Whose Clothes Are You Wearing?

The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes."
   Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you." Zechariah 3:4

This is such a great picture of the grace of God. Because of sin we are filthy. The reality being that we can't clothe or clean ourselves. He takes away our sin and clothes us in his righteousness. In I Corinthians 1:30 Paul reminds us that the work of Christ on the cross makes Christ our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 

Take a moment to remember that your sins are forgiven and you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ Jesus, the Lord. 

DRAW NEAR TO GOD

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 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 10:19-22

Sports teams love to have little catch phrases to keep themselves focused. The school I work at has the motto, "Make it matter!" to encourage everyone to always do their best. I think "let us draw near to God" is a pretty good reminder for Christians. 

Whatever is or has been going on in you life, "Draw near to God". Because of the tremendous sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, "Draw near to God". Because you want to know God more, on a deeper basis, "Draw near to God". Because your wife and kids need you to be their spiritual leader, "Draw near to God". Mostly, because in Christ God is drawing us near to himself, "Draw near to God"! 

Spirit of the Living God, help us to draw near to you. Praise be to you in us today!

REDEMPTION OBTAINED

"When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption." Hebrews 9:11-12

The uniqueness, greatness and complete sufficiency of the work of Christ as Savior and Lord is seen in the shedding of his own blood on the cross. No other high priest, no other Savior could offer his own blood as payment for our sins. 

The work of Christ in our lives, his redemption of us, is eternal. No other sacrifice is needed. There is no time when the accuser can point and say that Christ's redemption of us was not or will not be in affect. Our redemption is eternal...

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being our perfect High Priest! Thank you for our eternal redemption! Praise be to you in us today!

THE POINT: CHRIST IS

"The point of what we are saying is this: We do have a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man." Hebrews 8:1-2 

You have a need. I have a need. We need someone to represent us to God Almighty. We need our sins forgiven. We need someone to be interceding on our behalf. 

Christ died for our sins; past, present and future. Christ sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. Do you realize what that means? It means where the battle is being decided, we have the advantage. Christ, is representing us. That doesn't mean everything is easy. It does mean that Christ will keep us in his will and his way. And in the end, he will give us victory. 

Remember Job. Satan had to ask permission to do him any harm. Job suffered great losses to learn that God alone is Creator and Ruler, Righteous and Holy. God blessed him more in the end of his life than before, but, he did go through quite a battle. 

So, remember whom you have in heaven. Humbly and thankfully call on him. 

Thank you Jesus for being our High Priest and meeting our needs in yourself! Praise be to you in us today!

ONCE AND FOR ALL, DONE!

"Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when he offered himself." Hebrews 7:27

Every now and then I'll notice an extra charge on my visa card and think, "I didn't buy anything, what's that for?" It's a renewal fee for my blog or something. High priests had to offer sacrifices for themselves and for the people. Because they themselves were sinners just like everyone else. Kind of like that renewal fee, they had to offer sacrifices day after day. The debt was never paid in full. 

Jesus, who being holy,blameless, pure, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens, does not need to do that. He sacrificed himself, once and for all. Paid. That means, our sins are dealt with, once and for all. His death was for all our sins. That means our past, present and future. All our sins were in the future to Christ when he died upon the cross. From our perspective we our sins are in the past, present or future. Not to God. The sacrifice has been paid. Once for all. Done.

Father, thank you that you are my high priest. Thank you that you dealt with my sin, once for all. Done. Praise be to you in us today!

CHRIST'S INTERCESSION, EVERY WHEN

"but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:24-25

One year, early in my teaching career, I was out ill three different days during the year. Each time, the day I came back, there was a new Assistant Principal! I waited to see if she was still there the next time I was out sick. She made it through. Sometimes things and people around us, come and go. But Jesus, he remains. 

That is the beauty, the confidence, the rock of our hope. Jesus is our permanent High Priest. He saves us perfectly and completely. That salvation is not just once in the past or once in the future. No, it is for every day, every moment of our lives!

Have you ever heard someone use the expression, "I live for this!" That's Jesus and interceding for us. One of the ways to interpret the word for ever in the Greek is "every when". When is Jesus interceding? Every when. He was, he is, and he will be interceding for you and me. When you are seeking to be faithful and when you are not. He's interceding. When you think he is, and when you feel like he's not. He's interceding. When you see him working and when you don't. He's interceding. Before you knew him and since you've known him. He's interceding. Every when, he's interceding. 

Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for being our High Priest, saving us completely, always living to intercede for us. Help us to rest in this truth. Praise be to you in us today!

FIRM, SECURE, ANCHORED

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become  a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews 6:19-20

There are at least two reasons for an anchor that I can think of. One, to keep the boat from just floating away. Two, to keep the boat in place during a storm. In the same way our faith in Christ keeps us from floating all over the place, pulled away by false hopes and firmly holding our faith on Christ when the storms of life seek to toss us against the shore and wreck our faith. 

Christ, is our high priest, anchoring us in him, forever. Remember, God, who is eternal, chose to send his Son to die on our behalf and to be our High Priest. He anchors us in him, keeping us firm and secure. His work, his intercession for us, is forever. 

Father, thank you for Jesus, that he is my High Priest. Help me to be anchored in him by faith. Praise be to you in us today!

OBEDIENCE, SUFFERING, PERFECTION

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designed by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews 5:10

Think about that, Christ learned obedience. He learned it from what he suffered. His obedience has brought us salvation. This perfection, this completeness of Christ's obedience and suffering results in our perfect salvation. 

Our obedience is our acceptance of his salvation. We obey because we do believe. We accept that we our sinners in need of forgiveness, mercy and grace. We look to him to intercede on our behalf. He does so perfectly. He is the source we continually look to for our salvation. He forever is our High Priest. 

Father, help us to obey. Thank you for our perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to you in us today! 

GO ON IN! IT'S OK!

"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

Our greatest need is to be right with God. Christ, our High Priest, allows us to enter into the presence of God without fear. So come on in!

Knowing that I am right with God, because of Jesus Christ, I can receive mercy and find grace to help me. Mercy is God not giving me what I do deserve. Grace is God giving me what I don't deserve. So, go on in and pray!

Everyday I need God's mercy and grace. In Christ I receive that mercy in grace. I also get to enter into the presence of the Father and ask for help with confidence. Go on in.

I think of David when I think of someone who boldly went before the Father.   "Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword" (Psalm 17:13). If you read the Psalms of David you see that he was very straightforward  you might say blunt, in his prayers. That confidence, knowing that God loves us and hears our prayers, is the confidence we can have when we pray. So, let's go on in and approach the throne of grace!

Father, help us to enter your presence with confidence. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for being our High Priest and giving us access to the throne of grace! Praise be to you in us today!

CHRIST GETS IT

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15 

Have you ever heard a leader say that leadership should be on a higher level than the people they are serving? Well, I get that they should be a strong experienced believer with a special call upon their lives, but, when they start thinking they actually are more spiritual than everyone else, that's when problems usually begin. 

You see, that is the difference with Jesus. He is God. He is above everything yet, he came down and was like us to sympathize with us and minister to us. He understands temptation at its' deepest level. The temptation that he endured assures us that he understands whatever we are going through when we are tempted. 

Jesus gets that you are tempted by whatever tempts you.

He gets that it beats you up. 

He gets that the enemy condemns you for even being tempted, but that being tempted is not sinning. 

What ever you are feeling, he understands.

That is why we hold firmly to the faith we profess (verse 14)! We hold on to him because in him we have the victory. 

Jesus, thank you for being our High Priest that sympathizes with our weaknesses. Help us to hold on to you especially when we are tempted so that we, like you, will not sin. Praise be to you in us today!