Towering Above All Things

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Don Merritt
Mt Vernon 913 041

I took this picture more than 10 years ago because the view of this tree standing so tall, a tree that had obviously been there for a very long time, must have a lot to tell us, if only trees could talk. It literally towers over George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. It struck me, as I looked at it, that we can learn something about life from this view.  Consider Mount Vernon, the home of the “Father of our Country” and the place that our first President always wanted to return to…

Washington stunned the world when, after leading the Continental Army to victory and independence, he resigned from the Army and returned home as a private citizen.  The great leaders of Europe could not believe that he would return home when he could have been crowned king.  Later, he would shock them again when, after serving two terms as America’s first president, he declined reelection and retired to his beloved home. He was the greatest man of his age, and yet did not really seek power that most men would have grabbed and held onto fiercely.

It would seem from Washington’s writings that someone was towering above his life, someone greater than Washington himself.

There are great men and women of every age.  Some of them are good and wise as Washington was.  Some are great, but not so good or wise.  some only think they are great, but are vain and foolish.  In all things that men do, God towers above us, He rules over all things, even when there is a man foolish enough to think that he controls all things; God makes such men look like the fools they are!

Who towers above us and our deeds?  God does.  Will we give Him His due and follow His ways, or will we take our own paths, and like so many fools who have gone before, come to ruin?

As for me, I will choose to follow our Lord, and let others say what they will.

Sadly, this proud old tree was removed a few years later. I’m sure that must be instructive somehow, but that is for another day.

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Our Great High Priest

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Don Merritt

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16

It is altogether fitting that the text shifts from warning against falling away, to the piercing power of the Word of God, to our Great High Priest Jesus, for our author has been warning and encouraging his readers to hang on to their faith through a time of great trial lest they should perish. Think about it: They were being told to endure a really horrible time in history, Christians were being burned alive for fun and amusement, and the author is telling the people to endure, rather than turn their backs on God.

There is a huge difference between unbelief, turning our backs on God, and making an error or committing a sin.  The error part, the sin part is not a problem, for we have a great High Priest.  Since Jesus, our “big brother” has ascended into heaven where He is our high priest who makes intercession for us with God, we must, and we can, hold onto our faith.  Jesus, who makes intercession for us with God, has endured every temptation; He knows what it’s like to be a weak human, so He will understand and intercede for us.

Do you see how encouraging this must have been for those brothers and sisters who first heard it?  Isn’t it pretty encouraging for us now?  

With this in mind, the next step is to approach the throne of grace with confidence.  Why? Because we know who our High Priest is, there is nothing to fear… We can remain in our faith and seek forgiveness when we fall short; there is no need to give up and turn our backs on God, thinking that our case is hopeless, for Jesus is in our corner.

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The View from Above

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Don Merritt

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like from God’s point of view? Could it be like the view from an airplane?

Probably not. Maybe it’s more like looking at each one of us through the eyes of those around us… Maybe it just isn’t possible for us to conceive of such things.  Yes, I think that’s more likely.

In early ’04, I had a guy in my office who told me that he had died. He told me that while he was clinically dead, he left his body and found himself in a sort of courtroom where he had been shown what he likened to a video of his life.  At first it was a “video” of the sum total of all of his memories.  Then it became a video showing his life from the point of view of the people he had interacted with.  Since he had lived an evil life, this was very difficult for him, and he was reduced to a desperate state of begging for another chance at life to set things right.  He told me that he was “sent back” to a second chance, and that he was determined to do great things to help people in this borrowed time…

It has occurred to me that the “video” he described would be unsettling to most of us; certainly to me, as all of us have done things that we should not have done.  All of us have hurt people… Is that all God sees?  Does God have a ledger-book that lists our good and bad deeds?  Can we just simply work hard to have more credits than debits in that big ledger?

I don’t think so.

We do know that Jesus died for our sins, and for those of us who choose to accept Christ as our Savior, our sins have been forgiven.   If God has a ledger, our account has been stamped “Paid in Full”.   For those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ, they can have forgiveness too if they will respond to the Gospel.

So, for the Christian, what do you think God is seeing when He looks over the books at our lives as Christians? Changed lives, service of others and sharing the Good News? If God listens carefully, will He hear us praying, or will He hear nothing?

I’m sure that I need not say much else in this post; the message is obvious.  May He hear our prayers being offered to Him regularly and constantly, and may He always see our changed lives, and His love working in us.

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The Word of God

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Don Merritt

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

Hebrews 4:1-5

The warning continues in this text, but now the warning is building up to something wonderful.  The “promise” of entering His rest still stands. Needless to say, this is sometimes a source of confusion; what exactly is this “rest” that still stands?  In the original Old Testament context, the “rest” was the Promised Land, but it was also the Sabbath.  Now, there seems to be another context taking shape: What’s going on?

Whatever is going on, we still have that hope somehow, and we need to be careful that we don’t fall away from God before we get there. Now our author adds the rest and the Sabbath.  So, is the Sabbath a promise?  Some say so, but last time I checked, it wasn’t a promise, it was a Commandment!  In fact, it’s one of the 10 Commandments, but unlike the other 9, Jesus didn’t re-assert this one in the Gospels:  Why? Because it was the sign of the Old Covenant, just as circumcision is the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant; neither are in force now. And yet, there is still a rest for the people of God…?

Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:6-7

There it is again!  There is still a “rest” that we might enter into, and we need to ensure that our hearts aren’t hardened into disbelief, or we might miss out.  I don’t know about you, but I think this is really cool… and great fun! What could he mean?

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:8-11

Again the promise, again the warning- and more clues. Joshua led the people into the Land, Moses had given them the Law, and still centuries later, David spoke of another “rest” and the disobedience of old.  Hebrews has several instances where the Old Testament is said to contain “shadows” that are pictures of the glorious reality to come in Christ, and this is the first one of them, even though the author hasn’t come right out and said so yet.  In this case, both the Land and the Sabbath are mere shadows of a great reality that doesn’t come until Christ.  Everything in the Old Covenant is centered on the physical world. The promises, the curses, the worship, the Temple, the festivals… all are physically oriented, but point to a great reality that was to come; this is called “typology” and these things are called “types.”  Thus, the Land and the Sabbath are “types” of something wonderful that the people of the Old Testament had no real concept of… eternity.  When Jesus began speaking of eternal life, He was speaking of something that the Old Testament made no mention of… at all. All of the promises in the Law were earthly, not one was eternal in scope.  Jews do not die and go to Heaven; they die and live through their children. If you don’t believe me, ask one of your Jewish friends.

Yes, I know that some Christians might want to dispute this, saying that God hasn’t kept the Land promise, and will do so in the millennium. Personally, I think that runs counter to our text right here, but my normal reply is: “Would you rather have a Tel Aviv address for a thousand years, or eternal life with Christ?  Jesus fulfilled the promise of land with something far better than real estate: This is the wonderful part. Yet, another warning, “make every effort” to enter the rest and not to perish because of disobedience.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:12-13

This is the sternest warning of all in this section, and yet it is wonderful at the same time: The Word of God- powerful, penetrating, alive! We often refer to the Scriptures as the Word of God, and so they are.  Then we go and relegate it to a mere academic discipline full of teachings, rules and promises… even trivia, but the Word of God is never trivial.  The Word of God is powerful, the most powerful force in our universe, for it holds the entire universe together as we saw in chapter 1.  The Word is also a Person.  Go back and read John 1:1-4; 14.  The Word of God is none other than Jesus Christ Himself: The Word of God is Wonderful!

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The Majesty of God

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Don Merritt

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your works to another;
    they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works

Psalm 145:3-5

The great majesty of God is all around us.  We can see it in the sky as the clouds roll over our heads, we can see it in the mountains that tower above us, or in the trees of a forest.  We can see it in the great rivers that course over entire continents, or in the raging waters of a waterfall.

We can see His awesome love in the smiling eyes of a little child as he gazes in wonder at the world around him, or in the loving kindness of a grandmother doting over her grandchildren.  We can see God’s greatness in the strong hands of a working man who is volunteering his time to help others, or in the gaze of a congregation at worship.

God’s great majesty is all around us if we will only notice, it is hard to miss even for the busy. Let us therefore proclaim God’s greatness near and far, let us proclaim His majesty from the hilltop, let us proclaim His awesomeness to our families and friends, and in the process, let’s leave a legacy for our children; a legacy of praise for the One who has made all things.

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Photo of the Week: September 17,2025

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Don Merritt

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For as Long as it is Called “Today”

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Don Merritt

So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ 

Hebrews 3:7-11; cf Psalm 95:7-11

As we begin, we need to recall that this is an expansion on the conditional statement in verse 6: “And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” (Heb. 3:6b)

These verses taken from Psalm 95 recount the experience of the people in the wilderness.  You’ll remember that they kept trying God’s patience, complaining, rebelling and being disobedient in the extreme, and of all those who were saved out of Egypt, only two of them were allowed to enter the rest, the Promised Land. Not even Moses was permitted to enter into it; they all perished in the wilderness.  God had promised to deliver Abraham’s descendants out of Egypt, which He did, and into the Promised Land, which He did, even though of the ones who left Egypt, all save 2 died enroute. Yet a vast number did enter the Land, but they were born during the 40 years between the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Land, and thus we can see that God’s promise to Abraham was unconditional for the group called the descendants of Abraham, but conditional to the individuals within the group. God kept His promise to the Israelites in the Wilderness, in spite of the fact that most of them turned their backs on Him and never entered… see how this worked?

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”

Hebrews 3:12-15

As our attention is turned back to the “here and now” the author issues a challenge to his readers.  They are to “see to it” that they aren’t led to turn their backs on God.  Instead, they are told to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today'”.  As I read it, this reference to “Today” tells us that this is a command that is not just for the recipients of the letter, but for all generations until Jesus returns: Encourage one another daily, lest any should fall away from their faith!  This seems to harmonize nicely with the injunction that we love one another, don’t you think?  How can we love one another and not encourage and help our brother or sister in times of trial and testing?

With that warm and cheerful mental image of love, encouragement and community, the author drops another conditional statement: We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. “Share in Christ” refers to all that we have attained in Him: Salvation, forgiveness, freedom, joy, hope, peace, sonship, eternal life, God’s family, co-heirs… all of it… IF… we hold onto our faith until the “very end.”  Then, he repeats the warning from the Psalm…

 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Hebrews 3:16-19

Hold on to your faith until the very end!  This is the clear message for both his original recipients in Nero’s Rome, undergoing persecution often unto death, and it is also the clear message to us today.  The various theologies might dispute what the alternative is, but all agree that we must hold on to our faith.

By now, three chapters into Hebrews, you should see the pattern: Something wonderful, followed by a warning, and then something wonderful…  What an amazing letter!  I hope you’ll also be seeing that it is not a theoretical kind of book, it is real, living, and alive with vitality, the kind of life and vitality that can change a person’s outlook on life itself.

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Who Am I?

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Don Merritt
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Jesus: Greater than Moses

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Don Merritt

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.  “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future.  But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Hebrews 3:1-6

Chapter 3 begins with a summing up from the previous chapter: Fix your thoughts on Jesus!  We acknowledge Him as our “apostle and high priest.” The next sentence is the transition to a comparison between Jesus and Moses…

“Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses” which really sets Jesus apart as an important figure in the Jewish mindset, for apart from Abraham, nobody would have been considered greater than Moses.  “Just as the builder of a house is greater than the house itself” is the comparison between the two. In saying that Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s house, but God is the owner of the house, and Jesus is the owner’s Son and Heir; Moses was working for Him. Thus, Jesus is far greater than Moses.  While Jesus is “over” God’s house, and Moses was a servant in God’s house, we are God’s house, if  “we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”

Moses served in God’s house. We are God’s house.

Once again, we see a stark contrast between the relationship of Old Testament Israel and God, and the New Testament Church and God; the two are profoundly different.  Israel consisted of God’s covenant people, His Nation on earth.  He was their God and they were His people.  They did not, however have eternal life, the removal of sins or a direct relationship with God.  Christians have these things and more, because while the Israelites were born into their covenant as a function of biology, we are born again into a covenant relationship as a function of the life force of the Holy Spirit within us, and as a result, we are not just His people, but His children, whom Jesus calls brothers; Israel was God’s people, we are God’s family.

This is great news indeed, and I hope you are filled with joy at the thought… BUT… this is very much a conditional statement, for there is a great big IF in the middle of it. Depending on your doctrinal positions, you might start feeling a little uneasy right about now, but I would encourage you to recognize that this is not simply “Don’s crazy thinking” here, for you might have noticed that the rest of the chapter is another warning… and I’m not making that up, obviously.  Of course, you are free to see things differently than I do.

The IF is this: …if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. What is this hope in which we glory business?  Does he mean just a hopefulness about things in general, or does this specifically refer to something?  Jesus is our hope for glory; our author is making remaining faithful as followers of Jesus a condition for the promises.  In the verses that follow, which will be our next subject, you will see that our author cites examples from the Old Testament that back this up, so if this statement of mine seems unsettling to you, I sure hope you’ll read on…

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Being at Peace

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Don Merritt

A heart at peace gives life to the body,
    but envy rots the bones.

Proverbs 14:30

A heart at peace… is that common these days?  I’m not sure about that. There is so much hustle and bustle, there’s so much stress and conflict in modern life, and of course times are tough for many.  Some days it seems like everybody’s arguing about something or other… and it seems like people are criticizing every one and every thing… and I catch myself joining in from time-to-time.

Still, even though our world is churning and tossing us to and fro’ in some ways, we can still have a heart at peace if we maintain our focus on the things that are really important.  Family, friends, faith, and our relationship with our Lord; these are the important things, these are things that make a difference.

Envy?  Things?  Position? Do any of these make a difference when we consider the importance of relationships with our loved ones and with God?

Hardly.

Are arguments, bickering and conflict what life is about?  No.  Life is about serving others and serving God not bickering or being jealous about stuff. I thank God for how He has blessed me with family, friends, and His love; the rest is a waste of time: Peace is the result.

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