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Jeremiah 3 (ESV)

¹¹ And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. ¹² Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
declares the Lord;
I will not be angry forever.
¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the Lord.
¹⁴ Return, O faithless children,
declares the Lord;
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.

¹⁵ “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. ¹⁷ At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. ¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

 

REFLECTION:

The Israelites of the Northern Kingdom were punished by God for their sins, and finally their country was destroyed, and they became captives of other countries. The people of Judah saw the judgment of Israel for their rampant paganism and moral decay; they undoubtedly believed that the Israelites deserved the punishment and sneered at them. Jeremiah told the remnants of Israel that Jehovah still blesses those who are willing to return to Him and confess their sins and repent, and warned those Judahites who thought they were innocent and smug to learn from the history of Israel’s fall and repent and return to Jehovah.

Since the people of Judah refused to repent, Jeremiah taught them with God’s promise to the remnants of Israel. When King Solomon ruled the entire nation of Israel, the people worshipped God in the magnificent temple. The ark of God was placed in the temple. Inside, there was a tablet engraved with the Ten Commandments, which was a symbol of God’s presence with the people.  God’s love is fully manifested in this passage. Although the people are “faithless,” God still calls them “children” and eagerly calls them back to their homes. The voice of God calling His people to turn back across time and space and is echoing in our ears today. The question is whether our ears are open to listen, and our hearts are willing to repent?

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enable you to open your eyes, open your ears, and open your heart all the time, so that you can see, hear, and understand God’s good intentions for you in everything you experience. Ask God to help you desire for Him more and build an intimate relationship with Him, because He is your heavenly father and you are His beloved son or daughter.

 

HYMN:

His Mercy Is More – youtu.be/I1GiZL60c80

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Jeremiah+002
 

Jeremiah 2 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
³ Israel was holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. ⁵ Thus says the Lord:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶ They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
⁷ And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
and with your children’s children I will contend.
¹⁰ For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹ Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
¹² Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³ for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.

 

REFLECTION:

This passage uses a marriage relationship as a metaphor for God’s love for His people and His people’s attachment for idols. The contrast between the two is sharp and strong, highlighting the sin of Judah (often referred to by the people of Jerusalem, the capital of the South Kingdom) of being unfaithful to God. Jeremiah rebuked Judah for always seeking safety and security in things that are vain and ever-changing, but not relying on the eternal and unchanging God. The various firstfruits are sacrifices to God, and the people of Judah have adhered to this law of offering throughout the ages. In the past, Judah was like the bride of God, a holy and loyal people, eager to please God. But in Jeremiah’s time, their behaviour was completely corrupted, in sharp contrast with the past.

Who would rather hew out cisterns to hold rainwater and abandon the endless stream of living water? God told the people of Judah that their behaviour of abandoning God and worshipping idols was just so stupid. To make matters worse, they chose broken cisterns that could not hold water in an attempt to carry the truth with a set of vain and foolish secular laws. Since God Himself is the source of living water, why should we abandon Him and attach to the “benefits” brought by the “cisterns” (money, power, or other things of the world)? We may obey God at first and please Him, but then we may be tempted to gradually turn away from Him and seek security in our possessions, abilities, or other things. Think about how you dedicated yourself to obey God at first, and then ask yourself whether you are still so sincere and enthusiastic now.

 

PRAYER:

Thank God for the abundant providence in your life physically and spiritually. Ask God to work in your heart so that you will be focused and fervent, and continue to serve and desire God in the years to come, without being distracted by the sounds of the world. Ask God to be the source of strength for all your activities and give you a more abundant life.

 

HYMN:

To You – youtu.be/OSK7x08YaJ4

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Jeremiah+001
 

JEREMIAH

INTRODUCTION

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the kingdom of Judah for forty years—from the end of the Assyrian period until Judah was destroyed by Babylon. The book mixes sermons, prophetic oracles, and biographical narratives of Jeremiah’s experiences during the last years of the Judean kingdom. We are given an intimate look into the prophet’s own heart as he brings God’s message to his fellow Judeans, who reject him and even conspire to kill him.

The book begins and ends with historical references to the event Jeremiah was best known for predicting: the fall of Jerusalem. The four main parts generally consist (in order) of oracles, narratives (two sections), and then oracles. Significantly, each of these four parts ends with a reference to Jeremiah’s words being written in a book or scroll. A long poetic oracle is inserted in the middle narrative of the book. So Jeremiah’s prophecies appear at the beginning, middle and end of the book, highlighting their importance. The middle oracle, promising a new covenant designed to change the human heart, is shown to be the most important of all. God will do more than simply punish evil—he will overcome it with good.

The book of Jeremiah carries us back and forth in place and time as we turn its pages, yet its themes are consistent. The message of judgment for wrongdoing is followed by the restorative power of forgiveness and new life: to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

 

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/JER.INTRO1.NIV

 

Jeremiah 1 (ESV)

¹ The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ² to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

⁹ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

 

REFLECTION:

After the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel split into two opposing nations, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was born in Anathoth about five kilometers north of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. He preached as a prophet and served during the reign of the last five kings of Judah. Jeremiah was appointed by God to be the “prophet to the nations.” This was originally a glorious call, but it caused him to suffer persecution and humiliation throughout his life. During that period, the kingdom of Judah was very corrupt in politics, morality, and spirituality. Although Jeremiah continued to prophesy for forty years and urged the people and leaders to repent and leave their sins, no one listened to him.

In fact, God has His beautiful will in every Christian. God knows you just as he knows Jeremiah. Before you were formed in your mother’s womb, before you were born into the world, God already knew you, cared about you, and planned your life for you. When you feel discouraged and desperate, He always cares about you, regards you as a precious treasure, and has made a life-long plan for you. God did not promise Jeremiah that he would not encounter hardships and difficulties, but promised to “save” him out of trouble and be with him. God did not save Jeremiah from imprisonment, exile, and humiliation. In the same way, God did not save us from the storms of life, but He will accompany us, protect us, save us, and walk with us. Let us not be in fear. In the end, God will redress for all the injustices we encounter, and all our obedience to God in adversity will be praised and rewarded by God. Our life will be more abundant when we are guided and shaped by God’s hand.

 

PRAYER:

Count God’s blessings, thank Him for all the guidance and edification in your life. Thank God for saving you from past difficulties time and time again, even beyond your expectation. Ask God to continue to walk with you, and in the years to come will have more guidance and training for you, help you to be more mature, and not afraid of future life storms.

 

HYMN:

I Will Walk The Way Of The Cross – youtu.be/PlkxYDvyQ84

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+013
 

Hebrews Chapter 13 (ESV)

¹ Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.³ Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ⁴ Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵ Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

⁷ Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: The Christian’s faith journey is a race which brings glory to God by the way the runners behave. In the concluding chapter, the author wrote down a variety of duties to God and humanity. Together they reveal an exalted level of personal morality and duty.
2. How do we find contentment when everything in our society shouts at us, luring us to desire more? Just remember that in God you already possess everything.
3. The stock market can fall, and you will lose everything. Thieves can break in and your possessions will disappear. The economy can crash and interest rates rise. In this world there simply is no security in wealth, or the things that money can buy. But when God is with you, and when you have His promise, “I will never leave you”, you enjoy the ultimate security. There is nothing that can threaten you when you walk hand in hand with the Lord.
4. Take several minutes to explore your life in light of this instruction “Keep your life free from love of money”.  How do you relate to material things?  Do you often wish you had more?  Do you feel that nothing can harm you because of what you have?  What fears do you have about God letting you down?  What would it be like to “be content with what I have”?  Talk with Him about this subject.  Attentively listen for His input.
5. “May I keep my life free from the love of money and be content with what I have. You have said, ‘I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.’”  Pause to notice your internal reaction to what you’re saying.  Ask God to change your reluctance and unwillingness.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Christ Is Enough – youtu.be/0fZ-tBR7LJ0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+012
 

Hebrews Chapter 12 (ESV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: Jesus and the cloud of witnesses urge us to wrestle against sin. We are to view hardship as God’s discipline of dearly loved sons and strengthen our resolve to live holy lives. We are to pursue peace and holiness. And we are not to despise God’s kingdom.
2. Here the author asks us to view hardship and suffering as discipline. God has not abandoned Christ’s followers. God is simply treating them as any wise father treats dearly loved children. This may seem strange, but this perspective makes any hardship we face so much easier. We no longer cringe away and wonder what we’ve done that God should punish us. Instead we reach up in our pain convinced that even our suffering is an expression of the love of God.
3. How might God use the “hardship” to discipline (train) you? Sit quietly for a while and see what God brings to mind.  How might you cooperate better with God in this training?  Take time to listen.
4. Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Take some time to confess and repent before the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Grace – youtu.be/51LGsPMKeAE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+011
 

Hebrews Chapter 11 (ESV)
¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible…

³² And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵ Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶ Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: Faith is more clearly expressed in the way people live than in what they claim to believe. The nature and value of faith are revealed and illustrated in this honor roll of Old Testament saints. (If time allows, read all Hebrews 11, recall the stories as each name comes up.)
2. To many today, faith seems insubstantial for it is persistently holding on to notions that can’t be proven. In Scripture, the reverse is true. Faith is confident expectation that what we cannot see is more solid and real than the material universe. The root of this kind of faith is our conviction that “the universe was created by the word of God”.  God has priority over things we can taste, touch, see and feel.  God is more real than they are, because God is the source of their existence.
3. Faith does not guarantee anyone a life free of stress or pain. Many have suffered and even died for their faith.  Yet faith won for each the commendation of God. Faith wins even more for us. The Old Testament saints looked forward to a salvation they could not understand. We look back to a salvation assured by the cross on Calvary. And through the Spirit of God we enjoy a relationship with the Lord which can be more real to us than to the Old Testament saints.
4. Pray for the faith you need in your life right now to do God’s will and that God will find you faithful.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

It Is Well With My Soul – youtu.be/zY5o9mP22V0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+010
 

Hebrews Chapter 10 (ESV)
¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

²⁶ For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.²⁸ Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.²⁹ How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: Repeated Old Testament sacrifices could not make worshipers perfect. But we are made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus.  We must hold firmly to our hope in Christ, resist to sin deliberately and persevere in doing good till Jesus comes.
2. V23 mentions: “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering”. Many Christians feel the tension of being Christians in this secular society and find it difficult to share (confess) their faith with others.  When was the last time you felt free to express your faith in Jesus Christ and the hope that this faith gives you?
3. Christians don’t achieve holiness alone. We achieve holiness as we share our lives with others, give and receive encouragement, spurring one another on to love and to good deeds. God has given us Christ’s church for support and assistance. Christian fellowship and gatherings provide opportunities for believers to care for one another, encourage one another, etc.
4. This week, share in your cell the difficulty you have in sharing your faith with others. Ask the other members to pray for you and to encourage each other.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

May The Peoples Praise You – youtu.be/7BrfkjHdKVI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+009
 

Hebrews Chapter 9 (ESV)
⁶ These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷ but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸ By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹ (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰ but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation…

²³ Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: The focus of Old Testament worship was the blood sacrifice offered on the Day of Atonement.  However that repeated sacrifice was unable to cleanse worshipers.  Christ’s blood, on the other hand, cleanses us and brings us forgiveness.  His one sacrifice brings full salvation.
2. There was a kidney patient, whose dialysis machine kept him alive.  Yet he dreaded the process.  The kidney dialysis machine that kept him alive also reminded him of his illness.  He was not free, but bound to return to the machine to have his blood purified again and again.  Away from it, his sickness quickly took hold on his body, and sapped all his strength.
3. That’s just what this chapter says about the Old Testament system (vv 6-10).  The repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament system reminded worshipers of their continuing desperate condition.  But, the one sacrifice of Christ reminds us of His total victory (vv24-25).  The blood of Christ has cleansed us from all sin!  By the once for all sacrifice of Jesus, we are forgiven, made well, and have the assurance that the victory we need in life has already been won!
4. Does the fact that Christ died to take away your sins free you to serve Him more? Or make you spiritually “lazy”?  Why?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

The Servant King – youtu.be/A0FSZ_iSYO8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+008
 

Hebrews Chapter 8 (ESV)
⁸ For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
⁹ not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
¹¹ And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

¹³ In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: The ministry of Jesus Christ as our High Priest involves a better covenant, a better sanctuary, and a better Christ has instituted the promised new covenant which brings forgiveness and renewal to all who believe.
2. The old system of Law didn’t work and was “becoming obsolete and growing old”. The New Covenant is superior for two things:  First, it provides total forgiveness for all our wicked acts (v 12) and God no longer holds us accountable for our sins.  Second, the New Covenant operates to “put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts”.  The Old Covenant engraved standards on tablets of stone that men were unable to meet.  The New Covenant engraves the desire to please God in our heart and moves us to what Law demanded, but could not produce.
3. Do you function better under external restraint (the law) or inner constraint (God’s Spirit) (v. 10)? Why?
4. What happens to you when you say to God, “Thank you for forgiving and forgetting my sin”?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) – youtu.be/YrwkCOUOliI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Hebrews+007
 

Hebrews Chapter 7 (ESV)
¹⁸ For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰ And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹ but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

²² This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³ The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: Christ’s high priesthood is superior to the Levitical one, and is of a totally different order. Therefore elements of Mosaic Law and its mortal priesthood are replaced by Christ’s priesthood.
2. The author quoted Ps 110:4 to indicate that God provided us a Priest who could guarantee us salvation, for He made an oath that “You are a priest forever”. Jesus Christ being the Priest forever means that God guarantees that the purposes He had in mind in Christ’s death will be fulfilled, “a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God” (v19).
3. We are not just saved by Jesus from punishment for our sins. We are being saved from sin’s insidious control of our thoughts and actions daily. Jesus is the source of our forgiveness and the source of our transformation as well.
4. What does it mean to you that Christ is able to save you “to the uttermost” (v25)? Think about it for a little while.  Then praise God for giving you a high priest over all in Jesus Christ.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

In Christ Alone – youtu.be/16KYvfIc2bE