DAILY WORD 6/16/20

14. So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

15. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

16. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:14–16 NLT

Today’s passage is yet another big bite of Meat to digest, though this one is more like filet mignon than rump roast. It’s rich and easy to digest and thought it’s full of Good Nutrients, it’s still easy to chew on. Alright, enough with the food analogies, let’s just get to it.

The author has been writing about entering into God’s Rest, or Heaven, and how easy it can be to get off the Proper Path if we lose focus. He talked about how the Children of Israel lost out on their chance at the Promised Land because of this very danger.

He spoke about how God Sees through our actions and even knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts and he also covered How the Word of God can Help Guide us toward the Rest he was writing about.

But now, through all this, he is getting to the real crux of his message to his readers. God may well be able to see whether we are really Honoring Him with our actions and it may well be difficult to navigate this Path we have taken to walking as Christians but regardless of the difficulties that arise, we have been given an Amazing Example to Follow.

Jesus Himself has gone through the very same temptations that we face daily as Children of God as we try to make it to His Rest, and He managed to get through this life without ever submitting to sin!

And it wasn’t like He was never accosted by the enemy either. We can’t forget how in Matthew 4:1–11 that Jesus was directly confronted by Satan and tempted to sin in all manner of ways and this was after 40 days of fasting, so you know He was as weak as someone could be without succumbing to death.

The fact that God made the decision to step down from His Throne and Offer His Assistance to us in the first place is mind-boggling but to do it knowing that He would die in the process is beyond anything anyone would voluntarily go through.

He did it all to Become our High Priest. That is; the Go-Between linking mankind with God. You see, prior to Jesus’s Sacrifice and the tearing of the veil in the Temple that separated the Spirit of God from man when He died, (Matt 27:50–51) the only way for us to approach God for Forgiveness was through the proxy of a priest and that was only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

When Jesus died for our sins it was an Act of more than just Forgiveness and Grace, it was an Act of Connection. Since the veil between God and man was Torn Apart, there was an opportunity to Create a New Bridge between God and His people.

To Believe on Christ and to Receive His Spirit is not just a ticket to His Rest, it is a Direct Connection to God Himself. The Spirit, specifically Speaking in Tongues, contains a Power that I think some people overlook or reject but it is perhaps the most Important Thing God Left for us through His Spirit.

Romans 8:26–27 tells us that the Spirit Speaks to God Directly for us when we can’t even express ourselves adequately, taking our heart’s desires to God’s Throne of Grace for us!

That is the True Power of the Spirit and of Speaking in Tongues and it is the Real Gift of the Great High Priest that Jesus Became when He Rose from the Dead for our Salvation. To disregard it is to deny the Real Reason He Came.

This is why in Verse 16, the last Verse of this passage, the author compels us to “come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain Mercy, and find Grace to Help in time of need.”

And through the Proxy of our Great High Priest, Jesus, we don’t even have to utter the words ourselves, He will Speak through us by means of His Holy Spirit! Now that is the kind of High Priest I want Interceeding for me, don’t you?

Accept this Great Gift He has Provided us and take on the Most Significant and Important Power that mankind has ever been Granted! Do not deny His Grace or His Intercession because THAT is the True Key to entering His Rest!

Have a Tremendous Tuesday and Stay Safe out there!