NT: “We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature — for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5:11-14‬ ‭CSB)

The writer of Hebrews had much more to say about Christ’s heavenly priesthood and what that meant for the believers still living out life on earth, but he was concerned that it would go over their heads and they would not understand it. It was not because of their inability to understand. It was because of their laziness in understanding.

The writer had just explained that Jesus, though the Son of God, had to learn obedience through challenges and suffering. When Jesus was born as a baby, He was not a fully mature adult physically, mentally or spiritually. He had to grow into maturity. He had to progress from drinking milk to eating solid food in order to grow physically. He had apply Himself to learn and meditate on the scriptures in order to grow mentally. He had to practice and apply the word, will and ways of His Father in order to grow spiritually. Growing into maturity requires effort and intentionality – but the Hebrew believers had grown lazy in their understanding, and barely understood the most basic truths of the gospel. If they barely understood the basics of the gospel due to laziness, how could they understand the more difficult and meaty things of God and Christ?

One thing I have noticed in recent days is the laziness among professing believers to fully understand the word, will, ways and works of God, and all the benefits that we have through faith in Christ. Many believers have a shaky-at-best and incomplete understanding of the basic gospel message. If they don’t understand the gospel, how can they effectively share the gospel, much less disciple others in the things of God and Christ? The lack of understanding is not because of an inability to understand. It is because of an unwillingness to do the work to understand. Instead of spending time in the word of God – investigating, meditating, applying and exercising what it says, many are content to live on short sound bytes and small quotes taken out of context. Because they don’t know what God’s word says, they have a hard time discerning between good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness and unrighteousness, and are easily swept up in the current of the world culture.

After a baby is born, the parents of that baby are very intentional in seeing that baby progress from nursing and living on milk to feeding themselves and eating solid foods. If the baby is slow in progressing, they become concerned and seek out help in order to see their child grow into maturity. The same should be true of us spiritually. It is wonderful for a person to come to faith in Christ, but if we leave them to live as spiritual infants for the rest of their lives, that is not so wonderful. Let us put away our laziness in spiritual growth and learn to live on solid food and grow in spiritual maturity.

Psalms: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works. He looks at the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke. I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in the Lord. May sinners vanish from the earth and wicked people be no more. My soul, bless the Lord! Hallelujah!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭104:31-35‬ ‭CSB)

Psalm 104 is a magnificent and beautiful ode to God the Creator and Sustainer of all life. The psalm begins with the author saying to himself, “Bless the Lord, my soul!” because of the majesty and splendor of Creator God. In order to fully and properly bless God, effort and intentionality – a setting of the will is required. The psalmist could allow himself to grow apathetic about the wonders of creation and take the goodness and greatness of God for granted. He could allow himself to grow lazy in his praise – but then he would miss out on understanding, knowledge and wisdom, and all the other blessings that are found in living humbly submitted under the rule and reign of the Creator. So instead of giving into laziness and apathy, He ended this psalm with intention: “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. May my meditation be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in the Lord… Bless the Lord, oh my soul! Hallelujah!”

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for all that You have done and provided for me. I also thank You that You have also given me Your Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth and teach me the things that I need to know and understand about what You have done and provided for me. However, I must set my will to understand and grow in the things of Your kingdom in order to become one of Your mature disciples. Help me to slough off laziness and apply myself to investigating, meditating, applying and exercising Your word, will and ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed in matters pertaining to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also clothed with weakness… No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest, but God who said to him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father, also says in another place, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. After he was perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, and he was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5:1-2, 4-10‬ ‭CSB)

Not anyone could become a High Priest. There were qualifications that had to be met first. The first qualification was that the High Priest must be a human in order to fully represent humanity before God. Secondly, the High Priest had to be appointed by God – hand-picked from among humanity by God to represent humanity in matters pertaining to God. There were several times in Biblical history when men tried to appoint themselves as priests, and it didn’t go well for them. Thirdly, the High Priest had to be able to sympathize with the people he was representing. Finally, a sacrifice had to be made to consecrate the High Priest unto God. The requirements for priestly consecration are recorded in Exodus 29.

Jesus Christ met all of those qualifications. Though He was the Son of God, He became a man and dwelt among us. Christ was selected by God, the Son in whom He was well-pleased, to stand in our place. When Jesus laid aside His divinity to be born into humanity, He was fully human, with all of our limitations and physical weaknesses. He was limited by time and space, He got tired, He got hungry, He experienced temptations, He experienced physical pain, He had to learn how to be fully obedient as a limited human and He did so through pain and suffering. Jesus was and is able to fully sympathize with humanity in every way. Finally, Jesus was consecrated through a sacrifice – but it wasn’t a sacrifice for His own sin. It as a sacrifice for our sin. His sacrifice wasn’t a sacrifice of rams and bulls, but of His own body.

There was one qualification that Jesus did not meet. High Priests under the law came from the tribe of Levi and were descendants of Aaron. Jesus was not a Levite. He was born into the kingly tribe of Judah. Though all of the High Priests since the establishment of the law were all descendants of Aaron, there was one High Priest that was appointed by God before Levi was ever born and before the law was ever established. That High Priest was Melchizedek. The brief story of Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14:18-20. The name Melchizedek literally means King of Righteousness.  Melchizedek was not only the priest of the Most High God, he was also the King of Salem (or King of Peace). Jesus was not appointed a priest under the law – for He fulfilled all of the requirements of the law. Jesus was appointed High Priest under grace in the order of Melchizedek, King of Righteousness and King of Peace… and like Melchizedek, Jesus would serve as High Priest and rule as King. Because Jesus has already died and has now been resurrected, He is able to serve as King and High Priest forever. Because He sits on the throne of grace at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest forever, He intercedes for us to the Father forever… and through Him, we have a sympathetic advocate before the Father forever.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for loving me so much that you laid aside Your divinity to become a man so that through pain, suffering and death, You would be appointed as my Great High Priest, bridging the divide between me and God, reconciling me to God, and serving as my intercessor and advocate before God forever. For that and more, I offer my life to You and serve You as part of Your royal priesthood here on earth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12-16‬ ‭CSB)

Hebrews chapter 4 mentions three main topics: 1) promised rest, 2) the word of God, 3) the throne of grace. When we read this chapter, we are probably inclined to think of those three topics as three distinct subjects – so in our understanding, we compartmentalize them apart from each other. But they are all connected, and the common connector is our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

In the first part of chapter 4, the author wrote that Joshua (who lead Israel into the promise land) was not successful in leading God’s people into true spiritual rest – but the true promised rest of God is available through faith and obedience to Christ. That led the author of Hebrews to write, “Let us then make every effort to enter that rest…” What is the effort that we engage in to enter rest? Faith and obedience to the word of God. That charge then leads to this section of scripture on the living and effective word of God.

As we read in John 1:1-14, Jesus Christ is the living Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us. The Greek word used for ‘word’ is logos, which means the full and complete word of God… all of His sayings, mandates and decrees. The logos of God is compared here to a double-edged sword. When we picture a double-edged sword, we most likely picture a large and unwieldy broad battle sword. The Greek word used here is actually machaira, which was smaller dagger-like sword that was extremely precise and used in close-contact hand-to-hand combat. Obeying the words of God and the Word of God, Jesus Christ is more powerful, precise and effective in addressing our shortcomings and knowing our inner-most thoughts and intentions than a machaira is at pinpointing a target and disposing of an enemy.

Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven and entered into true rest, and can lead us, who follow Him, into true rest as well. We follow Him by submitting fully to Him and His words… submitting fully to the sanctifying process of His word and His Holy Spirit completely. When Jesus ascended, He took His place of rest on the throne of grace, beside God the Father in the heavenlies. He didn’t approach the mercy seat inside the earthly temple on our behalf. He entered into the very throne room of heaven and sat down on the throne of grace and abides there constantly. In order for us to enter into true spiritual rest… in order for us to fully obey the word of God and allow it to have its full work in us, we need mercy and grace. Christ, who fully understands and sympathizes with all of our weaknesses and shortcomings, and the temptations we face, is now seated at the very source of mercy and grace and is willing and able to give us all the mercy and grace we need to live the life He has called us to. Rest, sanctification, purification, mercy and grace are all found in Christ as we place and maintain faith in Him, and obey His word, will and ways.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for Your word and Your words which are powerful and effective in molding me, refining me, and sharpening me into the man You have called me to be. I thank You, that through You, all the mercy and grace that I need is readily available to me at all times and at any time. Help me to remain rooted and grounded in You as I keep my faith in You and endeavor to obey Your word, will and ways by the grace that You give me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware that none of you be found to have fallen short. For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith… Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, he again specifies a certain day —  today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:1-2, 6-11‬ ‭CSB)

Rest is an interesting concept. The English word rest has various meanings that try to incorporate all of the ideas of rest. In our driven, performance-oriented culture, rest is something that so many people chase after, but so few people actually find. Oftentimes, rest is something that is taken, but not found. In the name of taking rest, people will force themselves to stop working and remove themselves from all responsibilities for a time, but will still find themselves anxious and quite unrestful.

The Greek word translated as rest here literally means a “calming of the winds.” Imagine trying to move forward in the midst of a strong headwind… and then suddenly the headwind calms down. The rest described in this passage is more of a ceasing from striving than a ceasing from work. Biblical rest actually involves work – just not work in your own strength and striving. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus called all of the Jewish people, who were worn out from carrying the heavy burden of religious requirements, to come to Him, put on His yoke and find rest. Jesus wasn’t calling them to stop being righteous. He called them to stop striving to be righteous in their own effort and strength, and place their faith and obedience in Him instead. There was still work involved, but the work would be empowered by His righteousness and grace.

When we try to take rest on our own conditions, we remove ourselves from Christ’s yoke and end up striving, even in our attempt at resting. As the writer of Hebrews so eloquently explained, true rest comes from faith and obedience in the one who created rest in the first place. God created Sabbath, and as Jesus taught, Sabbath was created for man. God desires to give His children rest, and like the Good Shepherd that He is, will lead us to rest if we place our faith in Him and do what He says. True rest doesn’t come from doing nothing. True rest doesn’t come from doing the things we want to do. True rest comes from obeying the Lord by His grace as we place our faith fully on Him. Then, even in the midst of doing some pretty challenging, yet amazing things, we will find rest.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You are a good Lord and good Shepherd that only wants what is good for me. I can fully trust You to lead me (not drive me) to the things that I need, including rest. Instead of trying to take rest for myself, help me to delight in the rest that You desire to give me as I place my faith in You and obey Your word, will and ways by Your grace. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭CSB)

The gospel assures us strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow through being a participant in Christ by faith. In the original Greek, the word translated here as ‘participant’ means partaker, partner, sharer or associate. Our strength for today comes as we partner together in the work of Christ and partake of and share in His strength, righteousness and holy attributes. Our future hope of eternal life with God is assured through our association in Christ. Our strength for today is maintained and our hope for tomorrow endures as we hold firmly to our faith, our confidence, our reality in Him until the very end. Being a participant doesn’t come from having a powerful encounter with the Lord, and then letting it grow cold through neglect. Participation comes through day by day, consistent and steadfast walking with Christ by grace through faith as His yielded and committed disciple.

In order for us to continue holding firm to our faith and avoiding the hardness of heart that comes through sin’s deception, we need daily encouragement. That is one of the main reasons we are challenged to not forsake the gathering with other saints in the faith. Christ has all we need, but He isn’t the only thing we need. Christ gets much of what we need through the fellowship we have with other believers. Believers who grow complacent in gathering with other believers and isolate themselves from the Body of Christ will not receive the exhortation they need to steer clear of deception. During the global pandemic that we have experienced for the past 18-19 months has made gathering as believers more challenging. Some believers have given up the habit of gathering all together. Is it any wonder that we have seen numbers of believers fall into deception, with some walking completely away from the faith. It is imperative that we intentionally place ourselves in a context were we can both give and receive encouragement and exhortation from other believers, so that through all the challenges and uncertainty of this life, we can hold firm to our faith and fully participate in all that Christ has afforded us.

Psalms: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass — he blooms like a flower of the field; when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known. But from eternity to eternity the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren of those who keep his covenant, who remember to observe his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, all his angels of great strength, who do his word, obedient to his command. Bless the Lord, all his armies, his servants who do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works in all the places where he rules. My soul, bless the Lord!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:13-22‬ ‭CSB)

The Lord God is loving, merciful and compassionate. However, if you look closely at this psalm, you will see that there are conditions to fully experiencing the Lord’s love, mercy and compassion. The Lord’s faithful love is eternal – it never ends. Just as God has no beginning or end, His zealous goodness, mercy and covenantal love toward us has no beginning or end. However, His faithful love is only fully experienced by those who fear Him – who honor and revere Him and His word, will and ways. His righteousness is only fully received and experienced by those who keep His covenant and observe His precepts. The Bible is replete with people who started out well, but finished poorly. To fully participate in and share in all the benefits of being a member of God’s family, we must hold firm to our faith, trust, allegiance and submission to the Lord until the end. Honoring the Lord and obeying His word blesses Him – just as a respectful and obedient child blesses the heart of His father. That puts a new perspective on blessing the Lord. Let us encourage one another, remember our benefits in Christ, hold firm to our faith and bless the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for Your offer to me to fully participate in all that is available in You… to partner with You in Your work, to share in Your glory and grace, and to be associated with You at the end of days. Help me, through the grace that I receive from You and the exhortation I receive from others, to hold firm to the faith until the end. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God… I looked, and there was a whirlwind coming from the north, a huge cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber. The likeness of four living creatures came from it, and this was their appearance: They looked something like a human, but each of them had four faces and four wings… Over the heads of the living creatures the likeness of an expanse was spread out. It gleamed like awe-inspiring crystal… A voice came from above the expanse over their heads; when they stopped, they lowered their wings. Something like a throne with the appearance of lapis lazuli was above the expanse over their heads. On the throne, high above, was someone who looked like a human. From what seemed to be his waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. From what seemed to be his waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around him. The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the Lord’s glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.” (‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭1:1, 4-6, 22, 25-28‬ ‭CSB)

The book of Ezekiel was written by Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi. He was most likely trained in the priesthood during the reign of King Jehoiakim and was among the exiles deported to Babylon. For a time, his ministry overlapped the ministry of Jeremiah. Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem and witnessed the fall of the city. Ezekiel was exiled some ten years before the fall of Jerusalem. While Jeremiah spoke first-hand to those living in Jerusalem, Ezekiel wrote to the inhabitants of Jerusalem from his place in exile, warning them of the judgement to come.

The book of Ezekiel began with Ezekiel’s account of the first time he heard God’s voice and received a prophetic vision. Ezekiel was not in Israel – he was in exile in Babylon by one of the canals off the Euphrates river when God appeared. God is not limited by time or space. He can speak to anyone, anywhere at anytime, provided they have eyes willing to see and ears willing to hear. Ezekiel’s vision began by seeing a whirlwind filled with lightning and fire.

The approaching whirlwind is significant. God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind (Job 38:1). When Elijah encountered God on Mt. Horeb, God first approached him in a great and mighty wind (1 Kings 19:11). When the Lord’s chariot of fire came to take Elijah away, he was swept up into heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). The vision that Ezekiel experienced was the approaching chariot of the Lord. At the very top of the chariot, that was directed by the Spirit of God and accompanied by amazing heavenly creatures, was a throne…and seated on the throne was someone who looked like a human. From that human figure emanated the appearance of the likeness of God’s glory… and that appearance of the likeness of God’s glory was so glorious that it caused Ezekiel to fall facedown in awestruck wonder.

NT: “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household. For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me, tried me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked to anger with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.” So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.” Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:1-12‬ ‭CSB)

The writer of Hebrews called those in the faith to consider Jesus. The Greek word for consider means to observe and understand… to fix your eyes and your mind on… to fully behold. In considering Jesus, we must remember what was said about Jesus in chapter 1 of this book: that Jesus Christ, though a man, is the Son of God, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of God’s nature. With that said, consider Ezekiel’s vision of a man seated on the heavenly throne that emanated so much glory that it caused Ezekiel to fall on his face. That figure in Ezekiel’s vision was the pre-incarnate Christ. That awesome heavenly figure is our Great Apostle (the one sent forth from God) and Great High Priest (the bridge and mediator to God). He is not merely a servant of the household of God – He is God’s faithful Son and Heir over God’s household. That is who we serve in faith. That is who we proclaim as Lord. Considering who Christ is, it is of utmost importance that we hear His voice, listen to His voice, and obey His voice in faith, love and devotion. As we hold onto our confidence and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, we remain in Him and in God’s blessed household. However, if we stop considering Jesus and harden our hearts against Him, we risk forfeiting our eternal future in Him.

Psalms: “My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits. He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He revealed his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:1-12‬ ‭CSB)

Part of considering Jesus involves blessing (praising, celebrating, thanking, adoring) the Lord and not forgetting all the benefits we have in Him. All of these benefits listed here by King David find their ultimate fulfillment, and are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ. As we consider Christ for Who He is and all the blessings He has provided for us through His life, death and resurrection, let it move us to bless the Lord with all that is within us. That is the worship that He deserves.

Prayer: Lord, as I consider Who You are, what You have done for me, all the blessings You lavish on me and all the benefits that I have in You, my spirit compels me to bless Your holy name. You are worthy of all my praise and all my worship. Help me to never forget Your greatness, Your goodness and Your faithfulness – and as Your Holy Spirit helps me to remember, help me to keep my confidence and hope in You and walk obediently in Your word, will and ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death — that is, the devil  —  and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:14-18‬ ‭CSB)

For Christ’s great salvation to be complete and effective, He had to take on flesh and blood and become susceptible to all the things that we are susceptible to. When Adam was created by God, he was created without sin. He could be tempted to sin, but was initially without sin. When Adam fell for the devil’s temptation, he brought sin and death into the fabric of humanity. Christ was conceived into flesh and blood by the Holy Spirit and, just like Adam of old, was born without sin. He could be tempted to sin, but thankfully He did not give into the devil’s temptations. Because Christ was like us yet lived a sinless life, He and He alone was worthy to offer His life as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sin. Through His sinless life and death, we are now able to be set free from our slavery to sin and death to live a sin-free life forever with Him. Christ’s great salvation was a matter of Christ sacrificing His sinless life to rescue us from eternal death.

The role of the High Priest was to serve as a bridge of sorts between God and man. They served as mediators, representing mankind to God and relaying God’s word, will and ways back to mankind. Because Christ was just like us in every way (except without sin) He could fully understand us and represent us to God. Because He was completely free from sin, He could effectively stand before God and atone for our sin. Because Christ succeeded in living a sin-free life despite having all the limitations and susceptibilities of humanity, He is able to help us resist temptations and live according to the word, will and ways of God through the same power that He had access to. Because He lived, we can now (in this life) fully live in Him and not be afraid of death.

Psalms: “Long ago you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure; all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years will never end. Your servants’ children will dwell securely, and their offspring will be established before you.”” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭102:25-28‬ ‭CSB)

The writer of Hebrews actually quoted this passage from Psalm 102 in Hebrews 1:10-12. He did so to prove the eternal and unchanging nature of God – specifically God the Son. The psalmist knew that he would eventually die and would probably die before experiencing the fulfilled promises of God, but he had hope in the eternal and unchanging God that he worshiped. Though he would not fully experience God’s fulfilled promises, he knew that one day, his offspring would. Heaven and Earth are both creations of God and are sustained by the power of His word. The heaven and earth that exists today will eventually pass away. At the end of this age, a new heaven and new earth will be established. All created things grow old and pass away, but God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the everlasting, eternal, un-created One will never change nor pass away. For those who have placed their faith in Christ, because they are in Christ, will never pass away and one day will either be resurrected or changed to rule and reign with Christ in the new heaven and earth forever. Though we may experience death, in Christ we will certainly experience eternal life.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that you are not just an impersonal, unrelatable deity. Instead, You humbled Yourself to become just like me so that You could relate to me and save me completely. Thank You for giving Your life so that I could be saved from sin and death to live with You forever more. Because You lived a sinless and godly life, in You, I can now do the same. Help me, by Your Holy Spirit and Your word that dwells within me, to resist temptation and live the rest of my life in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

NT: “For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will… For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. But we do see Jesus —  made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone —  crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God — for whom and through whom all things exist — should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:1-4, 8b-11‬ ‭CSB)

The impetus behind the writing of Hebrews was the concern that Jewish Christians would lose their commitment to Christ for the safety and security of traditional Judaism. In chapter one, the author of Hebrews built the case that Christ and Christ’s words are better than the words of the prophets and the messages received from angels. Christ was the exact expression of the Father, the active agent of creation and the Heir of all things. His words were words directly from God and contained the power and authority to create and sustain life. Christ was not a mere man, nor a heavenly creation, but God Himself in the flesh. If Christ was so great, and His words were so great, then the salvation that He provided was complete and great. The greatness of His salvation was confirmed by (and continues to be confirmed by) signs, wonders, miracles and powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit through Him and those who follow Him in faith.

In order to bring salvation to mankind, Jesus Christ the Son of God was, for a time, made lower than the angels. That was a reference to Psalm 8, where King David marveled that God made mankind lower than the angels, but crowned him with glory and gave him dominion over the earth. Christ became man so that He could, through His own suffering and death, remove the curse of the first Adam, save humanity from the ravages of sin, reconcile them back to God and restore mankind to his place in glory. Christ, in His resurrection and ascension, became the pioneer of all who are declared sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ. That is the great salvation that Christ has provided for those who place faith in who He is and what He has done: redemption, righteousness, reconciliation, restoration and resurrection… and much, much more.

This passage of scripture was not written to unbelievers, warning them to not reject Christ’s great salvation. This passage of scripture was written to believers who had placed their faith in Christ and experienced His great salvation. Just as an unbeliever can reject Christ’s salvation, a redeemed believer can neglect Christ’s great salvation and end up drifting away from faith in Christ. How do we avoid neglecting our salvation and thus prevent ourselves from drifting away. The writer of Hebrews said we must pay attention to what we have heard. We must pay attention to the words of Christ. We must pay attention to the sound doctrine of the apostles. We must pay attention to the truth of the full gospel. We do that through regular and consistent reading, studying, meditation and application of scripture. If we forsake that, we neglect the salvation of Christ and run the risk of drifting away from the faith.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the great salvation that You have provided. Through Your own suffering and death, You made a way for me to be redeemed, declared righteous, reconciled to God, restored to glory with the hope of a future resurrection. I don’t want to ever neglect the salvation You have provided, but want to honor it in my life always. Help me to do just that as I submit to You and follow you in faith. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord… For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion according to the abundance of his faithful love. For he does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind… Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High? Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? Let’s examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the Lord. Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven: “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.”” (‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:25-26, 31-33, 38-42‬ ‭CSB)

Today, in this morning’s church service, one of our pastors gave some really good insight into the book of Lamentations and adversity in general. One of the purposes of the book of Lamentations is it gives trial, adversity, suffering and discipline a historical context. When Jeremiah wrote the five lamentation poems that became the biblical book, he was experiencing a lot of trial, adversity and suffering – but right in the middle of the book – in the last part of his third lamentation – he found purpose in the trial and hope in the midst of the suffering. The historical fact that Jeremiah could look back on that framed the hardships that he was facing was God’s consistent faithfulness to save and deliver Israel from bondage and destruction.

God does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind. It has never been, is not now, nor will it ever be His desire to see mankind suffer. However, God is willing to allow suffering, especially if it will ultimately bring about good. Our church uses a definition for agape love that I think is really good. Agape love isn’t focused on what it can get, but what it can give. Agape love does whatever it takes for as long as it takes for the benefit of the one being loved. A loving parent never desires to discipline the children that they love. However, out of love, they will discipline their children to see them grow into mature and fully functioning adults. Out of God’s love for His people, He will allow adversity to bring about good. Out of His love for His covenant people, God could not allow them to run away from Him, the Life-giver, and turn to worship lifeless idols of wood and stone – so He allowed adversity so that His people would probe their ways and turn back to the Lord.

I have been alive for fifty years, which is not a long time in the scheme of things – but in my fifty years, I have never seen so much turmoil at such a global scale as there is currently. We can look at all the turmoil and become overwhelmed at it all, or we can look at the turmoil with a historical and eternal perspective and find purpose and hope. God loves the world. He loves the world so much that He gave His only Son to save the world – yet most of the world is (at this point) rejecting His salvation and turning to lifeless methods to find meaning, purpose, hope and a semblance of happiness. Could good come out of all the turmoil? Could God be allowing the lifeless systems of the world to run their course so that everyone can see how pointless and futile they all are? Could God be allowing mankind to experience the consequences of their own ways unto them probing their own ways and turning to the Lord? Could God be calling His people – those who claim to have faith in Him – to repent from their unfaithfulness and frivolous ways, and lift their hearts and hands in surrender to the Lord God once again? If we want to see good come from the adversity, we need to turn (or return) to the Lord and wait on Him. He is good to those who wait on and seek Him.

Prayer: Lord, You are good and loving. I thank You that You are willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes for my benefit and the benefit of all You love. I should not expect only blessing from You and then get angry when You discipline me for my wrongs. Instead, I should examine and probe my ways and return to following Your ways. Help me to be a rapid repenter who seeks and waits on You so that I can experience Your good in my life always. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

OT: “I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. Then I thought, “My future is lost, as well as my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”” (‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:17-24‬ ‭CSB)

Tradition attributes the authorship of Lamentations to the prophet Jeremiah. For forty years Jeremiah spoke the prophetic words of the Lord that called the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn back to God and be faithful to His covenant. The people of Judah put their hope in the temple and the covenant that God made with David. They believed that God would never allow His temple to be destroyed and would never allow anything to disrupt the Davidic dynasty, so they ignored Jeremiah’s warnings and continued in their unfaithfulness to God. They conveniently forgot about the covenant God made with the people during Moses’ leadership. God would bless them as long as they were faithful to His covenant stipulations, but if they turned away from Him, blessing would end and disaster would follow. The Lord is always faithful to all of His covenants, and the people soon realized that God was faithful to bring discipline, just as He promised.

The book of Lamentations is comprised of five laments that Jeremiah wrote after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. Jeremiah grieved deeply at the loss of his nation, and he honestly expressed that grief and sadness to the Lord. Were his forty years of ministry a waste of time? If only the people had listened and responded to his words, not of this would have happened. The glorious temple of God had been burned to the ground. The holy city of Jerusalem was destroyed. King Zedekiah’s heirs had all been killed and Zedekiah was imprisoned in Babylon. Was all hope lost? Had all of God’s promises come to an end?

It is good and right to honestly express our emotions to God, but we can’t stop there. We also need to be honest about who God is. That is exactly what Jeremiah did. He poured out his grief to the Lord, admitting that he was feeling hopeless and depressed amidst all the destruction, pain, uncertainty and suffering. But then, he remembered who God was. Out of his words of remembrance, which rekindled his hope, came the this great hymn of the church: “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.” Out of great pain and grief can come great and everlasting hope, if our hope is placed on the Lord.

NT: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:1-4‬ ‭CSB)

No one knows for certain who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some scholars suppose that Paul could have written it. Others suggest it could have been written by Barnabas or Apollos. Only God knows for sure who wrote the book, but that doesn’t take away from the validity of its content. This book was included in the cannon of scripture based completely on the powerful truth contained within its pages, and not on its authorship.

The majority of Christians in the first century were Jewish. Jesus was a Jew. His disciples were Jews. Christianity began amongst the Jews and initially spread through Jewish synagogues. As pressure and persecution against this new-found faith continued to escalate, many Jewish-Christians wondered if they had made the right choice in accepting Christ and were tempted to return to Judaism. Hebrews was written primarily to those Jewish people… to prove that Christ is better.

For those who have come to faith in Christ and become recipients of His redemptive work, all of their hope, for the present and the future, is placed squarely and completely on Him. Is Christ worthy of that faith and hope, or was He merely a historical figure with some good teachings and an interesting back-story? As the writer of Hebrews explained, Christ is the Son of God and Heir of all things. He is not a created being, for in fact, all things were created through Him. Christ is the radiance – the perfect and unhindered reflection of God’s glory. Christ is the exact expression of God’s perfect, holy and divine nature. As the Apostle John write, Christ is the Word of God made flesh, and all things are sustained by His powerful words. After He completed His purposes on earth, He ascended into heaven and is seated forever at the right hand of God the Father with power and authority over all. This is who our hope is on, and what a sure and steadfast source of hope He is!

Prayer: Lord, what a comfort to know that You are always and ever faithful. As Jeremiah declared, Your mercies never run out and are new every morning. You aren’t just a historical figure or an idea – You are the God of all Creation, Who rules and reigns over all with complete authority and unlimited power. Faith and hope in You is vastly better than faith and hope in any other person or thing. Help me to always remember, even in the darkest of days, who You are and the unfailing nature of Your character. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.