Verse of the Day 2/21

Verse of the Day 2/21

Hebrews 6:18 ^?? so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.?????? Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Over the years I have posted Hebrews 6:19 which tells us of God's promises being anchors for our souls.?? Today's verse precedes that verse pointing to the fact that our hope is secured by God's unchangeable nature.??

Sometimes when we sense danger or trouble "we run for our lives" from it, but where or to whom shall we run??? I like the way that The Message puts it (below) "We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go." (v.18).?? Not only do we run to Him but we receive "strong encouragement" to seize, to grab hold of the hope that is in front of us.

John Piper writes, "He desires to show- prove... demonstrate.. point out.... represent... display... reveal...drive home - the hopefulness of our future.?? He really wants us to feel this.?? He goes the second (and third and fourth) mile to help us feel encouraged.?? This is what He wants.?? This is what He really wants.?? "When God desired to show more convincingly...."???? He is not coerced.?? He "desires".

God is trying to "drive home" that we are to grab hold of the hope that is before us.?? I'll close with a quote from G.K. Chesterton that I have in my Bible with this verse.

"Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate. It is true that there is a state of hope which belongs to bright prospects and the morning; but that is not the virtue of hope. The virtue of hope exists only in earthquake and eclipse... For practical purposes it is at the hopeless moment that we require the hopeful man, and the virtue either does not exist at all, or begins to exist at that moment. Exactly at the instant when hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful."

Think about that "exactly at the instant when hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful."

Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, ????Standing on the promises of God.
??	Standing, standing, Standing on the promises of God my Savior; Standing, standing, ????I???m standing on the promises of God.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Hebrews 6:17-20??The Message (MSG)

God Gave His Word

^13-18??When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, ???I promise that I???ll bless you with everything I have???bless and bless and bless!??? Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they???ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee???God??can???tbreak his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

^18-20??We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It???s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.