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Hebrews 3 Devotional – Day 4

ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness

OMNIPOTENCE  God’s omnipotence refers to his power to do what he decides to do. Omnipotence derives from two Latin words, omni, “all,” and potens, “powerful,” and means “all-powerful.” Numerous passages speak to God’s omnipotence:

    • In context, the rhetorical question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27) implies that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
    • Jeremiah also says to God, “nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
    • Paul says that God is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).
    • God is called the “Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 1:8), a Greek term (pantokratōr) that suggests the possession of all power and authority.
    • The angel Gabriel says to Mary, “With God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37)
    • Jesus says, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

However, there are some things that God cannot do. God cannot do anything that denies his own character. For example, Scripture tells us that God can’t lie:

    • In Titus 1:2 he is called (literally) “the unlying God” or the “God who never lies.”
    • The author of Hebrews says that in God’s oath and promise “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrew 6:18, Grudem’s translation).
    • 2 Timothy 2:13 says of Christ, “He cannot deny himself.”

Additionally, James says, “God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). Thus, God cannot lie, sin, deny himself, or be tempted with evil. He cannot cease to exist, or cease to be God, or act in a way inconsistent with any of his attributes.

Praise the Omnipotent God.

Praise Him for making and sustaining the universe. Praise Him for providing a way for salvation. Praise Him because He rose from the dead. Praise Him because nothing is too hard for Him.

CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100

SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.

  • Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
  • Pray for Christ Challenge as they meet through the Summer. Ask God to strengthen their community and challenge them in their faith.

SCRIPTURE READING:
Hebrews 3 – The Message
The Centerpiece of All We Believe
3 1-6 So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.

6-11 Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says,

Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,”
that time of wilderness testing!
Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;
over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!
I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God;
they refuse to walk down my road.”
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”

12-14 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as God’s still calling it Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.

These words keep ringing in our ears:

Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.

15-19 For who were the people who turned a deaf ear? Weren’t they the very ones Moses led out of Egypt? And who was God provoked with for forty years? Wasn’t it those who turned a deaf ear and ended up corpses in the wilderness? And when he swore that they’d never get where they were going, wasn’t he talking to the ones who turned a deaf ear? They never got there because they never listened, never believed.

Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:

The first generation of Hebrew people after the Exodus did not enter into God’s rest because they hardened their hearts. The culmination of God’s rest for these people was entering Cannan, the Promised land. There were only a couple of people from that generation who entered Cannan. God’s rest was not some distant far off place that the people had to achieve. All that was required of them was that they listen to God, trust Him, and obey Him. Rest is and alway was about trusting God to lead, protect and to provide. If you have trusted in Jesus you have entered into God’s rest. The challenge now is to not turn back. Hold on to the confidence that is yours in Christ. Jesus is your rest. He has rescued you from sin. He will never let you go. He will continue to provide a way out as you are tempted. Following Him is where the good life is found. Yes you can harden your heart and turn away, and yes God will let you harden your heart, but you don’t have to harden your heart. Will you make it your business to keep your heart from growing hard? TODAY will you see to it that you rest in the finished work of Christ? Your heart is your responsibility. Ask yourself TODAY, have I let my heart grow hard towards God? Ask yourself TODAY, am I drifting? Am I indifferent? These questions are not meant to produce guilt but to help you think about the condition of your heart. If your heart is growing hard, TODAY will you repent?

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