BOLD Moments

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  

Hebrews 4:14-16

I’ve never really been into daredevil stuff.  When I was young, I had little problem walking away from one of those “step across this line” challenges.  To this day, I’m not certain whether it was fear or wisdom.  In retrospect I’m thinking it was probably fear and the grace of God; wisdom was not my strong suit!  The sole tussle I got involved with was not by choice; one of my classmates jumped on my back during outside recess.  We were only third graders, so it wasn’t exactly an epic struggle to the death.  I can laugh about it now, but I still can recall thinking when that boy wrestled me to the ground:  Armageddon is here; I’m gonna die!

I can recall other fear-filled moments.  There was that time I was lost in the woods as a young boy, fearing I’d get eaten by a lion.  It was in the early evening and the darkness approached.  Of course the only lion on Long Island was in a  zoo, but you never know…!  There was also that time when I had just turned sixteen, gotten my driver’s license, and begged my Dad to let me drive his brand-new station wagon, his pride and joy, over to my best friend, Gene’s house to show.  I stayed too long, enjoying the newfound freedom.  In the dusk I never saw that old Plymouth coming…he creamed the left side of Dad’s new car. 

The thought of facing Dad, brought musings on how one could emigrate to Mars or Jupiter.  It wasn’t about boldly going where no man had been; more like preserving life and limb.  In the end, my Dad was kind, and the story had a good ending.  (Stay tuned for tomorrow’s devotion, and I’ll share it there).

Close calls with death in the wood’s growing darkness, or a third-grade playground war, or facing Dad with a marred rear fender panel cause us, even the youngest among us, to think about consequences.  That’s not a bad thing.  All of us need to have that thought, at least on the back burner, if not closer at hand.  Offending the laws of nature, or a playground bully’s space, or facing a Father’s wrath really should enter our thoughts; it is such that develop the wisdom of living a more righteous life, being a blessing, rather than a boil on humanity’s skin. 

And that brings up the main point about such thoughts:

Our Heavenly Father loves you more than his new station wagon!

And when that is firmly placed in your mind’s computer, your spiritual hard-drive, there is every reason to believe what Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians about coming boldly into God’s very throne room.  For those who enter the presence of God, fully-knowing their offenses, there is no condemnation from the Father, only the mercy of forgiveness and restoration. 

For You Today 

Facing the author and creator of the universe and life may seem like the last thing you’d want to be bold about.  But the trust you exhibit as you take the first step in that door to His love, is just the first evidence of how wise you’ve become!  It’s then you’ll hear those words, well-done, faithful one!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Chester's Prayer  and  When It Hurts So Much      

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Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©