Hebrews 5 - 6.13.23
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5: 8-10 "Though He was God's Son, He learned obedience through 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 in the order of Melchizedek."
OBSERVATION: The author of Hebrews is anonymous, but he was a mature Jewish Christian. He wrote to the Jewish Christian congregation, which was filled with true believers, and some who were uncertain. The writer explained how Jesus fulfilled the role of the high priest while at the same time changing the nature of the priesthood.
Aaron was a man called by God to represent the children of Israel before the Father. Jesus Christ was and is a man called by His Father to bridge the gap between Himself and His people. Aaron was only a man, but Jesus became the One and only God-man, the incarnate Son of God. In fact He is God Who became flesh. (John 1:1,14).
Rather than a fallible human priest, we are able to approach the great high priest Who is seated at the right hand of the Father. When the saints in the Old Testament offered their sacrifices day after day, year after year, they were trusting God and looking forward to a time when the ultimate perfect sacrifice would take every sin, once and for all. (Gene Getz Life Essential Study Bible).
APPLICATION: The blood that Jesus shed on the cross was an atonement for my sins, and His death and resurrection made a way for me to have fellowship with the Father. When I approach God, it's Jesus Who represents me before the Father. Every time I communicate through prayer to God, it is always through His Son, Jesus.
I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I have received eternal life through Jesus, and it's God's perfect will that I am to be a functioning part of His family, taught by His Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for being willing to leave heaven to die for my sins. Thank You for Your obedience to the Father. Fully God, and fully man; the perfect One Who never sinned, and yet You were willing to take ALL my sins upon Yourself when You hung on that cross and died! Thank You for bridging the gap between God and myself. You replaced the need to sacrifice the blood of animals, and became the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). I pray I will follow Your example by being obedient to the Father.
- Robin Orefice
Jeremiah 21 - 6.12.23
Scripture
Jeremiah 21:2 NLT
“Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”
Observation
King Zedekiah of Judah sends his priests Pashhur and Zephaniah to speak with Jeremiah. They asked if Jeremiah could speak to God on their behalf because their city was being attacked by the forces of the Babylonians. But you see, a couple of chapters ago, Jeremiah warned the people of Judah what would happen to them if they continued living their sinful lifestyle. Jeremiah told them that God’s wrath would be unleashed upon them, and He would destroy their city. But, the people of Judah refused to listen to Jeremiah then, and only now they come and seek God’s help in this issue. But it is too late. The people of Judah have made their bed, and now they will have to lay in it.
Application
Don’t treat God like some “genie in a bottle”!
That is exactly what the people of Judah are doing here in this passage. All God ever wanted from His chosen people of Israel, and us, is a relationship with them/us. He yearns for us to know Him more, so we can experience His abounding love and grace. He wants to bless us because of our obedience to Him. But why is it that we often can be like the people of Judah here? We want to do things our own way, NOT God’s way. We want to live our lives the way we please, but as soon as we experience turmoil…only then, we cry out to God for help. We can’t treat God like some “genie in a bottle” that we only go to whenever we need something from Him. God wants all of us. He wants our hearts. He wants our devotion. He wants that personal relationship with us that He setup through His Son Jesus. So let’s give God our all. Let’s give Him our best. Let’s see how God will bless us when we do.
“The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”-Luke 10:27-28
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to first and foremost ask for Your forgiveness for the times I treated You like a “genie in a bottle” or like my own “personal vending machine”. You deserve my best, because You gave me Your best…with Jesus. Thank You Jesus for giving me full access to a Holy God because You died for my sins and made me right in His eyes. I pray that I follow You and grow in my relationship with You. May my life bring You all the glory and honor You deserve. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽
-Moses Gaddi
Hebrews 3 - 6.9.2023
Scripture - Pick one verse that stood out to you.
Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Observation - What about this verse stands out to you?
The author of Hebrews proposes a new spiritual filtration system when pondering on the life and work of Moses and Jesus.
“Moses was faithful as a servant,” the author writes.
“But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house.”
Unbelief led to a 40 year journey in the desert for the people that Moses had shepherded. Do not let sin and unbelief turn you away from the “living God”, the author urges us.
Application - How will you apply this to your life?
I am going to do something today that I haven’t done in a while. I gave my kids a long break from my “Jesus encouragements”. Today I believe the Holy Spirit highlighted this verse to me because it’s time to end this particular hiatus. So today I will encourage my kids to believe in Jesus, to turn away from sin, and to engage in a deep and meaningful relationship with Christ! Crickets be gosh darned.
Prayer - Write out a prayer.
Lord, thank you for reminding me today that it is a good thing to encourage one another daily. Thank you for showing me that sometimes the hardness of sin isn’t only caused by clear movements away from You, but it is also caused by daily hardenings that add on to the skin of sin. I submit to You, Lord. I give You all the honor and glory. In the name of Jesus do I pray, amen.
-kenneth lee