Daily Reading: Hebrews 12
Scripture Focus: Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29)
Devotional Thought: In our faith walk, most of us have not endured persecution to the extent of First Century believers. That persecution was real. It was widespread. It was life-threatening. So, when the author of Hebrews instructs his readers to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (v. 1) and “consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (v. 3), these exhortations were greatly needed.
To what end were these believers (and today’s believers) enduring? To what end did they hold on to their faith? For the joy of “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (v. 28)! The original Hebrew readers would have read the last section of this letter, remembering the stories of God as he descended onto Mount Sinai in the desert to establish the covenant, with awe and reverence. God’s terrifying holiness caused every Israelite to tremble with fear, and no person on earth is exempt from the standard of holiness that God has set forth for his creation.
What is the result of receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken? "Acceptable worship with reverence and awe." Acceptable worship is worship on God’s terms. Before, under the old covenant, this included very specific rules about sacrifice; only certain people could “worship” under this covenant, at certain times, under certain conditions. Under the new covenant, we can approach the throne with confidence, on God’s terms, for Jesus has reconciled us to him.
Jenny
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the new covenant established by your Son. We thank you for our promised inheritance, as heirs to the Kingdom, the Kingdom that cannot be shaken. We anticipate the glorious day of your return!
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 50.7-15
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
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