The Daily Dose

God’s living will

Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.  Hebrews 9:16 & 17

A few years ago my husband and I took a trip out of the country. Before going we decided the responsible thing to do would be set up a Living Will. Not that we expected anything to happen but in the event that something did happen to us, we wanted to have things in place to make it easier on our family. That will is still in existence today, but serves no purpose as long as my husband and I are alive. It can only be enforced after we are gone from this world into the next. Since we returned safely from our trip there was no reason for that will to be opened.  A will is only useful and needed after the owner of the property in the will is dead.  When the will is then read and released, only then can the recipients claim the dead person’s belongings.  The owner of the assets retains possession as long as they are living here in this world.

When we consider a will and the items being release to either family member or close friends, the reason the deceased owner named these people in their will is because they wanted to bless them when they no longer needed their earthly possessions. 

This is what God did for us.  He had a new covenant and plan He wanted to release into the world for all people to receive.  However, it was only possible to pass these things on through the death of the owner.  This is why He send Jesus, His only Son, to represent Him in death, so that He could get the things to us that He had planned for us.  Things such as forgiveness of sin, eternal life through salvation, the love of God, grace, the joy of the Lord, the peace that passes understanding, longsuffering, healing, lovingkindness, gentleness.  The list is endless and we can have all of eternity to explore God’s gifts to us through the death of His Son, Jesus.

The good news is, Jesus didn’t have to stay dead!  He is alive and well with His Father in heaven.  Sitting at His right hand for all eternity.  His death released the provision of salvation that God needed to get to us, but death couldn’t hold Him because now He has the keys to death. (Rev. 1:18)

Today I want to encourage you to first of all receive your inheritance as a child of God through salvation in Christ Jesus.  If you have never invited Jesus to be the Lord of you life, do that right now by praying this prayer:   

 God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior.  I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me.  Please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new.  I know your Son, Jesus died for me.  I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead.  At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward.  I now have a right relationship with God my Father. I also ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus name, Amen

Now that you have received the blessing of salvation that God planned for you, begin to explore the depth, the width, the height and the broadness of His good plan and provision in His salvation. There is no limit and no end to His goodness, so take time today to ask God to show you the things He has prepared for you as you begin to walk out the plan He made for your life. Jesus died to get it all to you, but now He lives to make sure you get it.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 9:16-22

Not about rules

It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.  Hebrews 9:9 & 10

How different God’s relationship with people was before Jesus came.  In the wilderness, God set up structure for how to worship and how to give offerings.  It became all about the rules and regulations because they needed structure and governed as a nation.  God gave them laws and ordinances to keep, so that they could live together as a nation of people.  He made provision for their sin and breaking the laws by offering up a payment/sacrifice for their transgressions.  This was a good thing for them and established the boundaries they needed for coming together to form the nation of God.  Without God’s laws, they would not have been able to live together as one nation that has lasted for thousands of years. 

However, this is not what God had planned for His family.  The nation of God became God’s people when God made a covenant with Abraham, but it wasn’t until His Son came to pay the debt of sin that God was able to have His family back.

Now, in Christ Jesus, our salvation brings us back into God’s family.  He becomes our Father and we become His children!  This is hard to get my head around.  Yes, I can say I’m a child of God and I believe it, but I don’t actually get it!  I am part of the family of God.  I have been adopted in, but I have to remind myself that I was created by Him first.  Rather than adoption, I think a better description would be ransomed.  Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 He didn’t come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.  I was created by God to be in His family, but I was stolen away from Him when sin entered into the world.  Satan deceived people out of the dominion and authority in the world and thereby people became subject even prisoners of a thief and God’s enemy.  As devastating as that was, God was determined to rescue us and get us back.  No price was too high and no cost was too great.  God gave His best, His One and only Son to get back many.  Such a beautiful picture of the great love that He has for us, yet how many of those around us have no idea?

Today, I want to encourage you to tell someone about this great love our Creator and Father has, not only for those who have come back to Him, but also for those still to come.  We have rules and laws to follow for our safety and protection and they are good for us, but beyond that is a personal relationship with the loving God and Father who created a family to love and hold forever.  Think about Him today and meditate His promises and the great love that He has for you.  Then share it with someone in your life.  We are God’s greatest creation and He wants us all back safe in His arms of love.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 9:7-15

The Holiest of All

Behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All. Hebrews 9:3

As I read through the first section of Hebrews chapter 9, I can see such a clear picture of how the old testament tabernacle represented the people of Israel’s relationship with God.  They worshiped in the outer court/sanctuary, but only the high priest could go beyond that point in to the holiest place.  The high priest represented the entire nations of people to God in heaven.  Then he ministered back to the people what he experienced behind the veil in the most Holy place with God!

It makes me appreciate my salvation in such a new light.  I now have a high priest that opens up the way for me to go to that Holiest of places into the presence of my loving Heavenly Father.  In Christ Jesus we have access to the very throne of God (Heb. 4:16)  I have my own relationship with my Father in heaven.  I no longer have to go through a man here in this world, that veil of separation has been removed and now I have a relationship with God, not an obligation to offer of sacrifice for my sin.  NO!  That obligation has been satisfied, that debt has been paid and that ritual has been removed.  Jesus has cleansed us, made us whole and in our salvation in Him, we are in a right relationship to go directly to our Father without a covering between us.  Glory to God!

This is where I want to live and this is where I want to run to every chance I get, to be with my Father.  Getting to know Him more, learning more of His character through His Word and growing in His love that never ends.  I am so thankful to be living in this time!  They had trouble in the world then and we still have trouble in the world today, but now we have the upper hand!  We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus who saved us and removed the veil from the Holiest of All.

Today I want to encourage you to thank God for the access He has given us to Himself!  Thank Him one more time for His great salvation in His Son Jesus.  Thank Him that you can come boldly to His throne and meet with Him there at any time and Worship Him in His presence as Kind of kings and Lord of lords.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 9:1-6

  Remember no more

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8: 12

Can God forget something?  Can the God and Creator of the universe Who knows all things, has all power and is everywhere present, not remember all things too?  According to today’s scripture, He can and does forget somethings and that is our sins and lawless deeds.  This is very good news to me because I do not want to have to revisit the sinful and lawless ways of my past when I meet Him face to face.  My Father in Heaven chooses to remember no more the messes I have made in life. 

There is one stipulation, though.  This verse is connected to the previous verses that say you have to be part of His new covenant that He gave us in Christ Jesus.  It is not an automatic thing, you have to come to Him through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus and give that sin over to God for Him to be able to remember it no more.  Psalms 103:12 says:  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Micah 7:19 says:  He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.  He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.  The way to have your sin remover and cast into the sea of forgetfulness is to give it to God for Him to put it there.  It must be an intentional thing. 

It means that you must confess your sin to get rid of it.  1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse (wash us clean) us from all unrighteousness.  Our Father does not want to hold anything against us, He wants a clean and unbroken relationship with us.  Holding onto secret sin, puts a barrier between your loving Father and yourself.  His desire is to remove it all from the both of you never to be brought up again.

After you confess your sin, if it come back to your memory, recognize that it is not God reminding you of your faults and failures.  It is the enemy of your soul trying to cause you to stumble and fall back into that pit.  When that happens, go ahead and tell him that God, Your Father has buried that sin in the bottom of the ocean and removed it as far as the east is from the west and it no longer exists to you.  Then go ahead and thank your Father for cleansing you from all unrighteousness.

Today I want to encourage you to get rid of sin and lawless deeds in your life by confessing them to your loving Heavenly Father.  Ask God to remind you of any unconfessed sin and when you remember them, go ahead and turn them over to be cast far from you.  Do not try to justify or make excuses for why you did something, just go ahead and admit it, quit it and forget it with God’s help.  He will make you whole and pure, simply by turning all things over to His hands.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 8:7-13

His ministry

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  Hebrews 8:6

I like this: a “more excellent ministry”.  Other translations say “far superior”, but what is its meaning?  Obviously, I have been struggling with this question for a few days now.  I was getting hung up on the subject of “priesthood” in the passage.  I have a lot of head knowledge on the subject, but I just wasn’t getting anything from my heart.  Finally I began to meditate the first line of today’s key verse.  As I recited it several times, considering each word, I finally came to the conclusion that the passage is about His ministry not His Priesthood.  You may be thinking, “Well yeah, why did that take so long to figure out?”  To which my answer would be, sometime you already have preconceived ideas about what a passage is talking about and don’t take time to consider the real topic of the reference.

So let’s talk about the ministry of Jesus vs. the ministry of the priest of Moses’ day.  This portion of scripture says the high priest of Moses’ time offered up gifts and sacrifices.  They were in position to atone for the sin and uncleanness of the people.  It was a continual work that could never satisfy the debt of living in a fallen, sinful world.

In contrast, the ministry of Jesus is far superior because it removed the blockage of sin from “breaking” the connection to the Father in heaven.  He reconnected us to our Father and now He holds the door open so we can come to our Father at anytime.   He offers a renewed relationship with our creator and Father and promises that we will have this relationship for all eternity! Glory to God!

Now I want to remind us that this was all God’s idea and plan.  Not because he felt pity or responsibility for us (although He did) but because He loved and wanted us more and before we ever knew He existed. We are His creation that was stolen by His enemy and He went to the greatest measure to get His family back into a right relationship with Him!

Today I want to encourage you to meditate on the ministry of Christ Jesus.  There are so many parts to it that you could think about it all day long.  First His ministry in the world.  He was born, lived, taught, inspired, healed, rescued and paid the debt of sin.  Then He came back to set free the captives, save and send out messengers of this good news.  Next He sent the Holy Spirit to be our comfort, guide and empowerment to get the rest of God’s plan finished.  Now He sit next to our Father mediating our new covenant with God and will forever live to intercede and lift up our praise, worship, requests and thanksgiving to our loving Heavenly Father! Truly the most excellent ministry of all!

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 8:1-6

Saved to the uttermost

Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  Hebrews 7:25

This is for all those who think we are just getting into heaven by the skin of our teeth.  Like God in His great mercy has allowed us through Jesus to slide into heaven despite our sinfulness.  Yes, it is true that God has great mercy and made provision for us to be with Him for all eternity, but we didn’t just barely make it in.  This passage says we are saved to the uttermost!  To the greatest extent possible, Jesus saved us.  We don’t have to wait until the sweet by and by either.  Jesus paid the price so that we could operate within the kingdom of Heaven right here and now.  He is in heaven interceding for us today and always, to the uttermost.

When Jesus was on the earth, He taught His disciples to pray:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  That doesn’t sound like its for some day beyond this world.  No, that is for right here and now.  God’s will be done here in the world, just like it is in heaven.  How is it in heaven?  Well, we know there is nothing in heaven that steals, kills and destroys.  Jesus told us in John 10:10 that the thief/enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.  So now we know that these things are not God’s will, but rather the plan of the enemy.

This is how we live life saved to the uttermost?  By praying God’s will be done here, where we live each day, just like it is in heaven.  Living by faith in the salvation Jesus died to give us in every area of our lives right here and now is being saved to the uttermost.  Not just some day beyond eternity, but today right where you are, Jesus is interceding for you.

Today I want to encourage you to pray: “Father in heaven, Holy is your name!  Your kingdom come, Your will be done today in my life just as Your will is done in heaven today.”  Then go ahead and pray for God’s will to be done in your family, in your finances, pray for God’s will in your protections and your health.  God’s will is good and He has saved you to the uttermost!  Now it is up to you to trust Him for it today and everyday!

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 7:20 – 28

A better hope

For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.  Hebrews 7:18-19

The law of Moses (former commandments) was good because it was all that the people of Israel had as a guide to live life by.  God set up governing laws for them and these laws today are held to around the word.  Even America, the land we live in and love was founded on the law of Moses.  Of course, we know they are God’s laws, but He gave them to Moses.  They were good and they are still good today.  In the world we live in they are good for governing countries and keeping peace.  We have been made free from being judged by God according to the law of Moses through our salvation, but that doesn’t mean that it is okay to break the law.  It simply means we are not judged by how we keep the law.  In the natural world, we are.  You cannot steal, kill and break the laws of the land, get arrested and say, but I’m a Christian, I am not under the law.  You are under the governing laws of whatever country you live in.  The reason the scripture says the former commandments were weak and unprofitable and could not make anything perfect was because it was not enough to reconcile us back to God after sin came into the world.  It was only given to govern the people and no one was able to keep it perfectly so atonement had to be made continually for the sin of the people.

This is where the good news comes.  We have hope and it is not in being a good person and obeying the laws.  It is good to do good and obey the laws, but the laws will never save you.  Only Salvation through the blood of Jesus can save and bring us back into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father, the one who created and loves us.

This is Jesus’ job still today.  He is our High Priest.  He gives us an entrance and connection with our Father who loves us so.  The reason God made this provision was not just because we needed to be saved from a sinful world, it was mostly because we are His creation that He loves and desires to have us back under His care and protection.  God, our Father and creator did all this to get us back into fellowship with Him because of His great love.  Now we have the honor and privilege to be as close to God as we want to be through Jesus our Savior.

Today I want to encourage you to draw near to your loving Heavenly Father through a better hope, Christ Jesus.  The one who suffered and died to pay the judgement of sin’s penalty for us all.  Press into Him through the name that is above every name and the blood that removes the guilt and stains of sin.  He told us that if we draw near to Him, He will get closer to us. (James 4:8)  He wants to be close and touch every area of your life, He is just waiting for you to hope in His Salvation and give Him priority in all things.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 7:11-19

Receive His blessing

But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.  Hebrews 7:6

So, it says all those in Christ Jesus receive the blessing of Abraham.  The blessing that God placed on Abraham is now on those who have received salvation in Christ Jesus and the Sprit through faith.

Now this is something new to me.  Today’s reading says that the blessing on Abraham came from the priest of God, that is Melchizedek, the king of Salem/peace.  What blessing did this high priest give Abraham?

In Genesis 14, we can read the account of Abraham meeting Melchizedek: 

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine;(communion) he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” 

So Melchizedek blessed Abram before there was even a nation of Israel and the law of Moses.  I know this is a little deep, but let me tell you how you fit into all this.  The point is that Jesus released us from the curse associated with not keeping the law of Moses.  In receiving Jesus as Lord of our lives, we now have the blessing of Abraham on us and in us instead of living under the curse associated with the law.  This is saying we are blessed!  Meaning: empowered to prosper and delivered from the power of our enemy the devil through the Holy Spirit of faith inside of us.  In Christ Jesus, we have the victory and He always causes us to triumph  (2Corinthians 2:14).  Glory to God!

Today I want to encourage you to rejoice and praise your Heavenly Father for the blessing He has spoken over your life through your salvation in Jesus.  Thank Him for all the areas of your life that He has given you success in.  Your health, your finances, your family and etc.  Ask Him to show you how you can grow in His blessing and have complete victory over your enemy.

If you have never received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, pray this prayer today and make Jesus the Lord of your life.  Get rid of the curse of the law in your life and begin to walk in His blessed path today:

Pray from your heart: God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior.  I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me.  Please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new.  I know your Son, Jesus died for me.  I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead.  At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward.  I now have a right relationship with God my Father. I also ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus name, Amen

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 7:1-10

Trust God’s Word

By two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.  Hebrews 6:18

God cannot lie!  I think we all can agree on that, but what exactly does that mean?  Well, the first thing it means is that His Word (everything that He spoke and recorded for us in the Bible) we can depend on as truth.  It also means that every promise He made, He will keep.  One of the reasons that He gave us His Word is because He wanted us to hold to the promises and boundaries that He established.

Here in Hebrews, it says that we can anchor our hope in His promises.  What does that even look like?  So, if you consider that every situation and struggle you come up against in life has a solution in the Word of God, you search for that wisdom in His Word and then hold on to it through the entire struggle.

For example, if you are struggling financially, you go to God’s Word and find the passage that says: “My God will supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.  Then you hang on to that promise through the entire crisis.  Every time a wave of doubt, fear and unbelief hits you, you grab tighter to your life preserver of the Word that God promised and remember that He cannot lie and will keep that promise.  When you have sickness and disease in your body, you cling to a promise such as Psalm 103 that says He heals all your diseases and hold on to that promise until you are through to the other side of that trouble.

I know it sounds simple, but if God cannot lie, than certainly He wants us to hold on to His unbreakable promises that He has given us in His Word.  Otherwise, He wouldn’t have said it and recorded it for us to have. 

Lastly, because God has established His Word and given it to us so we can be assured that He will not go against it.  This eliminates the mentality that God is God and He is going to do whatever He wants to in my situation.  While it is true that God is God, He has already told us what He wants to do in our situation in His Word, and He will not change.  His Word is rock solid!!

Today I want to encourage you in whatever your circumstances are, to trust God’s Word!  Take some time to press into God and His Word and ask Him to lead you to the promise He has given that you can directly apply to your dilemma.  Then, hold on to that Word!  Instead of speaking the problem over and over again, speaks God’s promise over and over.  When your thoughts go back to the problem and they will, learn to not continue to talk about it, but about the goodness of God and the promise He gave.  Let the power of God’s Word become the covering that produces healing to whatever you are going through and apply that covering as protection to every area of your life.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 6:13-20

Keep it up!

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.  Hebrews 6:10

What is your labor of love?  Maybe your serve in your church?  Maybe you help out friends and neighbors in need?  Maybe you volunteer your time to your community?  Whatever it is, God notices.  That is very significant!  Your acts of kindness toward others is actually seen in the supernatural world.

This message is to encourage and inspire you to keep going.  Sometimes it may seem like nobody is seeing the good things you do and no one is giving attention to your laboring in the work of ministry, but someone actually is.  It’s your heavenly Father.  He is the reason you are doing acts of love anyway.  You display your love for Him in loving others through serving and ministering the grace of God.

So keep it up.  When you feel like it doesn’t matter or maybe that it doesn’t make a difference either way, remember, your labor of love is an investment that will last for all eternity.  Everything you do today for the kingdom of heaven will be what you can take with you when you leave here.   Revelation 14:13 says you will be blessed when you rest from your labor here in this world and your good works will follow you into the next one.

So today I want to encourage you to keep up the good work, your labor of love. Keep laboring and keep loving even when no one seems to be watching. Keep reaching out to the needy.  Keep giving to the poor.  Keep praying for the hurting and broken.  Most of all, keep telling other that there is a Savior that loves them and wants to spend all of eternity loving them.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 6:9-12