Hebrews 13:1-6

Hebrews 13:1-6

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

I smiled when I read "loving like brothers and sisters".  There was not a lot of love between my sisters and I growing up.  There is now, but not then.

I have heard of a "secret shopper" program where a retailer will send in shoppers that work for him to see if the sales employees do their job correctly and provide the level of service expected by the owners.  Verse two tells me that God has Angels roaming the earth providing opportunity for us to "get it right".  Show hospitality to all.  Treat others as you would want to be treated.

³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Tying mistreated and suffering together, I get the impression that the writer is speaking of brothers in prison for Christ.  It is easy for us to forget them because visiting a prison is a pain.  I know this because a friend of mine went to prison for a crime he did commit.  6 years he was there.  We did write, but I never visited him because of the time commitment that would be involved.  As I type those words, my reasons sound hollow.

⁴ Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

So many Christians think they can play with sexual immorality.  They always get burned.  Sex is a gift from God to married couples.  Unless fulfilled within the context of marriage, the sexual act, though fun, will leave you empty and you will continually crave more and more till your appetites are beyond control. God will judge any such person.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you never will I forsake you.”

⁶ So we say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

God will provide your needs.  Chasing after money will not bring you happiness.  It too will only lead to emptiness.

With God, the creator of the universe at our side, what could possibly happen the he does not chose to allow?  I sometime wonder why I fear so much.

My the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 12:18-29

Hebrews 12:18-29
¹⁸ You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹ to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰ because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ²¹ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

When God came down on Mount Sinai, it was not a calming site.  

²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Our spiritual Mountain is better.  We have Jesus as our mediator so we need not fear.   We are under the new covenant or promise so we are under grace.

²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

We have more.  We have the fulfillment of scripture in that Jesus has died and rose again.  The Holy Spirit has come and he indwell in those who have accepted Christ.  For a person to walk away or reject God now in this age, their offense is worse.

²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Revelation 21:1 reveals to us that there will be a new heaven and a new earth.  God is going destroy this one and start all over.

May he grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 12:14-17

Hebrews 12:14-17
¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

How much effort?  Every effort.  We never quit.  Now they may reject us, but we don't quit. Romans 12:18

At first read through, one might come to the conclusion that we have to achieve holiness before we can see God and therefore a "works" salvation.  No!  Holiness is a benefit of salvation and forgiveness.  Romans 6:22  It is a gift from God.

¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Just because a person lives in a garage, does not mean they are a car.  Just because a person goes to church, does not mean they are a Christian.  Share the gospel in your church, even when you "know" everyone there is a Christian.

Build relationships with each other.  Someone may be hurting.  Actually where there are humans, someone IS hurting.  Come along side them.  Comfort, help and meet their needs.  Don't allow them to become bitter because their bitterness could cause others to stumble.

¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

I found it odd that sexual immorality and Esau would be in the same sentence.   As I worked it through, food and sex are both legitimate needs that we as humans have.  God has provided ways for these to be met in a righteous and holy manner.  Esau wanted food NOW and did not care how he got it.  I am now divorced.  I have a choice.  I can wait for God to provide me with a wife or I can chose to fulfill my sexual appetites in my own way.

¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

We can be forgiven for our sins and they will not eternally condemn us, however there are consequences for our sin if we chose to disobey God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-12

Hebrews 12:1-12
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 

I once played a video game and my character was able to pick up weapons and ammo as he walked through the game. Playing within the rules of the game there was a limit to the amount of weapons and ammo my character was allowed to carry.  However even within the limits of the game, realistically a soldier would not be very effective if he was carrying a rocket launcher with rockets, 1 assault rifle with many mags of ammo, 1 sub machine gun with many mags of ammo, 1 9 mm pistol with many mags of ammo, 1 .45 pistol with several mags of ammo, grenades and a knife.  He'd be useless because he was burdened so much he could not move.

But my illustration has a flaw in that these items are tools of his trade.  What if my soldier instead of carrying his weapons started carrying things for the enemy?  This is what we do when we sin.  We start working for the enemy. 

Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses' parents, Moses, the people of Israel, and Rahab all died in their faith having NOT received what was promised.  We have Christ.  We have the Holy Spirit.  Our faith should be stronger.

What prevents you from unconditional surrender?  Get rid of it.

 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

When a runner runs he has nothing on him.  He faces front and just runs as fast as he can.  Jesus is the goal.  Everything else should be a blur.
 
⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Never have I heard more encouraging words.  Some days, as a result of my continued struggle with sin, I would doubt my salvation.  But because I am convicted of my sin and I continually come back to the Lord, I know I am saved.  If I wasn't the Holy Spirit would not convict, I would not confess and I would just continue in ignorance.  Praise God for his discipline.

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

We get strong by exercise. As we, by faith, endure hardship we grow.  I know this first hand.  The past two years have been a very hard road.  It's not over yet, but I know that God has a plan. 

My the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

In memory of Cheryl

The manner in which people deal with grief is as various as the number of people on the planet.  Today would have been Cheryl's 44th birthday, had cancer not taken her from us.  So I take a moment to reflect on how I feel.  I have a loss, but it is not a hopeless loss.  I miss her, but I have a hope.  This is not a hope as in "I hope I get a pony for Christmas.".  This is a knowing in my soul that I will see her again.

Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.".  Sin is an archery term that means "to miss the mark".  God has a standard of perfection.  We don't meet that standard.

Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.".  Those that have jobs would be pretty upset if they did not get paid.  Yes somehow non believers think that if their good deeds out weigh the bad, then they won't get what is coming to them.  They are wrong.

I'm sure most of you have seen John 3:16 signs at sporting events.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whomever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  God sent his Son Jesus into the world.  He did live that life of perfection that God requires and he died as a substitute for sin.  If we believe in Jesus sacrifice for us we will be saved.  1 John 5:11-12 says, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.  Whoever has the son, has life; whoever does not have the son, does not have life."

My sister had faith in Jesus Christ.  Read her blog, My Cancer Journey.  She praised God throughout her entire ordeal.

I do not understand why Cheryl got cancer.  I do know that her journey provided our family with an opportunity to share the gospel with people we would not have met other wise.

I sure Cheryl agreed with the apostle Paul when he said, "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain."  Cheryl gained eternal life in her passing.  She gain a pain free whole body that will never die.  She gained a face to face meeting with our Savior Jesus Christ.

I ask your continued prayers for her widower Howard and children Troy, Trevor and Haley at this time.  Prayers for my parents as they should never have to bury a child.  And prayers for Dawn, Brenda and myself.

May the grace of hour Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Passing the Baton of Faith

We are about to head into Chapter 12 and I just did not get to my blog this morning.  My fellow WOLBI Alumni posted this video.  Inspiring enough to share as my blog today.

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11
I will not quote the entire chapter.  I will let you follow the link and read it from Bible Gateway.


Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.
³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

One thing that most evolutionists won't tell you, is that evolution is a belief based on their interpretation of science.  Creation is our belief in an almighty creator...God.  Both are based on faith it's just a matter of whom one chooses to put their faith in.

⁴ By faith Abel ...
⁵ By faith Enoch...

 ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We do not earn favor with God.  We have faith in what Jesus has done.  Our reward is not "salvation", that is a gift.  Our reward is treasure in heaven.



⁷ By faith Noah,...
⁸ By faith Abraham,...
¹¹ And by faith even Sarah,...

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

These people died having never seen what God had promised them. Yet they looked forward to what was ahead. We too need to press on toward our goal.  We too need to look forward to our better country.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham,...
²⁰ By faith Isaac...
²¹ By faith Jacob,...
²² By faith Joseph,...
²³ By faith Moses’ parents...
²⁴ By faith Moses,...
²⁹ By faith the people...
³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell,
³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab... 

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

So I search my heart and look at what am facing today.  I will not face anything like this. Where is my faith?  I encourage you to do the same.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 10:19-39

Hebrews 10:19-39
¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Why do you we go to church?  My friend Bob said one morning in Sunday School, "Programmed response."   We go to church some days because we've trained ourselves to go.  It's more habit than commitment...although it's a good habit.  I admit there are days I do this blog because I should and because I know some people read it as there morning Bible study.  

Here the author is asking for us to draw near with a sincere heart.  I think this is to get close to God on purpose, to study on purpose and to worship on purpose.

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

There are men in my church who hold to their faith no matter what.  These are Godly men.  Their pursuit of God makes me want to be a better man of God.

²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

I have heard people say they do not go to church.  I've heard people say they have their own time with God.  We need on another.  We are to meet regularly.  As this world is getting further and further from God we need one another all the more.  Go to church.  Meet in small groups.  Gather together in God's name and encourage one another. 

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."   So, how do we explain these two verses that seem to contradict each other?  I believe verse 26 is speaking alone the same lines as Hebrews 6.  These people have completely rejected God and forgiveness.  They have made a conscious choice to walk away from God.


²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I genuinely feel sorry for those who reject God.

³² Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. ³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

The American church has not dealt with this too much.  However, it is my conviction that it is coming.
 
³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come
    and will not delay.”

³⁸ And,

“But my righteous one will live by faith.
    And I take no pleasure
    in the one who shrinks back.”

³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Any suffering we do here on Earth will be short lived in light of eternity.  We will receive our reward.  However you can see there will be consequences for those who shirk the things that God has called them to do.  This is not a loss of salvation, but a disappointed father.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 10:1-18

Hebrews 10:1-18
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The sacrifices were a constant reminder of the sins of the people.  The sacrifices did not take away the sins of the people.
 
⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
    but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you were not pleased.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
    I have come to do your will, my God.’”

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Jesus came to do the will of the Father.  He became the sacrifice for us.  I died once and it was for everyone.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The Earthly priest in the Jewish temple performed his duty over and over.  Jesus, our heavenly priest, died once...and he SAT DOWN.  Not only did he obey God in becoming the sacrifice for our sin, he now waits for God to deliver his enemies to him.

A little personal application here.  If Jesus waits for his father to act, and has been for over 2000 years, why do I think I deserve immediate resolution to my issues?

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷ Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Because of Jesus sacrifice, God will not hold our sins against us.  When God forgives we don't need to "do" anything to earn our way back into his grace.  In fact we can't earn it and that is the point.

Also Christ's sacrifice was once.  It never has to be done again.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 9:11-28

Has it really been 4 days since I blogged?  My apologies.

Hebrews 9:11-28
¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

The heavenly tabernacle is the perfect tabernacle.  Christ's blood is better than the blood of animals.  They made the people ceremonially clean. Christ's blood redeemed us and clears our conscience.

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The price has been paid.  We've been set free.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

In the old testament things had to be cleansed with blood over and over.  Christ's blood was shed once and he never has to suffer again.  We will see more of this next blog.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. 

Hebrews 8-9:10

Lots of reading today.  Not much commentary.
Hebrews 8-9:10

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

The tabernacle that existed here on earth was a copy of what is in heaven.  Every aspect of the earthly temple reflected an attribute of God.  That is why Moses had to me precise.  One of my first pastors Rev. Paul Colby did a sermons series on this and I wish I could revisit the series but this was in a time before mp3 and video.

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
⁹ It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
¹¹ No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

The people did not follow the old covenant. So God in his grace provided a new one.  One that any non Jew reading this benefited from.

9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ² A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. ⁹ This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The old covenant had lots of rules and regulations.  The people were separated from God and only the High Priest enter the Holy of Holies (where God dwelt) once a year to offer sacrifices for sin.  Yet these were not enough and had to be done over and over.

We will discuss the new covenant and how Jesus is better next time.

Happy Thanksgiving.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. 
 

Hebrews 7:11-28

Hebrews 7:11-28
¹¹ If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³ He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵ And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

Priests came from the tribe of Levi.  Jesus was from Judah.  The law had no provision for a priest from the tribe of Judah.  Vs 18 and 19 give the answer.  Jesus is our "better hope". 

²⁰ And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
    ‘You are a priest forever.’”

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

How did Jesus become priest?  God declared it.  Anybody else have a better reference than that on their resume?

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus priesthood is permanent.
Jesus completely saves us. (Nothing we need to do.)
Jesus is holy, blameless, pure set apart and exalted.
Jesus' sacrifice was once for all and forever.   (Could you imagine us having to bring sacrifices to the alter for our sins still?) 
Jesus is perfect and forever.

The writer wrote this to show the Jewish people that Jesus is better than the law.  Yet some stubbornly clung to the law and their traditions.  We are no different today.  Our churches have or lists of rules and traditions that are clung to just as tenaciously.  Jesus is better.  Chose HIM.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters.  Amen.

God answers my prayer...the same afternoon.

This morning I slept in.  Though I "woke" at 5 am and again at 6 am I just kept rolling over till suddenly it was 705am.  Ugh.  Gotta MOVE if I'm going to log on to school by 8 am.  Before my feet hit the floor I realize that I would not have time to blog.  A brief prayer was sent that I would not forget to blog today.

So I made it to school and had an OK day.  My issue was temptation with certain sins that have been part of my life so long that I am happy when I "do better" than yesterday and manage it to what I wrongly perceive as "acceptable levels".  When we rationalize our sin we tell ourselves rational lies.  God is very clear.  He hates sin.

So this afternoon I cry out to God, "Why is this sin still present in my life?  I don't hate it like you do.  In truth, I like it more than you some days."  I left it there planning on speaking to Steve (my accountability partner).

Later, and I'm talking just a short while later, I'm listening to Pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church, preach on the book of Luke.  He was in chapter 17.  "32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, whoever loses their life will preserve it."

When the angel of the Lord was practically dragging Lot and his family from Sodom, she looked back longingly to her house and way of life and showed what was the most important things to her.  Her husband suffered and her children suffered hardship because of her choice.

The sermon went on to talk about where is your greatest hearts desire is.  I can say that my greatest desire is to serve God.  Therefore, I do know I am saved.  However the cost of this sin in my life has been great and it also sent Jesus to the cross.  He nailed it there.

So I have a choice.  Keep my life (this sin) and lose it or lose my life (in Christ) and he will preserve it.  What choices do you have to make?

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 7:1-10

Hebrews 7:1-10
I made this mistake of Googling Melchizedek.  Lot's of stuff of there and some of it is pretty weird.  Since I don't know the sources enough to trust them, we're just going to use scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to lead.

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, ² and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

He was the King of Salem and since he was a priest of God, Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. We know what his name means and what the name of his city means, saying he is the king of righteousness and peace.  We don't know who his family is or where he went.
  
⁴ Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵ Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

 Confused yet?  I know part of me is.  Because I have read ahead and know that the writer is comparing things that were to Jesus.  Tomorrow we will see that though Melchizedek was a great king and priest and was close enough to be similar to Christ, Jesus is superior.  Some come back and we'll work through it together.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 6:13-20

Hebrews 6:13-20
¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.

In Biblical times, men entering a contract would slaughter an animal, cut it in half and the parties responsible to fulfill that contact would walk between the pieces.  This was a sort of blood oath swearing "I will fulfill my part even unto death.".  In Genesis 15 we read that God entered into this promise with Abram.  But Abram was put to sleep and only God walked through the carcasses.  He was the only party responsible to make it happen.

¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
God cannot lie.  How refreshing that is since we live in society where our leaders cannot tell the truth.  We can have real hope and feel real secure in our eternity with God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Hebrews 5:11-6:12
¹¹ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Some people just never grow up in their faith.  That is where I was for years.  I "knew" about the Bible.  I "knew" about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.   I even believed Jesus paid for my sins and had accepted him as my Savior.  I was a Bible college graduate.  Yet I was still a baby.  I was still in my infancy with faith.  It has really only been since this blog started that I began in earnest my search of God.  I mentioned in my first post about Hebrews that this book gave me pause.  That's because for so long all I did was drink the milk of the word while passing by the meat and potatoes.

6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so.

I had to grow up.  It was not easy, but my faith in God has grown more in the past two and a half to three years than the previous 30.  It's interesting that I was probably NOT going to blog the book of Revelation because I did not feel qualified.  Perhaps we will.  Not sure where God will lead.

⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

This is a hard passage to understand.  So hard that years ago I contacted my Pastor Bill Jenkins about it and I even saved his response.  Since I cannot improve on his answer and I do not wish to paraphrase him, I shall quote him. Links added by me for you ease of use.

"The writer of Hebrews has a goal here:  describing the seriousness of turning from the Christian faith. 

He is not questioning the perseverance of the saints (see John 6:37-39; Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:13-14 and others), but he is stating that only those who continue in the way of Christ ARE the saints.

If a person is a genuine Christian, then they can never be lost and will be preserved to the last day for salvation, per the above verses.

What about when a person pledges to believe yet at some later point denies the faith and goes back to living a non-Christ centered life?

The answer is found in 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out from us, in order that it might be made manifest that they all are not truly of us."

Look at the verse again & note the highlights & then what’s capitalized:

 4It is IMPOSSIBLE for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

The writer seems to be describing someone who seemed to be a Christian but never really was a true follower of Christ.

This idea fits in the with the context of Hebrews, for in Ch. 3:16-19 there is a description of how the Israelites had all of the ear markings of God’s people in the wilderness, but never entered the Promised Land.

This passage does not refer to backsliders, but to people who walk with the Lord for a while and then deliberately turn and completely walk away from Him, rejecting Him.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for those who have partaken in the bold faced items above to be brought back into repentance because they do not want to be restored into a good relationship with God.

These people nail the Son of God to the cross all over again by rejecting Him.  In their heart they make themselves one with those who put Christ to death on the cross.  They choose to harden their hearts to Christ.

It’s not impossible for God to forgive them, but instead, it is impossible for them to be forgiven because they have no desire to turn back to Christ and repent of their sins.

They reject Christ, and therefore will not be saved."

Thank you Pastor Bill for that explanation.

⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

What are you producing?  What am I producing?   Are we worthless to God?

⁹ Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. ¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The evidence of salvation was evident in the people to whom this letter was written.  I was once asked, "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?".

As the writer encourage his readers, I too encourage you to "show the same diligence" in your walk with God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.