The Daily Dose

Behold your Lamb

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.  It is the LORD’s Passover.”  Exodus12:5, 11

I want to talk a little about why we celebrate and observe this spring holiday.  We call it Easter, but what we are really celebrating is Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.  Most of us know that Passover was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified to pay the debt of our sin so we could receive freedom.  Then three days later He rose up from the dead and walked out of the grave and defeated His enemy and ours for all eternity. 

I want to take just a few minutes today to focus on “Passover”.  It was a holiday the Jewish people celebrated to remember how God brought them out of bondage and slavery in Egypt under the leadership of God’s servant, Moses.  It was a prophetic holy day they kept each year to remind them that someday the Messiah would come to free them out from the bondage of sin.  The Passover that was celebrated the year Jesus was crucified was the fulfillment of that Passover prophecy.  

Today’s key verse in Exodus 12 is talking about the sacrificial lamb that was to be sacrificed for the sin of the people each year.  It had to be a male without blemish.  The lamb was examined by the high priest before it could be accepted as the sin offering.  I want to make a note here that when the people were on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover feast each year, they were not thinking about the sin they were offering up their sacrifice for.  They were not concerned about the extent of their sin and if it could be atoned for.  They were only interested in bringing a lamb without blemish so it would be accepted by the priest and pass the examination of the high priest to qualify as the sin offering to atone for their sins of the previous year.  

Now, to bring this into our relationship with God today. He has given us a spotless Lamb that was examined and sacrificed for our sin, no blemishes, pure, and clean.  This sacrifice did not atone (means to cover) but He completely eradicated (restored God’s original intent for people) the sin of the world. We don’t have to worry if we have blown it too many times to be forgiven because we have the perfect Lamb of God that paid the price for all sin for all eternity.  Our part now is simply receive that sacrificial gift. God no longer looks at our sin to correct or cover it, He looks at the sacrifice, the spotless Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.  He has examined and accepted the payment of His perfect Son.  This is God’s complete expression of His love for us, He spared no expense!  He gave us His very own Lamb without spot or blemish.  “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  (John 1:29)

So today, as we celebrate this resurrection season, I want to encourage you to keep your eyes on the perfect Lamb of God that paid the price for all sin, for all people, for all eternity!  Take some time this week to be thankful for Jesus and His sacrifice that bridges the gap between mankind and God. If you have never received this wonderful gift of God’s love and freedom from sin, do it today.  

Simply Pray:  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 form 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 and empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus name, Amen

Today’s scripture reading:  Luke 23:13-25

Be diligent

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.  Hebrews 4:11

Be diligent.  That is how our reading starts out today.  It is the way we are to be in every area of our lives.  Diligent to pursue God, diligent to go after His peace and diligent to enter His rest.  It means to be consistent at making the things of God the priority of your life.  Not out of fear or obligation, but out of love for your Heavenly Father because you know by faith that He loves you and only wants the best in life for you.

The entire chapter 4 of Hebrews is about entering His rest.  However, verse 12 seems to be the only verse that isn’t talking about rest.  I know this verse and refer to it often, but have never used it in relating to rest.  It says: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I will apply verse 12 within its context to rest but recognize that it is a scripture that we can apply in every area of life.  God’s word is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of our heart.  Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?  This is where the word of God comes in.  By lining up every thought and motive of your heart with God’s word, you can purge out the deceitful and wicked schemes from it. 

God’s word is God’s love for us.  When we begin to diligently seek Him through His love letter to us, (His word) only then will we be able to trust the thoughts and motives of our inner spirit because it is being transformed by His powerful word.  God’s word is the doorway to enter His rest!

Today I want to encourage you to become more diligent in every area of your life by setting aside quiet time with God and His word.  Let the word of God penetrate your soul, spirit, joints, marrow, thoughts and intentions.  It is alive, powerful and reaches not only into the spirit, emotional parts of your life, it is also for the natural physical parts.  God’s word is the truth and ultimate authority and when you line every area of your life up with that word, you can be sure that you are entering through the doorway of His complete rest.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 4:11-13

A day of rest

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.  Hebrews 4:1

Have you ever had a problem getting rest?  Maybe you couldn’t sleep or maybe you just couldn’t relax?  Our bodies were designed to be re-energized through rest and relaxation.  That is why God gave us the gift of a day off.  He established the 7^th day of the week for a day of rest.  This was not a harsh law to be obeyed or there would be consequences, it was a gift that God gave to people after all the work of the week was done.

Yes, there are consequences if you do not receive the gift of rest.  This passage actually says you should be afraid if you do not enter His gift of rest.  For sure it is an act of disobedience, but there is so much more to it.  It is a law of how you were created not a law to control your activity.  God knew that our bodies would need down time to restore strength and mental energy, so He gave people an entire day to do that.  It was as if God was saying “you have my permission to take a day off and not push yourself beyond the limits you were created with.”  God wants what is best for us and He knows that the desire inside of a person for success would drive them to an unhealthy level of living, both physically and mentally.

Maybe you are thinking “that sounds great, but I don’t even know what a day of rest should look like.”  Because God called it a day of rest, many perceive it as a day of doing nothing.  However, this is just not the case.  It is a day of separation.  Separating yourself from the things that have consumed you for the entire week and putting your focus on your relationship with God and your family.  God doesn’t intend for you to sit in a dark quiet room for 8 hours doing nothing, although if that’s what charges you, have at it.  God’s intention was for you to have an entire day of a different focus.  Step away from business and your normal routine, step away from your cell phone and let you email fill up for a day.  In this way, you not only give your body a day of rest, your mind and spirit will rest too.

Today I want to encourage you if you don’t already have one day of the week designated to rest, purposefully schedule one each week.  It doesn’t have to be Saturday or Sunday, just a day that you can block off to spend special time with God and family.  If your work schedules you for the weekend, just make Monday your day of rest.  Wherever works best for you and your family.  The important thing is to have that day set aside, not having a specific day to do it.  I promise you it will make a difference in your life.  You will have more strength, energy and joy for the rest of the week when you honor God with following the pattern He established you to live by.  Enter into His rest, it is the healthy way to live.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 4:1-10

Get rid of unbelief

So we see that they could not enter in (the promised land) because of their unbelief.  Hebrews 3:19

Unbelief.  It’s the reason God’s people were unable to enter the land God had promised them.  I always thought it was because of disobedience.  However, this passage says it was because the didn’t believe God.  It makes sense that it was in their unbelief, they were unwilling to take the land because they didn’t believe that God would do His part in the conquering so they disobeyed His direction.

It is the same way with us today.  Often, we disobey the direction God may be leading because we are afraid that He will leave us on our own to sink or swim.  Like He is going to point in one direction and then go another way to be far from us.  It just isn’t the case.  God is leading us to the paths and places where He is.  He wants us to be successful and is attempting to lead us away from our own destructive path to a road of His blessings and success.

Another example of unbelief limiting what God can do in your life is displayed in the life of Jesus.  Matthew 13:58 is the account of Jesus ministering to the people in His hometown, Nazareth.  It says that He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief.  They knew Jesus as the carpenter’s son and that is all they were willing to believe about Him.  Therefore, they missed out on all the goodness that Jesus wanted to do for them because they were unwilling to open their hearts to receive it from Him.

I have many personal examples of times in my life where God was leading and I was unwilling to follow.  One particular time was when I was asking God about buying a home and I had my own idea of the area where I wanted it to be. It was in a place that I thought would make my life easier and better for my family.  As I continued to pray about it, there just seemed to be nothing happening.  I was getting frustrated and starting to be under pressure to find a place.  Finally, one day as I was praying about it once again, I remembered a house that was not in the area I wanted to be in.  It seemed like every time I started praying where to move, I would start thinking about this place that I had absolutely no interest in.  Now I was realizing that every time I thought about it, I dismissed it and said, “Nope, that’s not it.”  This day when it came to my thoughts again, I finally said: “LORD, is that you?”  I still had no interest in the place but asked God that if that was where He was trying to lead us that my desire would change, and I would begin to consider moving in that direction.  It wasn’t long after that, I started thinking about the place more often and the potential of it.  We went and took another look and now my heart had completely changed where the house was concerned, and I knew that this was what God was trying to get over to me all along, I just wasn’t listening because I thought I knew better than God what I wanted.  Following God’s direction and believing He knows what He is doing has turned out to be such a wonderful blessing for our entire family.  God definitely knows what He is doing, and He knows what I will love even better than I do.

We as God’s children often do the same thing.  We ask for God’s help in an area, but when it comes from a person or in a way that we didn’t expect, we don’t believe or recognize the answer.  What ever we receive from God will require faith and obedience, so the next time you pray and then sense in your heart the next step you should take, go ahead and ask God to give you the grace and desire to take it.  If that is where He is leading, He will put that desire in your heart as long as you are open to it.  It will not happen automatically, faith is intentionally following the direction of God, even when it doesn’t make sense in the natural world.  God is faithful and He has the perfect plan to get you to His greatest blessings in life.

Today I want to encourage you to ask the Lord if there is any unbelief or disobedience in your life.  Ask Him to expose it and empower you to get rid of it.  Then ask Him if there is any direction He has given that you have disobeyed because you didn’t believe or understand how it could be possible.  It could be things as simple as humbling yourself at your job and doing your best instead of the minimum requirement.  It could be becoming consistent at attending your local church and serving faithfully.  Maybe it is tithing or giving to missions.  All of these things require faith and believe that doing them will bring you closer to the purpose and mission God has for you.  Decide today to take a step closer in your walk with God and begin believing by faith that He is leading you to your blessed and promised land. 

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 3:16-19

Hard Heart

Exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  Hebrews 3:13

What does it mean to have a hard heart?  To be insensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within your life?  This portion of scripture talks about how God’s people hardened their heart when they were in the wilderness. Because they were afraid to move forward in the direction He was leading them, they refused to go and as a result, they remain in a place of tests and trials for forty years. 

I have had my share of wilderness experiences and although they were not all because of my hard heart, mostly, I just spent too much time holding back the power of God in my life.  Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.  Many times in my life I would sense a nudging in a certain direction, but I would say “I don’t want to do that” or “I don’t feel like doing that”.  Mostly because I was afraid or didn’t want to exert the energy to do it.  After many years of living life by the rule of “I don’t want to”, I began to recognize that these promptings were coming from the greater One inside me and my response should be.  “Father, I’m not sure if I can do that, but if that is the direction you want me to go, I’m going to trust you to put my desire there and give me the strength and faith to begin to head in that direction.  This is the same response the Israelites could have had and God would have led them step by step to their promised land. That is what ultimately happened to God’s people years later when the next generation was ready and willing to go.

Today’s verse says to exhort and encourage each other daily.  Speak the Word and plans of God to your friends and family members to remind each other not to let your heart grow hard.  It is so easy to become distracted by the pressures of life and the issues of today’s world.  You can begin to wonder, “where is God in all of this?”  The truth is He is right where He has always been, leading and directing your life by the Holy Spirit on the inside of you.  However, it is up to you to seek the faith and grace to follow His direction and keep your heart from growing hard.

Today I want to encourage you to press into God your Father and turn over any hard areas of your heart to Him. Become aware of hidden and secret places you may be hiding from Him. Use the phrases “I don’t want to” or I don’t feel like it” to alert you when you are rejecting the Holy Spirit’s direction inside of you. Submit all your ways to Him and offer your life as a living sacrifice to do your part in His plan. Get out of any wilderness you may have found yourself stuck in by surrendering all to Him today.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 3:7-15

What is the focus?

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.  Hebrews 3:1

What is your focus, and how do you maintain it from day to day?  I used to be distracted with the cares of life.  As my mind would wander from tasks I was doing, my thoughts would go to the things that were heavy on my heart.  How am I going to fit everything into my day?  How am I going to make ends meet until my next pay?  How am I going to keep my family protected and what is going to happen in my future?  Then when I did have time to just escape, I would day dream about how good I wished my life was.  Oh yeah, I did pray some, but mostly just when I needed something new, like a job or place to live.  Mostly, I considered I was on my own to work out my problems.  Jesus was my Savior, but my mentality was that it stopped there.  I’m saved, but now I’m on my own.

Then one day, I realized I don’t have to do this life alone.  God sent His Spirit to help me through.  That meant I could turn to Him and trust Him with all the details.  I asked Jesus to be my Lord and gave Him the cares that I was trying to carry myself.  I gave Him control over all the details of my life.  I no longer had to worry about what  would or could happen, now I consider that Jesus is faithful and will handle every detail perfectly.  He is my Lord, Apostle/sent One and High priest of my confession and all that I speak.  Now when I am distracted with thoughts, I consider and think about Him.  He is taking care of my concerns, my finances and my family.  When I have time to escape, I run to His Word.  I meditate His promises and talk to Him about how those promises apply to my life.  I am thankful and let Him know how much I love Him!

This is exactly what today scripture reading is all about.  We are encouraged to consider/think about Jesus our High Priest.  He is the faithful one and He can be trusted.  We don’t have to worry about if things are going to go badly, this passage emphasizes His faithfulness and how much more He is faithful than even Moses was to the people of God at the beginning. You can trust Him with every detail of your life.

Today I want to encourage you to consider/think about Jesus.  Think about how faithful He has been in your life so far.  Think about the things you have trusted Him with and He has carried you through faithfully.  Think about the great love He displayed for you when He paid the debt of your sin.  If you have received Him as your Savior, but never turned over every area of your life to Him, do that today.  Ask Jesus to be the LORD of all and expose every hidden thought and worry in your heart to Him.  He knows about them already, so go ahead and let Him handle them.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 3:1-6

Don’t live in bondage

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14 & 15

Many times in the old testament, God intervened in the world by using angels, prophets, judges, kings, even animals and weather.  However, these were mostly sent to bring messages or to get people out of trouble.  I wonder why, God didn’t choose to get rid of sin’s power by one of these methods or beings.  Even when God completely destroyed everything in the world except one family and the animals with water, sin’s dominion was not removed.   It was necessary for God Himself to come into the word as a person to take care of the sin problem because man’s dominion was lost through a man and had to be taken back by a man.  That is why a man’s blood had to be given to satisfy the requirement that God had already established to destroy the thief and get that power back to us.

Now we know that sin was not eliminated in the world.  Obviously, sin is still here and running rampant.  But when a person enters into the blood covenant with God through the blood of Jesus, they are no longer subject to the requirement and penalty for sin.  We have been set free and released from the hold that sin once had over our lives. In Christ Jesus, we regain the dominion that God originally designed us to live by.

Today’s scripture says that Jesus destroyed the one (devil) who once had the power of death.  That means, Satan no longer has power, he has been destroyed.  However, he still pretends that he does and is always trying to get it back through the same way he got it the first time, through people.  It is up to people to not let him lead them back into bondage of sin and the fear of death. 

This is the message that God has been trying to get to us since the beginning of time.  If we look at the examples of those who have gone before us, we can clearly see that living a sinful life leads to bondage and a deliverer has always been required to get us out.  God’s people were in slavery to the Egyptians, then He sent Moses to lead them out.  They were trapped in the wilderness because of their sin, then Joshua led them out.  Over and over again, God’s people found themselves oppressed and needing a “savior” to get them out of messes they had created for themselves.  Finally , He came down to take care of this problem once and for all and became the flesh and blood Savior that would allow people to individually get free from sin’s grip.  In Christ Jesus, we no longer need to be afraid of death or satisfying the requirement for our sin.  That has already been done by our Savior.  Now He wants to lead each one of us into His promised land to live a life of peace, contentment and enjoyment by lining up with the kingdom of God’s ways.

Today I want to encourage you to enter into His rest.  Don’t be carried away with all the bad news of the world.  The world is still a sinful place and fear has a stronger hold than ever, but we are not subject to the bondage/hold of that fearful way.  We have a Savior and He wants us to be free and has made the way for us to live in that freedom.  Press into Him and receive His peace right in the middle of the turmoil.  By focusing on His love and His Word, you can purge out the fear of death in your own life personally.  Trust Him to get you through to the missions He has planned for you each day and don’t be afraid of failing.  He has a path right through the middle of the valley of the shadow of death and will walk through it with you to success.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

He calls us brothers and sisters

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”  Hebrews 2:11&12

Jesus isn’t ashamed, afraid or shy about calling us His family.  In fact, this passages actually says that we are His brothers and sisters.  This is an amazing revelation, not only are we brothers and sisters with all who have been born again into salvation through Jesus, we are also brothers and sisters to Jesus, personally.

Next comes the really amazing part . . . Jesus praises our Heavenly Father with us.  When we come together, in church, each week and sing praise and worship to God, Jesus does too.  Right along with us, in fact, He is the one that is offering our praise to our Father.  He is our go between.  Not only does He give our requests and prayers to God, but He also gives Him our praise, worship and thanksgiving!

Now, something I have never considered before, the passages say that Jesus is declaring God our Father’s name to us.  He goes to Father on our behalf, and He brings back His response to us on God’s behalf.  Through the Holy Spirit within us, we can know that God is not only hearing our praise, worship, prayers and request but we can also know that He is receiving and answering through Jesus our brother and high priest, our go between.

A simple down to earth example of this would be like a family of brothers and sisters together that want to ask their father for permission and provision for something they want to get or accomplish. They select one sibling, probably the oldest, to go to their father and represent what is in their heart to do. When the selected member of the family gets the father’s answer, he brings it back to the other children that are waiting for the response. That child is the go between and that is what Jesus does for us. He is our family mediator.

Today I want to encourage you to consider that Jesus is our brother in the family of God.  As children of the most high God, Jesus represents all of us to our Father, then He represents our Father back to us.  When you talk to God, consider that your brother Jesus is there interpreting for you.  When you worship God, Jesus is there getting the message through in worship with you.  When God gives the answer, Jesus declares it back to us through the Spirit of God inside us.  Then the Spirit of God bears witness with Jesus and puts peace, love and joy in our heart so we know we have the petition we have asked.

Today’s scripture reading:  Hebrews 2:10-13

Crowned with glory and honor

You have made man a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:7&8

This section of Hebrews 2 starts out by saying: God didn’t put the world we live in today in the hands of the angels.  It quotes a passage in Psalms 8 that talk about why God is interested in people.  It says even though God made people “lower” than angels, He actually crowned the first people (Adam and Eve) with glory and honor and gave them dominion over the created world.  It goes on to say in verse 9:  Now we don’t see the dominion that people once had because of sin. Instead we look to Jesus who became a man to suffer death, raise up and once again be crowned with glory and honor.  He, by God’s grace took on death for all people and then came back to give us all a life crowned with God’s glory and honor.

Oh I know we do not have our glorified bodies that we will one day get, but we do have God’s love, grace and power on the inside of us through His Holy Spirit.  So once again, we cannot see by looking at our outward appearance, but on the inside and in Christ Jesus, we now have our dominion back.  We are children of God and as a child of the King, He backs us with all the grace, glory and honor of heaven.

Today I want to encourage you to receive His Glory and honor through Christ Jesus the Lord by praying this salvation prayer.  Jesus will come into your heart and into your life and will change you from the inside out.

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’s grace, glory and honor 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 2:5-9

Your priority

Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,  Hebrews 2:1 & 3

Here you go!  If you have ever wondered what you are supposed to be doing here in this world at this time, this is your answer. First, you are to be paying close attention to the things you have learned and read in the scripture to make sure you do not drift away in your relationship with your Father in heaven.  Second, don’t neglect your relationship with your Savior, Jesus.

This is a good guide for life here in this world.  We must nurture and grow our relationship with God.  It is vital, not only for our survival in today’s world, but also for our effectiveness in it.  Verse 4 of this chapter says God bears witness or testifies the validity of our message of salvation through answered prayer and with signs and wonders as He wills.  His signs and wonders will not be seen to the outside world through us if we neglect and don’t give priority to our relationship and partnership with Him.

The example is the disciples of Jesus that spent their time ministering and walking with Jesus everyday. They maintained a close relationship with Him.  Their relationship was the priority of their life and they proved this by leaving all they had and giving their life to the work of His ministry.

You may not be employed in full time ministry, but you should still be in full time ministry wherever you are employed.  God has assigned you to that place to be His representative there.  It is so very important that your relationship with Him is first place in your life, in that way He will be able to accomplish the things in this world through your life that He needs to.

Today I want to encourage you to give attention to the things you have learned in Christ Jesus so you don’t drift away.  Don’t neglect His great salvation by making the busyness of life your priority.  Become aware of your position as His ambassador wherever you have been placed in this world and display His love for the people He brings into your life.  Help others to see that there is hope for the future in salvation through Jesus and lead others to the understanding of the world beyond this one.

Today’s scripture reading: Hebrews 2:1-4