Friday 18 April, 2014

9 Dear friends, we have to say these things. But we are sure of better things in your case. We are talking about the things that go along with being saved. 10 God is fair. He will not forget what you have done. He will remember the love you have shown him. You showed it when you helped his people. And you show it when you keep on helping them. 11 We want each of you to be faithful to the very end. We want you to be sure of what you hope for. 12 We don’t want you to slow down. Instead, be like those who have faith and are patient. They will receive what God promised. 13 When God made his promise to Abraham, he took an oath to keep it. But there was no one greater than himself to take an oath by. So he took his oath by making an appeal to himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you. I will give you many children.” (Genesis 22:17) 15 Abraham was patient while he waited. Then he received what God promised him. 16 People take oaths by someone greater than themselves. An oath makes a promise certain. It puts an end to all arguing. 17 So God took an oath when he made his promise. He wanted to make it very clear that his purpose does not change. He wanted those who would receive what was promised to know that. 18 God took an oath so we would have good reason not to give up. We have run away from everything else to take hold of the hope offered to us in God’s promise. So God gave his promise and his oath. Those two things can’t change. He couldn’t lie about them. 19 Our hope is certain. It is something for the soul to hold on to. It is strong and secure. It goes all the way into the Most Holy Room behind the curtain. 20 That is where Jesus has gone. He went there to open the way ahead of us. He has become a high priest forever, just like Melchizedek.

Hope. There is a race to be run and I must run with a firm hope that the One I run for will reward me wonderfully at the end. God does not lie. He will restore the universe and remove all pain, however, this has not happened yet. He has promised that he has prepared a place for me, but I have not inherited it yet. There is still work to be done before that day as far as God is concerned. I must be diligent in that work so that I run towards my hope and not away from it.

Abraham believed God’s promise to him of a son in his old age. That son was the beginning of God fulfilling an even bigger promise.

I have been given even greater signs of God’s faithfulness to his promises. I have the Holy Spirit with me always, because Jesus went into the Most Holy Place for me, to secure for me the promise of eternal life with God and His people. The presence of the Holy Spirit is God’s confirmation that I will inherit even more as I follow Him.

Lord, life is not always straight forward or easy, following you brings its own sorts of trials and even persecutions. But you are faithful, and you have promised to save me completely from this wicked age. You have already saved me from my wicked self. My hope is sure Lord, I fix it on your faithfulness and will continue to follow you!

Written by Andrew Mellor