What is important is the object of your Faith

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews eleven is called the faith chapter in your Bible, it is all about faith, the faith of some very great people, like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and others that you may not be so familiar with.  I have come to believe that it is impossible to live life without faith!  In fact, I do not believe it requires a person to be a Christian to have faith.  I do believe that it is a gift from God and it was given to mankind to live life on planet earth.  Once we leave this life we will no longer require faith, it will not be of any value in heaven or hell. 

Have you ever observed a young child when his/her mother or dad tells them to jump into their arms from an elevation that seems extremely high to the child?  Or have you seen a parent telling the child in a swimming pool to trust them to not let go, or that they can ride their bike without the training wheels?  Where did that faith come from, surly the very young child has not been taught about faith.  You may be thinking that it was a learned trust, but what is that but faith?                                                                                                                                     

As stated above without faith life would be impossible on planet earth, as I begin my day, I put faith in the Canyon Lake water system that my water is not contaminated, that the gas-o-line I put into my car is the real stuff and that the other drivers around me will obey the laws and that the pilot of the plane will have the skills to both take off and land something that weighs tons and has small wheels.  So we all show-up with some faith, and it is not required to be a Christian to operate under faith.  And there in may lay the problem for many, they have never seen Christian faith.  They hear about it, but many have observed family members, friends, or neighbors, who make the faith claim of being a Christian, but saw little or no evidence of Christ in their life.  Form the letter of James, whom many believe refers to the brother of Christ, as the apostle Paul so stated, has this to say about faith; “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person that faith apart form works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” – and he was called a friend of God.”  (James 2:20-23)

So you and I who claim the name of Jesus Christ and go by the name Christians, must have an active faith, a faith that is alive and has total assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.  If you have a very small faith in a very big God you are not unusual, in fact it might surprise you that your faith is in keeping with the apostles of Christ.  In Luke 17:5, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”  So if you are like me in the faith department, you may want to look to Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  What the world is looking far is an active faith, they are not looking for you and I to do great things for God, and they are hoping to see God doing great things through you.  The apostle John had this to say on faith, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (1 John 5:4)  It is so important to understand that faith is not the issue, no, what is important is the object of your faith.

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Turning over Ownership

 

Hebrews 10:32-39

Have you ever wondered why?  Why would someone join that __________ knowing the responsibility, the personal, the physical, the monetary cost of being part of that group.  Being part of a group whose goal is to serve others, to put others before self, to put your life on the line so that others can be blessed, what group comes into your mind, whose name would you fill the blank with?  Let me share what popped into my mind, our special forces, our Navy seals, but what about Christians, should they have come to my mind first?  Or have we as Christians joined the Christian army with little or no understanding of the cost, the responsibility, the personal, the physical, and the monetary cost of being a member of the body of Christ, His church?  At Oakwood, the local church that Jan and I are part of, we are being ask to have a lifestyle of the “Ripple effect,” investing in the kingdom of God, and how that investment will reap a reward, now, and in the life of others long after we are gone. 

As I read Hebrews 10:32-39, this question came into my mind, have we been so blessed that we have no history of giving of self, of putting others needs before our agenda, of being part of something bigger than self?  The writer of Hebrews asks his audience to recall; and what were they to recall, the personal cost of being in Christ.  “But recall the former days when after you were enlightened, (received Christ into your Heart, turned over ownership to Him) you endured a hard struggle with suffering, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.  For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”  A faith that is built on giving of self, of serving others, of seeing others more important than self, is a faith in full agreement with the instruction given to us by Jesus.  Do you recall when the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons and ask that they sit on each side of Him in His kingdom.  Church listen; “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority oven them.  It shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

If you some how joined with little understanding of the requirements of being in this Christian army, you have been informed, the Christian life is a life of serving others, to put others before self, to put your life on the line, so that others can be blessed, it is giving, what you cannot keep, to gain what you cannot earn, it is letting go and letting God do it all through you.  Hebrews 10:37, is instructing us that the Lord is coming back verse 38, “but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”   If you have put on Christ, then you have an obligation to follow His orders; “give, and it will be given unto you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put onto your lap.  For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”  (Luke 6:38)  Do you believe what Jesus said? 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A fearful thing

 

Hebrews 10:26-31

If you read these verses, they address a people who have lost their way and go on deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of truth.  I do not know if they received Christ into their lives, but they did receive the knowledge of truth.  And the writer asks this question: “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”  (Hebrews 10: 29)  The writer did not seem to wait for us to ponder his question, in the next two verses he gave this answer, “For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”  And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Today I broke one of my rules; it is a very good rule and not one that should be broken very often. I looked to see what others had said on the subject before I wrote anything.  What I did not do was begin to write or look before asking the Holy Spirit to guide my mind and my thoughts to lead me into truth.  I did a search for “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” And came across a commentary by J. D. Longstreet.  He had watched the telecast of the Restoring Honor Rally in Washington D.C. given by Glenn Beck.  In the introduction to this commentary Mr. Longstreet had these words about Glenn, “Allow me to say, right up front, that Mr. Glenn Beck does not need me to defend him.  I don’t know, for sure, what motivates Mr. Beck.  I’d like to think it is love of God and country.  But I don’t know that.”  He then goes on to tell about his upbringing in the South and how tent meetings and revivals had impacted his life, not so much the messenger, some were very good, and others try to play on your emotions.  Now back to a very small part of his commentary: “So – what did I learn? I learned an extremely important truth.  It does not matter who the messenger is, what matters is – the message. The power is not in the messenger.  The power is in the message. And if that message is truth, then believe me when I tell you, freedom is close behind.

Our nation is in dire straits.  In my seventy years of life, I have seen America go from a God-fearing nation to a “fearing” nation.  Of all those hell fire and brimstone preachers I was exposed to as a child, not a single one of them wore a bulletproof vest, as I believe Mr. Beck did last Saturday.  (A faint outline of the vest was visible through Mr. Beck’s shirt.  At least, that is what I took it to be.)   That, alone, speaks volumes about the state of our country.

Another thing I learned as a youth was this truth:  God uses people who are broken, who have failed, who have buckled under the stress of their lives, who are physically imperfect, and who are reluctant to stand out from the crowd, even for a moment, even to work great wonders.”

Mr. Longstreet is 70, and I’m not far behind, I also remember those “Hell fire and Damnation sermons, and like him, I’ve seen our Nation go from God-fearing to just fearful, but it is worst than that, I’ve seen the Church, as a whole, forget to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; many are building a kingdom of self-centeredness and that kingdom will not stand.  Let me state that I do not have a clear understanding of “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  But this I know, if you are in Christ, he is not referring to heaven, but it is what is happening in the now on planet earth.

From the Back Porch

Bob Rice

What do you desire?

Hebrews 10:17-25

This morning as I read John 17, our High Priest prayer, verse 24 spoke to my heart; are my desires inline with my High Priest?  That verse has 37 words, and in those words you see the desire of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Father, I desire that (place your name in the blank) they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”  Our High Priest Jesus Christ desires that we come home and see His glory, why do we fight so hard to stay in this world?  I often wrestle with lacking the ability to grasp what the Scripture is teaching or do I have a belief problem, and it comes down to, I have a belief problem.  I still act as if I am under condemnation, but that does not line up with God’s word, in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Often I listen to the voice in my head that tells me I’m of little or no worth to anyone, instead of setting my mind on the truth that is found in God’s word.  If  I had only believed what Romans 8:2, states so clearly; “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”  And that brings us back to Hebrews 10:17-18, “then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

I have to remember that when “therefore” is used it is important to look back at what has been said, so look back at the verses that preceded verses 19-23, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.”  Before the cross, you and I had to go to a man, a Levi priest, a high priest to enter behind the curtain, and he always took blood before the altar for his sins and then the sins of the people, but Christ now has given you and I passage behind that curtain. 

I hope your faith is much greater than mine, I have many places I still want to go and see, amazing places, but not one of them will come close to seeing my Lord in all of His glory.  So I’m duty-bound to do what verses 24-25 have instructed me to do: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Looking for Approval

Hebrews 10:1-18

Whose approval are you seeking?  For many it is an unknown, but most of us are looking to someone, in hope of finding approval.  Many a person is still seeking mother or dad’s approval and they may not even be alive, and that is sad because their performance will never match-up with the demand that is in their minds.  But what about the many who are still trying to find approval by performing some religious service?  If you are one of them, ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as to what the writer of Hebrews 10 is sharing with us.

The Tenth chapter begins in this way; “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.  Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin?  But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year.  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”  All they were doing in sacrifices and offerings were a shadow, a silhouette, a reflection, of something or someone, and it was Christ.  Can you understand how difficult this message was to a devout Jew, it’s like telling a Baptist that it is not what comes from outside of you, like dancing or a drink of wine that corrupts a person, but what comes from the heart.  So they like us, often try to seek God’s approval by their performance.

The Scriptures are very clear that once we are in Christ, we are accepted and acceptable to our Father in heaven.  It is not our sacrifices and offerings that make us acceptable, but what Jesus Christ has done.  If it has been a while since you have read the High Priestly prayer in John 17, this may be a good time to see how God is praying for you.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Importance of Blood

Hebrews 9:11-22

The Bible has much to say about blood, did you know that the average adult has about 5 to 8 pints of blood in his or her body. One unit of blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint. This proportion is much greater in children, and slightly different in men and women.
Men, on average, have five to eight pints while women have four to five pints.
Larger people and populations can go much higher, up to 8-12 pints depending on the size of the person. Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells – such as nutrients and oxygen – and transports waste products away from those same cells.  Blood consists of a mildly alkaline aqueous fluid (plasma) containing red cells (erythrocytes), white cells (leukocytes), and platelets; it is red when oxygenated and purple when deoxygenated. Red blood cells carry the protein hemoglobin, which gives blood its color and can combine with oxygen, thus enabling the blood to carry oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. White blood cells protect the body against the invasion of foreign agents (e.g., bacteria). Platelets and other factors present in plasma are concerned in the clotting of blood, preventing hemorrhage. Blood makes up about 7% of your body's weight.  Being someone who has worked around technical folks whose job it was to design and develop new products; I would be so bold as to say that blood is a designed product, and it had to have a designer.

Therefore, it is important to look at what the Designer has to say about the subject: in Genesis 3:21, after man’s eyes were opened to sin, they understood they were naked, and verse 21 tells us that God made garments of skin and clothed them.  This was a substitution death, the shedding of blood by God.   A life had to be sacrificed before Adam and Eve could be clothed physically.   But God has also provided adequate covering for man to stand before Him, clothed in righteousness, and only in Christ is man ever properly clothed.  We also find God talking with Cain about killing his brother, and telling him that Abel’s blood is crying to me from the ground, in Genesis 4:10.

The Scriptures have much to say about the importance God has placed on blood.  In the book of Exodus before the death angel was to come and kill all the first born, they were told; “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.  No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)  But a lamb had to die, it was the substitute, its blood was on the door of their houses.  In both Exodus 30:10 and Leviticus 17:11, we have blood as the annual atonement for the sins of each person on the altar.  It is very important to see this from God’s viewpoint; “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11b) 

Now that brings us back to Hebrews, and remember in chapter 9:7 when it was reminding the Jewish Christian of how they in the past got a yearly pardon from their sins.  “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.  The Holy Spirit wanted both those Jewish Christians and you and me to understood that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, Hebrews 9:22.  Our Designer, who is also our High Priest, stated in Matthew 26:28, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  And the apostle John said; “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  Eternal Life is found in the blood of Jesus!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God's dress code

April 1, 2009

Revelation 11:1-14

God knows us, He knows the value that our culture places on looks and dress, so God wants to impress us with His “two Witnesses” and he dresses them in sackcloth, and the people did take notice of them.  In fact God grants this authority to His two witnesses; “If anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes.  If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.”

These guys don’t just look bad, they are bad, they can hurt you and God will not let anyone harm them.  They will preach the truth of God, to a people who have no interest in truth, so they will use some attention grabbers, like no rain, turning the water into blood, or just any plaque that they need to get the nations to listen to the message.  You would think that people would be quick to listen, and turn to God but that is not what John tells us is going to happen.  At the end of three and one haft years or as the Scriptures state, 1,260 days, they will have finished their testimony; “the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.”  John tells us that they will leave the bodies of the two witnesses lying in the street for three and a half days, and people from all over the world will gaze on them, I am sure Fox and Friends, CNN, and all the other new outlets will have cameras fixed on these bodies.

Not only will it be the main story, the people all over the earth will be having the “Two Witnesses” party, yes great rejoicing, giving of gifts over the deaths of these two men whose crime was, being bearers of the truth.  But that is not the end of the story as Paul Harvey would have said, “Now the rest of the story” “But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!”  And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.”  John tells us that all hell broke out at this time, a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell.  Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 

The only thing I have to compare it to is 911, now I know that is a weak comparison, but do you recall how the people of the United States ran to church, for maybe two weeks, and then they went back to what felt good, golf or football, or just sleeping late.  The attitude was, the crisis is over and we got to get back to what makes us happy; these are the same kind of people being reported to us in Revelation, they are just like us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Promise Keepers

Philippians 3:20-21

It was not that long ago that a movement of men became almost a household name, it was called “Promise Keepers” and it touched many of our lives.   It’s goal was to awaken men to the fact that God is a God of promises, and that he has called men to be promise keepers.  A promise keeper was reminded of these seven promises of God.

1. He has promised to supply every need we have. The Bible says: "But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus". That's Philippians 4:19.  God has obligated Himself only to the extent of our needs. That would include food, clothing, shelter, companionship, love, and salvation thru Jesus Christ. It would not include the multiplicity of luxuries that we have come to think of as needs.
2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. (II Corinthians 12:9). In fact, He has made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8. It is through an obedient faith that we have access into the grace of God according to Romans 5:2.
3. God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. Instead, He assures us that a way of escape will be provided. This promise is recorded in I Corinthians 10:13. Jude wrote: "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude v 24).
4. God has promised us victory over death.  He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection.  Peter said: "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:3,4).
5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver.
6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and by faith through God’s grace receive forgiveness of sins will be saved. (Read Romans 10:9-11).
7. God has promised His people eternal life (John 10:27-30).

That is why Philippians 3:20 is so special to me, our Father has promised this, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  I’m fearful that many of us do not reflect on our citizenship, and if asked the question would say I’m a citizen of the United States, but if you are in Christ, that’s just wrong.  Could that be why we are so earthly minded, we do not know where our home is?  But the apostle Paul wants us to understand that God has promised to do the following; “who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:21) 

I am reminded of Colossians 1:15-20, it tells us of the preeminence of Christ, verse seventeen has such great meaning to me, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  It is Christ that holds all things together, and someday soon he is going to give the atom permission to come apart, but the Father will transform us who are in Christ, in the likeness of our Lord.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

(Note: I took these seven promises of God from a Goggle site, but edited them.)

Being Jewish would help!

Hebrews 9:1-10

Having no Jewish roots can make understanding a letter written to this group of Hebrew Christians of some challenge.  As a Gentile, who never thought of himself as such, but if ask would have said; I’m a white poor boy that grew-up a Baptist in Texas, and have little understanding of a Holy Place.  But the brothers to whom this letter was addressed had a full understanding of what was in the Holy Place, and though none, but the high priest was allowed behind the second curtain, of the Most Holy Place, they had been given a lot of information about what was there.  It is my understanding from Scripture that only the high priest was allowed in the Most Holy Place, and this is what was reported to be there: Verses 4-5, “having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.  Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.  Of these things we cannot speak in detail.”

 I found it of great interest that the priest could go into the first area or behind the first curtain and perform their ritual duties, but into the second, only the high priest had access.  It is important to understand that the high priest could only go into the Most Holy Place once a year, and he must take blood, which he offered for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.  That is the first time I’ve seen that, and having no clue to its meaning, at face value it would imply that the intentional sins were not covered, or you could interpret it to mean that all sins are done in ignorance.  Now that I’ve opened that can of worms, let me chase that rabbit.  When Jesus Christ died on the cross what sins were covered?  The apostle Peter stated this in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”   Before leaving such an important subject, turn to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  And so was I, and yet by the mercy and grace of God, the blood that Christ carried into the Most Holy Place, once and for all, covered sin.  Read the list, it contains the sins that we call the big ones.

Our high priest; Jesus Christ has already paid the price for sin, the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom still living, though some have fallen asleep.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Life in a perfect Environment

 

Hebrews 8

Have you ever given thought to what life would be like in a perfect environment?  My mind goes to what would not be there, no disappointments, no broken promises, no storms, no sickness, and no death, just to give the short list.  When you think of a perfect world, or a perfect person, they would have these characteristics of being without error, they also would be complete and lacking nothing, and they would be excellent in every way; in skill, in talent, they would be without flaw or blemish.  It would be heavenly to live in an environment of supreme peace; where Covenants are never broken, in fact, they are eternal.

Chapter eight is about our high priest, Jesus Christ the perfect one, and the new covenant, because the first covenant was faulted.  Before going there, think of a covenant that God has made with all mankind and our actions have no affect on its outcome.  That would be the rainbow, where God said in Genesis 9:16, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”  The prophet Isaiah had this to say about the first covenant, “The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5)  If that was the last word you and I would be without hope, but God in His mercy and grace, sent His only Son to establish an everlasting and an eternal covenant with mankind.

Long before Christ came to planet earth in human form, the Father announced through His prophets the coming of a new covenant.  Isaiah told us in chapter 55 verse 3, and He also declared it through Jeremiah in chapter 31, verses 31-32, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.”  When Jesus was having the last supper with His disciples it is recorded in Matthew 26:28, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

We have a Priest to run to

 

Hebrews 7:11-28

If you or I had grown-up under the order of Aaron, a priest would have made sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people, and then, just like the Jewish Christian, we would have a hard time going to someone else for the forgiveness of our sins.  Plus, if you had false teachers coming into the church teaching Jesus plus, you would need someone to guide you to the truth.  One thing that had to be over come was that no priest came from the tribe of Judah, yet Jesus was from the tribe of Judah; so it was important that these Jewish Christians understood that Aaron and his sons were set aside by God and were consecrated, but Jesus was made a high priest forever by an oath.  You will find that oath in Hebrews 7:21, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’”  It was so important that they understood the meaning of verse 22, “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”   The word “guarantor” is a legal term meaning; “somebody who gives a guarantee, especially a formal promise to be responsible for somebody else’s debts or obligations.” 

 Jesus is in an order like Melchizedek, verse 24-26 states, “but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”   If we look at this from a modern perspective, we understand that preachers and priest can and do sin, and some of them steal, some live in adultery both spiritually and physically, and so did some of these Jewish priests.  They and us need to understand that Jesus is our high priest, we need no one as a go between, He lives to make intercession for us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

From Heavens View - A Blob-Fetus-or Unborn Child

Hebrews 7:1-10

When it comes to the priestly order of Melchizedek, the first three verses of Hebrews 7 give us some of the best insights into his personality.  “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.  He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is king of peace.  He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”  I believe there is enough information on Melchizedek to agree that he is not like you or I.  It can be said that Melchizedek is a type of Christ, and that he is part of an eternal order, to say anything else would to be guessing.

I was drawn to verses 9 and 10, “One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.”  You must ask the question, was Levi a surprise to the Most High God?  And the answer is no, God saw him in the loins of Abraham and yet it was over 500 years before he set foot on this earth.  Levi was part of God’s plan, he was in God’s thoughts, before the creation of the world, and so were you.  We often listen to men, and not to God, and that is to our shame.  I am often confused; some say to an expecting mother, you are with child, while others call it a blob or a fetus. The dictionary defines fetus: “As an unborn vertebrate at a stage when all the structural features of the adult are recognizable, especially an unborn human offspring after eight weeks of development.”  And in another dictionary it gave this: an unborn offspring of a mammal, in particular an unborn human baby more than eight weeks after conception.

Now, that is what the world has to say, that’s the best scientists can come up with, and the world’s wisdom is that from conception it is some kind of a blob, and then it turns into a fetus that looks just like a human baby, but if it has defects or is unwanted, it not a child, it is a fetus; now that’s strange.  But we dare not call it a baby, because it may bother the person or their family who want to get rid of this embarrassment, this blob that is inconvenient.  But it is somewhat confusing to me that the same culture, the same social order, will get all excited if the blob is wanted and they never refer to it as a blob, or a fetus, they call it a baby, they name it, and they show pictures of what it looks like in the mothers womb.  How can that happen?  I must say a little more on this subject: It make one wonder, has what the Abortionist calls a blob, ever came out anything other than a human baby?  It is a simple answer; when the one who is carrying it does not want the child, they put a spin on what it is called, and God calls that murder.

One thing is for sure, many in the church are on both sides of this confusion, it seems as if what God has said means nothing to them, and if that is so, you have been taken captive by the schemes of the devil.  When I read Psalm 139:16, I have no other question on when life begins, it began in the heart of God long before I was.  “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”   For my Christian brothers or sisters who are open to the killing of the inconvenient baby, O’ I know you do not call it a baby, but God does, how can you read this and say that is not what I believe.  Has God given you a choice on what part of Scripture you can believe, I think not, it is written, what happens to the person who does that, and it is not about heaven.  I also know that many a young lady has gone the abortion route, only to have great guilt later, that also is not God’s doing, ask and you will be forgiven, and it then becomes the past.  And if it is still coming into your mind, it is not coming from God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Forerunner

Hebrews 6:13-19

Do you remember someone whose word was unchangeable, that a promise was always fulfilled, if so, you know someone who has the character of God.  Most of us have known a person who keeps their word, but few of us if any have met a person who has never broken a promise.  The smallest of things like a promise to bring home a gallon of milk or missing a child’s ballgame, or forgetting an appointment would be all that is needed to remove us from being a person that always keeps their promises.  But it is refreshing, when you come in contact with a person who is known for being a promise keeper. 

That is not the world of 2011, our leaders have a new word for being promise breakers, they call it spin, and they put the spin they want on the outcome of their actions.  Now the question that each one of us must ask, has God changed, is God faithful to what He has said, does God still call sin, sin, has He changed the word liar to spinner, or do we have the certainty of God’s promises?  Have we foolishly tried to make God in our image, have we foolishly believed that God is in agreement with our sinfulness, just because we change the meaning of words, or because we no longer believe what God has said.  If that is where you find yourself you will want to keep reading.

For just a moment give some thought to what it is like to be God, Geneses 1:1, “In the beginning God,” and the prophet Isaiah recorded this statement in Isaiah 43:13, “Yes, and from ancient days I am he.  No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”  King David had this observation in Psalm 139:8, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”  In Proverbs 15:3, the same message; “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”  The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 4:13, that nothing is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  It is the certainty of God’s promises that has always been the issue, it has always been the unchanging authority of God, and Hebrews 6:13, and the verses that follow make clear that He is not like us, both His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours.  Verse 13, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 

When Paul the apostle stood in Areopagus, (in ancient Athens) a hill on which he met the highest governmental council, he began to address them in this manner; “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.”  (Acts 17:22)  He was addressing people like us, religious people and many were like the majority in our world, after he had spoken they mocked him, but a few wanted to hear more and a few believed.  Verses 29-31, Paul is making the case of the certainty of God’s promises.  “Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.  The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 

Because of the certainty of God’s promise, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A very Personal Letter

Hebrews 6:9-12

What if you got a personal letter from your senior pastor, it was written in long hand, and you knew it was not a form letter sent to the congregation, and it was not asking for money, or wanting you to serve in VBS.  It began in this way,

Dear ______,

“For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.  And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who though faith and patience inherit the promises.”

As you read the letter the second or third time, you grasp that though it was written in long hand, the pastor had sent this same letter to others in your church body.  You also realize that your pastor is not only giving you encouragement, he also is telling you to stay in the race, to keep seeking the will of God, to not lean on your own understanding, to stay in the word of God, and to keep your prayer life seeking the will of God, and His kingdom. 

To whom is the writer of this letter to the Hebrew Christians referring to when he uses the word imitators; would it not be somebody that they had the greatest respect and admiration for?  Someone like Abraham, Noah, Jacob, or Joseph, all of these inherited what had been promised to them.  The writer did not have to assign names, these names were etched into their minds, these names and their actions, their faith, were taught to these Hebrews from a very early age.

The writer is once more saying your Creator has chosen you before you were conceived.  Your Creator designed you with a plan, you are like no one else, He values you and He understands that you will become tired, and that the race is often difficult, and it is sometime awkward to do or achieve.  Often others in the race are cruel, and the race is full of difficulty, many times when you need sympathy or gentleness it seems as if no one cares, and there is always that voice that sounds like you; it says no one really cares if you finish the race, surly God would not require this of you.

For all who are in the race and you who will in the future enter it, I have some great news, the letter did not have it’s origin with your senior pastor, it came direct from the heart of God.  Yes, it was written to some Hebrew brothers and sisters many moons ago. God put into the hearts of men to assimilate all that we needed to live life on planet earth and put them in a handbook on life, God refers to it as His Word, and we call it the Holy Bible.  You will find what you need for each part of the race hidden in the pages of His handbook on life, it is required reading if you hope to stay in the race.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What does it mean to be enlightened

Hebrews 6:1-6

My friend Ken Ryan called me the other day and said, (note: this was written in February 2011)“it will be interesting to see how you handle chapter 6 and especially verse four.”  My first thought was no problem, I’ll just leave that for someone else to explore, but the question is what do I believe, and I believe the Holy Spirit will teach me what I need to know about these verses.  Verses 1-6 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washing, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.  And this we will do if God permits.  For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

It is so important to remember that when “Therefore” is used we must go back and read what came before the therefore.  In this case, he is warning against apostasy.  What is the apostasy?  In this case it was a falling away from Christ, not the renunciation of Christ.  Is this the only time in Scripture that we find this addressed?  The answer is no.  The church of Corinth had become infected with the evils that surrounded that city and was a very immoral place.  This is how Paul addresses that church in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.”  Two very important facts, Paul is calling them brothers, and he is using the same example of milk that he used in Hebrews 5:12, when he was warning against apostasy. 

Did Jesus address the subject of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and the falling away and rejecting the message and becoming an unbeliever?  The answer is found in the gospel of Mark 4:16-19, and in the verses that follow Jesus is referring to a sower of seeds, and the seed is the word of God.  Beginning in verse 16, “And these are the ones sown on rocky ground; the ones who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.  And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are the ones sown among thorns.  They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for others things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” Note: Jesus is making reference to himself, as the word. (John 1:1-5)

In both of these examples we have people who were converted, as one is a convert to a church, but as Jesus states there were not any roots, they were not part of the vine, they never bowed their knee, they never did what is required in Romans 10:9&10 for salvation.  After writing this paper, I looked to see what John Mac Arthur Jr. had to say on the subject.  He asks this question: O.K. Basic question, how long does salvation last?  And the person he asks answers, forever, and John replied, O.K. So now that we got that settled.  I did feel that Mac Arthur added clarity and I’ve added some of his comments.

“Now look back in verse four for a minute. What does it mean to be enlightened…basically? What is enlightenment? Intellectual understanding, right? What does it mean to taste the heavenly gift? Who’s the heavenly gift? Really the Holy Spirit? How could these people have tasted the Holy Spirit? If you ever sat in a church and heard the Word of God preached with power, you’ve tasted the Holy Spirit. If you have ever seen a life changed, you’ve tasted the Holy Spirit. If you ever saw a miracle done by Jesus you’ve tasted the Spirit because He did everything by the power of the Spirit, right? And you are a partaker of the Holy Spirit if you stood on a hillside when Jesus fed 5000 and ate a fish and a little piece of bread, you partook of the power of the Holy Spirit.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Acts of Righteousness

Hebrews 5:11-14

As a younger man, I heard the following message by Peter Lord; “We do more acts of righteousness, than we think or understand.”  Peter was speaking at the Baptist church in Odem, Texas, to people of whom the majority practiced Christianity.  As he delivered the message, I was blown away with this new insight, that anytime we choose to serve others, even the smallest act, like making the bed, or washing dishes, or changing a diaper, with the right heart attitude it is an act of righteousness.  I’m not sure that is Baptist, but it sure is biblical.  When you and I entered into Christ, we entered into a body, we became a living spirit, and the apostle Peter wrote these words under the authority of the Holy Spirit: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

I wonder what happens to any group of people who are not trained, reminded, and told often that they are filled with God’s divine power in all things that pertain to living life.  What happens if they are reminded often that they are dirty rotten sinners, which is not true, at least that is not what God calls them?  I‘m not saying we do not sin, but when we do, it should bring sadness to our hearts.  I believe Peter’s message is on target, we do more acts of righteousness than we choose to sin.  But I also have experienced that many in the body of Christ do not seem to understand the intensive nature of the spiritual battle they enter.  Scripture is very clear that a Christian has a daily battle with their flesh, and with demons and rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness.  So if we remain untrained, we become easy targets, accepting the message of this world system, of the flesh, and the schemes of the devil.  Yes, we believe that voice we hear, the voice that sounds just like our voice, the voice that says you are a failure, or have little or no worth, or you deserve better; it may be stuff, like a house, or job, or husband or wife.  But on the authority of God’s word, none of those messages, are from God.

Yesterday, our pastor, Ray Still said in his message that it seems as if there is an eraser that removes all that was taught in the message as we exit the building.  My friend, Carroll Ray Jr. said that we all have a preacher filter, and that filter does something like this; “that’s just preacher talk, that is what he is suppose to say.”  It is that voice that sounds just like your voice, and to the untrained, to the one who has no understanding of the attack on your soul; you become an easy target, you are taken captive.  Now the bad news is that voice never stops, and it hits me when my emotions are at a high or low, and if I am not on guard and asking for discernment, it will take me on one big flesh trip.

In these verses 11-14, Paul is warning us against apostasy, he is referring to the eraser that Pastor Ray mentioned in his sermon, or the preacher filter.  It is listening to the wrong voice, and not believing that you are filled with God’s divine power in all things that pertain to living life.  So in verse 11, Paul states that we become “dull of hearing” and just quit listening to the message or teaching, and let our minds think on what needs to be done, when we get through with this religious activity.  In verse 12, Paul states that we should be teachers, but we still need to be taught the basic principles of the oracles of God.  We are told in verses 12-13, that we need milk, and milk is being referred to as what you give a beginner in Christ, it is beginner material, not solid food.  He goes on to state that those who stay on milk are unskilled in the word of righteousness, since they are children.  And we all know that a child must be trained to put others first or they will throw a fit when they do not get their way.  Verse 14, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”  I believe a warning is needed; the battle never ends, not while there is breath in your body.  The devil is not in a hurry he has no problem with you studying the Bible, if he can keep you from practicing and applying it to your life. In fact, he loves self-righteous religious folks they make his job easier.  But when we apply and abide in those truths, when we look to our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and put no trust in self, when we learn to take all thoughts captive, when we learn to seek the Lord in prayer; a praying Christian is mighty in this world, then we become more than conquerors.  That is living in victory in all things, in good times and in calamity.  Jim Daly had this to say on prayer in his new book “Stronger” page 160, “When prayer is a regular habit we’re more likely to depend on Him for the solutions to our problems.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“Faith it"

 

Hebrews 5: 7-10

We earth people or as my friend Bill calls us “time critters” can only grasp so much.  How can the finite (subject to measurable limitations) understand infinite  (without any limits that can be measured or realized)?  It is clear that it is impossible to grasp the fullness of God, and yet it seems that some folks come across as if they understand the totality of God or some take the stand that because they cannot measure or realize the Creator they deny His existence.  Each is extreme, each will lead to a life of self, and both are looking for followers that will revere them.  That is why we often read pass segments of the Bible that we call deep waters, and often forget to ask the Holy Spirit, our teacher, to show us the truth that we need to live and bring glory to our Father in heaven.  I believe Hebrews 5:7-10 is one segment that is not what any of us finites would do.

It is telling us that when Jesus was in His earthsuit, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”  If your mind works anything like mine, and let us pray it does not, you might have a few questions invade your thinking that are not enjoyable.  First, let me state that the Bible is very clear that Jesus is our Creator, Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

But these questions arise from Hebrews 5:7-10, first was Jesus less than God when He took on flesh?  We find the answer in Philippians 2:5-11, beginning in verse 5 we are told to have the same mind as Christ, and it is clear we can have the mind of Christ, (1Cornthians 2:16).  In verse 6-11 we are told the answer to my question: “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As a finite, this part of Scripture is some deep, very deep water; “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect” It is clear that Jesus though being God chose to conform to the limitation of being a man, and run to His Father for everything.  Is that not the message, the theme of the entire Bible, we are to run to God for everything.  I believe Hebrews 10, covers the question that filled my mind, but only in the presence of God in heaven will I begin to grasp the majesty of God, for His ways are higher than my ways, His thoughts are higher than mine.  Now getting back to Hebrews 10:5-7, “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

So my fellow searcher, what should we take away from Hebrews 5:7-10?  Questions that  cannot be measured or realized, and so we “faith it;” choose to believe God and to act on the will of God.  Jesus had these words for us in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Run if they have all the answer

 

Hebrews 5:1-10

Over the years I’ve grown wise to those who seem to always have an answer to every mystery.  The Bible is full of mystery, and many seem to have no understanding, they seem to be without any reasoning, any equation, it seems as if we must choose to believe or not believe.  Is it possible to explain God by anything but faith?  Some might say yes, we see God in creation, in the order of the universe, and in the birth of a child, and I would agree with that, but that still does not explain God.   God has stated clearly in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”   And if that was not so you would not need faith, and you would not need God.  Today I am looking at one of those mysteries found in Hebrews 5:1-10, who can explain this person Melchizedek?

Melchizedek is addressed in Scripture ten times, and seven of them are in the book of Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1,10,11,15,17.  He is also referred to in Genesis 14:18; and Psalms 110: 4.  Beginning in Genesis 14:18, you find Abram, long before God changed his name to Abraham, coming back from rescuing his nephew Lot, and the women and the people and the kings of Sodom when out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh.  Verse 18, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”  So we have this information, Melchizedek was a king of Salem, a priest of God Most High and he blessed Abram.  He also makes it clear that Abram with 318 men did not defeat this army of kings, but it was the unseen God who delivered them into his hands.

In Psalm 110 we have king David giving a prophetic statement about Christ and verse 4 injects this insight; “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”  It is noteworthy to mention that the time line from Abraham to Moses was about 540 years and it is over 80 years from that time before we see Aaron being appointed by God as a priest.  So we add to the puzzle this fact that Melchizedek is a priest of God, some 620 years before a priestly line was established on the earth.

In fifth chapter of Hebrews we have this introduction of how and why a high priest is chosen.  “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”  Moving to verse 5, “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you;” as he said also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”  Verse 10, referring to Jesus, “being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”  So what is the order of Melchizedek?  Chapter seven gives some light on the subject, but you will never understand Melchizedek any more than you will God unless you address it by faith.

Hebrews 7:1-3, “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.  He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.  He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”  After reading that you must come to the understanding that this Melchizedek is not a created being, he had no beginning or end, he is like God, and there in opens a can of worms that is impossible to understand using logic, it will require faith. 

I do not have to understand nor do you these deep truths of God, but we do have to choose by faith to believe this; “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice