My Morning Meal

A friend commented on my post yesterday and offered this summary of the book of Hebrews . . . “The whole book of Hebrews is kind of a taste test comparison (Coke/Pepsi?) by someone who has known, loved and been blessed by the OT law and prefiguring ritual. But now he has ‘tasted Christ’ and there is no comparison!” I like it. A taste test . . . comparing the new with the old . . . the substance with the foreshadowing types . . . the real thing with the prefiguring copies and patterns . . . the most excellent with the good and better. And as I continued reading in Hebrews this morning, the “director” of the taste test is not prepared to leave it to the “untrained dull palette” to draw the right conclusion . . . eventually you just have to declare which is superior . . eventually you just need get to the point . . .

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.   (Hebrews 8:1-2 ESV)

I like it when it’s made easy for me. Sometimes you gotta dig and noodle on stuff before you get it . . . other times someone clearly helps you by drawing a big arrow that points to what is important to know. That’s Hebrews 8:1-2 . . . the NLT puts it this way, “Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There He ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.”

That’s the point . . . in heaven, in the presence of majestic God, is the “true tabernacle”, the real place where man and God come together. And the High Priest who serves in that holy of holy places is Jesus Christ the Son of God. And this High Priest is at the right hand of God — there being no higher place of authority than Majestic God’s right hand . . . and this High Priest is seated at the right of the Father because His work is finished — the work of opening the way to God . . . and what remains is for Him to serve as an intercessor. And, behold, this High Priest is my High Priest . . . and the High Priest of all who, by faith, have received the gift of salvation through His once-for-all sacrifice. That’s the point!!!

This morning it’s not so much about where I am but about where He is. It’s about His authority and His on-going ministry on my behalf. It’s about a heavenly perspective and about a heavenly tent not made by man but by God Himself. It’s about entering into that most holy of places through the Spirit of God. It’s about considering Jesus, the risen Christ . . . about focusing on what is unseen rather than what is seen . . . about setting my heart on things above. Its about living here with a renewed vision and appreciation for what He’s doing there. That’s the point!!!

There’s a place for complicated things . . . but not this morning . . . its been clearly shown to me again. In fact, its been shown twice. Here’s what I read in Luke 22 this morning . . .

When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led [Jesus] away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”   (Luke 22:66-69 ESV)

Doesn’t get any clearer than that. My Lord is sitting at the right hand of the power of God . . . that’s the point. Get it? Got it? Good!!

And that’s the taste that refreshes. No need to keep sipping on the other stuff . . . no need to look other places . . . instead, as my friend encouraged me in his comment, let’s keep “our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2) . . .

O’ what a Savior! Amen?

Jesus is a priest forever. That’s what the writer to the Hebrews emphasizes this morning. Jesus is foreshadowed in a guy that Abraham ran across almost 2,000 years before Christ entered this world, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God (Hebrews 7:1). Like Melchizedek, Jesus has “neither beginning of days nor end of life” (7:3) . . . Jesus comes from a line apart from the Levitical line (7:14) . . . in fact, He has become a priest not on the basis of “bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life” (7:16). Thus He is ” a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek” (7:16).

And what does a forever priest do?

Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  
                                                                                  (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)

While it is true that work of atonement for sins was finished on the cross . . . that through the once for all offering of Himself, Jesus completely and fully paid the ransom for my redemption . . . I’m reminded this morning that Jesus is far from “being in retirement” . . . that Jesus’ work continues . . . a priest forever . . . always living to make intercession for those who have drawn to God through Him . . . that they might be saved to the uttermost.

Saved to the uttermost . . . that’s what I’m lingering on this morning. I am a work begun by God . . . to be completed through the Spirit of God . . . aided by the risen, ascended Son of God as He makes intercession for me.

Saving to the uttermost isn’t just about being saved forever, it’s about being saved completely . . . saved to the fullest extent . . . saved perfectly . . . the finished product being all the Maker had in mind when He began the work. At that moment I believed, I was utterly saved FROM THE PENALTY OF SIN through the work of Christ on the cross. One day, I will be utterly saved FROM THE PRESENCE OF SIN when I go to be with Jesus and am removed from this world of darkness. And today, I am in the process of being utterly saved FROM THE POWER OF SIN through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the never-ending intercessory work of the One who is my Great High Priest forever as I’m transformed and conformed to His very nature.

And I’m just a bit taken aback this morning at the thought of Jesus, even now, making intercession for me. Not because I don’t think I need it . . . oh, do I need it! . . . but because of the eternal commitment He has made to those who are His. Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10) and, to that end, He has forever linked His eternal being with our feeble frame as He draws alongside through His blessed Spirit and as He intercedes before the Father as our Great High Priest.

And as such, though I stumble . . . though I struggle . . . I believe that this born again sinner will be saved to the uttermost . . . saved completely . . . saved to the fullest extent provided by the grace of God.

Saved to the uttermost . . . for my eternal blessing . . . more importantly, for God’s eternal glory.

Even so, Lord Jesus, intercede . . .

My kids loved picture books. You know those big, over-sized children’s books that cared less about narrating a story but instead captured the imagination with full-page graphics and photos. It seemed they never got tired of them . . . we’d pull them out again and again. But eventually my kids grew up . . . and while there may be fond, nostalgic memories of those picture books, my girls don’t read them anymore . . . don’t rely on them for their intellectual stimulation. They moved beyond picture books . . . started reading “chapter books” . . . and now read “adult books.” My reading in Hebrews 5 this morning reminded me that, as the people of God, we need to move beyond picture books, as well.

. . . for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
                                                                            (Hebrews 5:13-14  ESV).

The writer to the Hebrews wants to take His readers deep . . . “connecting the dots” of Scripture with the Person of Christ . . . showing them that Christ is the Messiah, and has become the Author or Source of eternal salvation . . . that He is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek . . . BUT . . . screech to a stop . . . the writer to the Hebrews can’t plumb the depths of this thought because his readers had become “dull of hearing”.

He says that by now, with how long they have had exposure to the Word they should be teachers . . . instead they need someone to take them through the basics again — they are still on “milk” and not “solid food” . . . still babies . . . not mature. They need to get out of Sunday School . . . move beyond the “Bible stories” and picture books . . . and get deeper . . . stop sucking on the sippy-cup and get their teeth into the meatier stuff. It is possible — and perhaps too prevalent in the Church — to be “unskilled in the word of righteousness” (5:13). Inexperienced . . . bottle-feeders . . . unable to chew on the solid food of the Word and digest it themselves.

I have often thought that we don’t spend enough time showing believers the basics on how to feed themselves. We focus on pre-packaged Bible studies (good stuff, not saying it isn’t) without also spending time on how to study the Bible . . . how to read and correctly handle the Word and get beyond the Sunday School stories and dig out of the pages of Holy Scripture solid teaching for themselves. To experience for themselves the rush that comes from making an observation to then find the Spirit stirring their souls with illumination.

For too many, their sole intake of the Word, I fear, is the pre-digested, 3 or 4 point sermon on Sunday morning. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for gifted teachers to open up the word for others and feed the sheep — there is . . . it is an integral part of how the church is intended to grow. But we also need to equip the sheep with enough tools so that they can be Bereans . . . that, after receiving the Word with gladness on Sunday morning, they can go home and “examine the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11) . . . to take in “solid food” for themselves and grow up.

If we don’t move beyond the picture books, the people of God are in such danger of looking like and living like the world about us . . . rather than being salt and light. Without “constant practice” . . . without having “our powers of discernment trained” by handling the living Word of God we lose our edge to discern good from evil . . . and can so easily settle for “good enough.”

Constant, habit-forming, consistent use . . . reading . . . studying . . . meditating . . . obeying. It’s as we seek to get deeper . . . as we “use” the word . . . that we develop the spiritual discernment concerning good and evil . . . that we recognize what’s beneficial and what’s not . . . that we distinguish what’s just good, from what’s better, from what’s best.

It doesn’t happen overnight . . . but maturing isn’t an overnight process . . . it occurs over a lifetime. We need to move beyond the “Sunday School stories” . . . and put away the picture books . . . and ask God, by His grace and through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, to take us deeper as we exercise ourselves in the Word . . . desiring  to become “skilled” in the Word of righteousness.

For our benefit . . . For His glory . . .

Captured by a phrase this morning. One of those truths that I can so easily blow by. One of those things I’ve known for decades but which, as I think about it, so rarely really grips my being. One of those declarations of Scripture that I’d do well, from time to time, to ask myself, “Self, do you really believe that?” A characteristic of the Savior that I’m probably prone to diminish because I’m prone to think of Him as being more fully God than being fully man. But an attribute of the Savior which uniquely and completely qualifies Him as our “great High Priest.” What’s gripping me this morning is that Jesus has “been there!”

Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.    (Hebrews 4:14-15 ESV)

This morning I’m reminded that I have a High Priest who is able to sympathize with my weakness because He has, IN EVERY RESPECT, been tempted and tested as I have . . . He’s been there!

Really? Been there? In every respect? (ESV) . . . in every way? (NIV) . . . in all things? (NASB) . . . experienced it all? (MSG) . . . the same testings? (NLT)

That’s what God’s breathed-out revelation tells me this morning. That’s what the Spirit’s directed illumination is casting light on. That Jesus was all in when He entered His creation’s reality. That, while He never stopped being fully God, He was nothing less than fully man . . . yet without sin. And in that fullness of man He was in every respect and in every way tempted and tested as we are . . . yet without sin.

He knows firsthand the feelings . . . He experienced the struggles . . . He endured the oppression . . . He worked through the trials. There is not a temptation common to man that Jesus, in some manner, cannot relate to because of His personal experience. There is not a testing known to man that Jesus cannot, from firsthand knowledge, draw alongside and whisper, “I get it.” Really? Yeah . . . if I’m reading this correctly . . . then really! . . . yet without sin.

What set’s my Savior apart is not that He candy-coated His 33 years on this planet . . . not that He side-stepped the tough stuff of the human experience. But what sets Him apart is that He fully entered the fray, yet without sin. He alone has won every battle with the flesh . . . He alone endured every assault righteously without wavering . . . He went through it all, yet without sin. He won!

And because He’s been there, He is able to sympathize with those of us who are going through it now. Because He has firsthand experiential knowledge of the creation’s struggle, He is able to fully enter into and sympathize with our weakness. Because God became man, the Man, Christ Jesus, could become our great High Priest. Having already offered Himself as the once-for-all sacrifice, He now lives to make intercession for His people . . . with a depth of understanding, empathy, and sympathy that can only come out of direct experience . . . and to provide access to the same divine help and strength He drew upon when He was here.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.    (Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

Tempted in every respect? Faced all the same testing we do? Been there? Really? Yeah . . . really!

O’ what a Savior!

They were a stubborn people. They had a long history of rejecting God’s direction and instead relying on their own intuition . . . for ignoring His way and instead leaning to the way of their own understanding. Even when they sought to be zealous concerning the King they did so by elevating themselves to the throne, confident in their own works and their own perceived righteousness. You would think that eventually God would say, “Enough!” But my God is the God of abounding patience . . . my God is the God who goes to extreme lengths to provide a way of redemption and restoration . . . my God is the God who gives second chances — and third, and fourth, and fifth, and . . . My God is the God who cries out, “Today!”

Since therefore it remains for some to enter [God’s rest], and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again He appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”   (Hebrews 4:6-7 ESV)

My God is the God of Today.

Strictly speaking, the context is the continued appeal to these Hebrew readers to recognize Jesus as the Christ . . . to know by faith that the reason He died was to provide the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for their sins . . . to believe that the reason His body was missing from the tomb was because He rose again from the grave, conquering sin and death, and had ascended to the right hand of the Father on high . . . to set their confidence in His work and His work alone . . . and thus, to enter into the promise of rest. And though they had repeatedly rejected the message . . . again, God appoints a certain day . . . Today . . . that they might enter that rest.

And I can’t help but think that for those who have owned Christ as Savior and Lord . . . for those who have already entered into that eternal promise of rest . . . but for those who sometimes struggle with entering into the day-by-day rest (aka me) . . . that God still continues to appoint another day . . . that though I may have “taken a rain check” on the promise yesterday, that today there remains a promise of rest.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about something that I was worrying about. He said, “Pete, let me tell you about a Book . . . ” And this buddy reminded me of Jesus’ teaching concerning worry . . . and the Holy Spirit reminded of the Father’s offer of a peace which passes understanding . . . and though I may have missed out on some of that rest yesterday . . . He has appointed another day . . . Today . . . and offers anew His deep, abiding, calm from the storm.

Mine, then, is to not harden my heart. To not enter another day determined to carry the same burden in the same way. But to avail myself of the promise . . . to believe the calling . . . to hear again His voice . . .

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”   (Matthew 11:28-29 ESV)

O’ thank God that there remains a rest for the people of God (Heb. 4:9). Thank You, Father, that You have appointed another day to enter that rest.

Thanx for Today!