Journal Entry // November 11, 2022
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (ESV)
Hebrews 7:25
Jesus “always lives to make intercession” for me. He is even now interceding for me before the throne of grace and inviting me to draw near to God. That through Christ, I can draw near to God and have fellowship and communion with the Holy One because Jesus has saved me to the uttermost. Even though I know this truth and I believe it fully, I find it extremely difficult to live this out on a daily basis. I find it unbelievable at times that through Jesus I can draw near to the Lord. I have been saved to the uttermost, but I still allow sin to cling to me. This clinging sin challenges my understanding of being saved to the uttermost. This habitual unrighteousness calls me a hypocrite when I want to draw near to Jesus. It is only the loving intercession of Jesus standing before the throne of God pleading for my soul that counters these lies with the truth. It is the perfect intentional consistent intercession of Jesus that pulls me back to the reality of my loving God who wants me to come to him. I have been saved to the uttermost and through Jesus I can be in the near presence of the Lord at all times.
I have been reading through 2 Chronicles this week and I have been struck by the life of the kings of Judah that are presented in the mid-chapters of this book. For a while, they all seemed to fit a particular pattern. The king always started out with faithfulness to the Lord and a heart that was seeking to draw near and worship. This led to great blessings from the Lord in their life and brought material abundance. Over the years these kings would slowly drift and wander away from obedience and faithfulness and would embrace the material blessings instead of the giver of these blessings. These kings would reach a crisis point in their life. A moment where they could choose between a path of faithful obedience or self-reliance. Each of them chose the path of self-reliance and pride. Each of them then started the same downward spiral that led them away from drawing near to the Lord.
I feel this same struggle and crisis point in my life. I see this same fork in the path and I worry that I too will take the wrong path. That in my pride I will choose to live a life of self-righteousness as I begin to trust more and more in myself. “Jesus always lives to make intercession for me.” This is my only hope for faithful obedience. It’s not about my can-do attitude or willing myself to eradicate sin from my heart. It is simply about Jesus. The lover of my soul that ever lives to pray for me. Through whom I can draw near to God, because he has saved me to the uttermost.
Sin may linger in my heart, but it does not reign. Sin may continue to throw dirt and grime upon my heart, but the blood of Christ washes me clean each and every time. Jesus is praying for me… He is not some distant impersonal being that sits back helpless as I struggle through this journey in life. He is personal. He is involved. He is intentional. He is engaged. In his kindness, he leads me toward repentance. He strengthens my faith and draws me near to the fellowship of God. So, I can gather encouragement in this thought. I can be strengthened in my faith against sin. I can shine the light of the gospel into these pitch-dark places of my heart and dispel the lies of the enemy that taunt and haunt me. The truth of the gospel is that I am saved to the uttermost, I can draw near to God, and I have an ever-praying advocate that loves me. This is my hope and strength.