In Times Like These . . .

Corina Medina

When many seemingly adverse circumstances overtake us or our loved ones, we do well to remember that in the valleys can be loses, weaknesses, inabilities, illnesses and even death. He, our beloved Lord is our good Shepard who desires to lead us to the healing waters of His precious Word.

You see this in Psalms 84:5-8, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.”

Draw close to these waters. Exodus 15:27, “And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.” Again, draw close to these waters and encamp there until he has finished the good work he began in you. As he shows us the wisdom of our submitting to the trial a given to us from His hand which we see written in Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”

The waters speak of cleansing, healing, peace and rest. The palm trees speak of the fruitfulness He is working in our lives. As we submit to the circumstances there will be a peace that truly passes understanding, along with great comfort from the blessed Holy Spirit. And also, amazingly, joy in believing that in our inabilities (helpless estate) He is able to do exceedingly more than we ask or think.

II Corinthians 6:10, “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; (impossible without dependence on His grace). Jeremiah 15:16, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

So believing these things we look to Philippians 4:4-7  “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Trust Him, He is adorning us and preparing us for eternity with our bridegroom. Psalm 45:13-15, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.” So, looking forward to that glad day, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

IN TIMES LIKE THESE…

Corina Medina

Kansas City, Kansas

When there is such a flood of satanically inspired lies and deception. Jesus speaking to the Jews addressed this in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it.” Satan is a liar and the father of lies.

Recognizing this by the Word of God; we need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. John 16:13-14 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

Again, seek His guidance into that which is true and good because wisdom shows us in Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” And Proverbs 10:29 “The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”

The prophet Jeremiah knew this and said, “Oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.” Jeremiah 10:23-24. In the book of Proverbs 3:5-6 there is a beautiful promise “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths.”

Time spent in God’s Word under the love and guidance of the blessed Holy Spirit is time well spent. Luke 10:38-42 “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

So we would be the wiser in praying the prayer in Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”

IN TIMES LIKE THESE…

Corina Medina

Kansas City, Kansas

When our prayers seem to go unanswered, and when things don’t go the way we had hoped they would for whatever reason; not just some selfish desire, but a sincere desire for good and it doesn’t happen, such as, for someone to be saved, or for someone to grow spiritually and come into a closer relationship with our Lord. These prayers can be long waited for with no apparent result, or it even could be that everything seems to be going terribly wrong.

The Holy Spirit turns us to truth and hope in Hebrews 10:35-36. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” And remember that God’s time table is different than ours. II Peter 3:8-9, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one things, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

And meanwhile as we wait we turn to God’s Word and He will council us, give us peace, refresh us and show us how much He loves us. This was the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the church. Colossians 1:9-12, “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.”

The Priesthood

Part 2

 By Corina Medina

The third point is the duration of the priesthood. Let’s look a little more about how long it continued. Heb. 7:23-27: “And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death” They were human, so they died. We see they did not have an eternal priesthood. Heb. 7;24-28: “but this man, (Jesus Christ) because he continues ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Concerning the eternal priesthood, Heb. 10:12-14 says: “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from hence forth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." So there it is, one perfect offering. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. How marvelous! We have an eternal heavenly priest. It is finished! He lives always. He IS eternal life. . .

Lastly, consider the garments of the great High Priest in the book of Exodus. This is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shows His character, compassion, care, and responsibility for his own. Ex. 28:9-12: “thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the SHOULDERS of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” This would be nationally and collectively as a nation. And you see them in Malachi 3:16-17 they are living stones and jewels: “Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and the thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.”

I Pet. 2:5: “Ye also as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” From verse 1 to 10 we see that they were carried on his shoulders, in that he took responsibility for these children. This was written to believing Jews and now for all that believe. Shoulders speak of responsibility.

The second point in Ex. 28:15-21 “thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.” Verses 29 & 30: “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.” The stones upon his shoulders were a national, collective responsibility, but this breastplate carried the responsibility personally, individually, tribe by tribe. It was born on his heart in love, the love the High Priest has for us.

The third point about this clothing that he wore is in Ex. 28:36-38 “thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.” On the forehead – the all-knowing, all-wise God. And we know we are accepted in Him, and that He loves us and knows us. He is responsible for us.

This is such a beautiful portion of Scripture. Living Stones! God is responsible. “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Aaron’s forehead, upon his heart and on his shoulders speaks of the work of Jesus Christ our Savior. And because we know this, and believe this, and have accepted this and have embraced this and know His great care and concern for us. He gave Himself for us. He was out sacrifice once for all, the great perfect sacrifice. Seeing that he loves us, he is our mediator. There is no other man under heaven able but Christ Jesus. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” Heb. 4:14-15. Believe. Hold Fast. Testify. “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He was certainly not like Eli, or Annanias. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, the sinless, perfect Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Verse 16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. We can put our trust in and dependence on Him, on His shoulders and trust in his loving heart and His wise all-knowing ways as head. Jesus Christ, Better than the Old Testament priests. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.
The Lord bless you with His Word.

The Priesthood

 By Corina Medina

In the book of Hebrews we see the Lord our Savior, is also our great High Priest. Hebrews is a book of better things. Jesus is better than angels, better than Moses and it is certainly a better covenant–grace, not the Law. He is a better sacrifice, the perfect sinless Son of God and we have a better hope. We put our trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here are some comparisons with the Aaronic priesthood and Jesus Christ’s priesthood. The sons of Aaron, the high priest were Levites (priests). Aaron was the son of Levi, who was the third son of Leah and Jacob. And now Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest, is the Son of God.

These high priests offered the sacrifices. Going back to Gen. 3:8, Adam and Eve walked in the garden and “they heard the voice of the Lord God…and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam…Where art thou?” God knew! Verse 21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The first animal or animals that died spoke of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ that had been in the purpose of God from before the foundation of the earth. When God clothed them in skins of the sacrifice He was, in type, clothing Adam and Eve in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is nothing of our selves that we should boast. That first sacrifice was made to cover the sin of our father, Adam. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ covered the sins of “whosoever will” in the whole world.

The sons of Levi, who were also High priests and offered sacrifices we see in Heb. 5:1-3: “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity, and by reason thereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.” The priest also needed a sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:6-7: “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle accomplishing the service of God. But into  the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” The high priest was to be a compassionate man, having compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

Were all high priest compassionate? In Samuel 1, we read of Elkanah going up with his two wives to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts. One wife, Hannah was barren and was provoked or mocked by her adversary, the wife who had children. Hannah was grieved and wanted a child. She was loved by her husband who gave her worthy portions, but the Lord had shut up her womb, so she had great grief and sorrow and did not eat. Vs. 8-14: “Then said Elkanah, her husband, to  her, Hannah, why weepest thou: and why eatest thou not? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?” Even her husband could not understand her. “So Hannah rose up after they had eaten…and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of host, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head…as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli (the high priest) marked her mouth. Now Hannah, spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. Eli said unto her How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.” Was Eli a compassionate high priest? Did he know all about Hannah’s suffering? No. He was a human who offered sacrifices for the people and also for himself. He was unable to understand or to be compassionate.

In Acts 23:1-5: “Paul earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest, Annanias, commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall; for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law: And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.” This man was not understanding of Paul. Was he God’s high priest? No, according to that time, Jesus Christ had died for our sins, he was buried, rose again and ascended to heaven and He is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us. So this high priest was usurping the office of high priest. Was he compassionate? No.

The first point was that the Old Testament high priest offered sacrifices for the people and for himself. Now compare Christ’s priesthood: Heb. 7:26-28: “For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needed not daily, as those high priest, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s; for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; (they died) but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.” So we see an ETERNAL priesthood, NOT a sacrifice for himself and for the people!

The second point was that the Levitical high priest was to be compassionate understanding, caring - Heb. 5:1-2 – having “compassion on the ignorant, and those out of the way, for he himself also is compassed with infirmity. So he should be compassionate and gracious. We see in Acts 23:5 that the Aaronic priesthood had been set aside. Paul (standing before Annanias) knew Jesus, who is the believer’s High Priest. In Heb. 4:14-16 concerning Jesus, our High Priest: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. He is compassionate, He cares, He understands. We have at least these two men, Eli and Annanias, who were examples of those that were not. There probably are many more examples in the Old Testament showing they were simply fallible, human men.   

To be continued next month: The duration of the priesthood and his garments