Monday, April 8, 2019
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25
As we move
towards what I consider the most blessed time of the year, Holy Week, the
passion of Christ, His triumphal entry, Good Friday, and culminating in Easter’s
resurrection glory, we focus during this season of Lenten preparation on the
blood of Christ, his sacrificial offering for the cleansing of our sins.
In Exodus
40 we read the elaborate instructions God gave to Moses for setting-up the
tabernacle in the wilderness. This
detailed process was not to be varied, because each movement, and each article
placed in the tent of meeting spoke a piece of God’s forgiveness, and His relationship
with His special people. In the ancient “temple
mode” a consecrated priest would enter the most holy place and offer
the sacrifice for sin once a year…every year!
In writing
this letter to the Hebrews the author picks up this imagery and reminds us of
the hope to which all disciples of Jesus Christ hold. Once Jesus finished his work on the cross, it
was he, the Lamb sacrificed from the beginning of the world, who would bring
the sacrifice into the perfect Holy place, Heaven’s throne. There, the forgiveness for sin was made complete
forever.
The writer,
having outlined God’s marvelous plan of redemption, the purging of sin and cleansing
of our souls, then proceeds to tell us what to do with it, namely we are to
embrace it…tightly!
Corrie ten
Boom’s tragic life is chronicled in The Hiding Place. Her family heroically protected Jewish people during
WWII’s Hitler regime, only to wind up in concentration camps themselves. This family held to their Christian faith
seriously, laying everything on the line for the cause of protecting innocent
lives. In an interview I watched in the
1970’s Corrie talked about material things, as opposed to God’s spiritual
promises. I will never forget what she
said:
I learned to hold material things loosely in my hands; if you hold them too tightly it hurts when God pries them out of your fingers.
These
words are a wonderful reminder that the blood of Christ was not shed so we
could possess money, power, or prestige.
Those are but passing wildflowers, bloom today – faded memories tomorrow. That is also the case with sorrows, poverty,
and shame – the world’s cruelty passes as quickly as its pleasures.
Holding
tightly to something is reserved for that which is precious, vital for
eternity. There are many things in life
to hold loosely, but there are also a few things to which we should refuse to
let go, even with our life hanging in the balance…truth and fidelity are among
these, and the chief reason is the promise of God, His love and care, displayed
in sacrifice and resurrection. The
writer of Hebrews told us to keep meeting together in worship, focusing on this
gift of Christ, encouraging one another with its’ meaning, provoking one
another to good works in Christ’s name.
For You Today
To what (or
Whom) have you been holding tightly?
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