November 15, 2019
DO YOU LISTEN TO THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING? Have you ever refused to listen to the Spirit of Christ? Has He knocked at your heart’s door and been refused entrance? Consider those in the Old Testament who refused to obey God when He spoke. What became of them? And now, Jesus, the One who
November 14, 2019
CAN MY DADDY SEE ME NOW? Who is this “huge crowd of witnesses?” They are those who have already run life’s race “by faith” as Hebrews 11 has listed. They have already crossed life’s finished line and have now joined other believers, who the author of Hebrews here visualizes either metaphorically or literally, as now
November 13, 2019
THAT FAITH WHICH CHOOSES ETERNITY WITH CHRIST OVER TEMPORAL THINGS The book of Hebrews teaches that it was “by faith” that Moses chose to be identified with God’s people rather than remain as the adopted son of Pharoah’s daughter. Moses was further commended for his faith in that he considered it better to suffer for
November 11, 2019
HOLDING TIGHTLY WITH UNWAVERING HOPE Christian hope is confident hope. For Christian hope is based on the promises of God. Since this hope is anchored to God’s promises we can be assured that our hope will not be disappointed. So rather than hanging on to the temporal things we can see, let us hold tightly
November 8, 2019
A NEW AND LIVING WAY IS NOW OPEN TO GOD The two rooms of the Tabernacle were symbolic of the spiritual separation existing between God and man. Only priests could enter the first room called the Holy Place. And only the High Priest could enter the second room called the Most Holy Place, and then
November 7, 2019
CHRIST OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST AND MEDIATOR The old covenant was a foreshadowing of the new one, which has now come into view through Jesus. The old covenant was a “copy” of the real one in heaven that was revealed to Moses. It acted as a tutor, teaching and pointing to its fulfillment in Christ.
November 4, 2019
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS LIKE A ROPE Christian hope is not like the world’s hope. It isn’t like saying “I hope it doesn’t rain this weekend.” For that hope is a mere wish built on nothing. Christian hope is like a rope, anchored in the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ in the past, taken hold
October 31, 2019
OUR CHANGE OF STATUS AS GOD’S CHILDREN Receiving Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins we are made children of God. This spiritual transaction changes our status in at least three ways: 1) Righteousness – Christ took our sin upon Himself and the Father counted His righteousness as ours for our justification.
November 16, 2018
A BENEDICTION OF SANCTIFICATION
This prayer for our equipping and sanctification reveals God’s method for making us “pleasing to him.” It is none other than the power of Christ in us. We can pray this prayer too. Praying it for ourselves, we yield our wills to His, and acknowledge our dependence on Christ’s power. Praying it for others, we focus on Christ-at-work in others, rather than their shortcomings.
November 15, 2018
THE GOD OF THE OLD IS THE GOD OF THE NEW
The apostle quoted Moses, “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (Deut. 4:24), clearly showing that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The image of God as a devouring ( KJV “consuming”) fire is one that seeks to reveal the strictness of his justice, the purity of his holiness and the passion of his love for us. We may boldly approach him through Christ, our Great High Priest, yet we do so reminded of how Moses approached the mountain of God with fear and trembling.