Day 69
But Christ is faithful over God’s house as a Son, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of our hope firm to the end. Hebrews 3:6 MEV
Our hope, hold on to Christ firmly, no matter how active the flesh is, hold on till the end. Don’t loose hope.
Be attentive, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, and you depart from the living God. Hebrews 3:12 MEV
There is something about following God’s ways diligently, daily, no matter what, to get away from an unbeliving heart that eventually separates us from Him. That is the reason Paul exhort us to constantly renew our mind.
while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:15 MEV
I did not realize how easy it is for our flesh nature to harden our heart towards God. I don’t want to be counted as those who rebel. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 7:24-25; 8:1
For we who have believed have entered this rest, as He has said, “As I have sworn in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” However, His works have been finished since the creation of the world. Hebrews 4:3 MEV
The whole point being made here is God’s rest in Christ Jesus. God does not condemn us. He does not hate us because of our weaknesses. He doesn’t want us to toil and strive. He just wants us to follow His plans, and as we do, He says, I’ve got this. Enjoy the ride. Matthew 6:33 NKJV But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Let us labor therefore to enter that rest, lest anyone fall by the same pattern of unbelief. Hebrews 4:11 MEV
Labor to rest. Sounds like a contradiction, but it is not when the meaning is properly understood. Labor, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life. Eternal life not just after death, but here and now, when we receive Christ. Remember that we now have man’s most formidable enemy satan, along with our flesh to deal with, and therefore we must labor, fight the good fight of faith, renew our mind constantly in the Word of God.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was in every sense tempted like we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 MEV
Tempted but yet without sin. That is Jesus. He understands, therefore let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death. He was heard because of His godly fear. Hebrews 5:7 MEV
This is another point that should not be misunderstood. Though we must still have Godly fear, and we ought to pray always, we must remember that Jesus has won the victory over death for us.
Day 70
We desire that every one of you show the same diligence for the full assurance of hope to the end, so that you may not be lazy, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12 MEV
Without this hope, we cannot fight the good fight.
Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. In the one case mortal men receive tithes, but in the other he of whom it is witnessed that he is alive receives them. Hebrews 7:4, 8 MEV
This is the reason that we still call it Tithes.