Approach the Throne

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Jesus Christ is our High Priest, the person who has given us the strength and ability to approach the throne of God. We are heirs to His Sonship ... He has given us such a wonderful opportunity to approach God the Father with boldness and expectation! This is such a difference from the Old Testament, where only the high priest could go into the throne room in the Temple. He was the only person who had access to the throne room. Because of Christ's birth, death and resurrection, we have access!

Jesus Christ, as our High Priest, has made the way and set the example for all of us. As we serve our Father, we have the knowledge that whatever we have to deal with, He will be there for us! Paul tells us we need to rely upon the promises of our Father so that we may enter His rest (the promise that all who follow will be ruled by God's harmony and beauty). We are given the grace to trust in this message of salvation for our lives.

This doesn't mean we won't have problems in this world; we now have the answers to deal with these problems. Jesus has achieved the victory over our adversary and He shares His power and strength with all of us, ambassadors and soldiers for Him.

BE BOLD TODAY!

Read Ephesians 3:1-14 and Hebrews 4 for more illumination.

A shield about me

"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head." Psalm 3:3

A history lesson from David, a king in whom God delighted, that benefits us all!

It is easy to forget it is our Father that always protects us against the evil one instead of by our own efforts. Our ego and pride can easily get in the way of trusting Him in all we do. It's easy to trust in our own strength when we have victories, as did David; we trust in our own insights into Him. There is temptation to stop being truly humble, pull our heads down and follow our own instincts. Yet, David says we must continue to let our Father lift our heads to Him to see what He would have us do! David demonstrates it in his own life and records it in his writings.

In Psalms 3, 4 and 5 David talks about relying on the LORD. He says his foes believed he would not be saved by his reliance upon God. It becomes easy to rely upon ourselves when we are attacked and God gives us victory over our enemies ... we are children of God who has promised us great strength and abundance and victory over our adversaries! This is a great truth we all should trust. David was a king that Scripture says had a heart for God, one in whom our Father delighted in. David was a very victorious king, having victory after victory because of his trust in God.

Psalm 6 (and 13) describe anguish. David let his society and passions dictate his actions; he had one of his trusted followers killed because he forgot to lift his head to God. He became weak in his victories; he gloried in his success, he "looked" at Bathsheba and had Uriah killed so he could have his own way. He trusted in the successes God had given him and became prideful, feeling he deserved what he wanted, or could get.

Let us humbly keep our heads lifted to our Father; the LORD forgave David when David again listened to God (when Nathan rebuked him, he acknowledged his sin and repented). What a humbling lesson we all can learn from! Let us let God lift our heads today, and praise Him for His everlasting love for us! This is where our shield continues to come into action, our Father protecting us against pride and our adversary/adversaries.

Read Psalms 3,4, 5 and Psalms 6 and 13; also 2 Samuel 11 and 12 for more illumination.

Protected by the Power of God

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5

What a powerful message Peter shares with us! Our Father's great mercy gave us new life with hope! We have an inheritance (the Holy Spirit being the deposit, living and dwelling in us) and we have reseverations in Heaven!!! The Adversary wants to attack the confidence and trust we have in God. We all fall short of perfection ... we sin (hamartia in Greek), so it is easy to buy into the lie that we aren't good enough to have such a love given to us!

The power (dunamis in Greek) we have, the authority (exousia in Greek) we have ... these are to help us mature in Christ to be powerful soldiers for Christ! God is doing the work in our lives ... no matter what the circumstances. We can't allow circumstances (seeking riches, being poor, society's influences, institutions, entertainment, pleasure) dictate how we feel aout loving and seeking our God; we must know He is making all things work together for our good, to those who love Him!

The Messiah has risen! If you have doubts about His role in your life, ask Him for understanding. He promises to fill us and help us to become one with Him, just as He is one with our Father!

Read Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:3 and 4:7-8, Romans 11:29, 2 Corinthians 5:5 for more illumination.

Every good and perfect gift ...

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or no shifting shadow." James 1:17

Our Father gives only good things and perfect gifts. It's a truth we rely upon. What is James saying, though, about being deceived? Knowing dokimē and dokimazo in Greek helps answer that question. Examine, test, experience and prove/approve are the English words used to explain the term. The meaning depicts removing impurities from valuable metal we are to examine and inspect for purity. The reference is self-examination (we are that precious metal!), an honest inspection of how we are progressing in our walk with the LORD. Examples of this examination are in 1 Corinthians 11:28, "... but let a man (person) examine himself ...," Philemon 1:10, "approve the things that are excellent" and Romans 5:3b-4, " ... knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

The next verse is a perfect example of God's good things ... "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5. How incredibly awesome!!!

Satan, society, worldly ambition, social ambition, personal ambition ... anything that gets in the way of our pure worship can deceive us! Tribulations help us to understand how we are to rely upon God. In this way, we're able to fully understand and utilize every good thing that our loving Father bestows upon us. That is His promise; He will never change! He always give us every good thing and perfect gift. Our daily job is not to be deceived by the attempts to pull us away from God's good gifts! Believe me ... God's gifts are everywhere, if we but seek, knock and ask!