OPENING PRAYER
Psalm 119:27 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 Help me understand
the meaning of Your precepts
so that I can meditate on Your wonders.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
A TRUE STORY
A father had a son.
He taught his son how to live the best life possible. He taught his son wisdom and about unconditional love for his family, friends, and even his enemies.
He wanted his son to stand out against the crowd by doing good and being, not following others.
Needless to say, the son made enemies. They disagreed with his father's wisdom and with his. They doubted him, even though several people agreed with the son.
The son's wisdom challenged people so much, they argued with him, made fun of him, and hated him. The son had people agree with his wisdom, not the others who thought they were wise. The others ended up hating him for taking their followers, they were jealous of him, and they made a plan to remove their threat, the son.
So, they did. They killed him.
Problem solved?
Right?
Nope.
Would you believe three days later, he rose from the grave. He was not a zombie, though. He had fresh flesh and a pulse.
He showed himself to his friends who followed him. He shared how his enemies could not destroy him. He lived so his friends and followers could as well.
Then, he went to a different realm in order to watch them until the appointed time, when a certain number followed Him. Then, he would return and fight the evil and others of the world and destroy it. Then, those who believed his wisdom would be able to live with him and his father forever.
They just needed to believe in him and his wisdom, and in nothing and no one else.
Belief saves.
Lack of beliefs kills. A lack of belief in the good, in the good wisdom, leads to evil and to death.
Belief is love.
Lack of belief is hatred.
The father and son are the embodiment of absolute, unconditional love, other than believing and following the son.
Journal your thoughts. What do you think of this story?
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HOUSEKEEPING
I think you might be sensing a trend in these blog posts. At the beginning, I give additional information to help us gain the most of today's Bible reading and daily devotional. At the end, I give current events prayer points. So, let's get to some of the housekeeping material for this blog post.
ABRUPT
I think I need to share one of my strengths, which some would consider a negative (at first). I can be abrupt and in your face at times and will challenge you. I may accidentally offend you, which is hardly my intent. However, tiptoeing around never helped anyone and only leaves people with hurt toes.
We need truth. Pure and undiluted truth. The kind that can smack us on the head or heal a broken heart. The kind that offers strength and assurance and something to stand on without hesitation.
I may be abrupt at times, but it is when I am trying to make a strong and firm point I do not want any of us to miss. It is not to pick on you, but is meant to drive a point home. It is meant for your best, not to harm you or upset you. I want to get through all of the noise in your heart and mind and drive a point home.
Does this make sense?
Now, for the abrupt part.
WHERE DOES REAL HOPE COME FROM?
Everyone can find and have Real Hope.
Everyone without fail. All-inclusive.
But, there is a catch. And, isn't there always a catch? Nothing is really free in this life. (Hang in there, I will get to this catch in a few moments.)
Stop.
(This is the abrupt part.)
Can I ask you for a huge favor here? Can you stifle your emotions and forget about them for a moment. Ignore your emotions and pretend you have none so you can think. Really, fully think. Not partially think. And, do not be biased. Be open to fact. Can we look at things logically for a moment? Can we look at just the facts and not opinions?
Can we reason together?
Forget all of your assumptions and opinions for a moment. Sweep them to the side. Let's look at fact--just fact--and think things all the way through to a conclusion and not get hung up before we reach the conclusion. Let's be mature thinkers who look at fact alone. For ourselves. And not take into consideration what others say or have said--or even what we might have said in the past. Forget all that and address just these facts in this blog post.
We are intelligent beings and can look at facts for ourselves and do not need to be spoonfed our opinions because we are immature and do not think. We will stand on our own two feet and use our own brains and address just the facts. Just the facts.
Can we also ignore our initial thoughts and the thoughts that are doubtful or negative? Can we ignore our feelings thoughts so we can reason and be logical?
Can we do this? Can we reason together? Can we also agree to do this for the rest of this blog post?
If you can at least try this, then please continue reading.
If not... Why not? Can you not have self-control? Of course you can. Choose to and continue reading.
WE WANT REAL HOPE
Can we agree that we want Real Hope? The kind of hope that lasts and is strong? The kind of hope that doesn't blow with the winds of change or challenge?
I would think so since we are reading this. Hebrews 6:19-20 talks about this type of hope. Let's review this verse and quotation and look at it as mere facts on the page, nothing more, nothing less. Let's read:
Hebrews 6:19-20GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
19 We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives. This confidence goes into the holy place behind the curtain 20 where Jesus went before us on our behalf. He has become the chief priest forever in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW). Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.
What are the facts here? (Hint and tip: Feel free to do this with every verse and passage, by the way. Break it into chunks so you can address and think through each of them, one by one, on their own. It helps us to fully grasp each part.)
Let me break this verse down into the facts here. Please note it is a direct quote of the GNT, but I removed the verse numbers so we can look at each part or segment. Also, I made each a complete sentence.
The facts are:
1 We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives.
2 This confidence goes into the holy place behind the curtain
3 To where Jesus went before us on our behalf.
4 He has become the chief priest forever in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
I think we can agree point 1 is wonderful and describe what we seek. Right?
Points 2-4 are the convoluted points that we may not fully grasp. So, we need to break them down.
Let's see if another version of the text might help us do so.
Hebrews 6:19-20 Living Bible (TLB)
19 This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven, 20 where Christ has gone ahead to plead for us from his position as our High Priest, with the honor and rank of Melchizedek.
Living Bible (TLB). The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Let's break this passage down into segments of fact:
1 This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
2 It connects us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven.
3 To where Christ has gone ahead to plead for us from his position as our High Priest
4 It is where he has the honor and rank of Melchizedek.
Did you see it in this version? Did you see the catch?
The catch is we have to be saved, which means believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Now, you might roll your eyes at me, get angry because of the nonsense, or you may nod and say, "I do." Either way, please continue reading so we can talk about this and what it really means. Remember, we agreed to reason together and look at the facts logically and think things all the way through to their conclusion.
Fact: The Real Hope we are searching for can only be found if we are saved.
So, what this implies is another fact.
Fact: We cannot have Real Hope unless we are saved.
What in the world does it mean to be saved or to believe in Jesus Christ? Just looking at the facts here.
I am glad you asked.
BEING SAVED AND BELIEVING IN JESUS: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ANYWAY?
Can you agree you make mistakes?
Can you admit you are not perfect?
Both of those are facts in my life and in yours. Without exception.
The Bible calls our mistakes sins and our imperfections our sinful nature's.
Are you following?
The Bible talks about how for forgiveness of our mistakes, a sacrifice of blood must be made. Meaning an animal is killed for its blood for the forgiveness of our wrongdoings.
However, Jesus Christ was born, he lived a perfect life, and unblemished one, and died as the final sacrificial unblemished lamb, so no more blood ever needs to be spilled again. He did it for us. He willingly died so we could be forgiven and live forever in perfection in heaven, forever in the presence of God. But, the catch is, we must believe He did this for us.
Those are all facts. Period.
We could go into a great deal of other facts here. Is the Bible true? Did Jesus really do this? Etc.
However, let us not think about those right now. They are not facts we need to address right now. Let's look at the facts we need to:
We can have hope like an anchor, strong and trustworthy.
But, we need to believe Jesus died for the forgiveness of our errors.
That's it.
We are not asked to kill others who do not believe.
We are not asked to believe in something imperfect.
I do not know about you, but believing in myself or in another is folly, for we make mistakes. All of us.
But, Jesus never did. So, He was able to be the final ", unblemished sacrifice.
It seems far easier, factually, to believe in something and someone perfect rather than flawed.
Also, Jesus died on earth, but He is alive in heaven, in another realm or dimension.
Isn't it easier factually to believe in someone alive and not dead?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone versus something?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone, not some idea or thought which are nebulous, or in some activity which doesn't last?
Isn't it easier to believe in something perfect, not flawed?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone who died so you can have eternal life after this earthly body, than on someone or something who offers you nothing after this life?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone who says to love your enemy and turn the other cheek, than to believe someone or something that tells you to torture and murder your enemy, and the enemy is someone who does not believe what you do?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone rather than nothing?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone, not in chaos or randomness?
Isn't it easier to believe in someone who only asked belief of you and nothing else, than to believe in someone with several requirements?
Isn't it easier to believe in love and not hatred?
Jesus is the only one to offer you these things. No other idea or concept, person, activity, possession, place, etc. can offer you all of this.
Jesus is the Real Hope all of us seek.
Let me recap about Jesus:
He was a man.
He now lives eternal life... forever.
He is perfect and not flawed in any way.
He is the embodiment of love, for he allowed Himself to be sacrificed so no one after Him needs to be.
He says to love and forgive your enemy.
This is all fact. It may seem unbelievable to you. But, give it time. Keep reading this over time. It will make more sense. Let it roll around in your head for a while.
I have one more final question: What does it hurt to believe in Jesus? What do you have to lose?
You have everything to lose if this is fact and you choose not to believe. You will never find Real Hope, only false hope that is merely impersonating Real Hope.
How will you know if you have false hope? You will never be satisfied and will never be hope-FULL. You will keep looking for Hope around the corner, never finding it.
Now, chew on this, think on this, for the next day. Journal your heart out. Get it all on the page. Keep thinking this through.
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OTHER VERSES TO PONDER
Isaiah 1:18 Expanded Bible (EXB)
18 The Lord says,
"Come, let us ·talk about these things [reason together; or settle this matter; or consider your options].
Though your sins are like scarlet [C stained with blood; vv. 15, 21],
they can be as white as snow.
Though your sins are ·deep red [L red as crimson/purple],
they can be white like wool.
Expanded Bible (EXB). The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Journal your thoughts.
Now, the next verse will have whole new meaning for you after reading and thinking through this blog post.
Hebrews 6:19-20 The Message (MSG)
18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
The Message (MSG). Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.
Journal your thoughts.
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NEWS PRAYER POINTS
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2
3
4
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