Perfect?

Daily Reading:  Hebrews 8

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Hebrews 8.10)

Devotional Thought: I have six, soon to be seven, grandchildren.  Each of them is perfect in my eyes.  But, sometimes they don't behave perfectly!  But, they are still my grandchildren.

Are you perfect?  No!  Am I?  Double no!  The good news is that even though we are not perfect, we are still God's children and God is our God.  But, we must be careful about what that means.  So many people settle for living beneath their privileges and power.  They live defeated lives because they do not believe that God is able to give them victory over sin.  But, the Bible says that he does!

Continuing from Hebrew 7's concern about the priesthood of Jesus, Hebrews 8 affirms that since Jesus is a new kind of priest then there must be a new kind of covenant.  The first one is "obsolete, and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away" (v. 13).  God has not left us without a covenant, however.  He desires to be in covenant relationship with us and so he has made a new covenant with us through Jesus Christ.  In this new covenant, The Law is no longer an external thing, but through the Holy Spirit, God internalizes his Law in our minds and hearts.  That means that we don’t have to struggle to follow a written code.  Instead, the indwelling Spirit reveals God’s will to us and makes our hearts ready and able to follow God completely.

Today you can walk with God in strength and power because of this new covenant.  He is your God, and you are his child!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me new life in covenant relationship with you.  Forgive me when I fail to believe in your power to give me victory over sin.  Help me to live a holy life, pleasing to you and bringing you honor.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 52:1-9

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

2 You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor.

3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.

4 You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.

6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying,

7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

9 For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.