Hebrews 7 - 5.15.24
Scripture
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews: 7: 25)
Observation
Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through Him. Because He is alive. Because He constantly intercedes for them to the Father. This verse starts with a “therefore”. We have to look at the verses before this, to understand why. The writer of Hebrews uses scripture to prove the superiority of Christ over the Jewish traditions. Jesus is better than Moses because He is the Son of God (Heb 3:5-6). He is better than the Levetical priesthood because He does not need to offer daily sacrifices (Heb 7:27). Jesus was made a priest forever by God (Heb 7:17 and 21). Jesus was not made a High Priest because of regulation of his ancestry, as he was not born in the tribe of Levi from whom priests were appointed (Hebrews 7:16). Other High Priests die and are buried, but Jesus lives forever (Heb 7:23). He is holy, blameless, sinless and pure (Heb 7:26). Jesus is our High Priest forever. One of the most important functions of a High Priest in the Old Testament was to be an intermediary between God and the people, and to ask God’s forgiveness for the people’s sins by offering sacrifices. Jesus died for our sins once and for all, and became the ultimate sacrifice. He is the one and only mediator between God and us (1 Tim 2:5). He lives forever, and He is continually interceding for us before the Father (Hebrews 7:25). Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him! (Hebrews 7:25).
Application
We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize and empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin (Heb 4:15). That is our confidence. Our Jesus is able to save us completely forever. He lives forever and is continually making intercession for us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us, and the blood of Jesus washes us from all sin (1 John 1:7,9). So if the Devil is constantly plaguing you with the reminder of a past sin and telling you that you are not worthy of God, tell him that it is covered under the blood of Jesus, and he has no business with you, as you are forgiven and you are justified - just as if you had never sinned! You are a child of God, and God is your Father. We have the confidence to draw close to God’s throne in prayer, calling him “Abba Father”, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:16, Rom 8:15).
Prayer
Father, I thank you for making me your child. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that washes me from all sins. Thank you Jesus, because you are alive forever. Thank you because you are constantly interceding for me. Father, I draw close to the throne of grace, calling you “Abba Father” to receive your mercy and grace and help for my need. Thank you Jesus, because you are more than enough. I trust you. I love you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
- Asha Chacko George
Hebrews 6 - 5.14.24
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 6:13 "When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised."
OBSERVATION: The author is anonymous. In this chapter he focused on God's promise to Abraham that was referenced in Genesis 22:16,18 regarding when Abraham did not withhold his only son Isaac from being sacrificed as a burnt offering, and because Abraham trusted and obeyed God's voice, He was promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed. (Jesus is that seed Who came through Abraham's family line).
Abraham was 75 years old when God gave him the promise that he and Sarah would become parents, and Abe waited 25 long years for that promise to be fulfilled when he finally became the father of Isaac at the ripe old age of 100! Many things happened in-be-tween the promise and the fulfillment of that promise. When the waiting got tough, Sarah devised a plan, and Abraham agreed, to use Sarah's Egyptian slave girl to bear a child with Abraham. They soon found out the hard way that all that did was to mess things up by trying to "help" God out!
NOTHING is able to thwart the plans and purposes of God, and even though Abraham and Sarah had gotten impatient and tried to speed things up on their own, God kept His promise, and it was miraculously fulfilled according to HIS perfect timing! God did as He swore; He blessed Abraham, and he is the father of all those who come to God by faith. All the nations of the world are blessed by the nation of his descendants.
APPLICATION: God has given us His written Word, and EVERY single Word is true! Jesus' desire is to become the ultimate source of our assurance, and one of the many ways to test the measure of our faith is while we are in, you guessed it... WAIT MODE! Our faith is made strong as we feed on God's Word. Jesus is the Bread of Life. His Word nourishes us, sustains us, and builds our faith. EVERY promise He has made is trustworthy, and they NEVER change! Even when we fail Him, He remains faithful to us. We may try to go ahead of Him, and in the process mess things up, but in the end, His plans and perfect timing are ALWAYS fulfilled according to what HE has promised!
PRAYER: I pray that I will hide God's Word in my heart, know His promises, trust in His perfect plan, and in His perfect timing. I pray I will depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to give me the patience I need as I am in wait mode. I pray I will depend on Him to keep me from becoming weary while I wait. May I have confident trust in God's promises, and never forget that His greatest promise to me is that I have been saved through Jesus! And, I pray, as I wait that I will focus on being about my Father's business as I allow His plans to be accomplished in and through my life as I continue to put my trust in His Word and my hope in Jesus.
- Robin Orefice
Hebrews 5 - 5.13.24
Scripture
Hebrews 5:12 NLT
“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.”
Observation
The author is urging for spiritual growth and maturity amongst the believers. The author knows that some of them have been Christians for awhile, yet they still seem to be messing up over and over again regarding the same issues. They still can’t distinguish between right and wrong. The author compares them to babies. They need to be spiritually fed milk. They have not yet matured enough to even eat solid food. So the author implores the reader to not be stagnant in their faith. They need to be constantly growing.
Application
Striving for spiritual growth.
Imagine for a moment; a full grown adult, still drinking from a baby bottle, needing to be hand fed everything with a spoon, while a grownup makes airplane noises as they spoon feed them each bite? Pretty silly right? Then why should it be any different when it comes to our spiritual growth?! We who have been following Jesus for awhile now shouldn’t be acting the same as we did when we first became Christians. There should be some sort of growth and spiritual maturity in our lives. We shouldn’t want to be that Christian who has been following Jesus for years and years, and yet seem to be repeating the same grade over and over again. We need to strive to be maturing and progressing in our walk with God each and every day.
But how does that look like?🤔
Well, first of all it starts by not just depending on a Pastor to teach you God’s Word on Sunday mornings. We should learn to “feed ourselves” by getting into God’s Word daily and journaling about what we are learning. We should be more involved in church Bible Studies and serving in church ministry. It should also show in our personal prayer life. Don’t just depend on others to pray for us like they have special access to God. We have that same access to God ourselves too! So take it to the Lord in prayer. Spend some quality time with God thanking Him, praising Him, asking for your needs and praying for others. We should be living a life where we are learning from our sinful mistakes. We need to ask for God’s forgiveness, and turn away from those mistakes. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and discipline to not repeat those same sinful mistakes again. And finally, a mature growing Christian is one who should be sharing their faith and making disciples wherever they go-(see Matthew 28:18-20). Don’t just keep the Good News of Jesus to ourselves, share it with others!
It’s definitely a process that each of us has to work on each day. I believe the “churchy” word for it is sanctification. It’s the process of becoming more like Jesus (perfect) each day. It’s something we won’t be able to accomplish until God calls us home. But until then, we need to keep striving, keep grinding, and keep growing. 😊
“Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” -Colossians 1:10
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray for not only myself, but Your Church. I pray for a yearning to grow and mature in our faith and walk with You. May we not settle for just being saved and stagnant in our faith. But may we yearn to know You more each day and have you known by others. Guide us in our path as we try to be more like Jesus each day. Give us the strength and discipline to carry on, even when we’re knocked down. Thank You for Your grace and mercy and patience as You see us through. Thank You for hearing our prayers, and I thank You in advance for answering our prayers. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽
-Moses Gaddi