Scripture: Our Roadmap for the Journey: Daniel 2:24-35 / SOAP: 28a
When God gave Daniel the gift of interpreting the meanings of visions and dreams, He was clearly setting him up with a platform to make Him known to the King. We also see that Daniel sets God up for praise by boldly extolling God’s power to the King (2:28-30). As someone who isn’t always as confident and courageous as I would like to be, I stand in awe of Daniel’s confident and brave spirit. I also appreciate that he clarifies that his confidence is not in himself but God.1
Today’s Love God Greatly Journal entry offers a beautiful insight into today’s journey.
We hear this in his prayer (2: 19-23) and in his response to the King (2:28-30). ↩︎
based on the LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land, w2d2
Scripture: Our Road Map for the Journey / Daniel 2:1-18 / SOAP verse 18
Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream
2 In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. His mind was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. 2 The king issued an order to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men in order to explain his dreams to him. So they came and awaited the king’s instructions.
3 The king told them, “I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream.” 4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the wise men, “My decision is firm.[n] If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered[o] and your homes reduced to rubble! 6 But if you can disclose the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, a reward, and considerable honor. So disclose to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They again replied, “Let the king inform us of the dream; then we will disclose its interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm. 9 If you don’t inform me of the dream, there is only one thing that is going to happen to you. For you have agreed among yourselves to report to me something false and deceitful until such time as things might change. So tell me the dream, and I will have confidence that you can disclose its interpretation.”
10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man. 11 What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods—but they don’t live among mortals!”
12 Because of this the king got furiously angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So a decree went out, and the wise men were about to be executed. They also sought Daniel and his friends so that they could be executed.
14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He inquired of Arioch the king’s deputy, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested the king to grant him time, that he might disclose the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his home and informed his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the matter. 18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon
Observation and Application of the Journey
Our journey through the first chapter of Daniel bore witness to God’s fingerprints. We saw how God was working behind the scenes on Daniel’s behalf, making the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel, endowing Daniel and his friends with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom, and giving Daniel insight into all kinds of visions and dreams. On top of this, we hear the King announcing that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers in his empire.
In today’s journey, King Nebuchadnezzar demands an impossible thing from his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men. He not only requires them to interpret one of his dreams but to tell him what he had dreamed. When the men are unable to satisfy the King’s request, he becomes furiously angry and gives orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his friends, who had been seen “as ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers in his empire.”
I love that Daniel didn’t run from the danger; instead, he sought the LORD, his God, and encouraged his friends to pray with him. Daniel’s prayer was for more than mere protection; it was also, and perhaps even more so, for revelation and interpretation of the King’s dream. Once again, Daniel was courageous in his faith and bold in his prayer, both of which set God up to be seen and glorified by the King and all who would witness what God would do.
Daniel’s hope wasn’t in his abilities but in God. He knew that all things were possible with his God. 🦋
Many years ago, I prayed for a specific job for my daughter – not just because she needed a job but because I truly believed, because of things God had already done, that He had positioned her for this job and was opening a door for her to fulfill His call upon her life. To our delight, she was given the job. However, while it was a learning experience, the end result of the job brought much heartache, sorrow, many hurtful losses, and even a certain amount of danger.
There were times when it was hard to see God’s hand, but we trusted His heart and prayed through the losses and, by his mercies, survived the dangers. Our faith was challenged but grew, as did our prayer lives; our hearts were broken and torn apart – even scarred – but those scars are becoming reminders of just how merciful our God is. To God’s glory, much good has come from the devastating ending of what we thought was her dream job – as He has and is showing her/us that while His plan is never to harm us – sometimes the pathway to His will and way can bring hurts and even fearful situations as we see with Daniel.
Heal the wound but leave the scar A reminder of how merciful You are I am broken, torn apart, take the pieces of this heart And heal the wound but leave the scar –
Heal the Wound / Lyrics by Point of Grace
Prayer/Worship Response to the Journey
Father, may we learn from Daniel that we do not need to run in panic but rather trust You and commit our way to You, walking courageously by faith, praying bold prayers – even when the request seems impossible, knowing that with You, nothing is impossible. May others see You, not only in our lives but in the miraculous way You answer us, and may we boldly and quickly give You praise – drawing attention to You, for You are worthy of all blessing, honor, and praise! Give us good and godly friends who we can ask and trust to pray with and for us. And Father, when danger or heartache appears, help us not to grow weary and lose heart, In the name of Jesus -Amen
Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. 2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2. NET
If we belong to God, He is our Father, and He wants us to live according to His plan and His ways—which are righteous and holy. This will not and cannot happen if we copy the behaviors and customs of the world around us. God’s plan and desire is to transform us into new people, and this starts with changing the way we think. He wants to mold us and make us into His image, specifically, the righteous and holy image of His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Paul exhorts the believers in Rome to present their bodies to God as living, holy, and pleasing sacrifices. This means we will have to forego all the pleasures of the world and our hearts’ desires that do not align with God’s will and pleasure. Please read that again, making sure to understand that we do not have to forego all pleasures or give up all of our heart’s desires – only those that do not align with the will of God. How, in the world we live in, with all of its demands and tempting pleasures, can we faithfully do this? I believe the answer is found in Paul’s instructions: we should not conform to the ways of the world but instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds. One question we can ask ourselves every morning is, will we conform to the ways of the world, or will we be transformed by the renewing of our minds by allowing God to change the way we think?
As God’s people, we are not to adapt to or adopt the ways of the world around us. 🦋
The picture we see played out on the pages of Daniel Chapter 1 is one of a king attempting to transform Daniel and the other Jews, who were God’s chosen people, into the image of a ‘true’ Babylonian by reshaping the way they thought and spoke. At the end of a three-year training program, they would enter the king’s service. Even their names were changed from names that pointed them to the true and living God of Israel to Babylonian names that pointed them to the gods of the Babylonians.
“Everything was going to challenge what they had been taught in Judah.” The question was, “How would they choose to live? Could they make a home in Babylon and remain faithful to their God?”
Love God Greatly / Living Faithful in a Faithless Land / p53 – emphasis added
“What about you, MaryEllen?” Those were the words that popped into my mind as I was rereading the first part of this post that I had written earlier in the day. More questions followed that question … Do my ‘name’, my character and the things about me – ie. my words and the things I do and say point me and others toward the true and living God – or toward the gods and things of this world? – It’s a hard but important question, one I believe is good to ask ourselves from time to time – along with, “How have I chosen to live? Am I remaining faithful to God as I live in this sin-saturated world?”
Paul strongly urged the believers in Rome to give themselves over to the pleasures of God instead of self – to no longer live as though they were still dead in their sins but as ones made alive in Christ, holy and pleasing to God. What he wrote to the believers then is still vital for us as believers today — who “live in a culture that seeks to challenge what the Bible teaches.”1Remember the King in Daniel’s story, how he worked to change the way the young men from Judah thought and spoke and even ate by filling their minds with the literature and language of the Babylonians and their bodies with royal delicacies? The Lord’s Word, His literature, and language have the power to transform us, to reshape the way we think and speak and live, and – as I have found – to change us from the ‘inside out’ as we learn to live by the good, pleasing, and perfect will of our God.
“We need to renew our minds over and over with the Word of God. The better we know God, the more likely we are to trust Him and know that His ways are best even when we can’t understand what is going on.”
Love God Greatly / Living Faithful in a. Faithless Land / p53
Father, how easy it is to let my thoughts be filled and influenced by the world/culture around me. Guard me against this, Father, and let Your ways, Your Words, Your love, and desires saturate – not just my mind but my heart – so that I can know Your good, pleasing, and perfect will and live accordingly. Change me from the inside out – I pray this in the name of Your Son, my Savior – Amen❤️
based on the LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless World / w1d3
Scripture – Our Roadmap for the Journey: Jeremiah 29:4-14/soap 29:7
And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
Jeremiah 29:7 NLT
The Right Perspective
Perhaps one of the most challenging things for a Christian to come to grips with is the realization that we do not live a “charmed life.” The hope and future we have in and through Christ do not guarantee that everything in our lives will be easy or go well. Scripture warns believers that there will be suffering and difficulties in this life, but praise God 💜 It also promises that a beautiful future awaits us.
Observation and Application for the Journey
Exiled with Instructions
We must not overlook that the exiles were God’s people,and they were instructed by God to work to see that the city where they were exiled enjoyed peace and prosperity; they were also to pray to God for “the city” to prosper. In other words, they were to be concerned about the place where God had sent them and the people they were now forced to live in exile with. I can’t help but think of the command Jesus gave to His disciples in the NT to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecuted them.1
The RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Having the right perspective requires knowing and remembering that God exiled His people only after they refused to do what He told them to do. 2 Reread Jeremiah’s warning and the people’s response in Jeremiah 18:1-12, paying careful attention to verses 11 and 12.
So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ 12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’” Jeremiah 18:1-12. NET
We also must not miss the “right perspective” we are given through the prophet Jeremiah’s identification of God as the orchestrator of the exile. Yes, God sent His people into exile as a consequence of their rebellion,3 but He had a plan for both the ‘city’ and the ‘exiles.’ The plan was not to harm them but to prosper them, and as Jeremiah went on to write, God knew what He had planned for His people—which was “to give them a future filled with hope.”4
I don’t know that we can fully understand this type of exile, but the thing that hits me with some semblance of understanding is knowing that this world is not our forever home. Peter referred to his fellow believers as “temporary residents and foreigners.” And Paul wrote, “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.” He goes on to say that “we are eagerly waiting for Christ to return as our Savior.” For then, “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”5
Friends, it is important to understand that this promise was specific to the “Nation of Israel,” even more specifically, to the Jews who were in exile in the days of Daniel. However, all who are in Christ share in God’s promise of hope and a future forever with Him! Without this truth and perspective, we will get lost in our misery and struggles, or we will get caught up in the ways of the world around us and turn from our God – missing out on the purpose He has for us here, which is not just biding our time – but working and praying for the salvation of the lost until He returns.
The return of Christ is always presented in Scripture as a great motivation to action, not as a reason to cease from action. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul wraps up his teaching on the rapture by saying, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:6, Paul concludes a lesson on Christ’s coming with these words: “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” To retreat and “hold the fort” was never Jesus’ intention for us. Instead, we work while we can. “Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). Gotquestions.org
Prayer of Response from the Journey
Father, thank You for the reminder that this is not our forever home. We are foreigners and aliens in this world. However, this has also reminded me that we are not to be simply biding our time until You return and we receive our promised citizenship in Your Kingdom. Instead, we are to work and pray for the salvation of the lost as Jesus commissioned His disciples to do – until He returns. Help us, Father, not to be caught up with the cares and struggles of this world but to keep our eyes on You, Your promised return, and Your call upon our lives to live faithfully in this faithless land. – I pray these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus – my Savior and Lord – Amen
WORSHIP RESPONSE TO THE JOURNEY/ BORROWED AND SHARED FROM YOUTUBE
Reflection on the journey
How can you work in your “city” for peace and prosperity?
I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.
Jeremiah 24:7. NLT
Observation and Application from today’s journey
The Heart of God for His People is seen in the “I will” statements God gave through Jeremiah. They must have been great words of encouragement to Jeremiah, words of hope for a heartwrenching and seemingly hopeless situation. God had sent His people into exile because of their rebellion, but here, God tells Jeremiah, “I consider them to be good.” He then proclaims that He will look after their “welfare.” He will also restore them to their land, build them up, and not uproot them. He will give them the desire to acknowledge Him as Lord; He will be their God, and they will be His people. Why? Because God loves them with an everlasting love and, from the beginning of time, was working all things out – not to harm them but to give them hope and a future. The LGG journal for today’s portion of our journey explains this so well that I am sharing it with you here. May it help us as we move forward through the lessons of living faithfully in the land of the faithless.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20. NET
Observation and Application from the Journey
This passage speaks volumes for itself! It is the climatic statement of Jesus’ mission and His final instructions for His disciples. In large part it is a message of “commission” to continue His mission of making disciples of all nations1 They are to do with others what Jesus has done with them. What they have learned from Jesus they are to teach and model to others from every people group; as Paul says in Colossians chapter three: “It doesn’t matter if they are Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free …”
Make no mistake, Jesus’ commission started with this face-to-face with the eleven, but it is clear that it was meant for all disciples who would come after them.
Followers of Jesus are to make followers of Jesus.
original source unknown
As we’ve come to the end of our present journey – Come, Lord Jesus, Come – that has been filled with these important instructions, we must not miss that the message also contains some of His final words of enduring encouragement for then and now: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is with us to the end of the age, He is with us when we are “going” to make more disciples, He is with us when we are afraid, He is with us when we are in need, He is with us in grief and in joy. He is with us while we wait on His return. He is always and forever with us! – Of course, He didn’t mean this as a literal. physical presence but rather in Spirit, for all who believe in Jesus receive the gift of His Spirit from God. The Spirit is our Advocate and Counselor, and His presence graces us with both peace and strength for all we face in this life/world.
“I have spoken these things while staying with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.
27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.
John 14:25-27. NET
Prayer of Response to the Journey
Father, we wait for You – for Your perfect timing in sending Jesus to redeem His people. We wait to see His face and to be in Your presence. We wait with Hope and we pray for courage and obedient, yielded hearts to Your co-mission of us to carry the message of the Gospel to the world. We pray for Your help in living our faith out loud, in praying faithfully for the lost, in being ready with an answer for the Hope that is within us, We praise You for our salvation and the presence of Your Spirit with us – even to the end of the age! In the name of Jesus our Redeemer we pray and we watch and wait with hope and faith. – AMEN!
The More We Know: Side Trails along the Journey
From the LGG Journal – words of encouragement and of hope and beauty. May they be an inspiration to all who read them.
Jesus is with us to the end. We know our purpose. We know our mission. We are instructed to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations. Going out into the world means traveling to other countries, and it also means crossing the street or, in some cases, even the rooms in our homes. We need to share Christ with those near and far. We need to teach others God’s Word and how to obey it. That is more than just a conversion; Jesus wants us to disciple this generation.
When you think of the model of how Jesus chose to disciple His twelve disciples, you’ll see that He not only taught them God’s Word but also how to live it out. It’s not enough to know God’s Word in our minds; we must allow God’s Word to penetrate our hearts and change us from the inside out. God’s Word must impact the way we live our lives, the way we love, serve, and treat others. While this is all a process and takes time, we see that Jesus did life with and invested in a select group of twelve men. These men were far from perfect. They didn’t always understand Jesus, but Jesus never gave up on them.
Discipleship is hard. Discipleship takes time. But this is the command Jesus left us with: do as I have done. Numbers don’t matter. Pour your life into a group of individuals. Teach them God’s Word and how to obey it. Reach out to those locally and those at the ends of the earth. No one is too far from God. All are welcome at the foot of the cross. Jesus knew that the work He was calling us to was no easy task. But, He has promised us something that is a game-changer: He is with us always.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank You for the promise that You are always with us. Today, I pray for favor and open doors to share boldly with those near me and anywhere You might send me. Thank You for this opportunity to play a part in this amazing love story You are writing with our lives. Please open the hearts and minds of this generation to Your love. I pray this generation will turn from their sinful ways and turn to You. I pray for salvation for those who don’t yet know You, and I pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through those of us who bear Your name. I pray for a mighty harvest like never before. I pray for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done. Until the day we see You face-to-face, we will pray, come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
Have you heard the Truth? Do You know the Way? If not or if you’re not sure please take a minute to read “Know These Truths” – You might just be surprised how this Truth can change your life and renew you from the inside out! 🦋
For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing. 1 Thess 5:9-11 NET
Observations and Applications for the Journey
For those who have placed their faith in Jesus this passage is another beautiful reminder of God’s grace in pouring out the wrath that our sins deserved onto His Son so that we might live an eternal life with Him! – As I contemplated the passage a declaration from John’s first epistle came to mind – “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God”.1 Jn 3:1 – Ah the unbelievable beauty of God’s love! May this be our encouragement to one another as we wait through these trying days for His return.
May we be found faithfully living as children of the light and of the day so that those in the darkness might see and hear our message of faith and hope and be saved from the wrath that is to come on those who have not believed.
– Me, from the Insideout
If you do not know Christ as Your Savior my prayer is for you to hear and understand the truth of God’s Word – that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory and that those sins are deserving of death. But, in God’s great love and mercy He gave Jesus, His only begotten son, to die in our place – so that ALL who believe in Him would have everlasting life. Because of this exchange there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. All who have believed will be spared the wrath that is to come on those who have not believed. – If you would like to know more about these truths and how you can share in this hope I invite you to read “Know These Truths” before it’s too late.
Dear Lord, give me words to build up those around me. Help me to be generous with my encouragement and lead me to those I should encourage and give me the right words to say. Help me be a better encourager in these last days. Show me how I can be Your hands and feet to those who need it. Thank you, Jesus, for how You love and sustain us. Thank you for bearing God’s wrath on the cross. You are amazing in every way! Until the day when we can see you face-to-face, we pray, come, Lord Jesus, come. – May we be found faithfully sharing the Gospel message of salvation until that day, so that all who have not yet believed may hear and know and believe in the TRUTH before it is too late. Amen.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11-13. NET
Observation and Application of the Journey
Have you ever considered the power of God’s grace? His grace appeared … His grace brought salvation to all people… His grace trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives … and it does all of these things while we wait for the fulfillment of our hope when Christ our great God and Savior appears. The same Savior that John wrote of in John chapter 1:14 – where he wrote: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good. 15 So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke that carries full authority. Don’t let anyone look down on you. Titus 2:14-15. NET
You see Christ gave Himself over to death for us so that we, those who believe in Him, might be set free from the law of sin and death. By His death we have been purified and set apart as a people who belong to Him and are eager to do good. Only the power of Christ’s perfect life and His spotless blood was powerful enough for this type of redemption!
Prayer of response to the Journey
Father, may we never take for granted or forget the cost of our salvation. A salvation born of Your grace so powerful that it conquered the depth and deadliness of our sins, sins that made us Your enemies, condemned unclean! Yet, now we stand before You purified by the blood of Your Son and adopted as Your dearly loved children, joint heirs with Your only begotten Son. May we be quick and faithful to communicate this message to the world around us – the rich and powerful message of the Your grace God – a grace available to all who place their faith in Jesus Christ, the representation of Your grace and the coming fulfillment of our hope. – It is in His name I pray, amen!
Music inspired by the Journey
There is no power greater than the gift of God’s Grace poured out through the blood of Jesus Christ ! ❤️
Do you want to know the power of God’s Grace? Do you want to share in the Hope of Jesus Christ? Please click on Know These Truths and let God transform your life by the power of His Grace!
Encouragement from the LGG Journal Entry for w6d2, p176
As we wait for this happy fulfillment of our hope in Christ’s glorious return, let’s intentionally live lives that reflect the love we have for God. May our obedience flow from our love for God. Instead of looking at the world with dread, let’s see it as a place of opportunity and share Christ with those who do not know the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15). Now is the time to share this amazing gift of hope in Christ with those around us. We don’t have to have all the answers, but we do need a passion to do our part in helping to bring salvation to all people. Make no mistake, you have been born in this exact generation for such a time as this.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, create in me a love and passion for those in this world who are far from You. Help me see them the way You see them, with eyes full of love, grace, and mercy. Use me powerfully now, on this day, to help reflect You to a watching world. Give me opportunities to share with those who are searching for the reason for the hope that I have. Until the day You come back, use me powerfully with the gifts You have given me. As I eagerly wait for Your return, I’ll continue to pray, come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, 25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10: 24-25. NET
Observation and Application From the Journey
To fully understand and appreciate the writers message here we need to go back and look at what he said before verse 19. Knowing that chapters 1-9 and more specifically, verses 1-18 of chapter 10 concerned the sacrifices of the OT law being a shadow of what was to come. The passages pointed out that the old sacrificial way was never perfect and had to be continually repeated – because the blood of bulls and goats could not truly take sin away. Only the blood of Christ could do this. The single sacrifice of Christ on the cross cancels out the old – for His one offering forever made perfect those who came to Hm through faith.
This is why the writer points out that we can have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus. Our Great High Priest, Jesus, is not behind a curtain as the priest was in the OT, but rather He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and we are able to approach that throne because we have been made acceptable by Jesus’ blood. – This great hope is our confession of faith and should be the truth that spurs us on in our faith and encourages us to spur others on in theirs – namely to love and live like Jesus.
This great hope of our faith makes it all the more important to not abandon meeting with other believers. As Paul wrote to the Church of Rome, we are meant to function together as a body (Rom 12:4-5). We are meant to have an influence on and be influenced by other believers (Heb 3:13); and as the writer of Hebrew makes clear in today’s passage and Paul made clear to the Colossians we are not meant to live as islands to ourselves. for we have been charged with an obligation to other believers for a three-fold purpose:
discipleship
encouragement
meeting other’s needs (Col 3:16)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
Prayer: A Heart’s Response to the Journey
Father, it isn’t always easy to know how to encourage one another and if we are honest it isn’t always easy to know how to take or make the time to gather together to teach and encourage one another – but we understand the need for it and pray for Your help in being faithful to this command. We pray that You will help us to take time to think about how we can spur one another on to love and good works and that we will not neglect gathering with other believers so that we might not only encourage but be encouraged to run the race of faith well – and be found living and loving like Jesus in our everyday lives. For as we are strengthened as Your body we will be brighter lights in the darkness around us – and You will be glorified and the Church will grow. As the days approach for Your return, let us not shrink back but press on with strength and an urgent love and desire to reach others with the message of Jesus. – In His name I pray – AMEN!
Based on the LGG Study: Come, Lord Jesus, Come / w5d4 / artwork by LGG
SCRIPTURE: OUR ROADMAP FOR THE JOURNEY: MATTHEW 25 / SOAP: verse 12
But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’
Matthew 25:12. NET
OBSERVATION AND APPLICATION FROM THE JOURNEY
Can you imagine hearing these words from Jesus? He’s receiving others in but when you stand before Him, He denies you entrance because He doesn’t know you. You look at Him wondering how that can be, you were in church every Sunday, you grew up in a Christian home, you can repeat all of the Bible stories, why doesn’t He know you? Because knowing who someone is isn’t the same as knowing or being known by that person. Being ready for Christ’s return means having more than a head knowledge of who He is. It means having a relationship of the heart with Him, one that comes only from believing that He died for you because you were in need of a Savior. It’s a relation born not only of His crucifixion and resurrection but of you being crucified with Him and raised in newness of life. It is a heart to heart relationship that spills over into a heart to heart relationship with the Father and Spirit – and from my vantage point, there is nothing else like it in all the world.
From that belief and the gift of His indwelling Spirit we can walk with Jesus and talk with Him, we can learn of Him and grow to be like Him. Actually, we find that apart from Him we can do nothing but through Him we can do all things. He entreats us to come near to Him and to cast our cares upon Him, why? Because He cares for us. You see, life with Jesus isn’t about a religion – it’s about a relationship with Him; and through Him we are given bold and confident access to the Father’s throne of grace. It is a grace made evident through the triune-God:
God, the Father’s love-gift of salvation1 through His only begotten Son
The Son who gave His life so that whosoever believes might have eternal life rather than the horrific death their sins deserve2… and
Through the Spirit, the One who is gifted to all who believe to teach us all things and remind us of all Christ said, and who equips us to live as we have been called to live.
The best news is, God’s gift of grace is available to all who believe! Do you?3
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Acts 16:31
The following is from the LGG Journal for this Study / p164 – It is a wonderful explanation of the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids and a beautiful closing prayer for us all.
The Olivet Discourse continues in Matthew 25. In this section of Scripture, we read more parables that Jesus taught on the Mount of Olives concerning the end times. One parable which always concerned me when I was younger was the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. I wanted to make sure that when Christ returned, I was ready.
Part of being ready and prepared is making sure you know Jesus personally. It is not enough to know about Jesus. Knowing facts about Him like you would about a historical character from history class will not cut it. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him. Knowing stories about Jesus will not get you into heaven. Coming from a strong Christian home and being taught about Jesus from an early age is also not the same as knowing Him personally.
You cannot enter heaven based on your pedigree. To make sure you are included at the wedding feast and not uninvited is to personally know the bridegroom—Jesus Christ. Your relationship with Jesus must be your own. It cannot be handed down, purchased, or borrowed. The shocking truth of this parable is that there will be people who think they are Christians because they have been fooled into thinking that knowing about Jesus is the same as having a personal relationship with Him. Those will be like the five bridesmaids who ran out of oil and were not prepared when the groom returned because they did not truly put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Prayer: A Response to the Journey. Dear Lord, today I lift up all those in my life who know about You and believe that they are saved. I pray they will see their error before You return. Please use me and others in their lives to help them see that knowing about You is not the same as knowing You. I pray all those in my life will have a personal relationship with You, and we will all be prepared for that amazing day when You return. Until then, I pray, come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
– As I contemplated the passage a declaration from John’s first epistle came to mind – “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God”.1 Jn 3:1 – Ah the unbelievable beauty of God’s love! May this be our encouragement to one another as we wait through these trying days for His return. 
Me From the Inside Out 