Tag: Hebrews

James 1:24 (KJV)
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

When I was very young in the ministry, a preacher named Don Smith and I planted a Platteville Baptist Church together in Platteville, CO. Pastor Smith was ten years my senior.

We had had a young man, I think 18 years old, visit our services. We followed up with a visit to his place the next week. He invited us in, offered us coffee (which we accepted), and led us into the kitchen. He took two cups from the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, rinsed them, and set them in front of the coffee pot. He then put some fresh grounds on top of the old grounds still in the pot, added water to the old coffee in the pot, set it to brewing, and excused himself to put on some clothes. (He had greeted us at the door in shorts and no shirt.) Pastor quickly claimed Mark 16:18^[1] and prayed while he was out of the room. We “enjoyed” our coffee and visit when he returned.

I got home that night to regale my wife with the tale of our “daring deeds” that day, semi-mocking the young man. Anita reminded me that when she met me, I often wore embarrassingly short shorts and went without a shirt. She reminded me that I would add water to my old coffee and pour it back through the maker. And she said she never used a dish or cup in my home that she had not personally washed because I tended to take them out of the sink and simply “rinse and re-use.” Only three years earlier, I had been exactly like that young man I was now mocking. I had forgotten what manner of man I had been.

God knows that the natural man can look himself straight in the face, put on a clean act, and soon forget what manner of man he was.

It does us well to remember from whence we came and to be diligent in the Word of God so that we do not slip back.

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^[1] Mark 16:18 (KJV)
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
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Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

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James 1:24 What Manner of Man He Was

Hebrews 13:6 (KJV)
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

I sure want this boldness in my life.

• I want to confidently know and speak of the Lord’s help in my life.
• I want to not only believe but believe it in such a way that I can speak of it confidently.
• I want the sort of boldness that is not just saying something with the mouth but boldness in the heart of what I speak.

The Lord is my helper and
I will not fear what man shall do unto me

That sort of boldness, according to this passage, is the product of two things

• The lack of covetousness and
• The possession of contentment

The two are complimentary. Contentment is the lack of covetousness. To covet is to lack contentment. Contentment drives away covetousness.

At the heart of this boldness is one foundational truth. Jesus said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” 

Whatever else happens, this promise fulfills us so that we may be content, we may be bold, and we may have no fear.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
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Hebrews 13:6 Boldness

Hebrews 12:15-16 (KJV)
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

The text gives us three things to be cautious about.
Failing of the grace of God
I agree with John Gill. This is not speaking of losing salvation. That is secure in Christ. It is, however, easy for a Christian to fail grace in the sense of falling back into trusting the flesh for righteousness. The early Christians, being predominantly Hebrew, were especially prone to this.

A root of bitterness

• Bitterness over the world’s treatment of us.  
• Bitterness at a brother in Christ who may have if better off than us. 
• Bitterness at the Lord because we expected something else from Him. 

Bitterness troubles and then defiles those who give it a place in their life.

A profane person
The example given is Esau, so the fornication and profanity must be in reference to his lust of the flesh over the things of the Lord.

I am thankful that salvation is secure in Christ because walking by faith takes careful study and diligent practice. Unfortunately, many a believer fails in this count.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 12:15-16 Careful Careful Careful

Hebrews 10:29 (KJV)
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Because of this age of grace, people tend to think Christianity is supposed to present a kinder, gentler view of God.

Indeed, God is gracious, loving, and generous beyond description

For so loved the world….^[1]

It is a grave error to take that to mean that God, in New Testament, is irrelevant. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”^[2] “Vengeance belongeth to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.”^[3]

The passage begins by saying those who despised Moses’s law died under two or three witnesses.^[4] Our text says that there is a much sorer punishment in this new age of grace than that. To tread underfoot the Son of God is to invoke the wrath of God in such a way as is unimaginable torment; hell, and the Lake of fire.^[5]

Come to Christ by faith. Live by faith. And, by faith, await the day of His appearing.

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^[1] John 3:16 (KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

^[2] Hebrews 10:31

^[3] Hebrews 10:30

^[4] Hebrews 10:28

^[5] Luke 16:24 (KJV)
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 10:29 A Fearful Thing

Hebrews 9:8 (KJV)
The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

I suppose a modern Judaizer would argue that the tabernacle is not standing, but the Temple still is.^[1] However, the Bible, in my estimation, makes it quite clear the Jewish system of worship is a relic of the past. The veil in the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom.^[2] Jesus nailed the rituals of the Jewish system to the cross, and the meats and holy days are no longer a matter of New Testament observance.

In God’s eyes this system has already collapsed.

And that is good news. The Holy Ghost tells us that there was no way into the holiest of all, the presence of God and the throne of grace, so long as that system stood in the way.

Woe be it to those who wish to rebuild it today.

---

^[1] Regarding orthodox Jewish worship, not the actual structure.

^[2] Signifying that it was God, not man, who destroyed it.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 9:8 That Is Good News

Hebrews 8:8 (KJV)
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

The Old Testament Law, here called a covenant, was never intended to make the practitioners righteous. The point was to prove to them.

• The high cost of sin
• The hopelessness of earning salvation

It was meant to serve as a schoolmaster and to bring them to Christ.

It could have done nothing else but find fault. Its point was to find fault.

The trouble was that Israel didn’t get it.

God found fault with them because they could not find the fault with the law.

Rest assured that God will find fault with any attempt by man to be righteous outside of Jesus. 

Perfect righteousness only exists when we are completely hidden in Christ.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 8:8 Finding Fault

Hebrews 7:2 (KJV)
To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

Melchisedec is such a fascinating Bible character. We would hardly pay him any mind had not the Word of God made featured him so prominently in the book of Hebrews. There is virtually nothing we can say about him except what Hebrews gives us.

Many believe him to be a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus. I am among them.

He is a King^[1]

He is FIRST King of righteousness and AFTER THAT the King of Salem, which is King of peace. Salem, I take it, is not a place but a condition, peace.

I want to point out, as the Bible so clearly does, righteousness comes before peace. It’s the whole gospel in this one phrase.

• Peace comes only through the King (Jesus)
• Peace comes only after righteousness (provided by Jesus)
• Peace with God is the ultimate goal of the Word of God

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^[1] In this case, the Bible capitalizes the word “king.” That’s a statement. He is more than a king. He is the King.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 7:2 Righteousness, After That Peace

Hebrews 6:18 (KJV)
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

A very good friend, a preacher commented on the November 2022 elections. He observed that the reason the “red wave” so many had predicted did not materialize was because so many of those who would have voted “red” in Washington State had “fled” to already conservative states. The result was that solid conservative states, like Florida, appeared even more robust, and blue states, like Washington, just became more deeply entrenched in liberalism. Conservatives in Washington State had at least one hopeful campaign in that of Tiffany Smiley. She came close to putting Patty Murray out of office. Who knows whether she might have won had the conservative votes not moved out of state?

My friend used the word “fled.” It’s almost always thought of in the negative sense. I don’t know if that is exactly how my friend meant to use it. I do know Paul did not use the word negatively in our text.

His description of the saved, “who have fled for refuge.” This world is an unfriendly place for Christians. Yet, we are not given the option of fleeing from it. Just as no soldier wants to confront the enemy, no Christian wants to be treated unpleasantly in this world. We just aren’t allowed to flee from it.

What we can do, however, is to flee for refuge in Christ. His promises and the hope those promises offer us provide a refuge amidst the harshest of surroundings.

---

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 6:18 We, Who Have Fled

Hebrews 5:9 (KJV)
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

I want to couple this passage with Romans 10:13 (KJV) 
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I believe the promise of Romans 10:13. 
I believe one of the great struggles some Christians have is that of not believing the promise. They struggle with assurance of salvation, not because they are lost, but because they have not yet come to the place of completely trusting God to keep that promise.

On the other hand, Hebrews makes it clear that our salvation is much more than saying a prayer. There are multitudes of people deceived, possessing a false assurance of salvation, because they think God is obligated to save them as long as they say a prayer of salvation. 

Not so.

It’s really not that complicated. Calling upon Christ for salvation is an act of obedience and not the recital of a prayer. The words are not magic. There is no formula that God must honor. God is near at hand, quick and ready to forgive. But He forgives all those who obey His Gospel.

Salvation comes from a response to Almighty God’s gracious gift of Christ. To obey that grace and to embrace His Son, honors God and effects full salvation.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 5:9 To Obey Grace

Hebrews 3:1-6 (KJV)
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

A believer approached me the other day with a concern. He said that he had heard Christians being accused of being “holier than thou” by non-Christian people. He asked, “Aren’t we supposed to try to be better people now that we are saved?”

I answered, “Christians are called to follow Jesus.” 
As a consequence, or “fruit” of submitting to the Holy Spirit and looking to Jesus, we will [super] naturally put off the old man of sin and put on the new man of Christ. That may “look” a lot like what the religious person looks like. He attempts to reform his life through religious teaching and standards. Since many of his standards and a lot of his education will come from the Bible, the person who follows Christ and the person who practices Christian reform will look very similar. The difference, only one of them honors the Lord. The other is accomplished in the flesh and finally attempts to elevate the flesh.

The one who practices Christian reform will be tempted to judge others as lesser than himself because, after all, he was able to improve. On the other hand, the one who follows Christ could never consider himself better than the most wicked of sinners because he sees Christ and himself as so much less than Him and because he looks at Christ and not at others.

Consider a beautiful and valuable painting. That painting is reflective of the artist who performed the work. It’s a “Van Gogh,” or a “Monet,” or whatever. A person may see a beautiful painting and wish to possess it but find he cannot afford it. He might then choose to purchase a print, Aa reproduction. It’s much less costly, but it’s also a step or more removed from the artist. The copy honors the art because we like it. The original honors the artist because it is his work.

A relationship with Christ honors the Lord
The fruit it produces is directly attributable to Him, and therefore those who produce it have no sense of pride because of it. Instead, they see themselves as debtors to others, seeking to share with them what they were so freely and undeservedly given.

Religion honors the fruit but not the Lord. 
It’s a cheap substitute for the original. It’s easier to attain. It’s easier to share. But it is not the work of Christ.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Hebrews 3:1-6 A Cheaper Copy