LEARNING DAILY

Hebrews 6:19, We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Why do people drift? In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said they love the world (Matthew 13:22). In the same parable He said the storms of life; people expect life as a Christian to be without problems. When life’s difficulties come, they can become disillusioned. They have no root, and they fall away (Matthew 13:20-21). The deceitfulness of sin may cause people who are not able to deal with their guilt to run away from Jesus, instead of turning to Him (Hebrews 3:13). There are also those people who want to make their own decisions like Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree in the Garden. So, what is the answer?

John 3:16 is God’s promise of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. He reinforces this in Hebrew 6:13, “God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.” He made an oath that He would never change His mind! God’s Word and His nature is solid – He is trustworthy because He cannot lie (verse 18). This is “anchored” as the Believer’s hope for eternity in God’s kingdom because the Lord Jesus Christ has become our high Priest in heaven. He has entered the Most Holy place by the blood He shed, gaining the victory over sin and death for each person who believes in Him. Like the anchor that keeps a ship from being swept away by wind and waves, the Believer’s faith in Jesus “keeps him from being like a wave in the ocean driven and tossed by the wind”. The Believer must ask in faith, with no doubting (James 1:6).

An important aspect of Jesus being the Believer’s High Priest is found in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Believers can approach the throne of God with confidence because Jesus is there; that should give us greater confidence and greater faith to grow closer to Him in love and truth.  Because the Lord Jesus Christ understands the Believer’s weaknesses and pains, we can come to Him in confidence when asking for mercy, grace, help of any kind, or forgiveness. No one understands us better than the Lord!

God’s word tells us the Believers will one day enter God’s kingdom to spend eternity with Him. This hope is the anchor that holds the Believer steady in this life and secure for the future eternity in God’s kingdom. I do not know of anything else that can keep anyone from drifting than the promise of eternity with Jesus!