A Genuine Christian

Reading:  James 1
My Verse:  "But be doers of the Word [obey the message] and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]" (1:22).

James speaks to us where we are.  He speaks to us in our practical day to day living.  He speaks to our very thoughts and so to our hearts.  Am I genuine?  Do I live out what I truly believe?

It only makes sense that how we live should reflect what is in our mind, in our hearts.

Living in a way that is not true to what we believe leads to anguish - a breaking down of our mental well being.  It is the source of much angst.  It results in illness.

It is truly amazing how You made us, Lord God.  You created us in such a way that we simply cannot live a lie.  Our mind, soul and body are all so interconnected that we cannot separate the one from the other.  Is that why You said, "And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)"  (Matthew 22:37)?

I cannot just sorta live for You.  You want all of me.  You want full commitment.

So how do I live a genuine Christian life?  It is so easy to get caught up in a 'works' program.  Just yesterday I had another Jehovah Witness person knock on the door.  They work so hard - for they believe their works will save them.  But only You, Lord God, can save us!  "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me!" (John 14:6)  Your Word is so very clear on this teaching. 

Lord, I love You.  I believe that You have saved me.  I believe that You do grow me - continually transform me to be what You want me to be.  I pray for discernment, Lord.  I pray for each day that You give me here on this earth I live  as a "doer of the Word" and not "merely a listener."  I want to be a genuine Christian!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

A Timeless Benediction!

Reading:  Hebrews 13
My Verse:  "Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood , the everlasting agreement strengthen and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while he Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be the glory forever and ever"  (13:20,21).

What a beautiful benediction the author has placed on me, the reader of this passage.

First, he appeals to the "God of peace", the God "Who is the Author and Giver of peace", the God Who brought us our precious Lord Jesus, the God Who brought us the everlasting and final covenant of Jesus's sacrificial blood.  Yes, this appeal is to the One and Only Almighty God.

The author asks that God "strengthen and make you what you ought to be!"  How wonderful is that?  This prayer comes down through the ages to each of us who believe in You, Lord God. I can take hold of it and make it mine.

The author asks that You, Lord God "equip you with everything good."  You, Lord God can and do provide me all that I need to deal with my life day by day.  I need only avail myself of Your provision.  That is where I fall short.  I sometimes forget who I am and Who You are!  I flail about in my small puddle and forget to reach out to You!

I love the last part of this benediction.  "[while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ".  This means that You, Lord God are not finished with me and will never be as long as I am here on this earth.  I can look forward to You growing me and transforming me into what You will have me to be.  That is so encouraging because I do get frustrated with myself - with my many shortcomings!

Thank You, Lord God for this beautiful benediction that marches down through the ages to each of us, who believe in You as our Lord and Saviour.  For You never change, what You say in Your word applies to each of us through the ages.  "Jesus Christ is [always] the same, yesterday, today, and forever (to the ages)" (13:8).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Purposeful Watchfulness!

Reading:  Hebrews 12
My Verse:  "Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God's grace, in order that no root of resentment shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it _"  (12:15).

Lord God, as I read this verse I try to visualize how this is to look in my life.    How do I "exercise foresight?"  How am I to "be on watch to look [after one another]"?  This seems like such a very large expectation!  I know elsewhere in the Bible we are told, "Be alert and of sober mind." (I Peter 5:8)
I am to live a life of purposeful watchfulness. 

The first thing I am to watch out for is that others do not "fall short of the grace of God."
I have always understood that I am to try to win others to You, Lord God.  This just seems so much more urgent somehow.  In other words I am to do all that I can to help others see You, Lord God.  Oh, I pray for wisdom as I live my life day by day.  I pray that others see Your light in me.  That in seeing Your light in me they would want You.

" . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven"  (Matthew 5:16 ESV).

Secondly,  I am be be watchful "in order that no root of resentment shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment . . ."  Initially I am overwhelmed as I think on this.  I look at all the horrendous things happening in the world.  I cringe whenever I hear Christians saying caustic things that only cause more rancor and trouble!  My heart is saddened when I see disagreement coming between people, causing "trouble and bitter torment".  I feel so helpless.  What is my part in this, Lord?  I ask for discernment.  I ask You to help me to keep my eyes on only what I can affect.  I ask You to put a guard over my tongue and my actions.

"Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD, keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3, NIV).
"Establish my steps and direct them by [means of] Your word; let not any iniquity have dominion over me" (Psalm 119:133)

Lord, I pray that today I live with purposeful watchfulness. 

"Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe;  For our God [is indeed] a consuming fire" (12:28,29).

I have many loved ones that I do not want to know or experience that "consuming fire!"

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Fear - Healthy or Unhealthy?

Reading:  Hebrews 11
My Verse:  "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him"  (11:6)

This chapter parades the great men and women of faith before us.  Faith - that allusive concept for so many.  We are called to "draw near" to You, Lord God, but this we  cannot do  unless we believe in Your existence, unless we believe You will keep Your promises to us.  We cannot believe without faith.  Thank You for reminding us here of those giants of faith that went before us - these men and women who stepped out in faith for You.  They had the right kind of fear - fear of You.

I just heard a lovely talk about fear.  This lady pointed out the two kinds of fear. It made me question  which fear rules my life?  Fear the unhealthy, unreasonable kind is that which causes us to fear unknown things - things we have no control over.  This fear can paralyze us, stunt us.  And then there is the good fear - the healthy fear that warns us to take precautions.  This is the kind of fear we need to have of You, Lord.  For You are a holy God and we can take steps to avoid falling into Your dreadful punishment.  "It is a fearful think to incur the divine penalty and be cast into the hands of the living God!" (Hebrews 10:31).

To have a healthy fear is to be aware of what is really happening around us.  So many live in denial - pretending there is no eternity - pretending You Lord are not real - pretending You do not call us to "draw near" to You.

There is another side to this healthy fear of You!  If we but recognize You for Who You are You will help us in our daily unreasonable fears.   I think of Moses here who was so fearful of going to Pharoah, yet Lord, You took him through every step of the way.  We too can experience this step by step process.

O, Lord God, You tell us to "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold You with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

The giants of faith knew this healthy fear.  They recognized that You, Lord God, are who You say You are.  This enabled them to step out in faith and be the men and women You wanted them to be.  So I need to consider this question of which fear rules in my life.  I think too often I allow the wrong kind of fear to have sway in my life. I look to Your wonderful promises here.

"Be strong and courageous.  Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (II Timothy 1:7).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

True, Relevant & Unchanging!

Reading:  Hebrews 10
My Verse:  "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . . "
                   "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering . . . "
                   "Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works . . . " (10:22-24)

As I read through the Bible I am struck by the unchanging purpose of what I read.  Throughout this great book You, Lord God, call us to You with an unrelenting purpose.   I am  struck by how relevant each passage I read is to my life - to my life today!  And I am struck by the ring of truth in each word!

Lord God, again here You call us to "draw near" to You.  You call us to come to You in truth "with a true heart."  There is to be no pretending for You know the heart.  And we can come to You "in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Once we have given ourselves to You, You tell us to "hold fast without wavering."  We can know and believe that You are Truth!  Even when doubts crowd in to dislodge our faith.  We need only cry out to You as the boy's father  did in Mark 9:24.   "I believe, help me in my unbelief!" 

Finally, You tell us here that we, as Christians, as believers, are to live in community.  We are to be thinking of other Christians.  We are to be encouraging one another.  We cannot do this in isolation, "not neglecting to meet together."  So important to our growth as a believer!

Oh, Lord, thank You for Your constancy throughout scripture - from Genesis to Revelation. You came with the purpose of saving the lost and all of scripture supports that.

 "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"  (Mark 2:17)
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost" ( Luke 19:10).

Yes, Lord God, thank You for Your relentless purpose.  Thank You for revealing to us Your truth.  Thank You for keeping Your Word relevant to my life!  And thank You for Your unchanging immutable self!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Once For All!

Reading:  Hebrews 9
My Verse:  "He has once for all at the consummation and close of the ages appeared to put away and abolish sin by His sacrifice [of Himself] (9:26).

It is said we of today do not/cannot fully appreciate this idea of You, Lord Jesus, being our High Priest, our mediator.  We do not live in a culture of priests and so lack ability to truly grasp this concept.  We live in a culture where independence is king.  We are to be fully able to do everything on our own - if we don't then we are failures.  Yet, most cultures of the past had mediators that stood between their god and the people. These mediators had to spend much time prepping themselves to go before their god.  This was true of the Jews as well.  It happened once a year that the priest would go into the holy of holies.  They even put bells and a rope on his ankle.  For if he went in unworthily he would be struck dead.  For You Lord God are holy.  All this stopped, of course, when You, Jesus, gave Yourself as that final supreme sacrifice "once for all."  The temple was even destroyed so the Jews could not carry on the empty ritual.

Yet, today, even though we do not have this culture of sacrifice it does exist in various forms.  People still think there are things they can and must do to be worthy of You, Lord.  People still have certain things that they think they must "give up" in order to get to heaven.  Many religions have some sort of "works" program - so people can work their way into heaven.  In fact, this seems to be preferred.  People seem to like the idea of working their way into heaven rather than accepting Your free gift of salvation.  But, Lord, You did it all "once . . . for all at the consummation of the ages."

Does this idea that we can work our way into heaven exist simply because of our pride or our need to have some control?  Why is it so hard to admit our need - admit You, Lord Jesus, alone can save us?

You constantly remind us "And . . . it is appointed for [all] men once to die, and after that the [certain] judgement" (9:27).

You continually call us to ". . . fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy . . . " (4:16).

You want us to put aside all that we are, that we think we are and accept that supreme sacrifice of Yourself that You did "once for all."  You told us as You died on the cross. "It is finished!" (John 19:30)

Lord, I pray for loved ones that do not see this truth, that the eyes of their hearts will be opened and You will give them understanding.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

He Forgets Our Sin!

Reading:  Hebrews 8
My Verse:  "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins nor more"  (8:12).

That is an amazing thing, You Lord God, by Your mercy not only forgive us our sins but forget our sins!

Mercy:  compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence. In the reading of this dictionary definition of the word mercy, I am struck by the word "enemy".  Lord, I was not only an offender but also an enemy of You!  Yet, You, forgave me.  You drew me to You!  And You forgot my sins!

In his book the Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer defines "mercy" in this way.  "Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate."  I like that Your mercy, Lord God, is inexhaustible!  We can never come to the end of it!  And it is compassionate!  You are not just some distant impersonal entity.  You operate on a level we can never understand.  Your compassion knows no bounds.

Who has not done something they regretted?  How that event plays itself out in our mind.  We remember the event over and over.  Yet here, Lord God, You tell us You "will remember their sins no more."  How is this possible?  You, who knows all?  I do not understand.  I can only be grateful for Your tender compassionate mercy.  I can only be grateful that You choose to have this kind of forgetfulness!

This wonderful mercy is ever there free for the taking.  I need only by faith grasp hold of Your tender mercy - Your divine pity and then only then can I boldly come before You.  Only then can I boldly come before You as Your child - a child dearly loved.

For You, Lord God, are my Surety, my Rock.  Yes, You hide me in the cleft of Your Rock!

"He found him in the desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10).

Yes, only You can free us of the sin that crushes and destroys.  Thank, You, for forgetting my sin!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Draw Near To God

Reading:  Hebrews 7
My Verse:  "Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them"  (7:25).

Lord, You call us to "draw near"  to You.  Yet we cannot  come near to You in our sinful state - as sinful beings. And we cannot get rid of our sin on our own.  In the past it was required that priests be present to offer up sacrifices and prayers on the behalf of the people.  Today we are able to come directly to You.  We can ask You directly to forgive us our sins and You in Your wonderful mercy make it possible to "draw near to God." You did this by sacrificing Your very life , by the shedding of You own blood.   Then You rose on the third day from death to "always . . . make intercession" for us.

We can only "draw near to God"  "through Him", that is You, Jesus. You, alone can save us.  Nothing else works.  We cannot work our way into heaven.  We cannot buy our way into heaven.  We cannot bypass You, Jesus, to get to God.  You and You only are the way.  "For I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).


All you require of us is that we admit our sin - admit we cannot save ourselves.  We are to come to You as a child would and ask You to save us - then You will. You "save us to the uttermost."  Your salvation is complete - nothing else is required.  And most wonderfully it is forever!  Once I am saved I cannot again be lost. "My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all [else]; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are One" (John 10:29,30).


Too many think they need to have all their ducks in order before coming to You.  Lord, You meet us where we are.  You put the ducks in order for us.  You help us to straighten out any confusion - wrong thoughts we may have in our minds.  You do this as we are able to deal with them.  You help us to "draw near to You."  It is a hard thing to understand but we must simply and humbly admit our need to You and You will gladly wrap us up in Your arms and bring us along as we are able.

Thank You Lord Jesus for what You have done.  You, Jesus, by Your intercessory prayer enable me to have this extraordinary privilege to "draw near" to Elohim Jehovah God!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

His Unchangeable Promise

Reading:  Hebrews 6
My Verse:  "This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us]" (6:18).

You, Lord God, are unchangeable - immutable!  You made us a promise and "it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us!"  Once You have said something - made a promise to us it is so because You do not change or go back on Your promises to us.  "For I am the Lord, I do not change" (Malachi 3:6).  What wonderful assurance.

You are holy.  Because You are holy we can anchor our souls on You.  "There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You;  there is no Rock like our God"  (I Samuel 2:2).

You know us so well.  You knew we would be unable to hold onto You on our own power even after we took hold of Your salvation - Your Hope.   So You provide us "mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement."  It is only by this that we are able to "grasp and hold fast to the hope appointed for us and set before [us]."

I like how verse 19 goes on to say because of Your promise and oath "we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul."

Lord, You always know what I need.  Thank You for this reassurance of Your unchangeable promise of salvation.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Regressing Back to A Babe!

Reading:  Hebrews 5
My Verse:  "For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's Word.  You have come to need milk, not solid food.  For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness" (5:12,13).

This verse seems to indicate that we can regress in our walk.  "you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's Word."  Lord, thank you that You are patient.  You do meet us where we are, even when we go back to needing baby food!  You pick us up and carry us along until we can start to walk again.  Even then You are there as we totter along!  "The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore"  (Psalm 121:8).

But, I on my part must ever keep my eyes on You.  This is spiritual growth and it needs the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  "But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you.  But if anyone does not possess the Holy Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God]" (Romans 8:9)  "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

You, Lord Jesus, even said this to Nicodemus when he came to You trying to understand what it meant to be "born again".  "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God"  (John 3:5).

This is a hard concept to grasp.  As Nicodemus said, "How can all this be possible?" 

Lord God, You know us.  You know where we are.  You meet us there and bring us along even in our lack of understanding.  You only require that we cry out to You for help - in the midst of our unbelief - in the midst of our confusion - in the midst of our regressing! You only require that we cry out to You - that we admit our need.

"For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).

You require truth from us.  You require us to worship You in spirit.  "God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth"  (John 4:24). 

Thank You for loving me and being patient with me.  I know I cannot lose my salvation but I know I can stumble, fall and act like a babe - regress.  I know that is possible.  I know too that at those times I need only, like a child, reach up to You and You will lovingly take my hand and bring me along.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Unrelenting Is Our Lord!

Reading:  Hebrews 4
My Verse:  "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]: it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of  life (soul), and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.  And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do" (4:12,13)

Oh, Lord God, You are relentless in Your love for us.  You pursue us.  You want us to belong to You.  All of scripture points to this.  Your ever constant plea echoes throughout Your Word, throughout all of time, throughout the lives of Your followers.  You plea with us.

 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest"  (Matthew 11:28).

"Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercy promised to David"  (Isaiah 55:3).

We live furtive little lives here - thinking no one knows what we do, what we think.  But we are naked before You.  You see all. You know all.  Even yet You love us and want us. As the song says.  "Amazing love!  How can it be but that thy love was made for me!"

You are relentless!  Misty Edward's song is so simple but powerfully puts forth this attribute of You, Lord.  I love listening to it.

     You won't relent until You have it all, my heart is Yours.

     I set you as a seal upon my heart
     as a seal upon my arm

     For there is love that is as strong as death
     jealously  demanding as the grave

     and many waters can not quench this love

    Come be the fire inside of me
    Come be the flame upon my heart
    Come be the fire inside me until You and I are one.

    You won't relent until You have it all, my heart is Yours.

Thank You, Lord, for relentlessly pursuing me - piercing through my confusion, my unbelief.  I do not even begin to understand why, I just know You did and continue to do so.  I can only love You back.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
   

No Regrets!

Reading:  Hebrews 3
My Verse:  "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another everyday, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (3:12,13).

Regrets are no fun for they linger and drag one down.  Often one has the option to remedy a situation.  More often than not one does not have that option but then time seems to lessen the regret.  Turning away from God is one of those regrets that no one wants to have for time will not lessen the pain of eternal separation from You.

Here the author is exhorting us to "take care".  For to have a "wicked, unbelieving heart . . . leading you to turn away from the living God"  is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness.  Those that do not "take care" and fall into this face eternal condemnation - eternal regret that they did not believe in You, the living God.  I know this does not mean we can lose our salvation.  It means that there are many who think they are saved but are not.  James McDonald does a wonderful lesson called, Are You Saved?  He poses some very hard questions that make you really examine yourself.  Thank you Lord for such teachers who further exhort us to "take care". 

The author of Hebrews tells us to "exhort one another everyday."  This is such an important call to the church to encourage and uphold one another.  This speaks to the importance of church.  Too many think they can live for you on their own.  You, Lord God created the church for this very purpose.  We really do need each other.  I am reminded here that church is not just for me to get encouragement for myself but also for me to give encouragement to others!

Finally, we are to do this "as long as it is called 'today'."  This indicates that there is coming a time when we will no longer have a 'today' - they will come to an end.  One day You will return as You promised and at that time everything changes.  I heard a speaker the other day say he felt Your return was imminent!  I loved that.  How we need to live with that thought in mind for "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, . . . " (Matthew 24:36).

To be eternally separated from You, Lord Jesus, would be the ultimate regret!  I thank You, Lord, for drawing me to You and saving me.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Don't Drift Past!

Reading:  Hebrews 2
My Verse:  "Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past (them) and slip away" (2:1).

Oh Lord, how we need to embrace this truth of Who You are so we do not drift past Your safe mooring and slip away into an eternity without You.  We so need to take hold of the truth of what You did for us, the truth of our sinful nature, and our need to repent and admit our need of You.

The only way of salvation is through You.  "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).

Too many have heard this truth, sort of believe but do not take a stand, or put off until tomorrow getting serious about what Your Word demands.  Too many hang onto religious rituals to save them.  Too many think they can work their way into heaven by doing good deeds.  Too many rationalize themselves into heaven by telling themselves You are a good god and wouldn't sent them to a place like hell.  Too many simply refuse to believe.

Oh, Lord, I pray for those loved ones in danger of drifting past the safe mooring You provide.  Life is so fragile.  Many live in constant fear of death.  "And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives" (2:15).   Yet even with this fear people refuse to turn to You.

Ignoring the truth set forth in Your word brings final condemnation.  "How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [letting it drift past us forever]?  For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak]" (2:3)

We each of us need to "pay much closer attention than ever to the truths we have heard."  We each of us must turn to You, repent of our sins, and ask you to be Lord of our lives, lest we "slip away" into eternal condemnation.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Jesus Is Supreme!

Reading: Hebrews 1
My Verse:  "But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.  After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs" (1:2-4 ESV).

This is so glorious!  I love how this points out the supremacy of Jesus.

Jesus is God's Son, "but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son."  Though out scripture, You Lord God, point out that Jesus is Your Blessed Son.  Matthew 3:15 says.  "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him and he (John) saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him, and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'."  There should be no question as to who Jesus is - He is Your Son.

Jesus inherits all!  "whom He appointed the heir of all things."  I am the inheritance of Jesus!  That is an amazing thought - that I could be worthy of such a thing.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, that this does not depend on me.  I am Your child.

Jesus created the world.  "through whom also He created the world."  I Corinthians 8:6  says "and one Jesus Christ through Whom are all things and through Whom we exist."  Without You, Lord Jesus, we would not be!  You not only created us, formed us, but You also sustain us!  Without You we would not be able to exist, carry on, live in this world for You hold all things together.

Jesus is all powerful, "and He upholds the universe by the word of His power."

Jesus most definitely is not an angel.  "He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs."

Praise You, LORD GOD, for Your Only Begotten Son Who died on the cross (after making purification for sins) to take away my sins and enable me to have a relationship with You!

Yes, You Lord Jesus are supreme.  And it is so important that I think rightly about You and Who You are.  Thank You for this passage.  I am so blessed.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!