Psalm 61

  "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

{Psalm 61:2}  (NIV1984)

David knew how important a rock is in a battle! To have the high ground is to have the advantage. To have high ground that is firm beneath your feet, that doesn’t shift around, is a tremendous advantage! How many times had David ran to a rock to shoot arrows, or to make a stand and kill his enemies? Yet this psalm is about God and being in the manifest presence of God. 

David is crying out to God to be led to the rock that is higher than he. He wants to dwell in God’s tent forever, to have God’s wings sheltering him; to have God preserve his life and the life of his kingdom. Jerusalem was built on a high rock. The tabernacle was placed inside the city and David’s longing is to be drawn close to God and have His manifest presence protect him. 

Do we long to be drawn into the manifest presence of God? Do we want to confess our sins and be forgiven on the basis of the blood of Christ? Do we want to enter God’s court and praise His Holy name? Do we see this proximity to God as a refuge, a strong tower and a preservation of our life? 

O Heavenly Father, draw me near to you this day, for I am only safe when I am near you; when my feet are firmly planted on you my Rock! Father I will praise your name.

Click here to read today's Scripture

Psalm 100

 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

{Hebrews 10:19-21}  (NIV1984) 

The Israelites went to a physical location to draw near to God. The manifest presence of God dwelt on the mercy seat (Ex 25:22) of the ark of the covenant. The people of God could not access the inner room where the ark was kept. All they could do was go through the gates of the temple into the courts of the people. 

This psalm calls on the whole earth to SHOUT for joy because of the LORD, and to worship the LORD with gladness and joyful songs. How many millions of people will shout the LORD’s name today as a curse word instead of in worship? The psalm moves from the people of the entire earth to God’s people, and it tells us to “draw near to God”; to enter the gates, enter the courts and sing praises and thanksgiving to our God. 

If these people rejoiced when they could not even experience the manifest presence of God, how much more should we, who are able to approach God’s throne room with confidence because our Lord Jesus gave us access through His shed blood, rejoice over God’s presence among us? How many millions of Christians will draw near to God with shouts of joy and verbal utterances of thanksgiving today? May we be among the crowd that praise His name today!

Click here to read today's Scripture 

Hebrews 10:19-39

 "How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"

{Hebrews 10:29}  (NIV1984) 

This verse strikes fear in my heart every time that I read it. I agree with the writer; a person who treats the blood of the Son of God with contempt, who insults the Spirit of grace, deserves far worse punishment than the punishment meted out under the old covenant. We rejoice in the truth of the superiority of the new covenant; this is the flip side of that truth. 

This part of Hebrews 10 has been used by the devil to keep many people from drawing near to God in repentance. Do not fall for his lies. Read vs 10, vs 14 and vs 18 of this chapter, and realize the context of this verse. Remember that the definition of grace is ‘not receiving what we deserve, but getting good things instead’. The writer has said “since we have confidence” vs 19, and has told us not to “throw away our confidence” vs 35, and then ends by telling us that he is confident, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved” vs 39. 

So friend, let us not be people who continue in sin! We will go to the cross daily, confess our sins, consecrate our bodies, draw near to God in worship, hold unswervingly to our hope, consider how we can help each other, and assemble together. We will love God with all our heart, mind and soul, for perfect love drives out fear. 1 John 4:18

Click here to read today's Scripture 

Hebrews 10:19-39

 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

{Hebrews 10:25}  (NIV1984)

Here we have the final instruction, and the culmination of these instructions. There is no better place to draw near to God, than in an assembly of worship. The Lord promises His special presence to those who gather in His name. There is no better place to focus on our hope, by hearing it proclaimed, singing it ourselves and hearing the testimonies of others. There is no better place to 'positively' spur each other on to love and to good deeds, than in an assembly of worship. Our presence there, our countenance as we listen and sing, our participation in the offering, and our service to each other in the various jobs, all of the things that we do as we assemble together, work positively to spur each other on in our Christian walk. We see each other, we hear each other, we even hug each other (if Shawna is leading praise); we pray for each other and we serve each other. It becomes contagious. When people who draw near to God privately during the week, then come together in assembly, good things happen and are multiplied in each of our lives. We who are born again, have been born into fellowship with the triune God, and in fellowship with the multitude of believers. We have been born again for the purpose of assembly. One Day we will assemble in one large throng and worship our King! Until then, let none of us decide to stop assembling together, instead let us assemble more and more because we know that Day is getting closer.

Click here to read today's Scripture 

Hebrews 10:19-39

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

{Hebrews 10:24}  (NIV1984)  

Each day of our lives, we draw near to God because of the confidence we have in the blood of Jesus. We worship Him alone and we are certain of what we hope for! Now we are to look around and see our brother and see our sister. How can we help them grow in their faith, and in their worship of God? Is there anything we can do to help them? 

Most of us are uncomfortable with the whole ‘spur’ idea. We want to be liked by all, we want people to be glad to see us, and we are pretty sure that if we ‘spur’ people they would be glad not to see us. It was an awful wicked thing that Cain said to God when he asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9) The entire Bible shouts out,“YES!” Love your neighbour as yourself. We are responsible to help each other, not just in physical needs, not just in prayer, but also in spurring each other on to love and good deeds. Parents and grandparents do this for children. We are to do it for each other. 

May we this day, put our minds to work. How can I spur _____  __________  on to love and good deeds? What can I do or say that will help them shine the light of Jesus?  

Oh Heavenly Father, help us this day to be our brother and sister’s keeper. Amen

Click here to read today's Scripture 

Hebrews 10:19-39

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." 

{Hebrews 10:23} (NIV 1984) 

Having drawn near to God with CONFIDENCE in our heart, and worshiped Him, we are now instructed to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. Our hope has been stated very clearly already. Our hope is in the blood of Jesus. Our hope is, that we are clean before the LORD God because we are united with Christ Jesus through faith. 

One of the men in the U.S. presidential race stated recently that "hope is not a strategy". Hope by itself isn't a strategy for getting our finances in order, or for making peace with family members, or for finding work. We need a plan or else any hope we have is meaningless. But in making peace with our Creator, HOPE is a strategy, it is the plan! Faith, hope and love! In just a few more verses, we are told, "faith is being certain of what we hope for and sure of what we do not see".

Friend, hold unswervingly to your hope in Christ Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him, your thoughts on Him; trust in nothing else, only Him! Believe His promise for He is faithful. 

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." 

Click here to read today's Scripture 

Hebrews 10:19-39

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." 

{Hebrews 10:22} (NIV 1984) 

With this CONFIDENCE in our hearts and minds, the writer than gives us four instructions, starting with, LET US draw near to God. In light of what is taught in Psalm 139 and Matthew 28, a person may ask, "How could I possibly draw nearer to God than I am?" This is worship language! 

What we are being instructed to do, is to draw near to the Almighty God in a spiritual sense. Do not make the mistake of thinking that 'spiritual' means that this is not 'real' or a part of our 'real' life. There is a throne room where God sits in glory, an actual throne room, from whence all of 'real' life in heaven and earth has its source. We are being instructed to draw near to that throne room today - right now! Now, after we die, but also now, as we are alive. The way in to this throne room was opened by our Lord Jesus, our part is to seek to enter. 

In language that brings to mind the Old Testament tabernacle, the writer to Hebrews teaches us that we enter the presence of God, by way of the cross and the water. We approach the cross for forgiveness, we then move to the basin for the sanctifying of our bodies. Our hearts are right, our sins are forgiven, our bodies are consecrated. Now we are ready to come into the presence of God.

Friend, will we draw near to Him this morning? We draw near to family, friends, the news, our work. But will we draw near to the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father and worship Him? 

Click here to read today's Scripture