17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. -----------
This is just incredible! The fact that God took an oath on His own name so that we may have eternal life and the assurance of it!! We know that God cannot lie...so we know that as long as we abide in Him, He will never let us go! How amazing is that? We have the assurance of eternal life, and God will never change His mind! Praise the Lord!
9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
ReplyDeleteI selected this verse because of how encouraging it is. Verses 1-8 are spent discussing how truly awful it is when people who are "saved" don't follow through with salvation and press on towards maturity.
Enter verse 9, where the author reassures the reader, that's me, that he/she is convinced that I have better things ahead of me; that we have better things ahead of us. And the chapter only gets better from there. God is a just God, who will not forget the works you've done and the love you've shown, and not only can he not lie, but he has sworn an oath to us as well.
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Awesome.
17-18 "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged."
ReplyDeleteThis verse speaks to God's enduring commitment to us and to our salvation. I really like how verse 18 sets it up to demonstrate that God's promise to us encourages us because we know that God is always faithful. And since He is always faithful, we should not be afraid for ourselves because God has got our backs. I think that we get stuck in the mundane, earthly things sometimes and forget about the endurance of God's promises for us. I'm reminded of Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious to me are your thoughts God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." What a great way to end the day....
-DA
ReplyDelete3 And this we will do if God permits.
ReplyDeleteEverything is submitted to the will of God. Nothing is outside His control and nothing happens without him allowing it. This is a powerful statement from which we, who are truly followers, can derive great comfort. Realizing that when times are tough, God is in complete control and that everything even the evil and wrong in the world is submitted to the will of God and He will use it ultimately for His glory.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
ReplyDeleteThis is what makes being a follower of Christ different than any other "world view". We have one path to the Kingdom of Heaven and that is Jesus. He has torn the curtain that separates us from the holy of holies and if we trust in him than we have access to the Lord. Its amazing that we have Christ as our mediator for we have no strength without Christ - because we thus to not have the Holy Spirit.
Lord thank you for your Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
8 "But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being curse. In the end it will be burned."
ReplyDeleteIf this verse doesn't make you feel uneasy I don't know what will. Paul lays it out plain and simple saying that you should be aware of what spiritual crops you produce. If we produce crops that do not bring glory to God then death and fire is what we having coming for us. This is some really harsh stuff. I pray for all of us that our labor is for God. This is included in all that we do from our blogs to our daily quiet time to praying and even the image we put out towards campus. It is our main objective to glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and producing spiritual crops for God and not cursed thorns is what that is talking about.
Hebrews 6:6
ReplyDeleteThey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
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Sometimes I think we forget the amount it cost Jesus to cleanse us of our sins. We go about our lives knowing that we are forgiven, but without realizing that each time we harbor malice, or speak in a way that does not glorify God, or behave in a self centered matter, it is sufficient to nail Jesus on the cross.
Respect the price Jesus paid for your salvation.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but select this much. Here it lays it out. Once we truly receive the love god has and commit ourselves to the life he has for us there is NO going beck. We are in it for life. If we find ourselves shedding away from God it means the we have never truly experienced his love. For me that hits me hard. Because i find myself falling to sin all the time. But does this mean that i have never truly accepted Christ?