Once we understand Who Jesus is (the Son of God, and equal with God), and why He came (to die for us, to conquer death and the become a merciful and faithful high Priest to us), what do we do now?
Chapter 3 of Hebrews admonishes us to let go of our unbelief. We are told to submit to our Saviour, and not be like the children of Israel who murmured, complained, rebelled and disobeyed in the wilderness.
Numbers 14 tells us that God’s patience came to an end with those people. And He refused to let them go into the Promised Land. He told them their “carcasses shall fall in the wilderness”! Whew!
He didn’t remove His promise from the entire Jewish nation, but He did not allow those in rebellion to enter into the Promised Land. They all died before they got there.
Hebrews tells us to NOT be like those people. What was their problem?
It was unbelief.
They didn’t believe God was Who He said He was, and they didn’t believe He could do what He said He would do.
God has given us Jesus, His Son. He made Jesus equal to Himself. Do you believe that?
Jesus came to die in our place, to conquer Satan and to be our Mediator (High Priest). Do you believe that?
If so, you need to trust Jesus for salvation. You need to turn to Christ to save you from your sins. You need to place your eternal soul in His hands, knowing that if you do, He has promised you a home in Heaven for eternity.
It takes faith to do that, doesn’t it?
It means you have to “cease” from your “own works”, and trust Jesus.
Have you ever done that? Have you submitted your heart, life and future to the Lord Jesus?
If not, I pray you will do that today! If you need help, please message me.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God is eternal. If Jesus wasn’t human, He couldn’t die.
If Jesus didn’t die, He couldn’t pay the penalty of our sin, which required the shedding of blood, and death.
Jesus had to be human so he could experience death in the place of every man. He substituted Himself for us.
Jesus become human so that He would be a brother to man, to experience death as man does.
His suffering made Him the captain (the head or chief officer) of our salvation. He became a Saviour.
Jesus, as a flesh and blood man, destroyed Satan’s power over death when He rose from the dead.
Because Jesus conquered death, He broke the bondage death held over humans.
Jesus became a man so that He could suffer just like man suffers.
Jesus can be a faithful Priest to us, reconciling us to God the Father by the forgiveness of our sins.
Because Jesus knows suffering and temptation as a man, He can be merciful and faithful to us when we are suffering and tempted.
No earthly man can do all that Jesus did. No priest, no animal sacrifice, no penance and no good deeds can purge our sin.
Only the God Who became a man can do that. Only Jesus!
You cannot be reconciled to God, except through the salvation that our Captain Jesus won for us by His death on Calvary.
Have you accepted His substitution for you? Have you received His salvation?
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Murmuring – uttering complaints in a low voice; gloomily angry manner; grumbling. Disputing – contending by arguments; altercation.
I used to think in order to be a light to the world, I had to be perfect. Let’s be honest – only Jesus could live a perfect life.
The above verses tell us that if we want to be blameless and harmless, the first way to do that is to guard our attitude and mouth.
Don’t be grumpy, irritated, grumbling under our breath about everything that doesn’t go our way. Don’t use words to argue, fuss, and try to get our way. Don’t cause controversy or arguments.
Now that is something I can work on! I can take everything to my Heavenly Father and let Him do the changing of my heart or my circumstances, whatever He chooses.
And the second way to be a light in this dark world is to hold forth the Word of life.
Forth – forward in place; beyond the boundary of a place; out in public view.
Offer people the Bible: Give them a Gospel tract, an encouraging verse, invite them to church, send a card with verses of wisdom. There are many ways to hold forth the Word.
Last Sunday I overheard a lady asked one of the ushers if there was an old Bible laying around, as hers was very old and falling apart. He told her to take one of the pew Bibles home. She argued that she didn’t want to remove something that was needed. He assured her that the Bibles were there to be used. People took them home all the time. He literally held forth the Word of life to her!
Every light matters to those who are in the dark, trying to find their way home.
Your light matters! Don’t hide it under a bushel basket of murmuring and disputing. Let Jesus clean up our attitudes, control our mouths and SHINE from our lives.
You may never know who sees your light and finds their way to the Saviour.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
The sea star has 16,000 to 20,000 species. They are found in every type of oceanic habitat. Most have 5 arms, but some have as many as 50! They have no brain or blood, but their average life span is 35 years.
If our lives are to be held by someone, I’m glad they are held in the hand of our Creator God. His creation is magnificent, beautiful, varied and provided for.
No matter what problem is worrying you today, or whatever situation has you scheming and stewing and supposing, you can trust your Lord God with that. You can submit the problem to His hands and let Him work it out for your good and His glory.
If He cares enough to make a beautifully detailed creature like the sea star, we can trust Him with the details of our life too!
II Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any things as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
