In Praise of Who You Are

September 10

“We want each of you to go on with the same hard work all your lives so you will surely get what you hope for. We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.

“These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when He makes a promise and He cannot lie when He makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong. It enters behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in Heaven where Jesus has gone ahead of us and for us. He has become the High Priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:11, 12, 18, 20.

The first matter Paul addresses to the Hebrew believers is diligence. Like them, we must be resolute in our determination that our service to the Kingdom of Christ will result in what we hope for—the salvation of souls for eternity. If we are patient and if we are steadfast in faith, we will see the promise, for we know it is the Lord’s will that all men be saved (see I Timothy 2:4).

We know that God’s word is “yea and amen,” II Corinthians 1:20, and His precious promises have all been fulfilled in Jesus. All that remains is for each man to accept the redemption that Jesus purchased for him and has given to him through His “unspeakable gift,” II Corinthians 9:15.

Of course, any gift can be refused and the unfortunate thing is that many who abide in this Vale of Tears have rejected the promise that is above all promises. Many are among those who deny the veracity of the promise of Christ who extends salvation to everyone who’s ever lived.

Many turn their backs on the Lord and His mercy because they deny who He is. They do not accept that Jesus is the ONLY Savior and Lord, that His is “the only name given under Heaven whereby men might be saved,” Acts 4:12. In their denial, they relegate themselves to the lot of the damned who must eternally bear the punishment for their own sins.

But for us who believe, “we have a hope that is an anchor for our soul; an anchor that is sure and strong.” This hope allows us to enter into the Holy Place in Heaven where Jesus is, where we may bow before our High Priest in worship and adoration of the One who set us free from the chains of sin with which the evil one had us bound and where we may “receive grace and mercy that will help us in time of need,” Hebrews 4:16.

Lord Jesus, remove the scales from our eyes so that we might behold You in Your glory and bow before You in praise of who You are. The Word tells us that one day, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; every knee on earth and in heaven and in hell shall bow before Him and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God,” Philippians 2:10.

Lord, let us be among those who bow before You in life so we may bow before You eternally in heaven.