Morning Musings – Page 84

Morning Musing: Jeremiah 32:17

July 22, 2022July 22, 2022Leave a comment

“Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’m tired as I write this lying in my bed waiting for the ZzzQuil I took almost an hour ago to kick in so that I can get at least a reasonable night of sleep on the hard, bunk house mates currently underneath me. And why am I in such a state? Because I have spent the week chaperoning our kids at LifeWay’s flagship kids camp, CentriKid. Tomorrow is the last day, and I can’t wait to see my wife and to sleep soundly in my own, much more comfortable bed. Yet for the lack of amenities this week, it has been wonderful and worth every sacrifice to be here. This is not only to get to see growth in a great group of kids with my own eyes (something not very many senior pastors ever get to witness), but because I, too, have spent the week being reminded to not lose their far more natural, childlike sense of wonder at our God. Rather than tell you about the latest Marvel offering this week, let me tell you why this was such a good week.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 7:26-8:1

July 21, 2022Leave a comment

“For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do — first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.” (CSB – Read chapter 7, read chapter 8)

We like to do things for ourselves. Mostly. Laziness and the desire to have everything done for you is more of a cultural malady now than it has ever been in our past, but there are still many folks who prefer to do things for themselves. And this isn’t a bad thing either. I can point you to verses where we are encouraged to work hard so that we don’t have to rely on anyone else to provide our basic needs for us. But there are some things we can’t do on our own. One of the chief of these things is ironic because in a culture in which laziness and dependency are growing challenges, it is the one thing most people still want to do for themselves. What I’m talking about is connecting with God. We need help with that. The author is Hebrews here is talking about the kind of help we need. Let’s join the conversation.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 7:23-25

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022Leave a comment

“Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Nothing lasts forever. At least, that’s something the world teaches us. We learn it, though, less by direct teaching, and more by experience. I remember a whole variety of endings from over the course of my life: The passing, one by one, of my grandparents, my grade school principal’s retirement (before I went to junior high), the graduation of high school classes ahead of mine, the end of college, the end of seminary, the end of one ministry (which preceded the beginning of another, but still…), and so on and so forth. Everything ends. People end. How can we really trust in anything? Because some things do last forever. Specifically, Jesus does. Let’s talk this morning about why that matters.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 7:1-10

July 14, 2022Leave a comment

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace. Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Now consider how great this man was: even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him. The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people — that is, from their brothers and sisters — though they have also descended from Abraham. But one without this lineage collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case, men who will die receive a tenth, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives. And in a sense Levi himself, who receives a tenth, has paid a tenth through Abraham, for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We’ve seen his name over and over in this letter. I even stopped and gave some background on who he was. Here at last, though, we arrive at the part where the author of Hebrews finally explains who Melchizedek is and why he has been using him as an illustration of the kind of priest Jesus is vis-a-vis the Levitical priesthood. I included the whole block of text about it here so you didn’t have to click through to read it all. Like the big block from chapter 5 we looked at a few weeks ago, I couldn’t break this up. We’ll take the rest of chapter seven in slightly smaller bits as he draws more contrasts between Melchizedek and Jesus and the Levitical priesthood. For now, though, let’s talk through what’s going on here.

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Morning Musing: Hebrew 6:19-20

July 13, 2022Leave a comment

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

In the ancient world, it was broadly understood that you weren’t going to have an audience with the gods. Ever. They were bigger, higher, and more powerful than you. No one thought about them as particularly righteous, but they were gods and you were not. No, getting into the presence of the gods took the right kind of sacrifices offered by the approved representatives following the right set of instructions at the right time. This one person went into the gods’ presence on your behalf. You never got such a privilege yourself. There was forever a distance between you and them…and you and Him. We were never saved by that, God was never happy with that, so Jesus fixed it. Here, the author of Hebrews tells us how, but in terms that would have made more sense to his audience than they do us. Let’s talk about it.

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