General Articles

Study in Hebrews: Jesus Understands and Helps :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

“14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Over the past weeks, we have explored the different aspects of how Jesus blesses us in the Christian life and walk. I can tell you without a doubt that He makes himself real to me in a myriad of ways, and He develops my confidence in Him and His plan. One of the wonderful ways that we are blessed in this Christian life is the promise of a personal God. Not some generic national deity that has no power and no ability to actually help. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 115: 5-7,

“They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats” (Berean Study Bible).

These idols are useless and are worshipped by the very men who made them, a complete turnaround from what should be. We worship the God who made man, but they worship the god that man made. It seems so crazy to us, but if that is all you know, then you are trapped. The Bible offers us the real God, a personal God; one who cares, one who knows, and one who can affect our situations.

  • Jesus Our High Priest, verse 14

The High Priest had to offer an offering for his own sin before he could offer one for the sins of the people. He had to acknowledge the fact of his own weaknesses before he could help the people. Jesus is human. Yes, but he never sinned. But He knows what it was like to be tempted. Of course, we know He is also God, but for today we will take a look at how His human existence is a benefit to us.

God has no limitations. As such, there are certain things that He knows but He has never experienced. Jesus came to understand our experience and to then be able to truly help us in this life from experiential knowledge. Jesus experienced hunger, fatigue, thirst, and betrayal. He experienced being hated and despised (in Heaven, He is worshipped and adored). He experienced limitation (in Heaven, He had no limitations). He experienced being accused of evil when He is the very essence of good. He experienced pain, suffering, death, loss, and every other human experience and emotion that you can imagine. He has been there and understands from experience what you and I are going through. Jesus knows it for sure.

We can stand assured that when we come to the Lord in prayer and in real need, He truly understands, and He can sympathize with us and offer genuine comfort from the perspective of experiential knowledge. Jesus can offer us practical solutions. He can offer us honest steps that He knows will make a difference and that will help us get through.

All too often, we do not take the advice that the Holy Spirit gives us, and we make the situation worse than it needs to be. Jesus understands the limitations that we humans have. He understands the frailty of life. He saw death over and over, from Joseph, His dad, to the many Jews around Him and the graves that were a part of the landscape. He understood suffering and poverty. He was poor, He had no money, and He was not very popular. Jesus is more popular today than He was when He walked the earth in the flesh. Jesus can feel what you and I feel, and He can help; He will help, and He wants to help.

  • Jesus, Our Mercy and Grace, verse 16

Jesus can and will help if we come and ask for help. If we ask for help while we are being tested and tempted, He will help us to sin less and to avoid sinning as often as we do. When we do fail, He is our Advocate before God the Father.

1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (NKJV).

Jesus was tempted, and He never sinned. He was tempted like we are in the very same way: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. These are the three ways that we are all tempted.

1 John 2: 15-16, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world” (Berean Study Bible).

Jesus is ready, willing, and able to help us to resist our urges to sin. He is ready, willing, and able to help us when we do fail, and no one loves us as He loves us. No one can comfort us like Him. Why? Because we serve a living God, a personal God, one who has felt what we are feeling. He can have compassion on us in our limits, and He can help us to transcend those limitations in His power and in His grace and mercy.

We have a personal God. The relationship I have with Him is individual, just like yours is. It is unique to me and yours to you. This is why Jesus came, not just to save us from our sins, but to offer us true, hands-on love, compassion, and mercy because He understands our limitations and our frailty. He knows our emotions first-hand, He knows our pain first-hand, and He will help. Just ask Him. He stands at the ready to run to your side, first of all, to help you not to fall, but if you do, and sadly, we all do, He is there to pick us up, dust us off, remind us He still loves us, and help us to try again.

Oh, what a loving and merciful God we serve! I pray that you have this kind of God at your side. I am thankful to have Him at my side.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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Ashamed of Jesus – Shame On You :: By Dennis Huebshman

Published on: by RR10

The attitude of the world today, and even in the United States, is that anything that has to do with Christianity is to be condemned. A previously very small group of people has come out from behind closed doors and are declaring that all “love” is absolutely to be allowed. This would include same-sex, pedophilia, transgender, and whatever they can dream up. They are gaining followers daily. Because followers of Jesus will not participate in such activities, we are called “haters.” Our stance for Jesus makes others uncomfortable; therefore, in their opinion, we need to be silenced. They have made a lot of noise against us and are getting more vocal every day. (ESV, all emphasis mine)

First and foremost, I hate no one, as commanded by my Lord and Savior. That does not mean I have to accept any lifestyle that my Heavenly Father calls abominations. Those who participate in such activities have not committed the unpardonable sin and could be forgiven if they would repent and call out to the Savior for forgiveness. However, Satan and his demons are very adept at putting the desires of this world in the minds of people and turning them away from eternity in Heaven. It’s the perfect example of Isaiah 5:20; “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Matthew 10:32-33 states, “So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge before My Father who is in Heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in Heaven.” Not much room for argument here.

How about John 3:18; “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” The apostle also wrote in 1 John 5:12, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” John 3:35-36 follows this with, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

In John 10:9, Jesus says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Then turning to John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” In Acts 4:12, Peter emphasizes this with, “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” So much for those who say there are “many ways” to Heaven.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God.”

One may think that with all the evil and unrest that’s taking place today, people would be looking for a reason to be positive in such a negative setting. Jesus understands our nature and knew there would be less that would receive and accept Him over this sinful world. Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction; and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Even in His day, Jesus knew people would rather follow the masses than be put out of the synagogue. That’s the easy way. For those who decided to receive and accept Jesus, their decision was unpopular with the hypocritical religious leaders, and they would be considered “infidels” at the very least. The hard way was to go against the grain, even if it were to mean martyrdom.

This is something we are hearing of even today. In some African, Arabic, and other nations, people are being killed who profess a belief in our Lord and Savior. Some are even given the opportunity to recant and turn against Jesus, but their conviction is such that they would rather face death than go against the Savior. They are following Matthew 16:25, “For whoever would save his life would lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

What we are witnessing today seems totally foreign to us with the increased satanic activities. However, for anyone who has done any study of end-time prophecy, we’re right on schedule. Paul lists numerous attitudes and activities in 2 Timothy 3-5 about the end of this age. We are the generation that saw Israel become a nation again after about 2,000 years on May 14, 1948. That started the end-time clock ticking toward the end of this age. We could be called up in the Harpazo, or Rapture, at any moment. Our Father promised that the flock of the Shepherd would not go through the wrath.

All who are true believers who have received and accepted Jesus as Savior are looking forward to that call. Paul describes them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Prophecy experts that are far more qualified than I are proclaiming that the Rapture is imminent. The world looks at us as being crazy, but God doesn’t make idle conversations. We have to be gone from here so that the man of lawlessness can come forward. That’s covered in 2 Thessalonians 2. The restrainer would be the Holy Spirit, and to remove Him means all that He indwells must be removed also.

Those who will be left behind will face a world that will be worse than it has ever been. It will still be possible to call out to Jesus and be saved, but it will more than likely result in death. The evil antichrist will not tolerate worship of anyone else but himself. Anyone who takes his mark and worships him will not receive forgiveness. It will be eternity in the lake of fire.

To avoid this scenario, right now would be a great time to receive and accept Jesus as your Savior. Romans 10:9-13 gives the process, which is not difficult at all. The final verse (13) states clearly, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

It’s a free-will decision that the Father will force on no one. He will allow anyone to not choose His Son, but they will end up at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. He does not want anyone to fail (2 Peter 3:9). He would much rather that everyone would repent and ask Jesus to save them. Only those who do not will be condemned.

Time is getting short, and all believers could be leaving very soon. There’s room for more, and today would not be too early to choose eternal life. Meanwhile, all of us who have the gift Jesus provided for us are saying, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

Maranatha! Shalom!

huebshman46@gmail.com