The Road Less Traveled...May 2025

 

Emotional prayers

 ⁷ In the days of His humanity, He offered up both prayers and pleas with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His devout behavior. Hebrews 5:7

The prayer life of Jesus is different than what most people think. He was not confined to silent non emotional prayers but prayed with loud crying and tears. When difficult and life-threatening events were happening, he cried out to God for deliverance and was rescued. The intensity of our prayers often is related to the gravity of the situation we are facing. When we cry out to God, he is listening and responding. His ears are always attentive to our prayers and when we express our need by crying out to him, he understands what we are facing.

Confidence

 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need. Hebrews 4:15-16

Through Jesus we have unlimited access to God and can confidently bring our petitions to him. God's mercy and grace are always available to us when we need them, we just need to ask believing that we will receive what he has promised to do for us. God invites us to pray, to seek him and ask for the things we need to be able to fulfill his will for our lives. His mercy is granted when we fall short of what we should have done, and his grace gives us what we need even though we do not deserve it. He understands what it means to be tempted and is aware of the trials we face. God's grace has provided everything for us in spite of our failures to obtain righteousness through our own efforts. Resting in God is made possible by understanding and accepting his grace that has saved us and provides everything we need to live a life that is pleasing to him and brings glory and honor to him.

Perils of unbelief

 ⁷ Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
⁸ DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME,
AS ON THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,
⁹ WHERE YOUR FATHERS PUT ME TO THE TEST,
AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.
¹⁰ THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION,
AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART,
AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;
¹¹ AS I SWORE IN MY ANGER,
‘THEY CERTAINLY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’” Hebrews 3:7-11

In spite of all of the miracles the Israelites experienced during their rescue from Egypt and the wilderness journey, they continued to be plagued with unbelief and disobedience. Though they left Egypt, Egypt had not left them. They brought the gods of Egypt with them and hardened their heart toward God. Instead of looking forward to the Promised Land they were looking backward to the land of slavery they left and the life they had. They did not know God nor his ways and as a result constantly strayed away from following him. The consequence of their actions against God was prohibition from entering the Promised Land. God desired a people who would be obedient to him, to know his ways and have faith in him to accomplish what he promised he would do. Many people today are like the Israelites who perished in the wilderness. They do not know God in a personal way and rely on their own ways of doing things which are often contrary to God's commands. Their hearts are hardened by their unbelief and they choose to go their own way and never experience the life of blessing that God wants them to enjoy. True believers have faith in God to do what he says he will do, obey what he tells them to do and persevere through times of testing and trials.

Authority and subjection

 Hebrews 2:8 YOU HAVE PUT EVERYTHING IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

Jesus was given all authority in heaven and earth. With this authority he can carry out the will of the Father. He is in the process of subjecting all things and is working through believers to accomplish his plan. He will return one day to rule over the earth and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms over Jesus. We are living in exciting times as the return of Jesus is fast approaching. He will reign  forever and ever!

Permanent

 ¹⁰ And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
¹¹ THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL WEAR OUT LIKE A GARMENT,
¹² AND LIKE A ROBE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” Hebrews 1:10-12

The Trinity was involved in the creation of the heavens and the earth. Creation was an act of God who spoke it into existence. It was not as some claim the result of matter exploding and miraculously through billions of years become a high organized and produce living things. The amount of faith to believe this hypothesis is greater than believing that God created all things. The heavens and the earth are not permanent objects but will one day perish and be replaced with a new heavens and earth. God is permanent, he will never change, and we can take great comfort and confidence in this fact. God is eternal, self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and infinite.

The power of love

 ⁷ For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸ Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— Philemon 1:7-9

Philemon was a man of some financial means whose slave had escaped and was now with Paul who was in prison. He had a reputation of being a man of faith who used his home to be the meeting place of the local church. He was a man who was known for is hospitality and taking care of traveling believers who stayed at his house. He was a man of love for God and the church. Paul appealed to him in regard to the status of Onesimus, the slave who escaped who was now a believer in Christ through the ministry of Paul. Paul's appeal was one of love not demanding that Philemon do as he was requesting. Paul could have used his status and position which had authority and power to compel actions from Philemon but instead appealed with an attitude of love that he would consider his request and grant it. The power of love is greater than the power of authority and demands. When relationships are healthy and based in the bond of love making requests is much easier.