PAULA WISEMAN

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Posts that reference the book of Hebrews

The Throne

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Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
 
Not a throne of judgment,
 
Or a throne of wrath,
 
Or even a throne of petition,
 
But a throne of grace.
 
That's where God chooses to hear us.
 
And we don't approach just to ask. We approach to obtain, to receive.
 
Mercy and grace from the King.
 
 

Not Forsaken

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And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46
 
Not My Father, but My God.
 
For me, it is the most wrenching part of the crucifixion story. In those moments of supreme, inconceivable anguish, the fellowship and intimacy Jesus Christ shared with God the Father was broken. 
 
Jesus was alone.
 
Separated.
 
Abandoned.
 
Forsaken.
 
Because Jesus willingly, voluntarily endured the full wrath of a holy God, wrath rightly reserved for you and me, God made us a promise. "For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”" (Heb. 13:5)
 
Never.
 
The Greek uses five negatives so that we begin to understand that there is absolutely no way God will ever, ever under any circumstances forsake those who are His. We will never hear, "Depart from Me." Or face rejection and renunciation. We will never be forsaken.
 
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
 
 

Promises

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The LORD swore an oath to David with a promise He will never take back (Psalm 132:11, NLT)
 
Not just to David.
 
"The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out."
 
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
 
"I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
 
God will never take back any of His promises.
 
 

On Our Side

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“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side… Then they would have swallowed us alive… Then the waters would have overwhelmed us." (Psalm 124: 2-4)
 
He is on our side.
 
Paul asks if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
 
Jesus says the very gates of hell cannot stand against the people of God. (Matthew 16:18)
 
Left to ourselves, we would quickly be swept away.
 
But we are not left to ourselves. Never.
 
He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
 
Blessed be the Lord. (Psalm 124:6)

A Kids’ Race

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My youngest ran her first race a couple of months ago. The kids got a t-shirt and a number just like the folks running the 5K and they each had a personalized sign on the race route to urge them on. The course was a half mile. Two laps around the block. It may not sound like much, but for legs that short, it's a long way. I mean, after you make it all the way around the block… you have to do it again! There were more than a handful of little ones with red faces ready to call it a day after that first lap. However, the crowd cheered like crazy. Moms and dads knifed through and took their little ones by the hand and said, "Come on. You can do this. One more lap. I'll go with you." So they kept running. No matter how wobbly things looked there in the middle, when the announcer called their names, and they came across the finish line, the kids beamed.  
 
Isn't that the way our Christian race is supposed to work?
  • Finishing is the goal.
  • Everybody cheering and encouraging you to keep going.
  • Folks stepping out to run alongside you.
  • No matter how tough things are in the middle, it will be worth it to hear our names called at the finish line.
 
Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen that way. We get consumed by competing, by our performance and we lose the joy. We get heckled instead of encouraged. We run alone. Sometimes we even give up.
 
Remember what it says in Hebrews 12:1-2? 
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 
Don't give up. Keep the finish line in mind and run that next lap. You can do this. I'm running with you.
 
 

Study Tip: Habakkuk

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The Minor Prophets are so named not because their messages were any less important or inspired but because their writings were shorter. Often God called them to deliver one specific message and then they went back to their vocation. We're in the process of looking at what makes these short books relevant and worth a closer look.
 
Habakkuk is unique because it more of a conversion between the prophet and God rather than a message for the people. He very frankly pours out his bewilderment over God's ways, His treatment of His people and the seeming prosperity of the enemy. Scholars give the days immediately following the death of Josiah as the most likely timeframe for Habakkuk's writing.
 
Some study tips- 
  • What are Habakkuk's complaints or questions to God? How does God respond?
  • What will happen to the wicked?
  • Chapter 3 is a prayer after Habakkuk. What does the prophet say about God?
  • Habakkuk means "to embrace." What does he ultimately cling to?
 
Bonus:
Habakkuk 2:4 "the just shall live by his faith" is quoted in the New Testament – Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. How do those passages relate to the Old Testament theme? 
 
 
Chapter 3:17-19 are some of my favorite verses. I paraphrased them in Precedent this way – Even though I have nothing now, no hope for tomorrow and no prospect that anything is ever going to change for the better, I WILL CHOOSE to rejoice in God, my God, my salvation. He is my strength and He enables me to walk through these fires with confidence, like it was my natural habitat. 
 
 
Next week: Zephaniah