Experience his love

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25)

Any delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear - that state of doubt - will keep us from fully embracing all that God has for us. How many times do we simply avoid doing something just because of our fear or apprehension? If we were honest, it may be more than we would admit. We avoid saying something when we feel impressed to do so, or don't act on what we know simply because we are reluctant to take that first step. We are fearful of what others will think, or how those steps will affect us. Procrastination is the delayed action; hesitation is the uncertainty which sometimes is the cause of the delay. This hesitation can keep us from some pretty awesome stuff God has planned for us. Stop hesitating and just come into the fullness of what God has planned for those who are bold enough (not overtaken by fear or doubt) to walk straight into his presence and spend some time getting to know him!

We find the invitation to enter boldly into what Christ accomplished by his sacrificial death. If we were to read the two chapters just prior to this one, we'd see Christ's death accomplished the end to the old ways of worship and the beginning of the new. What had been off-limits because of our inability to "clean up" our own sin under the "old" was totally declared "full access" under the new because Christ performed the "clean up" of our sin with the shedding of his blood on our behalf. If such a provision is made on our behalf, then why are we so hesitant to enter into the fullness of all God has designed for us? It might be fear, or even unbelief, but regardless of the "reason", none stands in the face of the truth that we are declared righteous in Christ Jesus. We are made righteous in Christ Jesus. We stand righteous in Christ Jesus. We cannot diminish our righteousness because in Christ Jesus we are fully and totally righteous!

Many of us spend a great deal of time being presentable on the outside. Each morning, we spend countless minutes in front of the mirror, grooming, applying this or that, putting each hair into place. Why is it we spend so much time on the outward appearance and almost forget to spend any time in the Word, prayer, or just simple worship? Maybe it is because we think what can be "seen" is what gives people the impression we have life together even when we are falling apart on the inside! What is on the inside, receiving frequent care and tender touches from Jesus will eventually trump whatever is on the outside! We can count on the faithfulness of God regardless of our behavior, although it may not be as consistent as it should be - he is consistent. His love extends beyond our inconsistencies, but to really "come into" that love we have to push past our hesitation and enter into his presence. Any delay on our part is often just because of our misperceptions - we don't understand how much God has done on our behalf to ensure we have full access to him and can boldly enter into his presence. Know what has been promised and then stand on it unwaveringly. Believe with all your ability that God does what he says. We may have learned to NOT trust because trust has been violated by some person in our lives. Truth is, God cannot lie - it is against his nature. It is impossible for him to not fulfill his promises because that would be equivalent to him telling a lie.

Encouragement by others helps us develop this comfort of entering into all God has for us. Recognize our boldness is affected by the company we keep. Those who can spur us on are invaluable to helping us enter into all God has for us - moving us beyond our hesitation and into a place of bold, bounding, trusting faith. We all need to be "inventive" in our encouragement - through loving actions and sacrificial deeds. We don't encourage each other to gain access to God - we engage in demonstrating God's love so others will develop a boldness to enter into the fullness of his love themselves. There is no room for hesitation in us experiencing God's love. We are beckoned into his love, provided a means by which we might enter into his love, and then we are given encouragement of others to help us maintain our consistency in experiencing his love. Isn't it about time we enter into what God has taken such great pains to prepare on our behalf? Just askin!