Access: Devo from Chris “Broflex” Boddy

When I was in college, I spent a summer in Israel. My friends and I would sneak over to the King David hotel to swim at night. One night on our usual trek to the hotel, there was an armed roadblock loaded with weapons and stopping everyone trying to get close to the hotel. We thought they were looking for people who were using the pool without permission, but luckily, it was just because a world leader (not sure who) was staying at the hotel, and because of that, access to the hotel was monitored and limited.

This is how the world works: The more power, influence, and fame, the more limited the access to that person. You can not just “run into” the president of the United States. There are roadblocks and processes that hinder our ability to get to the famous or powerful.

But God did an astonishing thing: He flipped that on its head! The most powerful, famous, and influential being in all creation wrote all of history to lead to a point where all hindrances to accessing Him were wiped away. Through His Son’s life/death/resurrection, He made it possible to freely access Him ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ALWAYS!

When His son died on the cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom (Matt 27:51) allowing access to the holiest of holy places where, before Jesus’s sacrifice, we could not enter into ourselves. But if we “confess with [our] mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in [our] heart that God raised him from the dead” (Romans 10:9-10), we now have complete unhindered access!

You already know this, so why are we talking about it…?

I wanted to remind us of this because I wonder how many of us take advantage of the access we have. I wonder how many are still standing outside the “veil,” nervous and afraid to enter. I wonder how many are navigating life alone and apart from Him. I wonder how many are not experiencing joy because we’ve taken Him out of the equation.

Listen to Jesus’ plea to draw near:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

Think about this. This plan before the foundation of the world included Jesus entering this world as a baby. Not a warrior or a king, but a baby. Jesus chose this so that He could live a life where He could experience anything that we as humans could ever go through. Jesus did this FOR THE PURPOSE of allowing us to approach Him in this hard life knowing He has already been through it. Jesus did all that so that there would NEVER be a time where we could look up to God and say “You have no idea what this is like.” Listen to these passages in Hebrews that beckon God’s children to draw near knowing that it is His heart and plan to take any hindrance away, including my own insecurity.

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” – Hebrews 2:17-18

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:14-16

Draw near today! Invite Him into the conversation of your life. Life works best in His presence. Abide (John 15), and experience what He paid for.

“You make known to me the path of life;
  in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11

FURTHER READING: SCRIPTURE ABOUT ACCESS

• Ephesians 2:13;18
  • 13 — “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
  • 18 — “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
• Ephesians 3:12 — “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”
• Hebrews 4:16 — “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
• Ephesians 2:18 — “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
• Romans 5:2 — “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
• 1 Peter 3:18 — “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”
• Psalm 65:4 — “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!”
• James 4:8 — “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
• Hebrews 10:19-22 — “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
• Psalm 145:18 — “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”