Skip to main content

Hebrews 3-4; Psalm 26


Skeptic:

·         “They’ll know we are Christians by our T-Shirts.”

·         “How do you know when a Christian is lying?  When he is singing!”

That’s understandable when you look at some verses out of context; and Psalm 26 is no exception:

Ps 26:1-2  …I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; NIV

I’m not blameless.  I have often wavered.  And if God examines me … enough said! 

How do texts like Psalm 26 meld with a verse like Isa 64:6:  “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”?  The answer, of course, is IN CHRIST JESUS.  2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. KJV ß IN HIM – in Christ Jesus.  How can that be?  How can Christ take me with all my ugliness (aka SIN) and “turn a blind eye”:  Eph 5:27 present her [the church – including yours truly] “present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ß there’s that word “blameless” again.

The book of Hebrews can help us.  A key word in Hebrews is “better.”  Jesus is BETTER than:

·         the prophets                   ch. 1:1-3
·         the angels                       ch. 1:4-14
·         Moses the servant          ch. 3:1-6
·         provides a better rest    ch. 4
·         Aaron’s priesthood        ch. 7+8
·         a better covenant           ch. 8+9
·         a better sacrifice             ch. 9+10
·         faith is a better way        ch. 11

But chapters 3+4 focus on Jesus being better than:
·         Moses. And all the trappings of the Mosaic Law, the Pharisaical add-ons, and our legalistic add-ons.
·         Rest.  Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” while Proverbs tells us the way of the transgressor is hard



Heb 4:15 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. NIV 

An old gospel hymn says it best: “Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Walk with the King today and be a blessing!
John Skrabak

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 134

Psalm 134 Come, bless the  Lord , all you servants of the  Lord ,     who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place     and bless the Lord! May the  Lord  bless you from Zion,     he who made heaven and earth!   What do we do when uncertainty and difficultly surround us? Lift your hands and bless the Lord! What do you have to be thankful for today? Such a simple, yet complex thought. We have so much to be thankful for, even when times are difficult. What are you thankful for? Leave a comment to encourage others below and list what you are thankful for.   I am thankful for… Let us know!    
1 comment
Read more

God Has a Plan

Have you ever traced your family ancestry back into the past? What about 42 generations in the past? In the beginning of Matthew we see the genealogy of Jesus. But you know what else we see? We see that God has a plan . God ’s plan extends beyond generations, beyond lifetimes, beyond what we can see and understand.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,     neither are your ways my ways, declares the  Lord .   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,   so are my ways higher than your ways   and my thoughts than your thoughts. ” (English Standard Version, Isaiah 55:8-9). The people mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus were not perfect people. Remember the story of Jacob, who deceived his father Isaac into blessing him instead of his brother? Or what about Rahab who was a prostitute…David and Bathsheba? People are not perfect, we often make mistakes but our God can take those mistakes and somehow bring good out of them for HIS glor...
1 comment
Read more

Galatians 3-4

Ordinarily, this would have been tax deadline day.  It’s been a taxing enough time without taxes, hasn’t it?  Are you ready for something that is not disturbing, nor alarming, nor unsettling?  How about a thought that reminds us of Christmas?    Galatians 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”  If we believe that God is Sovereign (and He is); if we believe that He is in control of all things, that He loves us and will never permit our ultimate harm, then we should also believe that God’s timing is perfect.  Nothing happens to any of us that is random.  Nothing is ill timed.    God never makes a move too soon or too late.  He never miscalculates the amount of time something should take. Think about timing being bad. Bad timing is bringing home a 5-pound box of chocolate...
1 comment
Read more