Faith in Jesus (Hebrews 9:11-15)

So what's changed with faith in Jesus, is our hearts.  The more I read the Bible and seek the Lord; the more I don't want to get into trouble.  The Holy Spirit works in my heart to help me not to desire bad things.  I still lose my temper and have bad days.  It's nothing like the anger and rage I used to have.  I have joy and peace.  Actually at 53, I find walking to be a great way to handle stress.  Something about putting one foot in front of the other helps me put my thoughts in order...  Too much wine and I fall asleep.  I prefer the joy of the Lord over the stuff in our world.  Walking with my camera and enjoying God's beautiful creation is a good day for me, painting and singing too.

One of my favorite disciples is Peter.  He put his foot in his mouth, quite often.  I can relate to that.  After Jesus was taken captive, Peter denied knowing Him 3 times.  He was always first to speak and fell into the water instead of walking on it.  But after Peter received the Holy Spirit he became awesome!  When you read the book of Acts, Peter is out leading people to Christ all over Israel.  The difference is the Holy Spirit.  Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples after His body died on the cross.

I was trying to figure out how to move forward in this section of Hebrews without being too repetitive.  This is what I came up with.  The verses below describe the change that happened to Peter.

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
(Acts 2:38-39 NKJV)

He is confident in his faith.  He knows the Holy Spirit is present within him.  There's no shame here.  No wonder Jesus called him the rock, He would build His Church on.  He did.  Then to top it all off, Peter is a descendant of Jonah.  You remember Jonah right?  The one who tried to run away from God's calling.  Jesus called Peter, "Simon Bar-Jonah."  "Bar-Jonah" means son of Jonah. It's kind of cool that things would take this turn in this family. I like this part because it encourages us to remember, with Christ all things are possible.  In Him our history or ancestry does not define who we are.  We are His and that's what matters most.  Each day is a new beginning when we repent and confess our sins. A chance to start over.

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “ But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
(Matthew 16:13-19 NKJV)

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 
Hebrews 8:10

11 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent" ––the true Holy Place––once and for all. 12 He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. 13 If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, 14 think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. 15 Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead–end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
(Hebrews 9:11-15 Message) 

One thing to say, "Hallelujah!  What a Savior!"

Here's a song-
Oceans (where feet may fail), Hillsong United (link)