To God be the glory, Amen!

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. As we get to verse 21, we see that this benediction is a blessing or a prayer. As we saw yesterday, the basis or confidence in this prayer is that we are at peace with God, who is the God of peace, through Jesus Christ. We see the author’s heart for his readers in this benediction. He longed for them to be equipped through Jesus Christ to do God’s will through every good thing they do. It is a recap of his main point throughout the letter: Through Jesus Christ, your high priest, you may draw near to the throne of grace to get the mercy and grace you need to run the race God has set before you and remain faithful to the end of your life. What else was He praying for? He also asked that the God of peace, through Jesus Christ equipping his readers to do His will, would accomplish His work in both them and him. In Heb. 11:6 we learned that it is faith that pleases God because faith comes from His Son. Do you get it? The only way for God to get the glory forever and ever is if all of the work done is from and through Jesus. That is the heart of the author: May God get all the glory forever through His people. His prayer is for God to grant the grace necessary through His Son, who gives us both access in prayer and then grace through His indwelling life, the Holy Spirit. This truth is absolutely life-changing. It is the foundational truth of living to love with Jesus. It’s WITH JESUS! It’s THROUGH JESUS! Jesus’ life is our life. His love is our love. His love comes from the work of faith in our hearts, the evidence of which is obedience. He commanded us to believe in Him and love one another. So God receives the glory; He works in us what He commands. This gives us confidence in life. It is the unshakable kingdom in which we live. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9). And when all is said and done in our lives and we come to the finish line, all the glory will be His. The apostle Paul echoed His praise in Rom. 11:36. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” To which we also add our, “Amen!” I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.