCOMPARABLE CHRIST

For a well-known sermon by A.B. Simpson, click on HIMSELF.  It is well-worth the few moments of reading!

Hebrews: HE IS!

hebrews scroll

It's all about Jesus...it's all about HIM! How He's the Son of God...and the Son of Man!

How He's better than everything! How He's incomparable! Our Great High Priest! The Captain of our Faith! Our Savior! The Great Shepherd of the Sheep! Our Sabbath Rest! The Sacrifice for Sin! And so much more!

And because of Him and all He is and all He's done... Because He's gone before, paved the way for us...

Now we can "run our lap in God's race of faith" with endurance [after all, it's a "marathon"], hope, faith, love [it's also a "relay"]

Fixing our eyes on Him, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...

Remembering we are part of something bigger than ourselves...God's great timeline of people of faith (Hebrews 11)

And remembering we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken!

That's the book of Hebrews...that's the Bible, Old Testament and New

It's all about HIM...because HE IS!

HE IS Aaron Jeoffrey

In Genesis, He's the breath of life In Exodus, the Passover Lamb In Leviticus, He's our High Priest Numbers, The fire by night Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice In Joshua, He is salvation's choice Judges, law giver In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign Ezra, true and faithful scribe Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage In Job, the timeless redeemer In Psalms, He is our morning song In Proverbs, wisdom's cry Ecclesiastes, the time and season In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace Jeremiah, the weeping prophet In Lamentations, the cry for Israel Ezekiel, He's the call from sin In Daniel, the stranger in the fire In Hosea, He is forever faithful In Joel, He's the Spirits power In Amos, the arms that carry us In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior In Jonah, He's the great missionary In Micah, the promise of peace In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage In Zechariah, our fountain In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven In Romans, He's the grace of God In Corinthians, the power of love In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin Ephesians, our glorious treasure Philippians, the servants heart In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity Thessalonians, our coming King In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant In James, the one who heals the sick. In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

 The prince of peace The Son of man The Lamb of God The great I am He's the alpha and omega Our God and our Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord And when time is no more

He is, HE IS!

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Bible study

Hebrews outlines:

Plan of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Homework: Read, read, read Hebrews (use the charts to help)Hoping for Something Better:   Read pages xi-xx *Do the questions on Heb 1:1-2:4 on p. 186-188 Read chapter 1, p.1-20

Class notes for the Introduction: JESUS IS BETTER, intro

Hebrews: Reading Week

Devote yourself to the...reading of Scripture...  1Timothy 4:13 Let's begin our restful study of the letter to the Hebrews by reading, reading, and then reading again.

Or as my almost 4 year old grandson Carter and I would say, "Reading?...reading?...how about reading?"

And why should we read?  Because it's by repeated reading that we begin to get the "big picture" of what God is saying in the Bible.   We also begin to notice repeated key truths.  And most precious of all, we begin to hear the Lord speak to us through His treasured words.

As the prophet Jeremiah once said,

Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.  Jeremiah 15:16

Or as my sweet friend Penny once prayed,

LORD, Your words are so delicious!

So this week, grab a journal or notebook, your Bible (maybe different versions for each day) and start reading.  You may want to read a brief introduction in your Bible...then just read, read, read the book of Hebrews (not books about Hebrews!  Not yet, anyway!)

Write down verses that jump out, thoughts that come to you in the reading...and of course, prayers that rise up.  Write it down.  Trust me, you will forget!  So you will be glad to have recorded what God may be saying to you!

So...HAPPY, RESTFUL READING...and I'll see you later on :)

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All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2Timothy 3:16-17

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Here's a link to Bible Gateway. You can read Hebrews in many different versions at his site. Just enter the passage and the version you want and...voila!

I've been enjoying Hebrews in The Voice, a new translation of the New Testament published by Thomas Nelson. For a free download and short video clips, follow this link:

http://www.nelsonfree.com/voicent

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Here is a chart that will help you as you read through the book of Hebrews multiple times.  Make notes in the corresponding boxes for each chapter as you go along:

Hebrews Reading Chart

For info about our study book: Hoping for Something Better, by Nancy Guthrie

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Listen to our brother Jason Nightingale recite the entire book of Hebrews.  At the same time, you will also be watching on youtube  :)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Coming Soon: a Winter Bible Study in Hebrews

Hoping for Something Better

Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, our Savior is better…better than “to do list” religion, better than the most eloquent spiritual leader, better than the Christian “band-wagons” we hop on and off of, better than anything we may try to add to HIM to feel alive and experience hope, peace, and rest! Join us as we explore the letter to the Hebrews to see afresh that JESUS is God’s everything…God’s BEST!

We will be using Nancy Guthrie's excellent book Hoping for Something Better.  Get your book by following this link.

So order your book, grab your Bible, and start reading through the book of Hebrews.  Get ready for an exciting adventure that may very well just change your entire worldview.

Beginning on January 18th and continuing for 11 weeks...a great way to stave off the winter doldrums!

For more info on the book, go to the author's website.

Nancy_Guthrie_about2

3rd Week of Advent: EMMANUEL, Our God is WITH Us...

adventwreath_3c

If ever we needed to know God is WITH us in every possible way, it's NOW, after the crushing, excruciating events reported from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut.  In reality, this little town could be Everytown, USA.  We can't make sense of it all, but we can turn afresh to the One Who has us in the palm of His Hand. The God Who became One of us...flesh and bone and joint and sinew...who experienced every emotion possible, raw and gripping, tender and affectionate!  He felt it all!  And He feels this with us too!

Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested... This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do... So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 2:18; 4:15-16 NLT

This is what we want to explore this week in our Advent devotions...God WITH us!  All the levels of God's WITH-ness!  But first, a song and our Advent readings for the week.

I love this song by Michael Card.  Michael is a Bible scholar as well as a musician, and it shows up in his music.  In this glorious song, there are several Scriptures expressed musically.  What a celebration of the amazing truth of God's WITH-ness!  The verses of Immanuel reference two beautiful prophecies in the Old Testament book of Isaiah:

Nativity

The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).Isaiah 7:14 NLT

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.For those who live in a land of deep darkness,a light will shine. Isaiah 9:2 NLT

The song continues with, comes back to, and ends with this glorious truth in the repeated chorus:

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ...Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow —not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love... —indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 NLT

Sing, rejoice, celebrate our Immanuel!

IMMANUEL Michael Card Album: Joy In The Journey

A sign shall be givenA virgin will conceiveA human baby bearingUndiminished deityThe glory of the nationsA light for all to seeThat hope for all who will embraceHis warm reality

Chorus: ImmanuelOur God is with usAnd if God is with usWho could stand against usOur God is with usImmanuel

For all those who live in the shadow of deathA glorious light has dawnedFor all those who stumble in the darknessBehold your light has come

Chorus:ImmanuelOur God is with usAnd if God is with usWho could stand against usOur God is with usImmanuel

So what will be your answer?Will you hear the call?Of Him who did not spare His sonBut gave him for us allOn earth there is no powerThere is no depth or heightThat could ever separate usFrom the love of God in Christ

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Readings for the 3rd Week of Advent:

Sunday -- Luke 12:49-53 Monday -- 1 John 2:24-29 Tuesday -- Luke 1:8-23 Wednesday -- Matthew 1:18-23 Thursday -- Luke 1:24-38 Friday -- Luke 1:39-56 Saturday -- Luke 1:57-80

We recently viewed again The NATIVITY STORY.  It is one hour and forty minutes well-spent...very moving!  You will be blessed! Here's a link to the entire movie: