Hebrews 10: Part 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

Subscribe to the ‘Time With God’ Podcast

But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins… But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

Hebrews 10

Transcript

Good morning. You know, it’s often easy to accept in our minds things that we know are true about God or about things that God says, and to recognise that these are true, sort of for everybody or for other people or for someone I know.

And yet when it comes to believing that they are true for me, that’s where we struggle, isn’t it?

We have difficulty applying some of these great truths that God has told us in the Bible To ourselves

We’re reading in the book of Hebrews this week in chapter 10, and these truths he’s giving us are so awesome, and yet it can be difficult to believe for me. He’s just told us how when Jesus died on the cross, He was fulfilling everything that in the Old Testament those sacrifices were pointing towards. Those sacrifices never really forgave anybody. They were all pointing to what Jesus would do.

And his death on the cross has for all time perfected those who are drawing near to God, and he says you can draw near to God. You can come right close to Him, relationally close. Don’t let guilt hold you back, because in reality, if you’ve asked God to forgive you because of what Jesus did on the cross, Jesus has taken your guilt away. God sees you now as someone who didn’t do those things.

Because Jesus died for you as someone who did do those things just as if he had done it, not you, and now all of that is out of the way and God is so ready for a great relationship with you.

So in verse 23 of chapter 10, in light of all that, the writer of Hebrews says,

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Let us hold fast. That means hang on too tightly and never let go. The confession of our hope, that is these truths he’s just been telling us. Hang on to them tightly. Don’t let them go. Trust that what God has said is what He will do in relation to you.

Your hope is that yes, God has forgiven you. Yes, he has welcomed you into his family. Yes, when you die, that’s not the end, it’s just the doorway into this awesome existence with God. Hold fast to that. Don’t let your old way of thinking, your conscience that keeps attacking you and saying you’re too bad, you’re too guilty, God doesn’t want to accept you – don’t let that dominate your life. God is so ready to move into a deep, loving, close relationship with you. Hold on to that. Train your conscience with the truth of God’s Word every day.

Start your day maybe even out loud as you walk into your shower and say, God, I trust that you love me. I trust that you have forgiven me. I trust that there’s nothing in the way of me moving into a deep relationship with you, and I want to draw closer to you today. Say that to yourself every day out loud if you need to until your conscience, your inner way of thinking, accepts it.

That is what God has said. Trust Him. He who promised is faithful, and as you begin to train yourself to believe what God has said, that He forgives you, that those things are out of the way, they’re gone, that He is so ready to walk closely with you, then you will find your relationship with God opening up.

And you’ll find God getting deeply involved, not only in your Bible reading or your church attendance, but in your everyday life out in the world. God wants to be a part of everything you do.

I’m John North.

To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.

Feature image: CanvaPro