charisbarak

Jesus was made perfect through the suffering He had to go through in each step in this imperfect world, remaining sinless, to complete the mission God sent Him on--to become our perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered--by always seeking to obey God's will for Him and the results of His obedience as a Man. Since Jesus did not sin as we do--we sin, suffer the consequences of our sin & learn not to do it anymore. Jesus sought God's will only for His life and knew what those consequences would have been if He had sinned.

We have been instructed by the scriptures to approach His throne with confidence as Jesus did. The promises given to us when we come to the throne are mercy, grace to help us in our time of need. He promises to give us help--not always will His answer be yes, and having taken our problems to Him, he will give us a way of escape or perhaps, give us peace that He is at work in our lives. He is in control!!

Jesus shared our weaknesses by having physical limitations put on himself as we do. He felt the temptations we face and having to make a decision not to be pulled in by the temptation. Jesus was tempted, we know, by Satan during those 40 days & nights. He was tempted at the cross, but in both decided not to fall prey to the temptation. I believe, because He did not sin, His temptations were stronger than ours. He, as Man, overcame the temptations. Today we don't have different temptations--they all fall under the categories of self-gratification through our eyes, taste, desires, pride of life. It comforts me to know He is thoroughly aware of what we are going through and is there to not only sympathize, but to give us over-coming power!!

Our confession of faith, that "Jesus is Lord" is important to renew in us the sense of love & awe & thankfulness to Jesus Christ, especially when we first believed. It is our public witness to our confession of faith which strengthens us, those around us, and is a witness to non-believers.

Without regular Bible study & reading, we can be in sin & not convicted. We need to labor to stay right with God & the Bible is just the tool we need to convict us! The Word is described as a sharp, two-edged sword. It pierces our hearts with the truth & convicts us & our thoughts & intentions. We need to be in the Word to help guide us Every Day--to turn us around when we're on the wrong track and to expose to us our sins so we can confess them& repent from them. It is a tool for growth.

I think the rest mentioned in Hebrews could be heaven where we would cease to go through the struggles of the world. I think peace would be a close second--like the gravestones--Rest in Peace. There is also a rest (peace) knowing we are in God's will--not struggling with Him or against him in disobedience. I think we can enter that rest (peace) somewhat when we are totally in God's will--obeying Him. I think back in the Old Testament--"there is no peace for the wicked." We strive daily to stay in communion with God to look to our blessed hope of Jesus returning & heaven for us. Apostacy is our choosing to live in sin rather than to obey & repent. We will sin--but we need to confess it and get right with God right away.

Faith in our relationship to Christ is crucial. It was crucial in our conversion & remains so to this day. Our faith in Jesus motivates us to be more like Him each day. There is a part of sin that is attractive & seductive and by the grace of God, we can recognize it for what it is & flee! Sin hardens us when we continue to live in sin. The fine tuning of the H.S. within us gets less sharp & we could eventually not feel or sense anything wrong with what we're doing--and have no desire to change. Christian fellowship is a necessary part of the Christian life. We need to be accountable to each other & help each & share with each other through joys, trials or suffering we may be going through.

When I hear the words, "hold on" I associate something ready to shake me or to wait for further instruction instead of going the wrong way head-first! Obviously, we are going to come up against those shakers--false prophets, false teaching, temptations, tests. We need to grab hold of our hope!! We must continue in our faith because we need to stay close to God to finish our race! If we don't, we may not truly be of God's household!

Jesus had to become human like us to be the "perfect" sacrifice God demanded in order to save all mankind. No human but Jesus has been or will be perfect. Jesus knows what it is to be tempted, to go through trials & suffering & is there for us--He can truly sympathize with what we are going through & knowing He is there, gives us hope for victory!! PTL!

The purpose of His death was to destroy the one who had power over death. Jesus took "the stinger" out of death. The mission is accomplished. We have the eternal life Jesus has. Death does not have power over us anymore. In the future satan will be judged and sent to everlasting torment. The result in our lives is knowing that satan has been defeated & cannot harm me--any more that what God allows. We know we have eternal life & no one can take it away from us!!

Jesus was the first fruits of many to come--many sons & daughters (me & you) brought to glory with Him. Jesus was perfected by suffering by bringing the plan of salvation to be complete. He's the author & finisher of our faith. The implication here is that as many as receive Him, to them He gave (gives) eternal life. There is a whole world of peoples who need to hear!!

Christ tasted death for everyone in that everyone's sins were on Him when He was on the cross. He paid the debt we owed. This is totally due to God's grace--His willingness & desire to love each person & pay their sin debt. Something totally not earned by us!! He did pay for my deepest, darkest sins. I am free from the bondage of sin & free to do the right thing--the real "right to choose!!" I only have to accept His gift.

Jesus in His life suffered being misunderstood, rejection and horrible physical suffering as He gave His life for us. We are likely to suffer similar things He suffered. Some of us, even to death. The purifying effect suffering has for us makes it very valuable. Having experienced suffering we are able to help others who are going through suffering too. If we run from suffering, we are running from a deeper relationship with God. We are running from spiritual maturity and a chance to be a powerful witness.

The truth of salvation has been confirmed to me by the working of the Holy Spirit in my life. It has also been confirmed to me by scripture. Signs & wonders have their place & God, alone, knows those situations where the signs & wonders would work salvation in their hearts. The gospels, relating the signs & wonders & miracles Jesus performed while on earth and their use in Acts in the young church are a few. I hear of signs & wonders occuring all over the world & certain persons who have been reached by them.

We are not immune to drifting away. We are sinners; we have temptations that draw us away; it is work to keep in the Word & in prayer. I feel sometimes like a rowboat, tied up at the dock. The "busy-ness" storm comes by and pulls me away from the dock, but the lifeline is still there, preventing me from drifting even further away or destroying myself on the rocks. That lifeline is always there--I need to grab on, & not let go! We need to pay attention, and put to work the things we have learned. Without strong roots, we're swept away!!

The Son is the radiance of God's glory! The Son's job on earth was to come to earth to redeem us by His death. He sustains us & He is God's heir. God's will for Him was all that He wanted to do.

The author to Hebrews is using "Son" to mean that Jesus is truly God's only Son, not as a metaphor. Biologically, I believe so. For Him to have come to earth as a man--divine and human, it certainly would also be a bilogical relationship. The Son's words carried more weight than the prophet's because the prophets were prophsying (sp?) about HIM!

Christians should be looking forward to the events surrounding the resurrection simply because we will be with Jesus & see the fulfillment of the scriptures first hand. We will be able to give God the glory He alone deserves & enjoy Him forever! This hope has been covered over with the cares of this world. To reclaim these truths, we need to be in the Word daily & take joy in the knowledge of being home with Him one day--maybe even tomorrow for some..... This hope would soon color the way we live our lives now & put things into perspective & live for Him. Praise God!

Our bodies will be like the resurrected Christ's body. We are given that kind of body to be able to traverse heaven & earth & reign with Him. PTL!

The redemption of our bodies means we are going to get a new, glorified body & "trade in" our old one. Spiritual, power, glory, incorruptible!

We go straight to heaven to be with Jesus until the resurrection.

The words are "caught up." This happens first, then the dead are resurrected to judgment.

Being steadfast & immovable is "staying power" to "fight the good fight" knowing for sure that we will be eternally with Him in the end. Our labor is not in vain with the Lord--we serve & glorify God as we labor with & for Him. It is His work we do, not ours. There will be rewards for those who end up as victors!

I have the assurance of eternal life with Jesus, because He said so in His Word. He is there preparing a place for us. He is the firstborn--the first to travel the same road with Him. He came to earth to show us how to live & to trust in God & promised us to be with Him for eternity. He defeated death so we can also defeat death!