December 14, 2015 AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL
Hebrews 6:18b-20: “we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
It seems that in the culture of the day, there is nothing that is sure; and the idea of having absolutes is something of the past. We do live in a time when the prevailing thought and belief is that each individual should do whatever seems good or right in his own eyes; or as they say: “If it feels good, do it.” At the heart of Humanism is the belief that man is supreme and that man can and should do whatever makes him “happy.” However, when we observe what is taking place in our culture, we quickly discover that when a culture rejects the truth of the scriptures, the culture-and the people in it- suffer and the culture goes into a tail spin. (Just one example: the scriptures point out the dangers of indebtedness; yet our nation is in debt to the 20 TRILLION dollar range, and any economist knows that we have a huge “day of reckoning” coming-the consequences of the debt will have tremendous consequences for every citizen. Had we, and our government, adhered to the absolute of not spending more than it takes in, our nation would by far be the richest, most influential nation the world has ever known.) While we as believers live in in this culture carrying out our responsibilities, we are a part of another culture; a culture where God is ruling and where there are absolutes and a sure foundation! If we are looking for security, or if our hope is in this culture, we will surely be disappointed and we will suffer loss. In the verse above we find the phrase: “who have fled for refuge”; for us this means that if we are to find hope and “strong encouragement”, we also must “flee” the lies of the culture. In the verse above, we also have the phrase: “laying hold of the hope set before us.” “Laying hold of” implies that finding hope and strong encouragement does not happen automatically, but that there is something for us to do; something that requires determination on our part. As believers, our part is to first realize that the culture of this world does not give us hope and strong encouragement. Recognizing the lie is a start, but we then must pursue the truth that is found only in the scriptures; and to understand the scriptures, we need the Holy Spirit to give us revelation concerning the scriptures. I Corinthians 2:10: “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” To pursue something requires energy on our part. I think that most would agree that for many, the energy for pursuing God has waned. The believer must overcome being comfortable or satisfied with his or her present knowledge and understanding of the scripture and of God. There is no place of plateauing when it comes to our pursuit of knowing our great and powerful God. If we think that we have come to a place where we think that we have no real need for spiritual growth or a greater understanding of God, then we are most deceived. If we are to have “strong encouragement” and a hope that is not based on the uncertainty of our culture, then we must “lay hold” of all that Jesus accomplished on our behalf when He gave His life for us and was then raised from the dead. The death of Christ and His resurrection opened the door for us to be forgiven, to be born again, to be made new, to be made the heirs of salvation, to become sons and daughters of God, and to have a sure hope. So let us not live on a spiritual plateau, but let us be diligent in “laying hold” of all that Jesus, our high priest, has as accomplished for us, and let us spend the rest of our days in pursuit of Him.
Ephesians 1:18-19b: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Hebrews 6:18b-20: “we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
It seems that in the culture of the day, there is nothing that is sure; and the idea of having absolutes is something of the past. We do live in a time when the prevailing thought and belief is that each individual should do whatever seems good or right in his own eyes; or as they say: “If it feels good, do it.” At the heart of Humanism is the belief that man is supreme and that man can and should do whatever makes him “happy.” However, when we observe what is taking place in our culture, we quickly discover that when a culture rejects the truth of the scriptures, the culture-and the people in it- suffer and the culture goes into a tail spin. (Just one example: the scriptures point out the dangers of indebtedness; yet our nation is in debt to the 20 TRILLION dollar range, and any economist knows that we have a huge “day of reckoning” coming-the consequences of the debt will have tremendous consequences for every citizen. Had we, and our government, adhered to the absolute of not spending more than it takes in, our nation would by far be the richest, most influential nation the world has ever known.) While we as believers live in in this culture carrying out our responsibilities, we are a part of another culture; a culture where God is ruling and where there are absolutes and a sure foundation! If we are looking for security, or if our hope is in this culture, we will surely be disappointed and we will suffer loss. In the verse above we find the phrase: “who have fled for refuge”; for us this means that if we are to find hope and “strong encouragement”, we also must “flee” the lies of the culture. In the verse above, we also have the phrase: “laying hold of the hope set before us.” “Laying hold of” implies that finding hope and strong encouragement does not happen automatically, but that there is something for us to do; something that requires determination on our part. As believers, our part is to first realize that the culture of this world does not give us hope and strong encouragement. Recognizing the lie is a start, but we then must pursue the truth that is found only in the scriptures; and to understand the scriptures, we need the Holy Spirit to give us revelation concerning the scriptures. I Corinthians 2:10: “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” To pursue something requires energy on our part. I think that most would agree that for many, the energy for pursuing God has waned. The believer must overcome being comfortable or satisfied with his or her present knowledge and understanding of the scripture and of God. There is no place of plateauing when it comes to our pursuit of knowing our great and powerful God. If we think that we have come to a place where we think that we have no real need for spiritual growth or a greater understanding of God, then we are most deceived. If we are to have “strong encouragement” and a hope that is not based on the uncertainty of our culture, then we must “lay hold” of all that Jesus accomplished on our behalf when He gave His life for us and was then raised from the dead. The death of Christ and His resurrection opened the door for us to be forgiven, to be born again, to be made new, to be made the heirs of salvation, to become sons and daughters of God, and to have a sure hope. So let us not live on a spiritual plateau, but let us be diligent in “laying hold” of all that Jesus, our high priest, has as accomplished for us, and let us spend the rest of our days in pursuit of Him.
Ephesians 1:18-19b: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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