Hebrews 10 Today

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Hebrews 10:1-39
Christ's Sacrifice Once for All
1The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
3But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said,
"You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you. 6 No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin. 7 Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God— just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.'" F43
8Christ said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them" (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9Then he added, "Look, I have come to do your will." He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
11Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God's right hand. 13There he waits until his enemies are humbled as a footstool under his feet. 14For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.
15And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. First he says,
16 "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts so they will understand them, and I will write them on their minds so they will obey them."
17Then he adds,
"I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." F44
18Now when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
A Call to Persevere
19And so, dear brothers and sisters, F45 we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. F46
21And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, 22let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. 25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
26Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
28 Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to his people.
30For we know the one who said, "I will take vengeance. I will repay those who deserve it."
He also said,
"The Lord will judge his own people." F47
31It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32Don't ever forget those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. When all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew you had better things waiting for you in eternity.
35Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
37 "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away." F48 39But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation.
FOOTNOTES:F43: Ps 40:6-8. F44: Jer 31:33-34. F45: Greek brothers. F46: Greek his flesh. F47: Deut 32:35-36. F48: Hab 2:3-4.

Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved

~ Lena’s Journalin’
It is impossible to save ourselves without receiving Christ. The only way to salvation is Christ. That narrows it down a lot, huh? Should be easy, but life offers so many choices it is sometimes hard for us to choose only one savior. Our society cannot even seem to choose only one house, car, spouse etc. Even at the grocery store they boast of 57 varieties of mustard alone.
So many choices to make, yet only one is truly, eternally important.
Is Jesus Christ our Lord? Savior and Lord? Have we chosen Him?
The sacrifice we now make is a life given continually over to His use. Old sacrifices were a body dead and burned, now it is a life alive unto the purposes of God and that takes the choice of obedience. Obedience is not fulfilled by obeying only once, but every time I hear His voice. I look to hear His voice and see what I may obey, rather than hiding from His voice and per chance I may hear it, I’d be required to obey it. No, this is purposeful relational hearing with intent to do. A lifestyle of hearing and doing.
Jesus Christ Himself left this earth, leaving us with the full supernatural ability to hear and do whatever His Father’s voice inside of us and confirmed inside of the word of God, tells us to do. We do not have to seek Him so far off, as though we’d have to go to heaven to hear and do, but He now is alive through His Holy Spirit in the earth, he lives inside of each man who has received Him. His voice is heard inside of our inner voice, He speaks to us from within us. We can’t now say, when I go work to get my animal and make the journey to bring it to the priest and then when I wait for my turn in line and I sacrifice it, then I will hear God’s voice telling me to obey. No we don’t have to go far at all, we listen to the heart of God within our own hearts.
Christ died, for us to have the ability to hear the voice of Our Father God.
We do not have to wait for a priest to intercede or to translate or to interpret for us. We have a Priest higher than any other priest on earth. This priest opened the door to God the Father for us and kept it open for anyone who would go commune with Him daily. We have full unhindered access by faith in His one time for all sacrifice for sin. We’ve been granted full access to our Father through the blood of Christ.
If we do not speak with and listen to our Father, we may not yet believe in the provision made for our fellowship with Him. We must receive the provision made for us and go there, there’s no other place to go.
If we choose not to go there daily, we will find our lives in the seeking mode continually, for we were created by Him to seek and find Him. If we think we can choose later on it may be too late. If we think we’ve chosen by not choosing Him, we will find we should have, wish we would have given our lives to him while we are alive.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Why not run into His arms, rather than fall there later on?

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Isaiah 58:12 You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language