Good day, Zane.
I did a short jog with the dogs, fed the horses up the road some apples, and did a test-fit of a 20 foot boom extension on my old boom truck which I plan to use on Saturday for setting trusses on our church building project. I’m already tired..feeling ready for my old man nap! Don’t laugh, Zane! If you live long enough, some day you’ll be a napping old geezer too!
I was sure hoping we could get out to catch some albacore tuna this year—but, for one thing, they didn’t cooperate that well this year by remaining 60 and 70 miles off the coast. If they had come in 20 to 40 miles out, we would have had elevated motivation and had a better chance. Now the season is over. We’ll just have to wait till next year.
Have a good day. Love and prayers—Tua (Ray)
Both verses 14 and 16 contain “LET US” (not “lettuce”). They are calls to important action. I’ll quote those verses here and highlight selected key words.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, LET US hold firmly to the faith we profess…LET US then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
I see a noteworthy similarity between those phrases “hold firmly” and “our time of need.” In order to draw your attention to what I mean, let me raise two questions: HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO HOLD FIRMLY TO THE FAITH I PROFESS? AND HOW OFTEN IS MY TIME OF NEED? Of course, the answer to both questions is ALWAYS—ALL THE TIME—CONSTANTLY—24/7. Well—there’s the similarity. This counters the dangerous notion that I can get away with being safe and sound in my faith on a part-time basis—that I am OK forever because I “received Christ” at a children’s Bible Club when I was 12—or that my time of need is only occasional, as when I face some unexpected crisis. Oh, I know that “the arm of flesh will fail you…you dare not trust your own.” And, yes, “we are weak, but He is strong.” But the underlying key to victory is to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). If I understand anything about the principles of life and the realities of spiritual warfare, I suggest that we be positively engaged not some of the time, but all of the time. The enemy of our souls never rests or goes on holidays. Jesus made it clear that “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Please agree that Colossians 1:27 is a constant all-the-time principle—“Christ in you (constantly), the hope of glory.” I think that’s the basis for Paul’s exhortion to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Let’s conclude by singing the chorus to I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR—and it’s not just every hour on the hour, but every second contained in all those hours:
“I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee.
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.”