A Better Covenant Ministered by a Superior High Priest (Heb. 8:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  03-30-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Better covenant ministered by superior High Priest

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 8:1

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “1 ¶ Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.”  (NASB)  “Here is the main point:  Our High Priest sat down in the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand.  There he ministers in the sacred tent, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.”  (NLT)

            I will deal with verse one today and then, by God’s grace, deal with verse two tomorrow. 

            The phrase main point means the main point that the writer has been writing about is the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.  I actually think that this goes back to the point he was making to his   original readers when he said that they could not bare or understand these truths and then later came back to the writings about Jesus Christ as High Priest.  The phrase “such a high priest” is the same that he used in 7:26 referring to Jesus Christ’s moral adequacy.  The writer explains the enthronement of Jesus Christ in the phrase, “who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”  The work of the OT priest was never completed, therefore there was no place for him to sit, and not only is Christ seated, but seated at the right hand of God as He promised Him in Psalm 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can say that in my own life that the Priesthood of Jesus Christ has never been as important to me as it has since I have been studying in these past months in this wonderful book.  It has become much more clear to me that this plan of God to not only have Jesus Christ die as a perfect sacrifice for my sins, but the plan was always in affect to make Jesus Christ High Priest.  There is mush benefit to me, as it is to all God’s children to have such a wonderful, merciful, sympathetic High Priest who as at this very moment sitting on His throne at the right hand of God in heaven ministering on my behalf, and on behalf of all His children.

 

The Word of God was both refreshing and challenging to me as I read it today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord to grant Sandy and me safely as we travel towards the condo that we have rented for the month of April.  I want to trust the Lord to give me victory over the problems of IBS.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-7

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts towards us; There is none to compare to Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required. 

7.      Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me;

8.      I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.”

 

 

The Perfect High Priest (Heb. 7:28)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  03-29-03

 

My Worship Time                              Focus: The Perfect High Priest

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:28

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.”  (NASB)  “  Those who were high priests under the law of Moses were limited by human weakness.  But after the law was given, God appointed His Son with an oath, and His son has been made perfect forever.”  (NLT)

            The first part of this verse notes the weakness of the OT priests and the last part notes the perfection of Jesus Christ as High Priest.  The weaknesses have been noted in previous verses, and are such things as being human with all of its frailties.  The OT priest had to make an offering for himself on the Day of Atonement before he could make the sacrifice for the nation of Israel.  Whenever he sinned he also had to offer a sacrifice.  Jesus Christ is perfect and so He never had to offer a sacrifice for Himself before He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.  The last part of this verse speaks of His perfection and how it is forever.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know because I still live in this body that I have problems with sinning, this is a fact of life.  However because I have such a perfect, sympathetic High Priest, who knows very well my weakness will forgive my sins and will also give me, help to keep from sinning.

 

The Word of God has given encouragement to my heart as I read it this morning.  It has also challenged my heart to depend upon my Great High Priest.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord, as my wonderful sympathetic High Priest to give me the strength and the mind set to depend upon Him as we travel on our journey to Florida.  I pray He will keep us safe and help me to process correctly any anger from the things that happen on the road.  I also want to have the courage to believe that the Lord has the problems I face with IBS in His control, and will work them out for His glory, and my good.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, and will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offering Thos hast not desired, My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.

             

Jesus Christ the High Priest we Need (Heb. 7:26)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                Date:  03-28-03

 

My Worship Time                Focus:  Jesus Christ the High Priest we Need

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                   Reference:  Hebrews 7:26

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;”  (NASB).  “He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin.  He has now been set apart from sinners, and he has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.”  (NLT)

            The description of Jesus Christ as High Priest in this verse is given because He is without sin, and that cannot be said of the OT priests, for they were merely men and they were born, just like all men with a sin nature, and thus they sinned.  Jesus Christ was suited to meet our need because He was without sin.  He is holy, “1) undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, religiously observing every moral obligation, pure holy, pious.”  He is innocent, or as the KJV says harmless, “1) without guile or fraud, harmless, free from guilt.”  He is undefiled, “1) not defiled, unsoiled 1a) free from that by which the nature of a thing is deformed and debased, or its force and vigour impaired.”  He is separated from sinners because of His position, exalted to the right hand of the Father in heaven.  While Jesus Christ walked the earth He was a friend of sinners as described in Matt. 9:10, 11:19.  However even though He had contact with the sinners it was without contamination.  He was not isolated; He was separated.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The things that are said of Jesus Christ in this verse will be true of all of us believers when we get to heaven with the exception of the exalted position He has at the right hand of His Father.  In position believers today are holy, innocent, undefiled, but we are not separated from sinners.  The thing that I have learned, or have been reminded of in this verse, is that I too am to be in contact with sinners for the sake of befriending them to give them the message of salvation, but I am not to be contaminated by them.  I am to be in the world but not of the world.

 

The Word of God has brought conviction to my heart, and also has challenged me.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To be in the world but not of the world, to trust the Lord for safety and all the other aspects of having a good vacation with Sandy.  To trust the Lord to get me over to EMH to work out without problems with IBS, and to have a profitable time with the men at the Bible study this afternoon.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders that Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desire; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.

 

  

           

 

Jesus Christ, our Eternal High Priest (Heb. 7:25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                Date:  03-27-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:25

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “25 Therefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”  (RWEBSTR)  “Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through him.  He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf.”  (NLT)  “25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”  (KJV)

            The writer continues to speak of the eternalness of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ in this verse.  Dr. Wiersbe committing on the phrase “to save to the uttermost” says, “The emphasis is on the fact that He saves completely, forever, all who put their faith in Him.  Because He is our High Priest forever, He can save forever.”  The Strong’s Concordance says of the word uttermost, “1) all complete, perfect 2) completely, perfectly, utterly.”

            I again want to quote Dr. Wiersbe, and this time on the word “intercession,” “Intercession involves our Lord’s representation of His pellet at the throne of God.  Through Christ, believers are able to draw near to God in prayer and also to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (4:14-16; 1Peter 2:5). It has well been said that Christ’s life in heaven is His prayer for us.  It is what He is that determines what He does.”  Strong’s says of the word intercession; “2) to go to or meet a person, esp. for the purpose of conversation, consultation, or supplication 3) to pray, entreat.”

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is profitable to know the meanings of the different words that have been discussed today, however it is more profitable to incorporate these thing into my life and to pray that the Holy Spirit will use these things to help me to become more like Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that I have a High Priest who knows all about the things that I am going through in my life and that He is in heaven doing all these things that intercession involves for me.  I am thankful that He saves me completely, and forever, meaning perfectly.

 

The Word of God is refreshing to me today, and it is also challenging to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Sandy and I have a large number of things to do to get ready for this trip and I would pray that the Lord will give me the grace to be helpful and that He will give us the wisdom to pack those things that we need to take along with us to make our trip more enjoyable. 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, and will and will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD His trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare to Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and mean offering Thou hast not desired; My ears thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

The Priesthood of Christ is Forever (Heb. 7:23-24)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  03-26-03

 

My Worship Time        Focus:  The Priesthood of Christ is forever 

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:23-24

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “23 And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently.”  (NASB)  “Another difference is that there were many priests under the old system.  When one priest died, another had to take his place.  But Jesus remains a priest forever; his priesthood will never end.  (NLT)  “23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:  24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”  (KJV)

            In verse 24 the writer gives another reason why the Priesthood of Christ is better than that of Aaron, and that is because the priests died and had to be replaced by another.  The note from Dr. MaCarthur says that there were eighty-four priests from the time of Aaron until the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70.  In verse five the writer gives the argument that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ His Priesthood is eternal and nothing will ever happen to it because His will is carried out by Himself after His resurrection from the dead.  The reason that I added the KJV for theses verses is because of the word “unchangeable,” that is at the end of the verse.  This is what the Strong’s Concordance says about this word, “ 1) unviolated, not to be violated, inviolable 2) unchangeable and therefore not liable to pass to a successor.”  Warren Wiersbe says of this verse, “The Greek word translated ‘unchangeable’ carries the idea of ‘valid and unalterable.’  The word was used at the end of legal contracts.  Our Lord’s priesthood in heaven is ‘valid and unalterable.’  Because it is, we can have confidence in the midst of this shaking, changing world.”

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Because of the war in Iraq our world is certainly shaking and changing, and as Dr. Wiersbe says because of the unchangeableness of the Priesthood of our Lord I can have confidence in the midst of this shaking, changing world.

 

The Word of God affirmed my confidence in the Lord and His plan for this world and for His plan for my life.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord to give me the grace to continue to deal with the effects of IBS, and to give me the confidence that only He as my Great High Priest can give.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40: 1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to out God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou art done, And Thy thoughts towards us; There is none to compare to Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offering Thou has not desired; My ears Thou has opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.  

 

 

 

           

 

Jesus Christ God's Great Surety (Heb. 7:22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  03-25-03

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Jesus Christ God’s great surety

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:22

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”  (KJV)  “22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”  (NASB)  “22 Because of God’s oath, it is Jesus who guarantees the effectiveness of this better covenant.”  (NLT)

            Warren Wiersbe comments on this verse as follows:  “As the Mediator between God and man (1Tim. 2:5), Jesus Christ is God’s great Surety.  Our risen and everlasting Saviour guarantees the terms of God’s covenant will be fulfilled completely.  God will not abandon His people.  But our Lord not only guarantees to us that God will fulfill the promises.  As our Representative to God, He perfectly meets the terms of the agreement on our behalf.  We of ourselves could never meet the terms; but because we have trusted Him, He has saved us and He has guaranteed that He will keep us.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to talk about the word “testament” in this verse, and this is how it is translated in the KJV, to say that the word is used twenty-one times in the letter to the Hebrews and it has to do with a person’s last will and testament.  It can also be translated as “covenant” as it is in the NASB and the NLT. 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The book of Proverbs has much to say about not being surety for another person, but in this case Jesus Christ has not problem in being God’s surety.  Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe, Sin had mad a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.  God has entrusted the salvation of man to His Son and He will not fail neither God nor man, as He has accomplished the task that God has set before Him.  I can rest assured that complete salvation has been taken care of by The Lord Jesus Christ on my behalf, and I will praise Him forever because of this wonderful act of love, grace, and mercy.

 

The Word of God was very refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord for the outcome of this war that the United States has with Iraq, trust Him to work out His perfect will out as, I believe, that God is aligning the countries up for the finial days of the Gentiles.  I do believe that Romans 8:28 does most certainly apply in the case of this war, because war is not good but God does cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him, for those who are called for His purposes.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, A song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts towards us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou has not required.

 

 

God's Oath Will Not Change (Heb. 7:20-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                    Date:  03-24-03

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  God’s oath is unchangeable

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:20-21

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “20 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath

21  (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, 'THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER'")”  (NASB)  “God took an oath that Christ would always be a priest, but he never did this for any other priest.  Only to Jesus did he say, ‘The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow:’ ‘You are a priest forever.’”  (NLT)

            The writer is giving the third of four reasons why God changed the order of the priesthood from Aaron to Melchizedek in this section and will give the forth in the next section (7:23-25.)  The first reason is that the priesthood and the law were imperfect; the second reason was, being imperfect they could not last forever; and the third reason the priesthood was changed was that God has sworn by an oath the new order would be established.  In verse 20 the writer says that there was not an oath given in the old order, the order of Aaron but in verse 21 he again quotes from Psalm 110:4 saying that God had sword with an oath concerning the Priesthood of Melchizedek.  I can think of the covenant or oath that God had make with Abraham in Genesis 15 where He sword by Himself because there is no one greater than Him.  The point is that When God makes an oath it will take place.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can learn again from these verses that God will keep His promises, His oaths, and His covenants, and He will also keep His Word, (and I am speaking of the prophetic Word). 

 

The Word of God was refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  AS I see the war news and how the Iraqis are treating our m service men and women it angers me, and I do not see a problem with that, but as far as the vengeance to be given to them I have to remember that is from the Lord, as He says in His Word:  “Vengeance is mine says the Lord.” 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-6

 

1.      I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2.      He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3.      And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and hear, and will trust in the LORD.

4.      How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

5.      Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare to Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

6.      Sacrifice and meal offerings Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou has not required.