Hebrews 8:1 (KJV) That Sums It Up

Hebrews 8:1 (KJV)
Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

The word “sum” tells me that those things that follow summarize those things that proceeded. To sum the summation:

Our High Priest is in heavenVs 1-5

Our High Priest gives us a better covenantVs 5-13

Our High Priest will not remember our sins and iniquitiesVs 12

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Hebrews 8:1 (KJV) That Sums It Up

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Job 31:35 (KJV) We Have What Job Longed For

Job 31:35 (KJV)
Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

A friend recently pointed this verse out to me and offered some very helpful insights.

Job is here expressing his case. As far as he knew, he had committed none of the heinous sins his friends were just sure he must have done (though they could not name one or prove it if they had). Previous to this verse Job is at a loss. He lists possible sins and declares himself innocent of them all.

Then here he makes his request. Job prays for a thing that believers have enjoyed possessing for the last nineteen hundred years; a completed and perfect book revealing God’s plan for men. Job’s own life event is both contained in that book and answered by the book.

The Bible, God’s answer to the struggle of fallen man, has gone through four thousand years of writing, two thousand years of abuse and refinement and four hundred years of attempted corruption but God has kept His Word perfect, pure and profitable.

All that remains is that we learn it.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Job 31:35 (KJV) We Have What Job Longed For

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Job 29:2-3 (KJV) Job- A Type of Christ

Job 29:2-3 (KJV)
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;

No one person in the Bible is a perfect type of Jesus Christ. We do, however, find types of Christ in a great many Old Testament characters such as Joseph, David, Solomon and, in this piece of his account, Job.

He speaks of the glory of former daysJob 29:2-3

Christ first setting is heavenly glory. He laid that down to identify with and become man but He always looked to the day of His restored glory.

He did the work of deliveranceJob 29:12-14

Through His own righteousness and personal sacrifice many are delivered from sin and sing for joy.

Job is a judge of the wicked and brings vengeance for the bereft.Job 29:17

The believer need never seek vengeance as he is assured God will make all things right.

He prophesied his deathJob 29:18-20

It was the death burial and resurrection of Christ that purchased our liberty.

Upon His Words hang the very souls of menJob 29:21-22

The Word of God is the most important thing a man possesses in this life.

It is for His Word we assemble and waitJob 29:23-24

This is church. We gather to hear His very Word.

He gives us direction leadership weapons and comfortJob 29:25

All of it from His Word

The type continues into Job chapter 30. I leave to the interested reader to develop this likenesses.

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Job 29:2-3 (KJV) Job- A Type of Christ

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Hebrews 6:11 (KJV) Full Assurance of Hope

Hebrews 6:11 (KJV)
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

There is hope, there is the full assurance of hope and then there is possessing that full assurance unto the end.

The hope of the Christian is eternal lifeIt is not as the world gives, a vain and empty hope but one based on the promise of God. It is unconditional and once made is certain and sure.

The full assurance of hope is however, conditional.Though I have a thing doesn’t necessarily mean I am confident in my possession. Confidence of eternal life is developed through obedience to the things of God as given in God’s Word. The more we know God’s Word and have proved it through obedience to it, the more assured we become in its promises.

The full assurance to the end comes only through faithfulnessWhile eternal life is unconditional and therefore secure, the full assurance of that eternal life can be had and lost. The desire of the Apostle was that these (and we may add, we) would possess the full assurance until that last day we dwell in this mortal life. His desire therefore was for our faithfulness. He desired that not a few but that every one of us diligently continue our ministry unto the end so that we would possess the full assurance of our hope unto the end.

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Hebrews 6:11 (KJV) Full Assurance of Hope

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Job 27:6 (KJV) His Heart Never Condemned Him

Job 27:6 (KJV)
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Job found himself in a situation where reproach was all around him.

• It felt as if God had reproached him allowing him to suffer as he did
• It is certain that Satan had reproached him as is recorded in this book 
• His wife had reproached him, we know not what became of her
• His friends had reproached him and continued to do so

But Job said that there was one thing he had determined would not reproach him; his own heart. He knew that none of this had come upon him due to any unrighteousness found in him. Job was no more perfect than anyone else but he had a living relationship with God. That relationship provided his righteousness. He would not allow his circumstances or the accusations of his friends to break down that trusting relationship and thus allow his own heart to accuse and reproach him.

1 John 3:19-22
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

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Job 27:6 (KJV) His Heart Never Condemned Him

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Hebrews 5:1-3 (KJV) The Priestly Role of the Believer

Hebrews 5:1-3 (KJV)
For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

These are the qualifications of the Aaronic priesthood in contrast to the priesthood of Christ. If there is a corollary, and I believe there is, it is with the believer and not the preacher. Every believer is a priest today. Thus we might apply these qualities to our own role:

We ought to focus on things pertaining to GodThe Christian ought to be such full time. Life for the believer ought to be entirely about things pertaining to God.

We ought to have compassionThe need of man is compassion from God shed through the hearts of the saints.

We ought to remember our own infirmities and not just those of othersNo one has arrived to such a place of spiritual maturity that we can afford to forget our own need of growth mercy and forgiveness.

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Hebrews 5:1-3 (KJV) The Priestly Role of the Believer

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Hebrews 4:14 (KJV) Something To Really Fear

Hebrews 4:14 (KJV)
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

The phrase “let us” is found four times in this chapter (and a number of other times in the book of Hebrews):

• Vs 1
• Let us therefore fear
• Vs 11
• Let us labor therefore 
• Vs 14
• Let us hold fast
• Vs 16
• Let us therefore come boldly

The first two of these (and I believe a case can be made the same is true of the other two) are nearly discounted in modern Christianity. My focus is on the first of the four.

Even though the Bible assures us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning both of knowledge and of wisdom, fearing God is far from preached in the average pulpit. Today’s preacher is much more likely to focus on God’s accessibility, His love, His forgiveness. Not many Christians even consider that they might want also to fear Him.

Years ago there was a man in the church I pastored at the time, who could not stand that I am afraid of bees. It’s a pretty irrational fear, I know, but I am afraid of them. I got attacked by a bunch of them when I was a little boy and it isn’t something I want to have happen again. At any rate, he quoted from the book of James how that there is no fear in love and that perfect love casteth out fear. He tried to convince me that I was disobeying the Bible by being afraid of bees and wanted to teach me to love bees so I would no longer be afraid of them. It is this sort of misinterpretation of the Bible that leaves people so very far from God.

The Bible repeatedly and through many different lenses urges us fear the Lord. In this case we are to fear that we have come short of the promise of God.

The example is Old Testament Israel. They all possessed the same opportunity for rest but they did not all receive it. In our day this would translate into that we all have the same opportunity for salvation and peace with God but not everybody who thinks they have it do.

We take faith much too flippantly these days. We are far too casual with the Gospel. We fail to see the throne of grace as a place to find grace and help; we have come to view it as a place to demand our rights.

And in so doing many of us have missed God altogether.

That’s something to really fear.

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Hebrews 4:14 (KJV) Something To Really Fear

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Job 26:1-4 (KJV) A Course on Comfort

Job 26:1-4 (KJV)
But Job answered and said,How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

The Bible tells us to try the spirits whether they be of God. Job does that very thing in this passage. His reply to Bildad was simply, “whose spirit came from thee?” It obviously wasn’t God’s.

Notice the questions Job urges Bildad to consider:

• How hast thou helped?
• How savest thou the arm?
• How hast thou counseled?
• How hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
• To whom hast thou uttered words?
• Whose spirit came from thee?

We would be wise to weigh any counsel or comfort we offer others on the scale of these questions.

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Job 26:1-4 (KJV) A Course on Comfort

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Job 23:6 (KJV) What a Testimony!

Job 23:6 (KJV)
Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

What an impressive demonstration of faith. How could a person imagine a man in lower straits? Job had lost very nearly everything

• His wife was no comfort 
• His children were dead
• His resources were depleted
• His influence was exhausted 
• His body was ravished with disease

To top it off his friends were nothing more than thorns ripping holes in his soul.

It is in the midst of all of this that Job boldly declares God was not against him. Further he insisted that in fact God did all of this to “put strength” in him.

• What a testimony 
• What an example

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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To my readers:
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Job 23:6 (KJV) What a Testimony!

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Job 21:4 (KJV) No One Else Need Know

Job 21:4 (KJV)
As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

Some years ago I had to have a heart catheter in view of a possible open heart surgery. As the prospect of this potentially monumental life event drew close I determined that I didn’t want to have a ton of people around me while I was in the hospital. I called on one trusted preacher friend to pray with me, had a couple of men from the church I pastor who came to a waiting room and prayed and I had my immediate family there. The situation was:

• Huge
• Scary and 
• Stressful

I just didn’t want to be pressed upon by people.

I wonder if Job might have felt a bit like that? He was in a terrible situation. He had and continued to meet with God about it. The supposed friends served no real purpose but to interfere with that meeting.

It was under these circumstances that Job told these miserable comforters that

• His complaint
• His communication
• His distresses 

were between him and the Lord. If they had not pressed in and refused to give him space, they may not ever have known that Job’s spirit was troubled.

All of us go through times when we must pour out our hearts to the Lord. Those times are best accomplished in private or at least with only very trusted comforters.

No one else need ever know of our troubled spirit.

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Job 21:4 (KJV) No One Else Need Know

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Hebrews 1:12 (KJV) Just Like Changing Clothes

Hebrews 1:12 (KJV)
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

It is the fact that these words are inspired of the Holy Spirit that they are so interesting to me. People are given to hyperbole and exaggeration. Not so the Lord.

Given that, consider the ease, the casual nature of God’s description of that day when God destroys the current heavens and earth and creates them brand new. It will be for Him as uneventful as when we fold up our current garments to change into new.

• It is effortless 
• It is normal
• It is standard business 

A child can change their own clothes by the time they are just a few years old. This is about the easiest, almost carefree thing a human being ever does.

God changes the heaven and the earth with such ease.

And He loves us.

He promises to save us from eternal hell and forgive us of our sins if only we will turn from those sins to Jesus Christ. He goes with us through our trials. He indwells us by His Spirit. He urges us to come to him in prayer.

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Hebrews 1:12 (KJV) Just Like Changing Clothes

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Philemon 1:15 (KJV) Perhaps?

Philemon 1:15 (KJV)
For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

The Apostle Paul seems to choose his words very carefully.

He says, “perhaps” giving room for reconsideration.I believe Paul was confident that God had used the departure of Onesimus for the furtherance of the Gospel. By employing the word “perhaps” he allows Philemon a window to dispute the position and thereby think about it and come to the mind of God. If Paul had been too forceful or dogmatic Philemon may have just stiffened up and not given the proposition place to settle in.

He says “departure” rather than to refer to Onesimus as a runaway.Philemon would have been smarting over the loss of Onesimus. His absence would have caused financial loss. It would also have impacted his personal ego. Possession of a slave was a matter of social standing. To have lost one is indicative of irresponsible handling of the slave and might imply abuse (if the slave feels the need to escape).

Paul chose to soften the blow by labeling it a departure and then to reference the possibility of positive consequences.

Perhaps all our trials and difficulties would become softer and easier to rejoice in if we viewed them all as “perhaps used of God for eternal blessing.”

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Philemon 1:15 (KJV) Perhaps?

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Titus 3:1 (KJV) Give Him Influence

Titus 3:1 (KJV)
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

There is much content in this chapter but before we get into it the Apostle gives us a principle; the preacher’s job is to put people’s minds in a certain order.

People think about a variety of things:

• Political 
• Social 
• Environmental 
• Economical

Sometimes people think about sports interests or family concerns.

Apostle Paul insisted that the preacher has the responsibility to influence and steer the minds of his congregation.

This leads me to suggest that believers ought to allow their preacher the influence God places upon him.

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Titus 3:1 (KJV) Give Him Influence

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Titus 2:4-5 (KJV) Teach “To”

Titus 2:4-5 (KJV)
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

The lesson here is of course to the aged or more spiritually mature women. The encouragement is that they would conduct themselves in such a way that they may teach the younger women.

I notice that they are not told to teach these younger women “how to” but “to.” This is not a classroom setting. We miss the point when we picture a mature woman leading a course lecture entitled “How to love your husband”. She teaches “to” and not “how to.”

The distinction is important because the manner of teaching is different for each. In order to teach “how to” the instructor provided books, class notes lectures and facilitates discussion. In order to teach “to” the instructor provides example.

Maybe the most dramatic illustration of the difference is that of the medical professional advising the patient to stop smoking while the odor of their own clothes betrays that they had just left the doctor’s smoking lounge. It is possible to tell a person they should quit smoking, give them information about the dangers of smoking and provide them with methods on how to stop smoking while at the same time they smoke.

Teaching “to” is an entirely different sort. It likely had no class and surely will not pass out literature. It uses a much more powerful teacher’s aide; example. This teacher has no scheduled course time. There will never be an assembly of students. The teacher doesn’t advertise the program and no grade are issued when it is finished. The teacher probably won’t think of themself as teachers and likely very few view themselves as their student. They are learning nonetheless.

This is the biblical and most powerful way to teach.

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Titus 2:4-5 (KJV) Teach “To”

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Titus 1:16 (KJV) Contumacious?

Titus 1:16 (KJV)
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

While a person’s profession of faith is important, it is not necessarily proof of a true and vital relationship with Christ. We profess Christ as much by our works as we do by our mouths. Little of spiritual and eternal value is accomplished by a profession of faith followed with works of denial. This passage classes such works as:

AbominableStrong’s Concordance defines this as detestable, especially idolatrous. These are actions that place something else before God.

DisobedientWe all know what this means. Strong’s defines it as “contumacious” a term used most commonly in the legal field to speak of the “stubbornly rebellious”. This is the person who chooses disobedience to God despite judgment against it. We live in a contumacious society these days.

ReprobateThis means rejected or cast away. I think we can apply it from two perspectives:

• They reject and cast away good work. They choose the evil over the good. 
• They are therefore rejected and cast away by God. He will not accept what good they might do. Eternally they are cast away into hell fire. 

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Titus 1:16 (KJV) Contumacious?

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2 Timothy 4:14-15 (KJV) Calling Alexander Out

2 Timothy 4:14-15 (KJV)
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

Once again we find Apostle Paul calling a man out by name. Apparently he wasn’t as concerned about lawsuits as people are these days! I see three thoughts of Paul concerning Alexander the coppersmith:

He had done Paul much evilWe know that he had spoken negatively and incited a riot. We know that Paul was forced to discontinue his very profitable ministry in that region because of him. What other evil he had done, we can’t tell.

Paul pronounced judgment against himThis is much like a phrase I use sometimes, “God will get you.” Those times I have said that have not been well received but I believe it to be truth.

Paul warned Timothy about himThough God is keeping account and will do exactly as Paul claimed, for the present Alexander was still alive still evil and still a danger.

I have no doubt that God will reward evil treatment of his people. That doesn’t mean that we, His people will never be persecuted or that we will personally see the judgments of the evil ones.

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2 Timothy 4:14-15 (KJV) Calling Alexander Out

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2 Timothy 3:2-4 (KJV) Lovers Of…

2 Timothy 3:2-4 (KJV)
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

These verses are framed by the words, “lovers of …”

It begins with the accusation that, in the lasts days, “…men shall be lovers of their own selves….”
I wonder if anyone today sees this as the sin God does. Self-love, I believe, is the root that leads to every sin listed below it.

• It is the window through which wicked pride shines out and manifests itself. 
• It is the curtain by which the light of the glorious gospel is shut out and men are left in darkness.

The passage ends with “…lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”
This is the conclusion and the final outcome of the first. When self is loved then it is established as a god. Idolatry is never monotheistic so the one who loves and worships self loves and worships pleasure. When once the idol of self is set up other idols are collected with it. Soon the self-lover is so surrounded by false gods that the true and living God is barely a thought.

The most perilous times do not revolve around a vacuum of gods but around the increase of them.

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2 Timothy 3:2-4 (KJV) Lovers Of…

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2 Timothy 2:1 When I Am Strongest

2 Timothy 2:1 (KJV)
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

The all important grace is “in Christ Jesus. “

• It’s not merely of Christ Jesus belonging only to Him
• It’s not in Timothy
• It’s not in Paul
• It is not the product of good works accomplished by any man. 

Grace is in Christ Jesus.

Therefore if I want to experience this grace I too must be in Christ Jesus. I can be strongest in that grace when I am most hidden in Christ. Whenever I come out of hiding I come out of Christ and I come away from this grace.

This is how a believer falls from grace. It is not that they lose salvation but that they are out from the cover of protection Christ provides.

Like the soldier in the armored vehicle, I am strongest when I am hidden in Christ and letting Him be my strength.

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2 Timothy 2:1 When I Am Strongest

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2 Timothy 1:6 (KJV) All Stirred Up

2 Timothy 1:6 (KJV)
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Timothy had a gift. It wasn’t a mere talent nor was it a skill. It was something that once he did not have, was imparted to him by another and was purchased by another. Timothy’s gift was, I believe, his calling into the ministry and his equipping for that ministry.

It was a gift of GodThe ministry is not a vocational choice. Though if a man desires it he desires a good work, yet, he ought not to enter into it without clear direction from God.

It was given by Paul’s handsThis is where the idea of ordination originates and I grieve that modern day preachers tend to view it as a formality rather than a spiritual operation. One could claim that this work of Paul involved his years of training. I do not doubt that. But it is more than that. It is reminiscent of Elisha’s receiving Elijah’s mantel.

It must be stirred upThe phrase means to re-kindle. Every Christian, including those who are not called into pastoral ministry, has a gift of God. The gift is developed through the ministry of preachers and it requires out personal maintenance.

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2 Timothy 1:6 (KJV) All Stirred Up

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1 Timothy 6:12 (KJV) Grab Hold!

1 Timothy 6:12 (KJV)
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:19 (KJV)
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

There is a difference between possessing a thing and holding on to it. I have a number of things in my attic that are possessions, many of them I am attached to and don’t have any desire to be rid of them, but rarely do I really ever give them any attention. On the other hand I had other things that matter so much to me that they are a part of every day life. I see them daily; probably use them daily. Some of them require regular maintenance and, should they break or stop functioning properly I am quick to get them repaired. More than possessing them, I lay hold on them.

The Word of God tells me that eternal life ought to be more than something we store in the attic of our spirit. Eternal life ought to be on the forefront of our minds, at the top of our list of concerns and the priority of our life. Eternal life, if thought of as a tool, should be the first one pulled from our toolbox. If we think of it as an item of daily use, it is the one we would maintain the best and would be the first thing to repair should we find it worn in some way.

The Bible told Timothy to lay hold on eternal life. He needed to do that as a man. Timothy, however, had a further reason to lay hold on eternal life; as a preacher, he needed to teach others to do the same. They could never lay hold on that which their own spiritual leader had not.

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1 Timothy 6:12 (KJV) Grab Hold!

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1 Timothy 5:7 (KJV) Blamelessness Defined

1 Timothy 5:7 (KJV)
And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

It seems to me that the use of the word blameless here helps define the term blameless in chapter three verse two. While many tend to take the hard line with its use in one case, it is obvious that it is not so used in this.

I see this as an excellent example of a place to apply the spirit and not the letter of the law. It is clear that, in this case, blameless means “in regards to” those things instructed in the context. As Gill puts it, “Concerning rebuking persons of a different age and sex, and concerning the maintenance of widows; and particularly that children provide for their parents when helpless; and that widows trust in God, and give themselves to prayer and supplication, and not live in sin.”

This supports the view that the previous passage should be interpreted similarly and that the bishop of a church must be blameless in the sense of those qualifications given in the context.

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1 Timothy 5:7 (KJV) Blamelessness Defined

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Job 19:21 (KJV) How to Give Real Comfort

Job 19:21 (KJV)
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

Job had said earlier that his friends were miserable comforters. At first they sat silent. That may be the very best thing they did. But then they opened their mouths and, in a guise of bringing counsel, they really just attacked Job.

Job speaks here and says that whatever attacks they pressed upon him was nothing compared to what had been delivered to him by God.

And then Job offers what I think should be considered the right comfort. His friends would have been wonderful comforters if they had pitied him.

• If they had been kind
• If they had shown compassion 
• If they had prayed 

All of these (which are implied in Strong’s definition of the word) would have been acceptable, helpful and appropriate comfort.

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Job 19:21 (KJV) How to Give Real Comfort

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