Editor’s Note: The AMI Quiet Time Devotionals from October 17-23 are provided by Pastor David Kwon of Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Devotional Thought for Today

Hebrews 1:10-14

10 And,  “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

    and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain;

    they will all wear out like a garment,

12  like a robe you will roll them up,

    like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

    and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

   “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

“He is the Creator and the sustainer of all things. He is the unchanging, self-existent God, and that means that He depends on nobody. He is neither helped by our faith nor hindered by our unbelief.”
― Colin S. Smith (Pastor & Author)

In today’s passage, the author of Hebrews continues his description of Jesus Christ as the supreme Son of God. To emphasize his point, the author quotes from Psalm 102 in which the psalmist cries out to the Lord in anguish but also celebrates God’s transcending existence.  At the end of the Psalm, the writer calls upon the Lord as the One who laid the foundation for the heavens and earth, acknowledging Him as the unchangeable Lord of all creation; and it is this description that the author of Hebrews directs to Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew writer continues by contrasting Christ and that which will pass away: The heavens and earth “will perish”; the Lord will “roll them up” like a robe, and they will be changed. Christ, on the other hand, “will remain”; for He is “the same,” and His years will “have no end.”  Theologian John Owen writes, “One thing is meant by these expressions — Christ’s eternal and absolute immutable existence…To emphasize God’s eternal nature in contrast with the world’s frailty and all of its creation, it is said that his years will never end. The world comes to an end but there is no end to Christ’s existence.

These verses remind us that Jesus is the “same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8).  For us it means that we can be assured and be confident that His love, grace and faithfulness will always be constant and never waver, despite changes in circumstances, politics, nations and even our personal lives.  As a result, we can live confidently knowing that the One constant in our lives will never change.  Let’s thank Him and put our confidence in that promise.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you that you are an unchanging God.  You are indeed the same yesterday, today and forever, and because of that promise, help us to put our hope in You.  Amen

Bible Reading for Today: Ecclesiastes 12

Lunch Break Study 

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Questions to Consider:

1. According to Peter, what is the reason for our hope?
2. How should we look at our trials and what is the purpose for them?
3. How can we be comforted by this passage?

Notes:

1. Peter reminds the believers to look at Christ’s great mercy and the inheritance that is imperishable, which will never be taken away from us. That is the reason why we have hope.
2. We go through trials because it shows us the genuineness of our faith (v. 7). We can rejoice with joy because we have been saved by His great love (v. 8-9).
3. We can be assured of a living hope that will never be taken away from us as believers.

Evening Reflection  

Take some time reflecting on the passage you read today.  What challenged you? Ask the Lord to search your heart and to show where you need to make specific applications.