Being Promise Minded in the spirit of thanksgiving

This week, friends and family are traveling near and far to appreciate friendship, fellowship, and family. There is beauty in being connected. It’s through the relationships that God gives us that we are reminded of this truth. In Hebrews 5, the author writes about Jesus being our High Priest and how the High Priest is chosen. Due to God’s oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees a better covenant with God. This new covenant is a better covenant with better promises. Jesus is our great High Priest, and He establishes the connection with His people forever. Through this connection, we have been given both a promise and an oath.

The relationship we have with our Father is through our High Priest, Jesus. Therefore, we should be thankful for:

1. The Word

2. The High Priest and His sacrifice — because of His sacrifice, we have access

3. The promise and the oath

All three of these work together. The promise is the rest for God’s people. The Priest mediates the promise — He made the promise possible. The Word is God’s authority that helps us receive the promise by faith (Hebrews 4:12).

How do we make sure we are receiving God’s promises?

We have to know what the promises are, and we have to know the Word, being mindful of what we “eat” spiritually (Hebrews 5:11–14). We also must have relationship and communication to build strong connection, and this is done through Jesus, our Mediator. Receiving the promise is easy! Jesus is not like the other high priests or any of the predecessors in the priesthood. He is not like the Levitical priesthood that came before him. Jesus took an oath that simply states that God will do it — and it’s a guarantee that He will do it. He won’t break any of His promises, so go ahead and give him thanks for it! All of His promises are YES and AMEN!

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Hebrews 8:1–13 (KJV):

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.