Our Great High Priest

The Lord , our Great High Priest and what we have in Him.

Hebrews 4:14, 2:17  7:25   8:6    10:19

In these verses we find what we have in our Priest and what He alone can do.

Life’s greatest joy is to respond to God’s love in praise and worship

Life’s greatest privilege is to walk with God

Life’s greatest opportunity is to serve God.

Life’s greatest comfort is to trust God.

For this to be maintained, we must have the priestly work  (take it for ourselves) of the great High Priest. His work means that we can immediately be restored to fellowship with God, and it makes us fit for worship and praise. It brings us to God and it means that we can be comforted  and restored if we fail. Whenever we are tempted we cannot resist in our own strength, but if we have a genuine heart and desire to overcome it, we can lift up our hearts in faith to our Priest and He will give us grace and strength to overcome. When we have a problem, any problem we can take it to the Lord in prayer. There is not a problem He cannot meet if we fix our eyes and heart on Him, We must in every circumstance come with full assurance of faith and with a willing, humble and genuine heart.

When we are right with God, obedience is done gladly, but when cold in heart it will be a duty. People are not prepared or able to let guilt go. We must confess our sin immediately ( and not save it up till the end of the day) and let all guilt go immediately.

When we pray or worship we are standing in the throne room of heaven and the mighty God of the great universe bends to hear us, weak and frail that we are. If we are to continue in growth and joy, we must find our everything in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must get our eyes fixed on God and look at His glory and love  so as to worship and praise Him.

James McKee

Riches

The very real danger of riches.

Many parts of the Bible refer to the  dangers of riches - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Gospels, teachings of Paul and James. It has often been  said that being rich is not a sin, but wanting to be rich is a sin.

I ask you to read though the Gospel records and note the discipleship teaching of the Master. He knows best: for example

"How hardly shall those who have riches enter into the kingdom of God"

Our western culture pushes us very hard to be rich and independent of God. My Lord said:

"Verily I say to you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall nowise enter into it."      Mark 10

again 

"Blessed are you who are poor"     Luke 6.20

How can this be?   because He who was rich, became poor!   2 Corinthians 8

JRM

Signs and miacles

The Sign

The Pharisees came  to Jesus seeking a sign. He responded:

“Why does this generation seek a sign?  Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

Why?  - because of their unbelief?

-      Because of His hidden purpose of dying as a sacrifice?

I rather think it is because the ‘word of God’ had been consolidated and made available. He Himself referred to the Torah, the Psalms and the Prophets as His source of authority.

“Moses wrote of me”  Deuteronomy 18

“ David’s son”   Psalm 110

“”Numbered with the transgressors” Isaiah 53

Many miracles and signs were done, and John the baptizer was referred to this as the as proof of His mission.  His primary goal in serving the people was by teaching, to bring the people to God in harmony with the Old Testament scriptures (to repent and believe the gospel).  He sure did bring new teaching to the ears of the disciples, but as a matter of convincing them of His authority, He directed them to the Old Testament scriptures.

So today, in situations of illiteracy and ignorance, God may choose to use signs and miracles, but where the Bible is so readily available, the revealed truth is the issue. For example in India, miracles are often the means to bring people to Christ. In the Middle East, dreams are sometimes God’s initial point of contact. In the west, where Bibles are so abundant, God is speaking through His word (Old Testament and New Testament).

Hence my purpose, to direct people to the Lord Jesus Christ via the Bible.

If you do not have a Bible, please send me an email and I will endeavour to send you one.

johnmckee@internode.on.net

Danger

Truth or traditions

The Lord Jesus Christ said:

"This people honours Me with their lips

     but their heart is far from Me.

   In vain do they worship Me,

     teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

Mark 7:6

JRM

The fruit of Christian living

God has put in place  the means for each Christian to be like a fruitful tree.

The intended fruit is:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self control.

I think I posted this before. In this time of humanism we need to be reminded again and again

Please read in the Bible, Galatians chapter 5.

John McKee

Discipleship

Being Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ

To follow Him, we need to trace His journey.

His first step – “Here am I send Me” – complete surrender of His will to the will of the father.

Step two – “He was rich, but for your sakes He became poor” – complete emptying of His possessions for others

Step three – “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – entering a ruined humanity.

Step four – “ ...came not to be ministered unto , but to minister and give His life a ransom for many” – washing the feet of others instead of seeking status or dominance.

Step five – “suffered the just for the unjust to bring us to God” – in perfect harmony with the will of God at age 33, He surrenders his life for the life of others. A cross death.

Step six – “by the right hand of God exalted” – the reward of humility.

This is the path the Master trod, should not the disciple tread it too. The teachings of the Lord Himself insist on it. The life of Peter exemplifies it.

Are you ready to be His true disciple?

Best to sit down and count the cost before saying 'I will follow you wherever you go'

The Lord Jesus said to Peter  'Follow Me'    -  and he did.

JRM

Effective evangelism

1 Thessalonians 2  (ESV)

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.