Hebrews 10:19-20- Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body....
Jesus, by his precious and wonderful blood made a way that we can enter into the heavenly Holy Place, which is the presence of our Father. We do not have to enter a tabernacle made by hands. We do not have to go behind a man made veil that is inside an earthly tent and offer the blood of a dead carcass and hope to somehow gain a moment with the Father. No, Jesus our beloved made a "new" way, not based on some old covenant of works, but one made by His own body and his own blood.
The blood offered from a animal for sacrificial purposes had to be blood that was warm and fluid. It could not be blood that had grown cold and coagulated. It had lost it's power or validity to somehow cover our sin if it had become old so the blood was to be offered as soon as it was shed. The word "new" used in this verse is used no where else in the New Testament. It means slain or killed, but it means so much more than that. It literally means "FRESHLY" slain, or recently or newly killed.
When you approach the Father and attempt to draw yourself into His presence, when you go to Him with sin and ask for forgiveness, it's as if He sees His Son being offered for you and His blood being "freshly" sprinkled to your heart at that very moment. He is not looking back to some event 2,000 years ago and remembering it. Jesus' blood as it were, is always warm and it is as if it is being "freshly" and recently shed. It is as a "fountain" that is always flowing. As if His veins are at this very moment being pierced and the Father is seeing His Son's blood beginning to flow at this very moment for you. It is as if it is happening NOW! You are standing at the foot of the cross and the blood that is flowing forth from His body is being splashed down upon you, wiping away all of your sins.
His blood is "new" and living. It is current. Jesus is alive and at the same time, His sacrificial blood is being poured out for you from the cross today in the eyes of the Father. You can go to Him right now and know with confidence that you are walking under a "freshly slain, currently flowing, fountain of warm and sprinkled blood" that is being shed for you at this very moment. Jesus body is the veil that has been torn and is also being offered at this moment to the Father on your behalf. That is why He is the past, the present and the future all wrapped up into one. Our ability of gaining access to the presence of God has come at a great price. May we never take it for granted. Enter today into the heavenly Holy Place and sit with Him.
Rev. 19: 9b- "These are the true words of God!"
Is there any thing in this life that you can truly count on? Is there any thing that you can know for sure? Can you fully trust the words of someone, or is there anyone that is fully trust worthy? The words of a man may or may not be true. Even those you have full confidence in and deeply love can tell you something that finds itself to be a deceit. Not so with the words of God. God is truth, and cannot lie, therefore He can always be depended upon. If God speaks it, it can be treated as steadfast and sure. It is unmovable and solemn. It is never in need of doubt. Gods words are divine words. They are infallible, inspired, unquestionable and according to this verse, "the sayings of God Himself". In reality, Gods words are the same as God Himself. There is no difference in the character and nature and essence of God and the words that He utters. If God was to lie, He would cease to be God, because there is no untruth in Him. What could you possible use as a guide for your life if the words of God were not the standard to judge all other words?
In the book of Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham and swore the oath by Himself to uphold it's conditions. He did so because there is no greater or higher authority than God Himself. His words were guaranteed by His being and His name sake. When all else fails in life, when there is no solid ground to stand on, when you are unsure as to what to trust or who to turn, you can always receive the words of God with assurance. They will produce confidence within you and rest for the heart. There is majesty and power, marvelous omniscience in the Words of God. Never in life is there one to be fully trusted more than that of God. Abandon yourself in His Words. Know with confidence that you can fully submit, commit, and proclaim with boldness all that God says because they truly "are the words of God".
Ps. 149:4- For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.Why would the Lord delight in us? What is it about us that would cause Him Pleasure? Is there anything in us of our own, which he can take pleasure or delight in? No! It is not for our sake, but for his own sake; for his name's sake, that he takes delight in us. When the Lord sees us, He sees His own eternal plan being brought forth in us. The Lord has purchased us with His blood, renewed us by His Spirit, and redeemed us by His own power. We are to be brought forth to the maturity of Christ and thus be the image of Christ. When He looks at us, He sees reflections of His own image. The work that He is doing in us brings glory and honor to His name. So it is not our own lives that brings the pleasure to Him, but we are simply but the crown of His redemptive and sanctifying eternal plan. When the Father sees us, He sees the fruit of His Sons suffering, and the fulfilment of His redemptive nature. We also bring delight to His heart because we are simply responding to what He has already done for us. It is even His own handiwork, by the Spirit of God that enables us to exercise the faith to respond. We trust His Words, we rely on His salvation, we put our hope and confidence in Him. The pleasure is out of our benefiting from His own work. Even our feeble attempts to please Him is our effort in response to the Love that He has enable us to feel for Him. We are God's handwork, we are reflections of His eternal plan and the "delight" that He has for us is the glory of His nature that He sees in us.
2nd Corth 12: 9b- ......for my power is made perfect in weakness.........
Have you ever thought to yourself , "God would never want to use me"? He only uses the Pastors or leaders, the most gifted, the
most beautiful, the most talented. God only responds to those who have great faith, or are super spiritual.
I am reminded of an baby elephant that is raised in a circus. When they are small they have a chain placed around their foot with the other end of the chain staked deep into the ground. As they grow, they continually try to pull themselves free with no success. As they become larger and stronger, they are convinced in their minds that they will never be able to gain their freedom, so they stop trying. I am sure we have all seen these mighty creatures in the circus tents that have a small rope around their foot as they stand there making no effort to free themselves. They have limited themselves to the length of the rope even though with one small pull, they would be free.
What is your limitation? What is you weakness? Education, background, finances, age, fear, hurts, sin, wrong thinking? Call out to Him. Submit yourself to Him and cry, " help me, break me, mold me, shape me, change me". Your weakness is God's opportunity. Pull your foot free from the enemies chain and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through your limitations. His power is made perfect in your weakness.
Do you remember the man at gate beautiful in Acts 3 who was sitting, begging for alms? What makes this gate so significant to the story is that beyond this gate was also the court of the treasury. There were 7 big bronze trumpet shaped collectors that sat in this court. Here people would come into the temple and place their tithes and offerings unto the Lord. We see Jesus in Mark 12 watching people coming in to this court area giving their money into the treasury and you'll recall the story of the window's mites.
So it is appropriate for this man to hang out here because people were coming in with their money ready to give to the Lord. The great part of the story is that this man who had been this way for 40 years was only looking for temporal money. But God in Eph 3:2 says- "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" had something greater in mind. This man limited God and it never even entered his mind to ask God for his what he truly needed. What a GREAT, incredible kind and generous God that we serve. He received more than he even asked or imagined.
May we all go leaping and shouting and praising God at the very least in our hearts today as we ponder the generosity of our God.
Ps. 119:41- "May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; "
The love of our God is something that is beyond all explanation. His love is without limits and without merit. It can not be earned and yet it can not be lost. His love for us is unfailing. We can fail the Lord and yet His love for us is consistent. It is the foundation and the basis for all of the universe. We were created in the heart of God and birthed in the womb of His love. His love is a full, mature, unselfish love while our love for Him, is at best, immature. Our love for Him is often guarded and comes with strings attached and He simply abandons Himself in unrestricted and unrestrained love for us. May you rest in the confidence and certainty of God's great love for you.
