Trust and Believe and Receive All He has Promised

(Heb. 10:35-39 NLT)
    35  So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
   37    “For in just a little while,  the Coming One will come and not delay. 38  And my righteous ones will live by faith.  But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
  39    But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
We continue our stroll through the Book of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The writer has been teaching us about sacrifice-- God's great sacrifice, and that of Christ, the Son of God. Sacrifice was made to ensure relationship with God could be restored between the Lord and us, his created children. This restoration was accomplished by Christ on the cross and in His resurrection. It is done, completed, needing no further resource to be brought forth. The only thing necessary is for you and me to receive by faith the fact that this sacrifice was, indeed, necessary and was made on our behalf by God because of His gracious love.

The early Jewish Christians-- so used to trying to 'earn' their way to God, as many others today also erroneously believe, started returning to their old ways of favored traditions and practices as a means of proving themselves righteous. They forgot that it never helped them before. We often forget, as well, that we are not capable of 'earning' salvation. We forget that it is an affront to God for us to try because it ignores His great sacrifice for us. When we try to earn salvation we are, in fact, throwing away 'confident trust in the Lord.' It is by our faith that we actually receive "all He has promised."  It is by faith that the truly righteous have always lived and continue to live today.

Shall we consider this day to be righteous through persistent faith, rather than turning to works of our own hands. Turning like that earns only our own destruction. Ask the Lord to help you remain faithful this day.

Your Servant in Christ's Love
Dan
drdanelliott@gmail.com