A Forever Priesthood (Heb. 7:8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-17-03

 

                                                                                                           

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Forever Priesthood

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 7:8

 

            Message of the verse:  “8 And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.”  (NASB)  “In the case of Jewish priest, tithes are paid to men who will die.  But Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.”  (NLT)

            I believe that this verse is saying that the former priesthood of Levi, because the priests died was not an ongoing priesthood, but it could be said that it was temporary.  On the other hand the priesthood of Melchizedek was permanent because there was no record of his death and as the verse says he lives on.  Just a side note; this could be one of the reasons that good men believe that Melchizedek was the preincarnate Christ.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God never changes, even though it seems that His agenda changes it really doesn’t.  The priesthood of Levi was a picture of Jesus Christ and what He would do on the cross, while the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek was an eternal one so even though we may think that it changed and that God changed He did not, nor does not change.  Things change in my life but I always can cling to the promise; “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

 

The Word of God was a challenge for me to understand this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  First I am very thankful that the Lord saw me through the events of yesterday without any problems while driving in our car.  I have to go some places today in the car and I pray that the Lord will again see me through these journeys in the car without any problems with IBS.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-5

 

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 not to compare to Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

 

  

A Greater Priesthood (Heb. 7:7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-16-03

 

                                                                                                           

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A greater Priesthood

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 7:7

 

            Message of the verse:  “7 But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.”  (NASB)  “And without question, the person who has the power to bless is always greater than the person who is blessed.”  (NLT)

            One of the purposes of writing about this account that happened in Genesis fourteen with Abraham and Melchizedek was to prove that the priesthood of Melchizedek was superior to the priesthood of Levi, and this verse says that.  Melchizedek blessed Abraham who, as stated before was the great-grandfather of Levi, of who the Levitical priesthood came through.  The position of the priesthood of Melchizedek, of which Jesus Christ Priesthood came, was better than that of the Levitical priesthood.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am so thankful that I am not under the priesthood of Levi, as then I would have to do all of the things that are written in the law pertaining to it, things like bringing sacrifices for certain sins, and ceremonies, and going to the temple a number of times a year.  Jesus Christ is my High Priest and I have access to Him through prayer at anytime, and the Bible teaches me that my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus Christ died for my sins the veil in the temple between the holy place and the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom thus in affect ending the need for the priesthood of Levi.

 

The Word of God has been refreshing and challenging to my heart this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I would pray that the Lord would give me the grace to get to church this morning and evening and tomorrow morning without any trouble in our car, because the van is broke down and thus I do not have a portable toilet to take with me in case I have trouble with my IBS.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 40:1-5

 

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 speak and declare of them they would be too numerous to count.

Melchizedek Collected Tithes from Abraham (Heb. 7:5-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03/15/2003

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Melchizedek Collected Tithes from Abraham

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:5-6

 

              Message of the verse:  “5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham.  6 But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and blessed the one who had the promises.”  (NASB)  “5. Now the priests, who are descendants of Levi, are commanded in the law of Moses to collect a tithe from all the people, even though they are their own relatives.    (Greek their brothers, who are descendants of Abraham.)  6.  But Melchizedek, who was not even related to Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham.   And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.”  (NLT)

            In verse five the writer is speaking about the OT priesthood that God gave to Moses while in the wilderness.  The part of the Law that speaks of the tithe is found in a number of books from the OT including Lev., Numbers, 2Chronicles, and others.  I believe that one of the points that the writer is making here is that the priests were to collect a tithe from their brethren who were all descendents of Abraham.  Melchizedek who was not related to Levi collected tithes from Abraham.  Levi was Abraham’s great-grandson.  I think the writer is saying that these are two different priesthoods as seen in these two verses.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that this verse teaches me that 1, God is in control and His plans will be fulfilled, 2, things do not always seem to be as they really are, and 3, I should not be so sure about things that I could be wrong about as I am sure many Jewish people were about the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

 

The Word of God was challenging to me this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  It seems to me that the IBD I have is giving me some problems this morning and I want to trust the Lord to work this whole thing out to His glory and my good, even though at times that seems to be hard for me to believe. 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalms 40:1-4

 

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.

 

 

The Greatness of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-14-03

 

                                                                                                                       

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Greatness of Melchizedek

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 7:4

 

            Message of the verse:  “Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils.”  (NASB)  “Consider then how great this Melchizedek was.  Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized how great Melchizedek was by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.”  (NLT)

 

            This verse speaks of the greatness of Melchizedek, for he is the one to whom Abraham paid a tithe to.  Speaking of tithing it is the giving of a tenth for that is what the word means.  Strong’s Concordance says that this Hebrew word  used in the King James Version three times, twice being translated as “tithe” and once a “tenth part,” “ a tenth part of anything, a tithe.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I was taught about tithing from my earliest childhood, and my dad tithed for most of his life.  After becoming a believer it did not take me long to began tithing, although at first I did it at the Christian bookstore where they had a ministry that I was involved in.  I must say that my wife has always gone along with tithing and even more than tithing.  Once we joined Grace Baptist Church we put our tithes in there and the Lord has richly blessed our lives.  God owns it all, as I am only a steward of it so I am thankful for being taught tithing at an early age, and that the Lord has put it in my heart to tithe.

 

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

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord concerning the worries over the possible war with Iraq knowing that God is the One who is in charge of all history, and also knowing that He will care for His own children, including those who believe in Iraq, who need my prayers.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-4

 

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 on 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.

 

 

 

Melchizedek has a Family History that is Different! (Heb. 7:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-13-03

 

                                                                                                           

My Worship Time      Focus:  Melchizedek has a family history that is different!

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 7:3

 

            Message of the verse:  “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually.”  (NASB)   “There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life.  He remains a priest forever resembling the Son of God.”  (NLT)

As I have studied to find what this verse means I found out that there are at least two views as to who Melchizedek was, and I would think it is because of this verse.  As stated in the focus portion his family history is different and that is why there are these two views.  Some say that Melchizedek was none other than the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ. Others say the he was a real man who was the king and priest of Salem, but that there was no record of his genealogy like that of the priests who came from Aaron.  My own opinion, for what it is worth, is that he was a real man and that because we have an all knowing God who had all of this planned from eternity past to have this priesthood of the order of Melchizedek so that all New Testament believers would have access to Jesus Christ as their eternal High Priest.  I want to add the Strong’s definition of the word like because it is only used here in the OT.  “  1) to cause a model to pass off into an image or shape like it 2) to express itself in it, to copy 3) to produce a facsimile 4) to be made like, render similar”  Actually in the KJV the words “made” and “like” are the same word in the Hebrew. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am so thankful that God is in charge of all things as He was in charge of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ after the order of Melchizedek.  This verse teaches me of the fact that God does know all things.

 

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

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord to continue to give me a deeper desire to love Him more and more each day, to be less selfish in my life, and to love my wife as Christ loves the Church.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-4

 

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

Melchizedek's Name (Heb. 7:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-12-03

 

                                                                                                           

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  More About Melchizedek

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hebrews 7:2

 

             Message of the verse:  “to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.”  (NASB)  “Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had won in the battle and gave it to Melchizedek.  His name means “king of justice.”  He is also “king of peace” because Salem means “peace.”  (NLT)

            There is a lot in a name of many people in the Bible.  God changed Jacob’s name to Israel in Genesis 32: 24-32 and Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter in John 1:42.  God also changed the names of Abram and his wife.  This verse gives the meaning of Melchizedek’s name and the meaning of the city that he was king over.  His name means “king of righteousness,” and he was king of Salem, which means peace.  Peace and righteous came together and the Bible speaks of the two being together in different places.  Isaiah 32:17, “And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.”  Psalm 85:10, “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”  You can only experience true peace if you have righteousness.  Romans 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” and the word justified means “declared righteous.”

 

            .  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the name of Melchizedek and understand its meaning I see the Lord Jesus Christ for He is the One who has given me peace through the blood of the cross because of His work on the cross He can declare me righteous through justification.  This is a wonderful picture of my Savior and His atoning work on the cross for me.  Because He saved me I belong to Him and owe my all to Him each and every day of my life.

 

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

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Because I am declared righteous by the atoning work of Christ on the cross I want to live that way, to trust the Lord to give me the strength to live that way.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-4

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-11-03

 

                                                                                                           

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Melchizedek

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 7:1

 

            Message of the verse: “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,” (NASB) “This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High.  When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against many kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.”  (NLT)

              In chapter seven a new section is started according to the outline in Dr. Wiersbe’s book, “Be Confident,” which he entitles, “A Superior Priesthood.”  This section includes chapters seven through ten.

            In verse one of the chapter we meet Melchizedek again, and his name means “righteous king.”  The background of this story of Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14: 18-24 and his name is also mentioned in Psalm 110.  The story in Genesis tells of Abram giving this king-priest of Salem a tithe and goes as follows, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.  And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he gave him a tenth of all.”  (Genesis 14:18-20)

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that what I can learn from this verse is that nothing is unimportant in the Word of God to God, for He has a reason to include everything in His Word that is there.  As a human being I would not think that this story about Abram and Melchizedek would be that important, but God has made this one of the more important passages in the entire Bible, for it gives the background for the order of Priesthood that the Lord Jesus Christ is from.  God is spiritual and therefore He does things that I as a human do not always understand, but I believe that is where faith has to be involved.

 

The Word of God was challenging to me as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to begin to have a devotional time with my wife each day, and included in this would be a time of prayer.  I would pray that the Lord would give us the grace and the protection from the forces of evil to do this on a consistent basis.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40: 2-4

 

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

2.      He brought me up our 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.       

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus Christ My Hope and My Anchor (Heb. 6:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-10-03

 

                                                                                                           

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Jesus Christ my hope and anchor

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 6:19-20

 

             Message of the verses:  “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  (NASB)  “This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.  It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary.  Jesus has already gone in there for us.  He has become our eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek.  (NLT)

            The writer goes on with the thought about hope in this verse that he started in the last verse and says that this hope we have is in an anchor of the soul and the reason for this is because this hope is Jesus Christ who is sure and steadfast because He has entered the Holy of Holies in heaven as a forerunner for us and because He is our Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.  People could not follow the Old Testament priests into the Holy Of Holies that was upon the earth or they would die, but believers today have direct access to the Lord Jesus Christ because He has become our eternal High Priest who is also our hope as the writer says in these verses.  The things done in the OT were just a picture of what Jesus Christ would do.  The writer again speaks of the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ which he mentioned earlier in the letter and will now move onto this subject again as he will speak in more detail about Melchizedek in chapter seven.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Jesus Christ is my hope in whom I have put my trust; He is my anchor in heaven which I am connected to by faith, by His Word, and by His Spirit.  These are wonderful truths that are more certain than anything that I can hold onto here on this earth.

 

The Word of God was full of the hope that I have in my heart given to me by the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord with all my heart and all my soul and not to lean on my own understanding, but by faith know the Lord is in control of my life and will do for me what is good and what will bring honor to Himself.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 40:1-4

 

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 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.