Hebrews 13:12-14
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp bearing His reproach.
14 Here we do not have a permanent city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
I love these scriptures. To me they have such power and proof of Jesus' complete authority and fulfillment of the Law.
The O.T. law required that the flesh and refuse of the sin offering be taken outside of the camp or city gates and burned.
Hebrews 12:29 says that "our God is a consuming fire."
Consume means to "completely destroy, to do away with."
Yes, that is what happened to my Lord's body.
And Isaiah 53:10 says "But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief";
it was Your good pleasure to pour out all Your wrath on Your Holy Son for me. His body was totally consumed and Your wrath against man's sin was satisfied because Jesus became the perfect eternal sin offering..."by the grace of God He tasted death" (Hebrew 2:9) for me and the world.
So the Hebrews writer tells me to go out TO Jesus where He is --outside the camp--bearing His reproach.
Bearing His reproach meaning out TO Jesus from WHERE?
From the mind set of the world.
From seeking the approval of man and the conformity to his thinking.
From religion as a duty.
Away from keeping a set of rules to gain God's approval.
Away fron hesitating to stand up for the truth when no one else agrees with me.
Away from the sin that entangles.
"Out to Jesus " to me, Father, is "coming" to Jesus and having my "heart strengthened by grace" (Hebrews 13:9). To remember that He, My Savior, is my perfect, burned, entirely consumed sin offering today and always.
You Father, consumed Jesus in such a way as to make me a clear, unhindered path to Your throne. That now one such as I may come confidently, fearlessly, boldly to Your throne to recive mercy and grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Going out TO Jesus will cause us to bear His reproach. Am I willing to bear His shame, contempt and abuse as He did for me?
Can I do that? Only by His abounding grace and to keep seeking the city which is to come.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Temporarily Here
Hebrews 11 Father, makes my heart so want to have the reality of this earth being such a temporary place that it constantly changes my life.
The book "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn did that in me also. It opened my eyes to the fact that this life is extremely temporary and all about allowing God to complete the work that He created us for, our specific purpose for being here. We don't always know the extent of what that means but our journey with You Father, will lead us on the right path.
After all,Your word says in Is 6,7;"all flesh IS grass; the grass withers and the flower fades..." This truth and the reality of it is that our bodies here on this earth are like a breeze and then they are gone.
My being a "temporary thing" is not a truth that is easily grasped nor one that the flesh receives willingly. Is it one that I truly "know" within?
In reading through Hebrews, we see that the saints of old had their eyes on their permanent home and not the one here on earth. That was a key focus and necessary to endure the things they had to endure.
They were were tortured, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, put to death with the sword, destitute, afflicted, and ill-treated. They were mocked, scourged, put in chains and imprisoned. Heb 11:36-37 Yet THEIR eyes were fixed.
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
The words in verse 1 are very interesting and helped me to understand the importance of what we are "seeing" and fixing our eyes on.
Race can mean any struggle, contest, or battle.
Endurance means steadfastness, constancy; for instance "a N.T. man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings."
Also it means a patient, steadfast, waiting for.
Entangle means "skillfully surrounding i.e. besetting". In looking at the word more closely its origin comes from words meaning "well done and fixed, established in place."
So being entangeld in something means we are stuck, really fixed in place and as one translation (CJB)puts it "..the sin which easily hampers our forward movement."
Wow. I don't want to be stuck, fixed or established in one place. In our relationship with you Your love, grace, and Word keeps us moving forward.
Just as the O.T. saints had their eyes fixed on the promise, You encourage us to go on "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,..."
There is no other way.
Moses in Heb 11:27 faced the fury and wrath of the king of Egypt and it did not stop him leaving that country because "as seeing Him who is unseen" he was able to lead Your people out.
No struggle, battle, or fear will intimidate us to waver from what we know is Your will when our eyes are fixed on the resurrected Christ, Our Lord.
Jesus says in Rev 1:17,18...
"Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,..."
Help me to "know" and to "see" my eternal home, in Your presence Father and that of
Jesus forevermore.
The book "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn did that in me also. It opened my eyes to the fact that this life is extremely temporary and all about allowing God to complete the work that He created us for, our specific purpose for being here. We don't always know the extent of what that means but our journey with You Father, will lead us on the right path.
After all,Your word says in Is 6,7;"all flesh IS grass; the grass withers and the flower fades..." This truth and the reality of it is that our bodies here on this earth are like a breeze and then they are gone.
My being a "temporary thing" is not a truth that is easily grasped nor one that the flesh receives willingly. Is it one that I truly "know" within?
In reading through Hebrews, we see that the saints of old had their eyes on their permanent home and not the one here on earth. That was a key focus and necessary to endure the things they had to endure.
They were were tortured, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, put to death with the sword, destitute, afflicted, and ill-treated. They were mocked, scourged, put in chains and imprisoned. Heb 11:36-37 Yet THEIR eyes were fixed.
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
The words in verse 1 are very interesting and helped me to understand the importance of what we are "seeing" and fixing our eyes on.
Race can mean any struggle, contest, or battle.
Endurance means steadfastness, constancy; for instance "a N.T. man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings."
Also it means a patient, steadfast, waiting for.
Entangle means "skillfully surrounding i.e. besetting". In looking at the word more closely its origin comes from words meaning "well done and fixed, established in place."
So being entangeld in something means we are stuck, really fixed in place and as one translation (CJB)puts it "..the sin which easily hampers our forward movement."
Wow. I don't want to be stuck, fixed or established in one place. In our relationship with you Your love, grace, and Word keeps us moving forward.
Just as the O.T. saints had their eyes fixed on the promise, You encourage us to go on "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,..."
There is no other way.
Moses in Heb 11:27 faced the fury and wrath of the king of Egypt and it did not stop him leaving that country because "as seeing Him who is unseen" he was able to lead Your people out.
No struggle, battle, or fear will intimidate us to waver from what we know is Your will when our eyes are fixed on the resurrected Christ, Our Lord.
Jesus says in Rev 1:17,18...
"Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,..."
Help me to "know" and to "see" my eternal home, in Your presence Father and that of
Jesus forevermore.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Unseen
Hebrews 11
:10 (speaking of Abraham)...as looking for the city....
:13... but having seen them,
:14 ..seeking a country...
:26 ..looking to the reward
:27 as seeing Him who is unseen
Speaking of Moses, the scripture says : "..he was looking to the reward." "...as seeing Him Who is unseen."
:26 "Looking" here means to turn the eyes away from things and fix them on some one thing.
To look at with steadfast mental gaze, to look attentively. This particular Greek word is
used one time in the N.T.
:27 .."as seeing Him who is unseen", which means "to perceive" and to i.e."become acquainted with by experience."
:10 Abraham's gaze was not just set on a city to settle in but on one that was eternal
whose architect was God.
:27 Moses kept his gaze on God who is unseen
Seeing (perceiving) the unseen and experiencing the reality of it. What does the unseen
hold for us? Without doubt, it holds the promises of a Mighty God to do the impossible; He who says "I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" Jer 32:27
The saints of old "saw" the promises, experienced and embraced them and welcomed them.Their eyes were fixed on Your promises. The idea I get from the meaning of the words was like they kept staring and gazing and looking intently at what You had said would be.
Their gaze was so set that fear did not have an entrance into their hearts and they went
forward with You.
You say it best in :27 Motivated by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and
undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his
purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him, Who is invisible.
Today the promise that we have not seen come to past may seem far away. But being N.T. believers You remind me that we have given a better covenant in which all of Your promises are "yes" to us in Christ.(2 Cor 1:20).
Help me Father to keep my eyes on You and Your promises when my heart is tempted to look at circumstances or other things.
For You are God and there is no other. (Is 46:9)
.
:10 (speaking of Abraham)...as looking for the city....
:13... but having seen them,
:14 ..seeking a country...
:26 ..looking to the reward
:27 as seeing Him who is unseen
Speaking of Moses, the scripture says : "..he was looking to the reward." "...as seeing Him Who is unseen."
:26 "Looking" here means to turn the eyes away from things and fix them on some one thing.
To look at with steadfast mental gaze, to look attentively. This particular Greek word is
used one time in the N.T.
:27 .."as seeing Him who is unseen", which means "to perceive" and to i.e."become acquainted with by experience."
:10 Abraham's gaze was not just set on a city to settle in but on one that was eternal
whose architect was God.
:27 Moses kept his gaze on God who is unseen
Seeing (perceiving) the unseen and experiencing the reality of it. What does the unseen
hold for us? Without doubt, it holds the promises of a Mighty God to do the impossible; He who says "I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" Jer 32:27
The saints of old "saw" the promises, experienced and embraced them and welcomed them.Their eyes were fixed on Your promises. The idea I get from the meaning of the words was like they kept staring and gazing and looking intently at what You had said would be.
Their gaze was so set that fear did not have an entrance into their hearts and they went
forward with You.
You say it best in :27 Motivated by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and
undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his
purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him, Who is invisible.
Today the promise that we have not seen come to past may seem far away. But being N.T. believers You remind me that we have given a better covenant in which all of Your promises are "yes" to us in Christ.(2 Cor 1:20).
Help me Father to keep my eyes on You and Your promises when my heart is tempted to look at circumstances or other things.
For You are God and there is no other. (Is 46:9)
.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
A Body Prepared
Hebrews 10:5
Hence, when He (Christ) entered into the world,
He said, "Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me;
:6 In burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight."
"But a body Thou has prepared for Me."
Jesus understood that the body He had was prepared for Him to make a better way for mankind to come into Your prescence.
It ripped open the veil that had so long separated man and God. After thousands of years,His body was received as the perfect offering to a Holy God.
Father, You did not make it complicated for us. You sent Your Son to this earth with a body that You prepared to go to the Cross and pay the penalty for our sins, for the sin of the whole world.
That is an amazing thing to me. And then I think of Your Body of believers, Your children.
You brought each into this world with a purpose and specific plan also. Each one so very loved and treasured by You.
Even a baby born half way around the world has a tiny little body that will fulfill Your purposes and plans in this dark world we live in.
As the Perfect Lamb, Jesus was willing to say "Behold, I have come to do Thy will, O God."
Thank You Father for preparing the body of Jesus so that by your grace today I may also say "Your will, Lord".
Hence, when He (Christ) entered into the world,
He said, "Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me;
:6 In burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight."
"But a body Thou has prepared for Me."
Jesus understood that the body He had was prepared for Him to make a better way for mankind to come into Your prescence.
It ripped open the veil that had so long separated man and God. After thousands of years,His body was received as the perfect offering to a Holy God.
Father, You did not make it complicated for us. You sent Your Son to this earth with a body that You prepared to go to the Cross and pay the penalty for our sins, for the sin of the whole world.
That is an amazing thing to me. And then I think of Your Body of believers, Your children.
You brought each into this world with a purpose and specific plan also. Each one so very loved and treasured by You.
Even a baby born half way around the world has a tiny little body that will fulfill Your purposes and plans in this dark world we live in.
As the Perfect Lamb, Jesus was willing to say "Behold, I have come to do Thy will, O God."
Thank You Father for preparing the body of Jesus so that by your grace today I may also say "Your will, Lord".
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Once for All
How many times do we like to have to do something over and over again to get it done?
The O.T. priests presented sacrifices for the Israelites continually throughout the year. Then once a year they entered the Holy of Holies to present a sacrifice for the sins of the people committed in ignorance throughout the year. Heb 9:7
Once a year. But every year.
Sin could never be done away with forever.
Father, what an awesome God You are to orchestrate the taking away of sin from the heart of fallen man and to enable us to come before you, blameless and without the stain of sin, through the blood of Jesus Christ,Your Son.
Hebrews 10:10.. by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all...so that He might bring us to God...
Hebrews 9:26 But now He has appeared once for all....to do away with sin.....
Hebre 9:28 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people....
You make my heart to celebrate and proclaim as in Psalm 24:7:
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors
That the King of Glory may come in!
:8 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
:9 Lift up your heads, O gates
and lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of Glory may come in
:10 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
He is the King of Glory.
You gave me a picture of the ancient everlasting doors of heaven finally being lifted up, the gates opening wide, and Jesus triumphantly returning to heaven, passing through the doors as our High Priest, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty...Hebrews 8:1
He died, He was buried, He rose from the dead, He proclaimed "It is finished!"
Once for all it was finished. Sin was paid for forever.
The O.T. priests presented sacrifices for the Israelites continually throughout the year. Then once a year they entered the Holy of Holies to present a sacrifice for the sins of the people committed in ignorance throughout the year. Heb 9:7
Once a year. But every year.
Sin could never be done away with forever.
Father, what an awesome God You are to orchestrate the taking away of sin from the heart of fallen man and to enable us to come before you, blameless and without the stain of sin, through the blood of Jesus Christ,Your Son.
Hebrews 10:10.. by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all...so that He might bring us to God...
Hebrews 9:26 But now He has appeared once for all....to do away with sin.....
Hebre 9:28 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people....
You make my heart to celebrate and proclaim as in Psalm 24:7:
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors
That the King of Glory may come in!
:8 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
:9 Lift up your heads, O gates
and lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of Glory may come in
:10 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
He is the King of Glory.
You gave me a picture of the ancient everlasting doors of heaven finally being lifted up, the gates opening wide, and Jesus triumphantly returning to heaven, passing through the doors as our High Priest, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty...Hebrews 8:1
He died, He was buried, He rose from the dead, He proclaimed "It is finished!"
Once for all it was finished. Sin was paid for forever.
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