A final word for the Christmas season

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice; you love what is right and hate what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more happiness on you than on any other king. Psalm 45:6-7

Many psalms are messianic, that is they’re speaking of Jesus. Psalm 45 is one of those. How do we know? Look at verse 6. God isn’t speaking of just any king.

Men reign for a period of time as king, usually until their natural deaths or until overthrown. But the king referred to in this psalm was God-given to “last forever and ever.”

The kingdom of the infant whose birth we celebrated yesterday is an eternal one, and we get to be a part of that unusual kingdom. How good that we leave this Christmas celebration knowing we belong to such a king and kingdom. The news today could bring great discouragement to our hearts as we see wars, wars and rumors of more wars. But we can go into the future confident that our Priest King is one we can admire and serve with joy. No uncertainty of coming elections but sweet comfort in serving a just king – one who loves choosing right and hates evil. He was not elected by ill-informed people. He was God-chosen to bring more joy and happiness than any kingdom or kingdom servants have ever known!

Prayer: Father, your word tells us that the feet of them that bring good tidings are beautiful! This day, we thank you for good tidings, brought to us by your messenger who indeed has good but beautiful, scarred feet, tidings that assure us of the future and who holds the future. Regularly we come to your table to take communion and be reminded of the ultimate price you paid for our peace. During this Christmas season – a time when even those who do not know you look for the Christmas peace – we thank you that you have caused us to end the year in serious contemplation of the magnificence of your Holy Person: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We thank you that you are God and we are yours. Whatever the future holds for us, remind us of that fact over and over again. Amen.

Epilogue

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

So do we really believe that God exists? Enough to risk our lives? Enough to live and be willing to die for him? Can we afford to accept his challenge to earnestly seek him? Can we afford not to?

As we leave behind [2018] with all its joys, sorrows, blessings, and disappointments, can we look ahead to the new year with a great desire in our hearts to really please God? Will we be challenged by this verse from Hebrews to commit ourselves to living out the kind of faith it talks about? Will our lives show that we really believe? That we expect God’s eternal reward?

You decide.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them . . . (and) said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be for all people. . . . You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-9a, 10, 12b

Yesterday we were reminded that we don’t have to see Jesus to believe. Today we are reminded of the awe and amazement on the first Christmas morning for those who did see!

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be out on the hillside with the shepherds? The lights of Bethlehem would not have been bright, but there might have been a flicker here and there from a lamp or a fire. As a person moved about, he’d have been a little assured that someone was nearby, that he was not entirely alone. But it was dark. Really dark!

And out on the hillside, there was no sign of light, unless the shepherds built a fire to ward off the predators or to warm their bodies. Not only would it have been dark, but I imagine it would have been very quiet. Sheep are pretty quiet creatures unless some sound or unfamiliar person or predator disturbs them. Then music, the supernatural sound of angel wings, and light as they had never seen before greeted the shepherds! Some might say they were in awe of what they saw. I imagine their being terrified! Simple people, totally unaccustomed to spectacular occurrences, and suddenly supernatural light and beings filled everything all around them.

We read the story with such familiarity, without putting the drama of the occasion into our voices as we read, and we make it much less amazing than it was. Their hearts must have been beating so fast! I picture their being frozen in their tracks. Did the sheep run here and there bleating in terror, or were they too mesmerized by the light and the sound of wings and singing?

As they stood frozen and speechless – one of the beings said quietly, “Don’t be afraid!” His next words sound so unspectacular in the translation, but what these Jewish shepherds heard was this: “There’s a newborn baby in the city nearby, and he is the promised Messiah!”

The way the text reads and is often read aloud, it appears that the shepherds calmly got up and went to Bethlehem to see, until we read in verse 15 that they “hurried” off to discover if what they had seen and heard was accurate! For all their lives they’d heard of a coming Messiah. They’d just been told he was here! No wonder they hurried. They must have run, even in the darkness, to find their king!

We’ve been reading for the past three weeks about this baby not in a manger but in high priestly robes, standing before God on our behalf. I wonder if our response to that picture is not somewhat like that of the shepherds on the hillside. Don’t we stand back a little in awe, somewhat speechless, hearts beating a bit fast, and wonder at the enormity of the mind of God that he planned such an intricate way to reveal himself to the world?

A baby born in a manger to a couple of Jewish peasants – though born themselves into a royal line of kings – who was destined to become our High Priest, Lord, Perfect Sacrifice, and Savior? I imagine that as this Christmas day begins and we think seriously about the One whose birthday we celebrate, there is an angel standing somewhere nearby saying, “Don’t be afraid! I’ve got some really good news for you! This One whose birthday you celebrate is actually your Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”

Prayer: Father, sometimes we fail to understand what you are saying to us because we don’t read your word. Sometimes we fail because we are too familiar with the text and miss the little nuances that would change us. You have said that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Help us to read with perception, so that what you have promised – faith – can become actual in greater and greater dimension as we accept it for ourselves! Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twenty-third Day of Advent

Christmas Eve

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Monday, December 24, 2018

Now faith is the being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Over the last ten or twenty years of my life, I have had the privilege of caring for several people who had no family nearby to see to their medical needs. Then in the last years of my husband’s life, I got to care for him. There’s just not a much more satisfying job than caring for someone who is almost completely dependent on you. The responsibility is tremendous, but the joy makes long days, sleepless nights, and a tired or even aching body seem unimportant.

Some of those days, my time was spent in a hospital, where I was the only person who could speak on behalf of the sick person. I remember saying to my family and friends, “everyone needs an advocate – someone they can see and trust – to speak for them when they are too sick to speak for themselves.” I think that is how I saw myself in the lives of the ones I cared for. I was their voice – their advocate.

That’s how I see Jesus as my high priest – sitting next to God and speaking on my behalf. And I know that that’s a good picture because before he went away, he told his disciples he would send them an advocate, someone who would be with them, would guide them, and would comfort them – his Holy Spirit. He didn’t come just to sit by us when we’re sick in bed, but to be with us all the time. We know that’s true because Jesus promised. We cannot actually see him as my friends could see me, but he’s there!

The verse above reminds us this is where faith comes in. No, we cannot see the Holy Spirit, we cannot see our high priest, but faith tells us that he promised and his word is absolutely trustworthy. What we hope for is that he’ll always be there, and faith tells us that we can be certain that we do not hope in vain. Jesus promised to be with us, never to leave us. It will happen, not because we see but because he is truth and we trust him!

Prayer: Father, forgive us when we forget to trust you. Forgive us when we are so overwhelmed with our own inability to visualize your presence. Help us to see through faith. Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twenty-second Day of Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of god. Consider him who endured such opposition for sinful men, so that you will not be weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

Recently I had some bad financial news, and I was unduly concerned about the repercussions of this in my life. I went to bed that night really stewing about what this could mean to me and slept rather fitfully when I finally drifted off to sleep.

The following morning I woke, fixed myself a cup of coffee, and went to my favorite spot in the living room to read and prepare for my Bible study that day. Something in the Colossian lesson sent me to the Revelation, where John tells of the messages God gave him for the seven churches (Chapters 2 and 3). When I read the message to the church at Ephesus, I felt sick to my stomach. The Lord commended the church for being faithful, working hard, not tolerating wickedness. Then he said, “But you have forsaken your first love.”

That was exactly what I had done the night before. I had forgotten Jesus, and had focused on the security of money! I was despondent because I was trusting financial security to keep me, when it is Christ and Christ alone who keeps me and all of us who belong to him! I still feel sad, but not because of the money! I am so sorry that for a few hours I forsook my first love. How good of him to remind me to “fix my eyes on Jesus,” my high priest and savior.

Prayer: Father, forgive me and all of us who forget – even for a few hours – that the One who came to save us is the only One who can continue to keep us safe! Please help us keep our eyes on Jesus, our first love. Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twenty-first Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Saturday, December 22, 2018

This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. . . . Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. . . . And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 10:15-17

When the first laws were given, they were written on tablets of stone, which Moses threw to the ground and broke when he saw the sin of the people. This time, God says the laws are not on stone but on our hearts. We know instinctively what is right and wrong after we have come to Christ, the high priest whom God revealed in Melchizedek and whom he brought to earth in the person of a tiny infant. Now the new covenant is established through Christ’s finished work, and we are free from the Old Testament law.

That does not mean we do as we please! It does mean that we recognize what our freedom from sin has cost Jesus, and we gladly do what the old law taught us pleased his Father and ours (Exodus 20:1-17).

I remember years ago speaking to a new Christian, a student on our campus. She was very sad, and I asked her why. She explained that her past life was very ugly, and she felt so bad as she realized how she had hurt God by her behavior. I showed her the Scripture above, and her face lighted up with joy! “Do you really mean God has forgotten my sin?” I assured her he had and encouraged her to forgive herself. I suggested that she picture herself before Christ washed clean of her past in the blood of Jesus! Glorious thought!

Prayer: Father, help us to see ourselves as you see us – redeemed and clean thanks to your Son, our Great High Priest! Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twentieth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Friday, December 21, 2018

Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. . . . Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:25, 28

Earlier we thought about the time on the cross when Jesus screamed out, “Tetelestai! (It is finished!)” That was the completion of the work he had to do here on earth. He had served well as our sacrificial lamb, had suffered and died to redeem mankind from the grasp of evil, and had prepared the way for our return to our heavenly Father.

The high priest in the line of Aaron had to go into the holy place year after year because the sacrifice was insufficient to last forever. Once again we see in this Scripture that Jesus has done everything he needed to do, and there is a wonderful promise he’s making in the passage above that we don’t want to miss.

He’s not only done the work, he’s coming back! Not as a baby this time! No more manger scenes. This time those “who are waiting for him” can expect some wonderful excitement! I Thessalonians 4:16 tells us, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” The next time Jesus comes to earth, we’ll be like him. He’ll take us with him for all eternity with the Father! Hallelujah!

Prayer: Father, we are so grateful to be among those who will be waiting for you! Thank you for making that possible. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Nineteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Thursday, December 20, 2018

When Christ came as high priest . . . he entered the Most Holy Place once and for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. . . . For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:11, 12b, 15

When my youngest daughter Patience was in college, she travelled with a group one summer, singing for our troops in many places in the world. On one of those trips she was in Korea. After a performance, she went to the ladies’ room to change, rushing to be on time for the helicopter that would take the group to their next performance – I think it was in Japan. Once on the copter, she realized she had left three rings in the dressing room. One of them was a very special gift from her great aunt. A young pilot who was accompanying them saw her distress and promised to look for her rings when he was back in Korea. Knowing that finding them was highly unlikely, Patience accepted the fact that her rings were gone forever.

Later when the group was in the Philippines, she saw the officer again at a performance. He had found her rings. He had searched the local pawn shops in Seoul and had found all three together. He had paid the price for the rings and had brought them to her. Imagine her surprise, joy, and gratitude!

That’s what Jesus has done for us. He saw God’s grief that we were lost – separated from him. So he came to earth to find us. He knew when he came that blood was the only “currency” that could buy us back. So as our perfect lamb and high priest, he offered his own blood, and with it paid the price for us. No more bloodshed for our redemption. His was enough!

Prayer: Father, thank you for buying us back, once and for all, from the clutches of sin and the fear of death! Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Eighteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22

Understanding the enormity of this whole process of forgiveness is impossible if you don’t know the requirements of the Old Testament law. “The wages of sin is death,” Paul says in Romans 6:23, reminding us of this law. Sin has separated us from God. It is so repulsive to him, and someone has to pay the cost for it – either the sinner or his substitute! Someone must pay!

Did you ever spill something like tomato juice or grape juice on a garment? If you have, you know that it is almost impossible to get the stain out. Sometimes even Clorox won’t do the trick! So the garment is actually ruined. You may as well discard it.

That’s sort of the picture we have here. Sin has so stained us that we are repulsive to God. Jesus knows that, so he freely gives his life for the removal of those stains. He loves his father so much that he will do anything to restore us to him (John 14:31)! Thus we have this picture of his presenting himself to meet the stringent requirement of the Old Testament law. He will personally be our atonement.

Jesus Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, and he himself, the most High Priest, intercedes for us – only there is no need for him to plead for his own forgiveness because he never sinned. No, this perfect Lamb, this perfect Sacrifice enters the place and pleads for us with his own blood, obtaining forgiveness for all those who have received him as their personal Savior! Not only did he receive that forgiveness for us, but the curtain that had separated men from God was split from top to bottom. Now we freely go directly to the throne of God, joining our high priest, to ask for our own forgiveness (or for anything else) because our high priest has done away with sin that has separated us from his Father and ours.

I love what Billy Graham is reported to have said once when he was asked if, when he got to heaven, he would remind God about all the many people who had come to Christ through his preaching. He replied simply, “No. I’ll tell God that I am there by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.” He knew the grounds on which he could enter heaven!

Our High Priest has purchased our redemption by his blood!

Prayer: Father, this whole process of redemption is too grand for our minds to fully comprehend, yet your word tells us that the Christmas baby grew to be the only man who could secure our forgiveness once and for all. Thank you for redemption. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Seventeenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. . . . This is the covenant . . . I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. . . . I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:8b, 10, 12

We cannot understand these words if we do not understand that we have a high priest representing us right this very minute at the right hand of God the Father!

The old covenant required that we be faithful to the law, continuing to make sacrifices for our sins, continuing to sin after those sacrifices, and continuing to misunderstand God and be separated from him. The new covenant introduced us to our baby king, who came on that first Christmas and after 33 years made the perfect sacrifice for not just our sins but for our very sin nature, a complete and perfect sacrifice that satisfies all the demands of the old law!

When Jesus cried out, “Tetelestai! (It is finished!)” on the cross, he didn’t just mean that he would fight no more and would die! No, he meant that the New Covenant between God and man was now complete! No more separation! No more loneliness! No more struggle for man to be reconciled to God! Our high priest did not sacrifice an animal on our behalf as they had done for generations! He gave himself to be the sacrificial lamb and forever satisfied the law!

Prayer: Father, we will never understand our reconciliation, but we thank you for this incredible gift. Help us at this Christmas time to see beyond the cradle of Christ to the enormous work of our high priest. Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Sixteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Monday, December 17, 2018

Now the law requires the descendants of Abraham . . . become priests. . . . What we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared, “You are priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:5a, 15-17

I almost left this one last comment about Melchizedek out of our devotional. I don’t want to belabor the point of the Old Testament theophany, but I do think it is important that we see all the evidence for that occurrence. And there is a point in this excerpt from Hebrews that is important.

All priests were to come from the tribe of Aaron. And from that priestly order, one was chosen to serve as high priest for his entire life. (Saul got into big trouble when he was king and assumed the role of priest on one occasion!) Jesus, we know, did not come from the tribe of Aaron but from the tribe of Judah!

In this Scripture the reference to Christ’s being a priest forever comes from Psalm 110:4, and it is God the Father who proclaims the word, forever. God declares the no-beginning-no-ending status of Christ’s priesthood. And as he does, he proclaims Christ as preceding the instructions given to Aaron and his descendants.

You may wonder why I think this is important, so let me take today’s devotional page to correct something that I long believed (I think erroneously), and something I still sometimes hear people say. “The Old Testament is about a God of wrath, and the New Testament is about a God of love.” When I hear that, I want to grab some kind of platform and scream in an unPatience-like tone and volume, “NO! The whole Bible is about ONE GOD! The Triune God! God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!”

He tried to tell us all through the Old Testament who he is, but we never understood! Now in the New, he comes as a tiny baby – something our minds can grasp – to tell us that he is with us and has always been with us. Emanuel! He comes as a baby who has to grow up, so we can realize that he understands our growing-up problems. He comes as an infant who has to learn, so we can trust him as we learn to comprehend our difficulty. He comes as a vulnerable child and man, so we can watch him stand without sin against his only adversary, the devil, and can have the courage to resist our own temptation! We have a high priest who started showing up visibly back in Genesis, before what we call history, during all of history, and will still be after all this world’s history is over and a new history begins!

We sing, “He left the splendor of heaven, knowing his destiny was a lonely hill on Golgotha, there to lay down his life for me. . . . And if that isn’t love, then . . . heaven’s a myth. . . .”

God has been trying for all of the years of man’s existence to tell us that he will do anything to restore the relationship we were created to have with him. The Genesis appearance of Melchizedek, the psalmist’s reference to him, and the clear revelation of his person in Hebrews is God’s way of saying to us over and over, “Learn who I am! I came as one of you so you could understand what you were intended to be – perfect and in complete fellowship with God.”

Prayer: Father, sometimes we realize that our understanding of you, of the extent to which you will go and have gone to restore our relationship to you, is almost above our comprehension. Then we see our Great High Priest lying in a manger and we are awestruck. Then as you help us grasp more and more of who you are, we sing, “Hallelujah, thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory! Revive us again!” Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Fifteenth Day of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Sunday, December 16, 2018

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First his name means “king of righteousness;” then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. . . . Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:1-3, 25

Once again we find support for recognizing in Melchizedek an Old Testament appearance of Christ. And can’t we see a picture here of Jesus? The name of this high priest means “the king of righteousness,” and Acts 7:52 calls Jesus the promised Righteous One. Melchizedek’s name means “king of Salem” or “king of peace.” Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.

We know that Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13) – without beginning and without end. So we can be sure that the reference here is to the Lord. And verse 25 gives us great confidence as we hear again that he now “lives to intercede” for us.

Sometimes someone asks me to pray for some problem and I don’t know what to ask for. I’m encouraged and undaunted when I remember that Jesus now “lives to intercede.” So I put that fact together with his promise that “when two or three agree as touching anything” (Matthew 18:19) he will grant it. He gives great confidence in our prayers when we simply put the whole situation in his hands and pray, “Lord, we agree with you. Whatever you are praying for our friends, grant it.” I know he would never ask for anything except the Father’s will, so we can know we are praying for what God wants in that life.

As we learn more and more about our high priest, we learn to put our confidence and hope not in the apparently helpless infant in the manger but in the God/Man Christ Jesus who overcame our sin, conquered death, rose from the dead, and now sits at God’s right hand interceding for us.

Prayer: Father, Thank you for Jesus and for the realization that in all of life we need a high priest to constantly intercede for us. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Fourteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Saturday, December 15, 2018

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

I remember many years ago when our family was on our pontoon boat in the middle of a huge lake in south-central Kentucky. We had been back in a little cove, swimming and having a wonderful time together. Suddenly we realized that a heavy darkness was falling on the lake and knew that we should return to the dock where we kept our boat. Almost as soon as we began to move out of the cove and into the great opening of water, we found ourselves in the middle of a terrible storm. More than a little frightened, I asked my husband what we should do. Keep on moving toward the pier? Return to the cove and whatever protection we could find there? “No,” he said to all my suggestions. “The anchor is strong. Put life jackets on yourself, the children, and the dog, and get together in the center of the boat under the canopy. I’ll drop anchor, and we’ll ride it out.”

As usual, he was right. The anchor held; the lightening abated; the rain slacked; we rode it out. We drifted with the waves only a little; not much. We bounced about, but we were not in apparent danger as we had seemed to be when we tried to move against the wind and water. The experience was frightening, but the fear is not what I remember most. What I remember is how good it felt to realize that our good heavy anchor was keeping us in one spot.

I think of that experience as I read this passage in Hebrews. “We have this hope as an anchor. . . .” What is this hope? We use the word hope so casually. We hope it won’t rain. We hope we can afford a new car. We hope we do well in school. Is that the kind of hope the Hebrew writer is talking about? No! Our hope, our absolute anchor is as secure as Jesus Christ himself! In him we are firm and secure no matter how horrible the storm. Why?

No matter how severe the storms, our anchor holds!

Any good Jew would have understood the last part of this passage, but we often do not. Once a year, only the high priest was permitted to go into the holy of holy places to pray for himself and for the nation of Israel. It was considered the dwelling place of God, such a holy place that anyone who entered was in great danger. Fearing the priest might be overcome by that awesome presence with no person fit to retrieve his body, the people tied little bells around the hem of his skirt and a rope to his foot. If the bells ceased to tinkle, they’d know he was overcome, and they’d tug the rope and pull him out to either recover or to bury.

This Scripture tells us that Jesus not only went behind that curtain but split it from top to bottom. Now he ever intercedes there on behalf of the saints (that’s us), and even we can go boldly into his presence without fear (Hebrews 7:23).

Prayer: Father, thank you for the wonderful reminders we have in the word and in the church that our anchor – the Lord Jesus Christ – holds. Thank you for our high priest who rent the curtain from top to bottom so that we can join him there in praying for ourselves and interceding for all the other saints. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Thirtheenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Friday, December 14, 2018

We have much to say to you about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still and infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:11-14

This is not a Scripture I often choose to speak to someone, but since it falls right here in the middle of this wonderful part explaining more and more to us about the importance of who the Christmas baby is, I can’t just pass it by. Why would I skip this when writing to good Christians in a good church? Because the Scripture is practically shouting to us to grow up and that is a difficult message to bring! The Bible tells us to know the word and to hide it in our hearts (to memorize it), to study so we’ll know the truth (not just reading along with the pastor on Sunday morning, but digging in on our own), and to identify sin and deal with it in private confession.

God is clearly saying milk is for babies. Be adults! Live on a diet of steak! The Bible is filled with incredible truth about the incredible God we serve – about who he is as creator, as redeemer, as giver of power and comfort. He wants us not to just worship the baby Jesus but to know and to worship our Triune God. And we will never be able to do that until we get into his word in a serious way, dig deeply for ourselves to find the treasures he has stored for us there.

He says in verse 11 we are “slow to learn,” and I often reply sadly, “I am indeed a slow learner.”

Prayer: Father, as we neglect your word, help us to realize that we are neglecting you, starving ourselves and stunting our growth. Forgive us for our negligence. Help us to grow up in our understanding of you through your word! Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twelfth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Thursday, December 13, 2018

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son. . . . You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:4-6

The priesthood in the traditions of the Hebrew people was built on the call of Aaron to be the first high priest when God had given the law and set up the structure for teaching, judging, and worship for his people. And Aaron was to occupy that position for his lifetime, serving as the spiritual guide for the nation, until another was chosen to take his place – also for a lifetime.

And now we meet again a high priest – Melchizedek, and God himself speaks of his Son as being of the order of the Old Testament priest who we met back in Genesis 14 (the place where I believe we witness a theophany). And remember when Melchizedek appeared in Psalm 110? God said that Jesus would be a priest – not like Aaron for a lifetime but like Melchizedek – a priest forever! This is the Scripture that causes me to believe that what we witnessed in Genesis 14 was a theophany.

In the Scripture above, we see the eternal, called-forever high priest – Jesus! He did not come for his own glory but for his Father’s. He did not come because he wanted “the job” but because he was called. The Christmas infant grew up to be a man, a teacher, a suffering servant, our risen Lord and King. He is the only one whom God ever allowed to be both a priest and a king!

We have pastors here on earth, and we hope they are ‘the called of God.” But, like Aaron, they are called for a lifetime, and at their deaths, another will take their places. Not so with Jesus. There is no other to take his place. He is, was, and always will be our high priest. The one who knows us best, understands our needs, fears, and dreams, who waits for us to call on him, and who loves us enough to die for us is our priest forever!

Prayer: Father, the deep need in our lives is to be understood. We express ourselves poorly; we make mistakes; we struggle to be accepted. We feel alone. Remind us that our high priest is none other than Jesus Christ. Remind us to turn to the only one who truly know us. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Eleventh Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we possess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14-15

These two verses should be as comforting to us as any in the Bible, yet we seldom hear them mentioned, and I don’t believe I have ever heard a sermon based on verse 15.

Though I am not a counselor, I make myself available as a listening ear when people tell me they just “need someone to talk to.” And how do they often begin our conversation? Like this: “I don’t know anyone who really understands me, really knows what I am going through, or cares about how I hurt.”

I seldom stop them there. I just let them talk. But when I have listened to all their agony, all their feeling of being rejected or misunderstood, or unloved, I read Hebrews 4:15 to them. Who better to listen than someone who has been tempted to do all the bad things we have done, but resisted the temptation and didn’t do those things? Who better to talk to than someone who can sympathize with what we are saying because he has been there? Our high priest is not one of a cloister who does not come in contact with the ugliness of the world that we face daily. He has heard the cursing in the streets. He has seen man’s inhumanity to man. He has been enticed by his adversary the devil who tried to get him to do all the bad things that God abhors! Yet he did not give in, even when he sweated blood as he dreaded the cross that was before him. He knows how hard it is to resist, but he also knows it is possible to succeed in resisting. We have a great high priest who not only tells us what is right but also empathizes with our struggle to do what we know is right.

I can almost hear him, sometimes, when I tell him something I want to do that I know is not right. Speaking in the vernacular of our time, he’d probably say something like, “Been there! I know how you’re struggling, but remember my challenge. Just ‘Hold on to the faith you possess.’ And Remember, I am right there with you.”

Our high priest doesn’t wear a fancy robe or speak in lofty language. We don’t have to make an appointment to see him. When he diagnoses our problem, we will understand what he is saying. He knows sin, and he successfully stood firm against it during his whole life. He’s right there in the midst of our marital struggles, our bruised relationships, or our desires to do things that we see others doing that we know are wrong. He understands our mundane sins like overeating or gossiping or being in a bad mood or being irritated by someone who talks too much or seems to be nosy! Common ordinary things of our lives that we face and try to avoid calling them sin, Jesus understands! But understanding doesn’t mean he overlooks them! Someone has to pay for all the evil of the world, and in his understanding our weakness, he took our place, allowing our ugly sins and our sin nature to be nailed with him to the cross, replacing all the evil with a heart-felt desire to please God.

That’s our high priest! He is the one about whom the whole Bible is written as God reveals himself to us. He is the Melchizedek we met in Genesis and the one we find here in Hebrews who, when he sees us tempted to sin said to himself, “Hold firmly to the faith.”

Prayer: Father, thank you for reminding us that you know us as no one else does. Forgive us when we cry that no one understands. Remind us that you not only understand but empathize and forgive. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com