The Importance of Believers understanding they have direct access to God’s throne through Jesus Christ!

20 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 4:16.       Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

And another beautiful Indian summer day is in the offing for the Lord’s Sabbath. That makes it even more encouraging and intriguing for us to make our way to His sanctuary to give Him praise and thanks for all His many blessings and to fellowship with other believers, as it is right to do. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10:25) 

And it is necessary to pray on one’s own, but worshipping together gives the chance to encourage each other, to strengthen and stir up each other which can only be gained by fellowshipping together. And having said all of that, let’s get right to our song for today. It’s one we all know and like, with the apt title of ‘Come Boldy to the throne of Grace.’ Yes, it’s very encouraging and reassuring, so let’s offer up sweet sacrifices of praise in a sincere, soulful, mid-tempo version of this marvellous song. 

Singing: ‘Come boldly to the throne of grace, Ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus feet, And plead what He has done. How can I come? Some soul may say, I’m lame and cannot walk; My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth, I sigh, but dare not talk. Come boldly to the throne of grace, Though lost, and blind, and lame; Jehovah is the sinner’s friend, And ever was the same. He makes the dead to hear His voice; He makes the blind to see, The sinner lost, He came to save, And set the prisoner free. 

Come boldly to the throne of grace, For Jesus fills the throne; and those He kills, He makes alive; He hears the sigh or groan; Poor bankrupt souls, Who feel and know, the hell of sin within; Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in. Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in…the Lord will take you in…Yes the Lord will take you in…take you in.’ 

And that’s no lie my brethren! If you come boldly or confidently to the throne of grace, our ever-faithful God will surely take you in. That’s one thing about Him, He never turns away anyone who comes to Him in all sincerity and truth. And what’s the basis for this confidence? It all springs from these Bible verses in Hebrews. 

‘For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses), but was in all points tempted like as we are (but one who was tempted in every way that we are), yet was without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain (receive) mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:15-16) 

Oh friends, isn’t it wonderful that we have a high priest who can empathize with our problems, because He also faced them, but was without sin, thus was eligible to die on the cross at Calvary and pay our sin debt in full? It most certainly is! That means we can take any problem to Him and He will understand. There are also a couple of other scriptures that encourage us to have confidence and boldness in our faith. 

This one also comes from Hebrews. ‘For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after (afterward); But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.’ (Heb. 3:4-6) 

Yes my people, every one else is a servant in someone else’s house, but Christ as the Son of God, has His own house to which we belong, if we continue to be confident and faithful to Him. And this scripture from the passage in Ephesians that speaks about the Unsearchable Riches of Christ also encourages us to have boldness and confidence. It says: ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (in) him.’ (Eph. 3:12) 

And the scholars explain it thus: ‘This verse affirms that Christians have boldness (freedom of speech before God) and access (the right of entering His presence) with confidence (assurance of being heard by God), by the faith of him (through relying upon Christ to gain God’s ear).’ We certainly can’t ask for any more than that my fellow believers. But the wonderful thing about our God is that He gives us more through Christ Jesus, even though we don’t deserve it. 

And if we look at the statements of the song, they all claim that we are lost, blind, lame, unworthy, sinners, guilty etc., not worthy to come to Jesus, but there are many facts to the contrary. Remember what Jesus Himself said? ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) He is also the friend to each and every sinner. Was from the beginning, and will be until the very end. But this one line tells the whole story ‘Ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus feet.’ 

For what does Jesus offer to those who are overburdened? The Great Invitation! ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) 

Yes my fellow saints, that’s Christ invitation to all and sundry to come to Him, regardless of your woes. There’s no one He will refuse. So please, let’s take advantage of the invitation today nuh, and go to Jesus for help, whatever kind of help we may need, because He is the ONLY ONE who can solve all our problems, and will certainly not turn us away, despite our sorry plight. In fact, the sorrier our plight, the more Jesus desires us to come to Him for help. Let’s never forget that! Much LOVE!

…Jesus is only a sincere plea away…for help

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 November 2022 Hebrews 4:15.

15 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 4:15.          For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Oh my people it’s Tuesday! Yes, we’ve successfully kicked Monday, our old nemesis into the dustbin of history, and are beginning on a new journey with our great God, which promises exciting things and wonderful adventures. Wow! What an interesting God we serve, for we never know what a new day will bring, except for His new mercies and compassions of that day. That’s all we are ever sure of. However, because He’s faithfully promised in Hebrews 13:5, to never leave nor forsake us, we are confident that though He takes us through the wildest and most dangerous scenarios of life, He will bring us safely through them. 

Sometimes we’ll be anxious and scared to the point of trembling, but never will we doubt or give up on this most mighty and wonderful promise. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) And all God’s people gave a grateful shout of: ‘Thank You Jesus for promising never to leave nor forsake us and to eventually work everything out for our good! We LOVE You and gloriously praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’ 

Ah mih faithful bredrin, it’s so awesome to know that when you awaken on a morning, alive and kicking, or even just barely alive (smile) that you have an amazing Deity looking out for you, regardless of what comes against you. It just fills you with an unimaginable joy and sense of purpose, knowing that you can go out and accomplish anything that’s in the Lord’s will. Listen to this promise of empowerment nuh, so graciously offered since the time of the prophet Isaiah. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17) 

Oh my my, what a glorious promise! But friends, there is a caveat to that promise and most of God’s other promises; that we act in His will, in righteousness and be true servants of God. We can’t just behave willy nilly, irresponsible and evil, like so many supposed believers are doing nowadays and expect to receive the benefits of His promises. No! Our God is indeed a good God, but He’s not a dithering, faltering grandfather, who just does whatever we wish, regardless of our behaviour. Certainly not! We are in a partnership with Him, and He does expect a certain standard of behaviour from His believers, and a high standard at that. One of diligence and excellence, like Jesus showed during His earthly sojourn. 

No, the Lord doesn’t expect us to do everything right like Jesus, because He did not make us perfect, but He does expect us to walk as closely as possible in Jesus’ footsteps, with LOVE, and compassion being first and foremost in our lives, regardless of our personal difficulties, for that’s what Jesus did! And please remember that though Jesus was God, He was also human, so He experienced and felt the exact same things we do, but He just never sinned or gave into the temptations of the enemy. As the author of Hebrews tells us: ‘For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb. 4:15) 

There again, our wonderful God has made provision for our falling into diverse temptations because of our sinful nature. Through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary that brought reconciliation between man and God, we are also entitled to come to Him for forgiveness through sincere repentance. Now, which other faith has such wonderful provisions for a bunch of ungrateful sinners eh? None! And yes, the Lord’s given us free will to choose whatever we want to do, but it doesn’t mean we can just sin and be disobedient as we like and get away with it. No siree, for there are consequences, ofttimes major, life-changing ones to every sin that we commit. 

Please don’t forget what Bruh Paul said in his letter to the Romans about that soul-defeating, challenging, enemy hurled thing called sin. He clearly outlined. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) Yes friends, that tells us what we deserve, as opposed to what we get through God’s unmerited favour! If we insist on being sinful and not embracing Christ as Lord and Saviour, then our eventual disposition will be unequivocal death, just like the sinful and disgusting enemy Satan. 

However, if we sincerely embrace Christ, and do our best to live for him, though we may sin, but not live a life of knowing and continual sin, we will end up with Him in a miraculous place called heaven, where eternal life is guaranteed. Now, I can’t think or conceive of a better place to spend eternity. But if you can, please share it with me, like I’m sharing my best idea with you. (smile) Oh my people, God’s Word found in His Holy Library, the Bible, is so chocked full of promises that if we don’t read, study and meditate on it, we’ll never find success in this crazy and evil world. 

And it’s not me saying that, but it’s what the Lord himself said to Joshua many moons ago, when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. Please listen very closely to this oh so important scripture. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written there: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8) 

Oh my fellow saints that’s possibly the most important scripture in the Bible! Why? Because when you constantly meditate on God’s word and keep it continually in your mouth, note it is to be kept continually in your speech, then you will know what the Word says, and you will be able to practice it and live a successful life! In summation, I sincerely offer that there’s nothing better than that in this earthly sojourn! (smile) But the only way you’ll ever find out if I’m telling the truth or not, is by doing what the Lord says, and what I’m passing on. (smile) 

Anyway, for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour and are doing our best to live for him, let’s go home now declaring (steups!!!) our Tuesday mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice. ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

Now, let’s go out and do just that nuh; share our amazing LOVE and friendship with Christ, so that others can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…choosing to follow the enemy brings certain death… choosing to follow Christ means living forever…please use your free will wisely…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ