Skip to main content

FAITHFUL TO HELP

Hebrews 2:14-18

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.  Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; He came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.  Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested.”

Everyone who has ever followed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Rescuer, Redeemer, and covenant Friend knows the frailty of their own humanity. Before the Lord revealed Himself to us, giving us grace to turn from sin and death and to surrender all we are to live under His gracious rule, we characters were educated and developed in sin. Going our own way was a natural as breathing.

When the Holy Spirit made clear the true condition of our lives, being dead in sin, there was only one singular hope for us. We needed the Holy Spirit to bring about in us a “new birth” that was from heaven, not achieved by human effort. We realized that being spiritually dead and broken, there was no way we could “fix” ourselves. We had to see there was no one more ineffective than a dead man. We desperately needed supernatural help from outside ourselves.

Jesus Christ, being fully human, knows our limitations and weaknesses without ever having sinned. He never internalized nor personalized sin. He alone knows the full-bore power of temptation as He resisted it always to the “nth” degree. His triumph of obedience to the Father out of love took Him to a Roman cross, where in time and in history, He bore the penalty for the sin of the whole of humanity. He alone could break the power of sin, the grave, death, and the devil.

Jesus knows how much we need Him. He is not surprised by our struggles. In fact, He is never disappointed in us because we never surprise Him by what we do amiss. Someone has said that the Lord had already factored in our stupidity when He called us out of death and into life. The Lord knows how to help us when we are tested a little or a lot. We don’t know how He needs to help us and it is folly to think we can advise Him on what we need. He alone knows what we need in times of trial and suffering. We simply need to believe Him and to call out, “Lord Jesus, I am Yours, save me.” That is the prayer martin Luther’s Abbot taught him in a black moment of doubt and fear.

Praying, “Lord, please help!” is a prayer the Lord will never ignore. Trust Him. He really does know you, and is there to help you because you are His disciple and child. He loves you.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  PRAYER Jesus Christ NEVER taught on what we call "unanswered prayer." James wrote that a divided loyalty between trusting the Lord God for life and at the same time relying on the world's systems to get what you want will result in you not getting anything from God you may have prayed about. God will never reinforce the unbelief that flows from divided loyalty. THAT is not unanswered prayer. That is God saying, "No." to your request. God saying, "No." to your requests is not unanswered prayer. It is His grace. His "No" is just what I would want if I knew what He knows. The Lord also answers with, "Not now; not yet." because we are not yet prepared to receive what we think we need. God works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. If I am praying for something God wants to do in me and the Holy Spirit is working in me preparing me to receive what God has in store, His "Not yet." is NOT unanswered prayer. As we see...
Post a Comment
Read more
 HEBREWS 10:1-2, 10-18 "The sacrifices under that system ( the Old Covenant) were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.   If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.   For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.  Under the Old Covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.   But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.   There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet.   For by that one offering He forever m...
Post a Comment
Read more
  From Oswald Chambers today: "If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness. What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!”...
Post a Comment
Read more