Hebrews 10:19-39

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God." 

{Hebrews 10:19-21} (NIV 1984)

Oxford dictionary defines confidence as, "the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something." The writer to the Hebrews is expressing the basic state one must be in to understand the verses that follow. He thinks that if you have tracked with his letter to this point, you must in agreement with the revelation that Jesus Christ is superior to Moses and Aaron. That His sacrifice of Himself is superior to all of the animal sacrifices and that those who by faith have had their sins forgiven and their consciences cleaned are included in the new blood covenant that is superior to the old covenant because the Holy Spirit creates in us a new heart. 

Friend, do you have confidence this day? Not confidence in yourself, but confidence in your ability to enter the Holy of Holies, the very throne room of God Almighty? Adam and Eve hid because of their lack of confidence. Do you desire to enter the throne room? Have we gone there already this morning? O friend, may we have this confidence the Bible speaks of. May we meditate this day on all that the Lord has done for us. May we be CONFIDENT of our ability through the blood of Jesus, to approach the Almighty God! 

Click here to read today's Scripture 

 

Luke 17:1-19

"Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"

{Luke 17:9,10} NIV 1984

Our Lord is describing an unthinkable situation in their day and age. A servant who expects his master to thank him for doing his job. In 2012 in Canada, the expectation on managers is that they continually thank people for doing their job. I wonder if our distinctive culture has transferred over to our relationship to our Lord. 

The disciple's response to Jesus telling them to forgive each other, is to ask for special faith. Our Lord told them, 'Just do it. No special faith required, just obedience.' Then He goes further addressing the attitude behind the request. The attitude that tells us, we are doing God a favour by serving Him! The lesson is hammered home, by the healing of ten lepers and only one comes back to thank Him! 

Are we in the majority or we in the exception? Do we have the attitude that we are doing God a favour by serving Him and He owes us (one telltale sign is disgruntlement that God hasn't answered our prayers the way we want)? Or do we realize that God has done us a huge favour, by saving us and cleansing us from our sins? Do we serve Him with all we have, and continually come to Him and thank Him for the privilege of being His servant? May we have the attitude of the Samaritan leper. May we fall at Jesus' feet this morning and thank Him for what He has done for us!

Click here to read today's Scripture

1 Chronicles 16:25-36

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."

{1 Chronicles 16:34} (NIV 1984) 

The LORD (YHWH) is the only real God! He made the heavens, by Himself. There are many gods in this world, but they are all idols, made by the hands of men, inspired by demons. The LORD is the one true God. All the people of this earth should acknowledge His strength; they should come before Him on bended knee, bringing an offering that will turn away His wrath. The earth, the trees, the fields, heaven itself know that the LORD is their Creator, and they rejoice in His presence. 

He is an awesome God, the LORD Almighty! But we thank Him because He is good! What would happen to us if God was not good? What if God was a tyrant, a cruel, evil sadistic tyrant? Friend, know this truth this morning: God is good! He is good all the time! He is good all the way through! Call on Him for salvation! A salvation that He provides by His own hand, though His only Son. Call on Him to show grace and compassion; call on the character of God and praise His Holy Name. For the LORD is good, and His love endures forever! 

Click here to read today's Scripture 

1 Chronicles 16:14-21

"Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day." 

{1 Chronicles 16:23} NIV 1984

 Here is a theme to be thankful for; the salvation provided for us by YHWH, the LORD. He is God over all the earth, and He is the Judge of all mankind. He looked out over the earth and a promise to Abram, then to Isaac, then to Jacob and then their descendants shared in that promise, and now we, through faith, share in that promise of God. 

He preserved the lives of Abram, Isaac and Jacob, rebuking kings on their behalf. He rebuked Pharaoh on Israel's behalf and then killed the kings of Canaan and gave their land to Israel. All for the purpose of bringing His Son into the world to bring salvation to every tribe and nation. He rebuked Herod on Christ Jesus' behalf, preserving His life until the fullness of time had come - for our Lord to give His life for us. He rebuked Satan on our behalf, caused His Spirit to breath faith into our lives and new life appeared. He has made us to be a kingdom and priests in all the earth. He will come back in power and glory and all kings will bow before Him. 

Oh friend, our salvation is the great theme of all the Bible. It is the great theme of all creation! Remember it, think on it, thank Him for it. Do this every day! 

Click here to read today's Scripture 

1 Chronicles 16:7-13

 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

{1 Chronicles 16:8} NIV 1984

David's psalm of thanksgiving begins with verbs. Things that we should do! Give thanks, call on, make known, sing to, sing praise, tell of, glory in, look to, rejoice, seek, remember. Oh friend, are we not descendants of Israel by faith? Are we not the chosen ones of God? Yes we are! So the action words of this psalm are for us.  

Thank Him this morning; call on His name. Tell people in the world (not church people) what He has done for you. Sing a song to Him right now. Be proud of Him and bear His Name with pride. Allow your heart to be filled with joy from the Holy Spirit. Ask Him for the help you need for the day before you. Decide right now, that in everything (in everything!), in everything that you do today you will seek His face, and His blessing upon you. 

Finally, cause your mind to remember the things He has done for you, the things He has done for His church, and the things He has done for the world. Thank Him, the one true God, our God! 

Click here to read today's Scripture 

1 Chronicles 16

"He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel." 

{1 Chronicles 16:4} NIV 1984

 How David rejoiced! He danced and sang; his heart was full of joy! God Himself had entered the City of David. The ark of the covenant was now inside his city, dwelling in the same geographical location as David and his throne! The manifest presence of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, living beside him! 

1 Chronicles 16 contains the organization and instruction that David set up in honour of the ark of the covenant. He made sure that offerings, prayers, praise songs, and music, were continually before His LORD. He wrote a new psalm of thanksgiving and had it sung before the LORD for the very first time. 

Child of God, think for a moment on this truth - the manifest presence of the Creator God resides in us! Not an angel or some lessor presence, but God Himself! "A deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14)". If David rejoiced over the blessing of having God dwell in His neighbourhood, how much more should we rejoice because God dwells inside us? If David wrote down a psalm of thanksgiving, should we not write thanks to God? If David danced like a crazy man, oblivious to how others saw him, should we not rejoice in a visible way? A way that incurs scorn and ridicule from those around us? 

Appoint yourself to give praise and thanksgiving to God this day! Bless His Holy Name! Proclaim the LORD is good. He has forgiven our sin. He is present in our lives and He will take us to live with Him forever! 

Click here to read today's Scripture

Acts 16:16-40

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

{Ephesians 5:19-20} NIV 1984

What a beautiful instruction, from an apostle of our Lord, to the children of the most High God. We are to not only speak to each other in worship language, we are to speak out of the overflow of our hearts. It is one thing to say 'thank you Lord', or 'praise the Lord for everything that happens to me, because I am told to in the Bible.' That type of obedience has a blessing; it is trusting and obeying which is good for us. 

But how much better is it, if those words from our lips come out of hearts that are full of music to our gracious Lord? What is our situation this morning? What will our situation be tonight? As you look down the week ahead, the month ahead, the year ahead, how does that path look? Child of God, everything that is happening, good or bad, has been filtered through our Heavenly Father who loves us and who is actively working in our lives for our good! 

Paul has credibility in giving this instruction; stripped and beaten, and in a dark cell for obeying God and doing His will, Paul and Silas' lips began to move because of the attitude of their hearts. The music in their hearts spilled out onto their lips. 

O child loved by God, may there be a melody in our hearts this day. 

In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody with heaven's harmony; 

In my heart there rings a melody, 

There rings a melody of love! 

{Elton Menno Roth, 1924}

Click here to read today's Scripture