By Faith Looking Forward

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

BY FAITH LOOKING FORWARD

Heb 11:8-10

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

NIV

Abraham could be the most notable man of faith we will visit with. We will see him listed twice in this Hall of Faith; however, we may have to visit this first account to grasp all the truth that can be applied to us. First, we have also been called to a place we will later receive as our inheritance. There is no doubt living as a believer in Jesus Christ has been a blessing. We have received so much, gained an incredible amount of spiritual blessing, and far more material gain than we could ever imagine. Our lives are fuller than they would have ever been had we not met Jesus. He has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, testifying to all the truth from God, and leading us toward and through that truth. The Spirit has also led us through this physical life, taking us to where we were to live, work, and worship, moving us when it was according to the will of the Father. We have obeyed and went even to places we did not know where we were going. On a personal note, finding our first new home, which God told me he would give me, was not revealed as we drove on an unknown road until we saw a white dove, and there within a minute, we saw new homes being built. God has always and will always guide us to places he desires us to be. Secondly, we must always take note that we too are strangers in a foreign country. In some sense, we live in tents as well, for no matter how well our homes are built, and how solid they feel to us, they are only temporary dwelling places. We might say that we have put down our roots here, deciding this is the best place to live, but we should not it was not our choice, because we obey God and go where he wants us to live, work, and worship. All our earthy experiences and gains are simply temporary, perhaps preparing us for what is to come, yet it is by faith in Jesus that brings us our inheritance in an eternal home in the heavenly realm. We should not put our roots anywhere in this world, for our roots are in the word of God, and in our eternal place Jesus has prepared for us. Even our bodies are but a temporary tent in which we dwell as we will one day lay it down for a much better version of ourselves, one that is everlasting living with Jesus in that city with foundations. Let us always be looking forward to that place, always on the move with God, but in the Spiritual senses and the physical sense. Putting down roots is the opposite of being on the move, looking forward to our future home. Let us not live as stagnant residences but as strangers in this foreign land, looking forward to what is to come. 

Just as He Commands

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

JUST AS HE COMMANDS

Heb 11:7 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

NIV

What can we say about Noah that has not already been said? Knowing the story of Noah and that it took him about a hundred years to build that ark is in the record, but how amazing was that task. We know Noah was about five hundred years old when he had his three sons but we do not know when he actually started to build the ark at the command of God. We know that he was six hundred when it was finished, so it did take a very long time to build. However, the story is about the man Noah himself. The world was corrupt, mankind had become increasingly corrupt, and every evil desire was followed. Interestingly, when Noah was born, his father Lamech prophesied that Noah would comfort them in the labor and painful toil of their hands caused by the ground the LORD had cursed. We take our lesson from three aspects of Noah. First, he found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Second, he was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Third, Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Is it any wonder Noah ended up in the Hall of Faith? Have we found favor in the eyes of the Lord? We have to answer that in the affirmative because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God is pleased that we accepted his offer for our salvation, and that we are living in his grace by faith in Jesus. However, we also need to understand that because we are in Christ, God does see us as holy and blameless in his sight. Still, there is some requirement in how we walk. We cannot walk in our own footsteps; we must walk in the steps our Lord lays out for us. We must follow Jesus, follow God, walking with him. Then we must ask ourselves if we are blameless among the people, and we are not considering the people of faith we gather with to worship, but the people of this earth, the people who are still corrupt, following their own desires, their own plans for their lives, either rejecting or refusing to accept God. Do they see us as living a blameless and righteous life? What kind of reputation do we have with the people of this world? Are they seeing Jesus in us, even though they are not sure who Jesus is? The third aspect of Noah is another one that we need to consider whether we meet that same faith of Noah. He did everything just as God commanded. Are we doing everything God has commanded us to do? The first thing we need to ask, is whether we are listening enough to hear all his commands? Have we busied ourselves with too many chores, or deeds that we think are Godly, or what Christians are supposed to do, at least according to our ideas? Maybe God has another way for us to travel, another plan, a command for us. Let us live to please him, and simply do what He commands, so that we might be known as someone who does just as God commands. However, we still are going to be an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith, and still living and doing just as He commands.

 

 

Crave Him

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

CRAVE HIM

Heb 11:5-6

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 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.

NIV

We looked into Enoch and how he was no more, and the great testimony that he pleased God. He was commended as one who pleased God. However, now we must turn our attention to this glaring statement, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God”. We are also given the reason, that anyone who comes to God, must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. First, what does earnestly mean? One of the meanings of the Greek word, ekzeteo is to seek out, search out, investigate, crave. Here it is, we are to crave God, as we cannot get enough of Him. There is one of our favorite fast-food places that advertise, their customers are cravers, and we do crave those “sliders”. That is the sense of craving God. Wanting more and more of Him. We are to seek as much of Him as we can possibly get, and that is because we have faith. We have lived by faith from the first moment we were transformed from being in the dark to being in the light. We do not know any other way to live. We know it is impossible to have one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. We know we cannot have this dual citizenship, being a citizen of the kingdom of God, and still holding dear to our earthly citizenship. All we know is faith, and we have been revealed truths about faith and preached about it. Faith Always Insists Transformation Happens. Because we are people of faith, we have been and are always being transformed to be more and more like Jesus. This is one of the results of living by faith, but another is that it pleases God, and He will reward us because we crave him, we earnestly seek him out, wanting to know more and more about Him, and wanting more of his influence on our hearts. That is one of the definitions of the Greek word, charis, translated as grace. The divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives would mean being a person of faith. Because God influences our hearts, how could that not reflect faith in our lives? Surely, God does not influence us to live according to the ways of the world or to put our trust in earthly things. Faith means we trust Him and follow Him, learn from Him, and reflect His influence which can only lead us to increase our faith, and in doing so we please him. There is no doubt the ultimate reward is eternal life, but in the process of life, He also rewards those who crave Him, with all these things the pagans run after, whatever that looks like. However, we do not have faith so we can be rewarded, but because we simply crave Him. 

Taken Away

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

TAKEN AWAY

Heb 11:5-6

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 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.

NIV

Would it not be a wonderful thing for God to just up and take us away so that we would be like Enoch and could not be found because we were gone without experiencing death. Enoch was a man of faith and all we know about him is that he walked with God. He lived for 365 years and was no more because God took him away. That’s it, that is all we know about him and yet he makes the hall of faith in this eleventh chapter. We don’t know if Enoch did any good deeds, or how he worshipped, all we know is he walked with God. Interestingly, it was after Enoch was sixty-five when he became the father of Methuselah, we are told he walked with God for three hundred years, or the rest of his life. Did he not walk with God those first sixty-five years? Maybe he had a conversion experience at sixty-five. We just don’t know, but the fact still remains that Enoch walked with God, and he was no more for God took him away. This begs the question; what does “walking with God” look like? Can we define it? We know Adam walked with God, but then he failed to do so correctly and was cast out of paradise. God did not take Adam like he did Enoch. Others were taken, and we will get to them, but for now, we need to stay focused on “walking with God” and what that looks like. Certainly, it is more than Sunday morning for one hour. It has to include every day of our lives, and in fact, every hour of each day. Of course, we cannot sit or stand around doing nothing else but worshipping God. Our lives consist of many different activities taking up much of our day, yet in that process of living, can we still walk with God, and what would that look like? We know that we are to keep in step with the Spirit since we live in the Spirit. Maybe that is a key to walking with God, living in the Spirit. But what does that look like? We can say we are keeping in step with the Spirit, but does that mean we are? How can we tell if we are keeping in step with the Spirit and thus walking with God? It seems that keeping in step with the Spirit means that He calls out the cadence for us to walk in and through this life. He is the one who gives us the direction as to where we are to live, work, and worship. It is almost as if we should not be making any decisions based on our desires or plans for our lives, as if we are then we are simply keeping in step with ourselves, not paying the least bit of attention to the cadence of the Spirit, and that would also mean we are not even close to walking with God. Are we so invested in this life, that we miss hearing the cadence of the Spirit? We can only hope that we are keeping in step, following the cadence, the direction of the Spirit doing that which God has for us, his plan for our lives, and if we are following, then maybe we might be considered as walking with God, and someday we will be no more. Perhaps that will be when Jesus comes for us, or just maybe if we are living by faith, we will be taken away. 

Righteous Before God

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD

Heb 11:1-4

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of 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. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

NIV

Having considered our faith in God’s word and all of creation came as a result of his spoken word, we need to ponder on the faith of Abel and how, if any, his faith relates to us. It seems strange that a man murdered by his brother Cain is in the chapter on faith. However, the cause of this heinous crime against Abel is precisely what puts him in this chapter of faith. His offering to God was superior to Cain's offering. Why was his offering better? It has to be an issue of the heart. Abel was a gentle man of faith. He was a shepherd in some sense as he kept flocks. Cain was a farmer, working the soil. Both are honorable labors; however, we wonder why God enjoyed and accepted the offering of Abel, but did not accept Cains? We are told that Cain brought some of the fruits from the soil as an offering. From the text, it does not appear Cain brought the first fruit of the soil, just some of it, while Abel took the firstborn from his flock and slaughtered it and brought a fat offering from that firstborn to the Lord. It was the difference between some of and the firstborn of the flock. Abel’s faith in God, offering the firstborn trusting that his flock would have more and that God would bless his offering and increase the number of his flock is why he was commended as a righteous man. This is why we take our lesson from Abel rather than Cain. Cain was a jealous man and allowed his jealousy to turn into anger that evolved into murder. Jesus spoke directly about anger or hatred being the same as murder, referring to one of the Ten Commandments, thy shall not commit murder. Should we not be a gentle person, loving God and others, without jealousy, without envy, and simply love God, have faith in Him that he will increase our lives, as we bring not some of our lives gain, but the first fruit of each gain, a fat offering from our lives, whatever that means. Of course, we have turned that fat offering into the tithe, taking that from the tenth Abraham offered to Melchizedek. Either way, we bring our offering, not out of obligation, but from our love for and our faith in God. Certainly, we have been blessed by God. It is obvious He is pleased with our offer as he has blessed the work of our hands. However, the main reason God is so pleased with us is because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, accepting the offer God made for us. Because we are in Christ, God sees us as a righteous person of faith, like Abel. It is awesome to know that God speaks well of us and that even when we are gone, we can only hope that our lives would speak well of God, that is we hope our epitaph is, that he was a man after God’s own heart. Let us live by faith with courageous endurance to the end, righteous before God. 

Commended For Faith

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

COMMENDED FOR FAITH

Heb 11:1-4

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of 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. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

NIV

We have entered the most famous chapter of this letter to the Hebrews that gives us all the evidence, with all the witnesses of those who were people of faith that pleased God. First, right out of the gate, we are given this great passage which has been quoted mostly in the King James Version; Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The point is the same in all translations. Faith is hope in the firm foundation of the deed that has been done without seeing it, this is how the Greek renders this verse which the various translations give us that essence. First, what are we hoping for that is certain? In two words, eternal life. However, as this is all-inclusive within itself, the truth includes the fact that Jesus is coming back for us, and when he does, those of us who would be fortunate to be alive, will simply rise up in the air, floating up from wherever we might be, disappear in a sense, but yet be invisible so that the rest of the world will see us ascend into the clouds, just as the disciples watched Jesus ascend. If, on the other hand, we die before that happens, then we will rise from the dead, whatever condition our bodies might be in, whether they have completely decomposed to dust, or we have been cremated and our ashes are in some urn or even scattered in the wind, through the power of God, our bodies will rise from whatever grave to meet Jesus in the air. Our hope is in the certain event that we have yet to see, but it is going to be a fact, for we have all the evidence we need, the very word of God. We are going to see many of the ancients commended for their faith. But we first want to focus on the fact that it is by faith we understand the universe was formed at God’s command. Interestingly, we are also told that by faith the universe we see, that is all the suns, which we call stars, and all the planets, all the black holes, and galaxies far away were never there until God spoke them into existence. Everything was void and without form, everything, there was nothing but water that the Spirit moved over. The only place that was real, was where God was, whatever that looked like we have no idea, but by faith, we believe God was there, somewhere and then he started to speak, and everything happened that we now can see. If we do not think all this is true, then our thinking would be foolish, and without faith. We know deep within ourselves everything that is said about creation is true because of the witness of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He testifies to our spirit that our faith in what is real, even if we cannot see it yet, is right, and we are being commended by God because of our faith. 

Living by Faith

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LIVING BY FAITH

Heb 10:32-39

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face 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 sympathized 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. 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 very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

NIV

Although we did not have any real persecution as this author is talking about to those Hebrews this letter was first intended for, we do understand a certain kind of rejection by those we lived in sin with. Once we turned our lives over to Jesus and were filled with such enthusiasm that we wanted to share the good news with them, but they rejected it and did not want to spend any time with us, so we drifted away even to the point of no longer even being an acquaintance. We now have a new life in Christ and became acquainted, well actually family with a whole new set of people, who would stand side by side with us and us with them. We also have not had our property confiscated yet there is a truth here we need to ponder on for a moment. We do have a sense of having our own property. Of course, we buy our own property, our homes, or rent our own space, apartment, condo, etc. We consider our cars as our own and all our stuff, sometimes we have even too much stuff we store our stuff because we have so much. In some sense, we hoard our possessions or stuff, and our money. The truth is all of it belongs to the Lord. We are only temporary caretakers of what God has blessed us with. We have to face the truth that one day none of this stuff, none of our possessions, or how much money we have hoarded we will leave it all behind when we take our last breath. It is true that as long as we are here, we can enjoy the blessings of God, and take advantage of our time to be a benefit to His kingdom, serving both the family of God and the world around us. But the truth is we have a more lasting possession, and we should always be aware Jesus is coming back for us and he will not delay. They may have expected Jesus to come in their lifetime as we might also, when we think that he will not delay. The point is that we should not live in a way that we do not expect Jesus to come at any moment. If we become too invested in our own lives, even our ministry or service in the body of Christ, we might start thinking we will just live out our days, make our plans, do what we do, and what we have planned for, retire someday and eventually go to heaven. But we are not waiting, expecting, or anticipating Jesus to show up at any moment. Have we lost sight because we think he has delayed too long? Nevertheless, we are not going to shrink back, we will continue to live by faith, in expectation of Jesus coming for us, and we will continue to believe day in and day out. We will never give up living by faith. 

Honest Assessment

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

HONEST ASSESSMENT

Heb 10:26-31

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. 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 a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, 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.

NIV

These are dreadful words to consider. However, everything the preacher or the author of this letter is basing these words on is this idea of deliberately keeping on sinning. The Greek makes it fuller, as it means willingly, voluntarily, and of one's own accord. This is not giving in to a temptation from time to time, but simply returning to the way we were before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we confess that we do not sin anymore then we have sinned because of both living a lie and of pride. But to live in sin, acting on every impulse, taking advantage of every pleasure of our flesh, fulfilling our every desire, then we are in danger of this judgment. No, our desire is not to sin, but we cannot keep ourselves absolutely free as we are prisoners in this corruptible body. We hate it when we fail to be perfect and when we give in to any temptation of the flesh. We know better, but we still go ahead with that sin. Sure, it may seem nothing, but having an attitude, being impatient, getting upset, having ill feelings, losing our temper, being unforgiving, holding a grudge, and many other inner feelings that are not outward sins of the body. Those would be the immoral unspeakable sins we do not even want to give credence to. The unholy behavior of living in sin would be a wrong choice we think any believer would not make. Once we turn our life over to Jesus, it is our desire to live a life that is pleasing to God. We would never purposefully trample on Jesus. We would never intentionally insult the Spirit of grace. We would never want to treat the blood of Jesus as an unholy thing. No, No, and No. Yet we also cannot say that we do not sin. The difference is that we hate it when we fall short. Because we are in Christ, assured of our salvation, and being indwelled with the Spirit, we have nothing to fear from the living God. Let us always try to live free from sin, making every effort to free ourselves from those dreadful temptations, however, with an honest understanding of the weakness within, as we live in the grace of God, rather than his wrath. Let us live to have an honest assessment of ourselves. 

Love and Beautiful Works

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LOVE AND BEAUTIFUL WORKS

Heb 10:19-25

19 Therefore, brothers, 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 in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 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. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

NIV

Now that we know about how we enter the Most Holy Place, the presence of God, and having a true heart, we need to contemplate the rest of what we are told by this preacher to the Hebrews. First, we are to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful. The Greek word translated here as unswervingly is a good rendition, but it would be clearer using a more direct meaning, of unmoved, firm, unwavering. We cannot ever have any doubts whatsoever, no matter if our circumstances change, or we are having some trouble, whatever that might be, or we have to deal with the onset of some health issue, we are to hold fast without wavering to one side or the other, but standing firm, taking our stand, standing our ground, firm, without any doubts, in the hope we profess because God is always, as he promised, faithful. We are going to get everything God has promised us. As we are unwavering in our faith we also need to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Interestingly, the word good in Greek means beautiful, with many applications like beautiful to look at, magnificent, good, excellent in nature and characteristics, and therefore adapted to its end. Beautify by reason of purity of heart and life and hence praiseworthy; morally good, noble. This is all wrapped up in this one word, good. In other words, if we are thinking correctly, when we see someone doing an act that benefits the kingdom of God, it is beautiful to look at. On the other hand, if we see someone doing an act that benefits them, or lifts themselves up, being boastful and prideful in what they are doing, it is not beautiful to look at because it is not good work. This applies to us as well, so that we must always serve with a pure heart, humbly doing that which benefits the kingdom of God. All that is within this "spur each other on toward love and good deeds". Then all the while we are spurring each other on, we are also to keep meeting together, which we do. However, what we also see is some are not fulfilling that call. Some have dropped away because either their feeling were hurt, or they get distracted by the things of this world, or we have also seen age and infirmities cause people to just sit not making any effort to get to gather with other believers, to spur others on toward love and good works, Perhaps, because of infirmities it just becomes impossible, then we believers, need to meet with them to spur them on, Maybe even when we do gather, we are so inward in our thinking, so self-absorbed with our own situation in life, or so self-absorbed in our own good deeds, becoming prideful and boastful that we fail to spur each other on. Let us always be aware of this command of our Lord, to never fail to gather together for the expressed reason to spur each other on toward, first and foremost, love, then beautiful acts that benefit the kingdom of God. 

Full Assurance

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

FULL ASSURANCE

Heb 10:19-25

19 Therefore, brothers, 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 in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 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. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

NIV

We have absolutely nothing to fear if we have complete confidence to enter the Most Holy Place because we do so by the blood of Jesus. In the old covenant, we were told that on that one day of atonement, the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, but he wore bells in his garment, and a rope around his ankle just in case God was not pleased with his offering or that he was not holy enough, or sprinkled enough blood of a bull, and stuck him dead. The other priests could drag him out. However, we have nothing to fear or worry about as we enter that Most Holy Place, because we have been washed in the blood of Jesus, and there is power in the blood. We are not separated from God by any veil or curtain so that we can draw near to God with a sincere heart full of assurance of faith. It is interesting the Greek word translated as sincere, has a more direct meaning of a true or truthful heart. This begs the question of if we may come to God without a truthful heart. How can we think that we could deceive or withhold some truth about ourselves from God? Does he not know our every thought? Then we draw near to God, when we come to him in prayer, are we not supposed to talk with him about everything that is going on within us. We are told here that we can have this full assurance or entire confidence because our hearts have been sprinkled, in the blood of Jesus, to cleanse us from a guilty or evil conscience having our bodies washed with pure water. We know that when we fall short, when we yield to some temptation, whatever that might be, we start to feel bad, or guilty and we pray, but with some trepidation. But that is not what we are told, we have been washed in the blood and cleansed and we can enter in the very presence of God with a true heart, confessing our weakness, without fear of judgment, for God sees us as Holy and blameless through the blood of Jesus. God is always faithful to forgive us because he has already done so with the blood of Jesus and there is power in the blood. We are living in his grace, in his love, in his fullness of faithfulness. Even when we are not as faithful as we should be, he is always faithful. All our confidence and hope are in Jesus. We have no confidence in ourselves, and our faithfulness is unsteady, but he is pure and true all the time so we can have full assurance in his faithfulness, We will leave this spurring each other on for later, as we simply are full of joy, in full assurance in our being able to enter the Most Holy Place with a true heart. 

Living In Grace

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LIVING IN GRACE

Heb 10:15-18

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, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

NIV

We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us; thus, we know this testimony. We know this covenant. We know deep down within the very core of our being the law of God. We know how we are supposed to live, but are we living in the manner God desires us to live? We have deep within us the whole of the word of God for if we have read it, it is somewhere within the banks of our memory. However, that is not the law that God has put on our hearts. He has not put all the requirements of the law that was given to Moses within our hearts. That law required a daily sacrifice for our sins, and the Holy Spirit testifies that God will not remember our lawless acts of sin anymore. Because we are forgiven, we are forgiven forever. It is difficult for us to understand how God will remember our sins no more. It is difficult to think that God would not remember anything, for he is God and knows all things. Because we humans cannot come to the place where we will not remember the offenses of others against us, we have a struggle thinking that God, who knows all, including our hearts and minds, would say that he will not remember our sins. That is grace personified, a grace we humans are incapable of having within. Still, to consider, as we have before, that we are absolutely free from the penalty of sin for all eternity. Although we do not know eternity yet, what we can know is that we are free from that penalty for the rest of our lives. Jesus paid the price for our sins by that one and final act of sacrifice with his own blood so that by the blood of the Lamb all sin has been forgiven. That means past, present, and future sin. This does not mean we are free to go and find every possible way to sin. That is not the freedom we have to live in. Of course, we want to live to please God. After all his laws have been written on our hearts. We know right from wrong. We know what sin is, and we make every effort to avoid it, to avoid those temptations, although at times we fail and fall short of that mark. Our efforts are not perfect because we are weak humans. Why then do we build a façade of perfection for other people. We do see some Christians living as though they never sin, giving off that super spiritual appearance of being holy and righteous. Is not pride a sin? Is not self-righteousness a sin? We know we do not hold any illusions of perfection because of our humanness, our weaknesses, our failures, and our inability to forget the sins of those who offend us. Even that sounds terrible to think someone offended us. Because we think we are offended might be due to thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. “How dare you hurt my feelings; don’t you know who I am”? Yes, we are human, and praise God, although we offend Him, He will not remember it. He will never bring up our sins before us, ever. Even when we stand before him for the last and final judgment, He will not remember our sins, but because we are in Christ, because we remained faithful to Jesus, He will say, “Enter into my rest, good and faithful servant”. That is living in the freedom of His grace. 

Live Free

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LIVE FREE

Heb 10:1-14

10:1 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 If it could, 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 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 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, O God.'"  8 First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). 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. 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 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

NIV

It cannot be any plainer than what this author, this preacher said right here. Over and over this preacher is making the same point and if we do not get it, we will never get it. The Old Covenant with the daily sacrifices and the annual big day of atonement just could not do anything but remind the people they are guilty of sin, and continue to be guilty of sin endlessly year after year, and even day after day with the priest performing their religious duties of offering the blood of bulls and goats to take away their sins. How imperfect that system was, yet it was perfect in the sense that it showed the people they needed Christ, the Messiah, the Savior who would come to take away their and our sins once and for all. Jesus set aside the first covenant with all its laws, and all its requirements that could not make the people holy, and he established the second covenant that is so perfect there could not be anything more perfect. Because Jesus offered himself and in that one time, we have been made holy. Because we believe in Jesus, that is we have him as our Lord and Savior, our Master, our God, he has made us perfect forever because we are the ones he has made holy. We know at the present time we may not think of ourselves as being perfect for we know sin still grabs hold of us. How can we, who cannot stop committing sin, be holy and perfect forever? The point is that all men, in our fleshly form, being in a sense descendants of Adam, have sin within us. But offerings made by man cannot solve our problem of being cast out of paradise. Jesus is the only one who can and did make that sacrifice and because we accepted Him we became a descendant of God, through faith in Jesus we now have the right to be called children of God. Through faith in Jesus, we changed our ancestry from the first Adam to the Second Adam, Jesus. Because we are now a child of God, a descendant of Jesus, we have been made holy and righteous in the sight of God. He does not see our sin, because it has been taken away, and we have been made perfect because we are in Christ and He is in us. The guilt has also been removed forever. What we see and what God sees are not the same thing. The guilt we want to feel, God has not put upon us, but it is from our enemy that one day will be nothing more than a footstool for Jesus. Let us live as free as Jesus intends us to be, and see ourselves as God does, his children, co-heirs with Jesus of the everlasting paradise with eternal life, because we have been made holy and perfect in the sight of God. 

We Are Waiting!

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

WE ARE WAITING

Heb 9:16-28

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 commandment 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 man-made sanctuary 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 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

NIV

How else are we going to have the forgiveness of our sins, unless there is blood that is shed? It is clear that without the shedding of blood, there is absolutely no forgiveness of our sins. Again, we are faced with the comparison between the old way for the forgiveness of sins and the new way. Of course, the old way had to be done over and over again every day, all day, the priests would slaughter sacrifices on the altar shedding the blood of goats, lambs, bulls, doves, or whatever the determined correct sacrifice was called for depending on the sins committed. However, it was still the shedding of that blood that was the needed action. Moses had to sprinkle blood on the Tabernacle and everything in it to purify or cleanse it. We live without the commands or the law of the Old Covenant because Jesus became the eternal sacrifice for all the sins of the world. Jesus did not have to suffer over and over again, like the animals did under the old covenant, by the hands of the priests, or the hands of men. Jesus went to the cross and shed his blood by the hand of God. Of course, men carried out the actions, but it was at the command and the hand of God that caused it all to happen so that the shedding of blood once and for all was accomplished by God himself. How blessed we are to have a high priest who entered the heavenly Tabernacle by the shedding of his own blood so that our sins are always forgiven forever and ever. We are free from the penalty of sin, free from death. We will have to lay this body down, it must die, for it has yet to be transformed from corruptible to incorruptible nor from perishable to imperishable, nor from mortal to immortal, but the day is coming because unlike those who are still living in this dark world, we are living in the light of Christ, and we are waiting for him to appear a second time to bring us our complete salvation. A day is coming when He will call us to rise up and meet Him in the air. We are waiting and watching with great expectation when that day will come. In the meantime, we are now the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, and we sacrifice ourselves as a living sacrifice which is our reasonable act of worship, while we wait for his return. And we are waiting! We have not busied ourselves with the things of this world, although we must live here until Jesus comes for us, but we are waiting! 

Fading or Lasting

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

FADING OR LASTING

Heb 9:1-15

9:1 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, the table and the 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 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 standing. 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. 11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, 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, having obtained 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! 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.

NIV

Things that are made by men will someday fade away, but that which is made by God is eternal and will never fade away. This is the story of that which was made as instructed by God under the old covenant. Even the tabernacle and all the furniture made of fine gold and the ark of the covenant with all its glory did not last. What happened to that tent of meeting where Moses met with God face to face no one knows, it is gone, completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Then when Solomon was instructed to build a more permanent temple made of stone, tiles, and much gold with its thickly woven curtain dividing the holy of holies from the rest of the temple, it too was destroyed and disappeared from the face of the earth, in fact, even the ark, with its mercy seat and all its belongings is lost, never to be found anywhere. It is interesting how we people build so many things thinking we have built them to last. Even though, indeed, some of the ancient structures like the great pyramids of Egypt will someday fade away from the face of the earth. Everything that has been done under the old covenant is no more because it was only temporary and never accomplished the will of God totally and eternally. However, Jesus accomplished it all and did so for all eternity. We serve a high priest who entered the heavenly Holy of Holies and sat down at the right hand of the Father. All sacrifices, all the actions or works of men, sprinkling the blood of animals came to an end. There is nothing more we can do to atone for our sins, for anything man ever did was temporary and useless. However, what Jesus did was perfect, useful, and complete in satisfying everything needed for the eternal atonement for our sins. Why then do we still think that we must do something to gain holiness? Why do we continue to think our works of good deeds have any value to our salvation? Perhaps our thinking is that because we believe and want to serve our Lord through works gives us some reward in heaven. Maybe we work because James tells us that our faith is dead without work. But, at best our work can only be temporary for our lives in this world are temporary. Our works will not last, just like the tabernacle or the temple lasted, all things will fade away, except what Jesus did. Our lives are secure in Jesus. Our lives are permanent in Jesus. Our lives will last forever because of Jesus, and so our faith in Jesus is all that will count in the heavenly realms as we enter the place Jesus prepared for us. Our faithfulness is not dependent on that which will not last, but only in our faith which will last forever, because we have faith in our eternal High Priest, Jesus. 

The Old and the New

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

THE OLD AND THE NEW

Heb 8:7-13

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 time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers 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 make with the house 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 a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, '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 aging will soon disappear.

NIV         

There was no way they could keep that old covenant because it was based on complete and total obedience with no mistakes, no failures, but only perfection. It was a written code that laid out exact laws that were nonnegotiable. How could any human in the flesh obey them perfectly? In fact, that law included the precise sacrifice needed to atone for each type of sin or failure in obeying the code of conduct described within the law. This is the same reason we could have never fulfilled that law because we too are but weak humans unable to attain any form of perfection or righteousness by our own abilities. However, we live within this new covenant where Jesus fulfilled all the laws for us and became the perfect sacrifice for all our sins forevermore. Nothing more can or needs to be done so that we are now righteous because we are in Christ. We have the assurance that our sins will no longer be remembered.  No matter if we fail, or fall short of perfection and yield to some temptation committing a sin against God, He will not remember it, that is, He will never bring it up to us ever. He will not remind us our any of our acts of disobedience, as he did with the Israelites who lived under that old covenant. They were so disobedient to the law, that God turned away from them. But, we do not have to worry or be concerned about God ever turning away from us, because when Jesus took all our sins upon himself, God did not turn away from him because that was when He established the new covenant with his people, his creation, those He made in their own image. We can live free from the old and live holy and blameless in the new. Again, that covenant with the law is like a mirror that shows us how dirty and sinful we are, but the grace in this new covenant is the soap that cleanses us completely so that we are pure and righteous in the sight of God. We do wonder, however, why we still need to hear about the word, or about God, because he said all will know him. Perhaps all can know him if they allow him to cleanse them in the blood of Jesus. There are still people who need to hear about Jesus and who will tell them if someone is not sent to tell them. There are still believers who need to hear about their life in Christ and more about the character of God and how he interacts with his creation and who will tell them if someone is not sent. Yet, the point is that we all can know God, and know him fully because we have the Holy Spirit within us revealing all truth to our hearts and minds. Let us leave that which is obsolete behind us, and move forward with God as we live within the new covenant established by Jesus on that cross. Let us live free and clear of those rules and regulations that kill us, that need us to sacrifice, and live totally in Christ by faith and faith alone. Someday we will be perfect, but until then we have Jesus, the grace of God. Therefore, we live in his grace. Out with the old, in with the new. 

Better Promises

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

BETTER PROMISES

Heb 8:1-6

8:1 The 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 man. 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 men 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 the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

NIV

There is no question there is a perfect tabernacle in the heavenly realm, and according to the revelation that was given to John the perfect tabernacle is coming down out of heaven to be upon the new earth. This is the place that Jesus promised that he was going to prepare for us. How can any of the churches compare to this Tabernacle set up by the Lord?  No matter how much of the glorious things of this earth we use to build our church, and fill it with the beautiful things of this earth, even as one of the greatest churches, St Peters, in Rome, as it is filled with gold and other precious things, do not compare to the tabernacle our Lord has set up in the heavenly realms. However, the point this author is making is Jesus has set up a new covenant that is superior to the old covenant. It looks to us like the old covenant was set up with promises, but the covenant Jesus set up is with better promises. We have the best of the best, the highest of highs, the superior to anything or anyone, as our mediator of the best covenant there could ever be. Within this covenant we have life, and life more abundantly. Of course, the abundantly refers to eternal life. there could be nothing in this world that could compare to being as an abundant life than as eternal life. This covenant promises us that we will be resurrected from the dead, and we will meet our Lord in the air, and from there at some point when our Lord is ready, we will come back to live on the new earth and within the greatest tabernacle ever, as He will be all the Light the world will ever need. Nothing man could even conceive, and build could never even come close to that which God has conceived and built. Can man build anything like this earth? God just spoke it into what it is. What we think is so amazing is that men even think that they can have an effect on what God builds. How can we have any effect on the tabernacle God established? The Greek word used here as tabernacle means a tent, a habitat, or a dwelling place, such as the temple Solomon built for the dwelling place of God among men. Yet, who can create a new man? True we can multiply and have offspring, but we cannot create man as God did when he formed us from the clay with his own hands and breathed his very breath into our lungs. Because we have been made by God and are, in fact, the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is one more of those perfect promises of this new covenant, we have been blessed beyond measure because we have decided to follow Jesus and there is no turning back. We serve the Lord, as He serves us within the Tabernacle in the heavenly realms making continual intercession for us. He is our mediator of the new covenant of grace we live within, one with better promises. 

Look To Jesus

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LOOK TO JESUS

Heb 7:11-28

11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), 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 there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. 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. 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 guarantee of a better covenant. 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 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 who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

NIV

This is a huge chunk of scripture, but it is impossible to divide it because it completes the argument of the supremacy of Jesus over the law or the difference between the imperfect method of attaining righteousness and the perfect way. Although God established the law for the people of Israel and gave them a priesthood that was always from the descendent of Aaron, from the tribe of Levi, the Lion from Judah was the last priest who brought about the end of sacrifices, for He became the perfect sacrifice forever and all sins forever. The author clarifies that the law is set aside because it was and still is weak and useless, for it cannot ever make us perfect. The question that plagues us is something about this imperfect, weak, and useless law. Are the Ten Commandments part of this useless and weak law? Are they the basis for the whole of the law? We know Jesus reiterated many points of the Ten Commandments making them seen in another sense, such as hatred equal to murder, so we should not hate. Jesus did make a point about honoring our parents but also made a point that anyone who loves his father and mother more than Him, is not worthy of Him. Surely, we would not worship any other God, but what do we treasure, or value? Do we not put value on or worth or trust in our financial status for our future? Are we not paying attention to things of the Old Covenant, which is imperfect, rather than living totally under the New Covenant Jesus established, a perfect covenant of love based on faith. So why then do we still want to quote or base our lives on those old weak and useless commandments, when all we need to base our lives on is Jesus? It is a question that causes us to ponder deeply. Which or who do we put our trust in. We know our salvation and our resurrection into eternal life depend solely on faith in Jesus. No works whatsoever have any bearing on our eternal life. So then why do we want to put trust in the Old Testament law, including the Ten Commandments for our righteousness, or right style of living? Is that what makes us a better Christian, or defines us as being a Christian? It seems right we would want to obey those Commandments. But then can we do that perfectly? If we fail, then what? So then why would we not want to put all our trust in Jesus, and live by faith and faith alone, trusting completely in the grace of God? This is our life, He is the one who gives us life and brings us eternal life. There is no law, no commandment that can give us life, or give us eternal life. It seems this might be the answer to that question that plagues us. Let us look to Jesus. He is all we need. 

To Him Who is Greater

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

TO HIM WHO IS GREATER

Heb 7:4-10

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, their brothers — even though their brothers 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 person is blessed by the greater. 8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by men 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.

NIV

We are still in this argument the author is making about the supremacy of Jesus as he uses Melchizedek as greater to Levi who represents the law. Once again, we are faced with grace that is greater than law. However, in this part of the argument the author is using the paying of a tenth and that Levi, still being in the body of Abraham paid a tenth to him who is without beginning or end of life. We know this is not about making our tithe a law, as many churches have sort of done by default. Our tithe is in some sense a tenth of our spoils of war, as we are out in the world fighting for our position in the world. We fight to gain our income in a sense, so it is our spoils of war. However, the point here is that we should not make the tithe into a law, it should be given out of  love. We do not give to the church for it is not greater then us. We are a descendant of God, because we have been given the right to be called children of God. However, we give our tenth to He who is greater then we are, who is God. Yet, in reality we give it to the church and for the most part it is used to support the administration and upkeep of the church. Nevertheless, this has no meaning within this argument the author is making. The whole point is that Jesus is greater than the law, in fact, Jesus is superior to all things, and that we need to live by grace which comes through faith in Jesus, rather than being bogged down in laws of our own making. Because Jesus fulfilled all the law,  and because we live in Jesus, just as Levi was living in Abraham while he paid the tenth to Him who is greater, we have fulfilled the law. Because we have fulfilled the law, we can truly live in grace, for Jesus is grace personified. We can look at the law, as a mirror which shows that our life is dirty, and then we have grace as the soap that cleanses us so we are clean as the fresh driven snow, without spot or blemish, holy and blameless in the sight of God. Why then would we want to return to a law-based life, as those Jews were considering? We wonder if we have established our rules to live by as a substitute for living by faith. Have we turned our faith into a life of works, driven by the need to prove how good a Christian we are? Have we turned works into a law and forgot about our faith, our living in Christ, and because we are in Him we are righteous in the sight of God, and so we live by faith, and we serve Him who is greater then we are. But let us not turn our service to Him, to His kingdom into a law other than a law of love. Everything we do for the benefit of the kingdom comes from our love for Jesus. 

Honor the King

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

HONOR THE KING

Heb 7:1-3

7:1 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, his name 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, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

NIV

This is all rather strange about this person, Melchizedek being someone who was without a father or a mother, and without genealogy, who had no beginning or end of days. We are told he is, and we use the presence tense because he is without end of life, the king of Salem. The Hebrew word for Salem was the early name of Jerusalem, although some of our scholars of old thought he lived as king of Shechem. Nevertheless, no one knows about the king of Salem, this king of peace, this king of righteousness without beginning or end of life. It sure sounds to us as though Abraham was met by God himself in the flesh. We cannot be sure whether Abraham was met by Jesus or by the Father, but for someone to hold the title of king of righteousness and peace must be God. Jesus was given the title of King of the Jews, with Jerusalem being the head city, thus Jesus would be the king of Jerusalem or king of Salem. Of course, this is all supposition without having any proof whatsoever other than the influence of the Spirit. Our scholars of old did not make that kind of connection but considered this tenth of the spoils of war being nothing more than a custom of those days. Of course, we Christians have turned it into meaning we are obligated to tithe to the church. Abraham gave a man, a priest who blessed him, a tenth of the spoils of war. This is all in the account given in Genesis 14. What is interesting is that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine when he blessed Abraham. Jesus used the bread and wine at that last meal with his disciples that we have turned into our communion, although we insist on using grape juice. But we still come back to this high priest of God Most High. This blessing included the fact that it was God who delivered Abraham's enemies into his hands. If there is anything we can take from this, it is the fact that God is the one who delivers all things into our hands. If we think we have created our own slice of life, with all our possessions because of all our abilities, skills, or education, we are sadly deceived, for all we have is given to us by the hand of God, and all we are is due to the hand of God, and all we do is empowered by the hand of God. Because that is true, then we should give God Almighty, the Most High, and tenth of all our spoils of labor, and of course, the church stands as the agency of God, or at least it should, so we follow what Abraham did and what Melchizedek did. Let us give our Lord God all the glory, all the honor, and praise He and He alone is due. 

Anchored

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

ANCHORED

Heb 6:16-20

16 Men 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. 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 offered to 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 Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

NIV

What we first notice is this unchanging nature of his purpose. The fact that God has always had the same purpose that was from the beginning and will be forevermore. He confirmed this oath he made by his own name, for there is no name greater then his. When God makes a promise, it will be an everlasting promise that we can live confidently that promise will be fulfilled because it is impossible for God to lie. That seems strange to say there is something impossible for God, because we have been told nothing is impossible for God, but of course, that is when He is compared to what men can do for what is impossible for us men, is not impossible for God. He is the Almighty with an inescapable great power. However, because the very nature of God is truth, for He is the only pure undeniable truth. Every word that has and will proceed from his mouth is the truth and nothing but the truth. We are greatly encouraged by this one unchanging truth because we have a promise from Jesus that he has prepared a place for us and that he is coming back to take us to that place so that we can be where he is. This is an anchor for our soul. When we consider the task of an anchor on a large ship and how when it is dropped to the water’s bottom, it keeps the ship from being moved by the current or the changing waves. It fastens the ship to one place. This is what the promise of God does for our souls. It anchors us in one place, so we are not blown around by ever wind of doctrine, or ever current of the culture we live in. We live firm and secure with every fiber of our being that we are going to enter the Holy of Holies, the very place where God dwells because Jesus went before us behind the curtain, in fact, that curtain, that veil was torn in two giving us full complete unobstructed assess to the Holy of Holiness, God himself. There is nothing which keeps us from entering into His presence, and within that reality, His presence dwells within us, for we are the temple of God. How much more can we be confident witth the truth of truths, to the unchanging nature of God, as the Holy Spirit makes his home within us. He is the one who confirms all the truth to us, as he testifies within us by his own name, and the name of the Father and the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us live confidently, boldly and with courageous endurance completely convinced of our resurrection to rise into the very presence of God, dwelling in paradise forevermore. By the truth of God we are anchored. 

Waiting Patiently

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

WAITING PATIENTLY

Heb 6:13-15

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.

NIV

Although this is part of a greater argument showing the supremacy of Jesus over the law, which those Hebrews this letter was first written to were leaning toward, we also find an eternal truth beneficial to all who live as Abraham did. This is another place we can see the faith of Abraham that we know because of his faith, God counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham lived before the law was given and before Jesus came to earth as a man, yet God imputed righteousness to him because of his faith. Because of our faith in Jesus, we have this same righteousness imputed upon us. Jesus is our righteousness, we must be in Christ as He must be in us. Therefore, we live by the same faith Abraham did and have the same righteousness as Abraham did, we are his descendants. We, like Abraham, are waiting with courageous endurance for the promise that has been given to us. First, God has promised us eternal life if we believe in the one He sent, Jesus. It is by faith we are saved and not by any works whatsoever, so that we cannot boast about ourselves, but only boast in Jesus. We also have been promised by Jesus that he would prepare a place for us and come back to take us to that place so that we can be where He is. We have more promises, but those two are the greatest of all we, like Abraham did, wait patiently and we will receive what was promised. We do wonder how Abraham waited patiently. What did he do in the meantime while waiting? Certainly, he did not just sit around waiting, although we know that Sarah was impatient and gave her servant Hagar to Abraham and she bore him a son who became Ishmael. Yet the promise of God brought Abraham and Sarah their son Isaac, whom God told Abraham to sacrifice, and through his actions of faith, God counted it to him as righteousness. What we learn here is that our faith is also linked to our actions, although the work does not produce our salvation, we cannot just sit around waiting but must sacrifice ourselves as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God, which include our actions, which some would call our works. We also know these actions cannot stop. Can we retire from serving our Lord? Can we quit our actions because we get old? We have too many Old & New Testament men of faith, who served God until he took them home. Let us continue with courageous endurance and wait patiently to receive what was promised to us. 

Diligence to the Very End

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

DILIGENCE TO THE VERY END

Heb 6:9-12

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case — things that accompany 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, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

NIV

How can we become lazy? Is it possible that in the beginning of our new life in Christ, we were so excited to be freed from the penalty of death, and wanted to serve the lord with our whole heart, but as the years wore on, our enthusiasm for serving the Lord dwindled? Maybe it is a natural phenomenon that happens with age, following the current culture we live in. Because we are expected to retire at a certain age and we think that also means working for the kingdom of God. However, the writer to the Hebrews wants us to show the same diligence to the very end, in order to make our hope sure. Does that mean if we are not showing the same diligence in our older years that we had in our youth, we lose our hope in the Lord as well? This just will not do. We will continue to serve the Lord wholeheartedly until we take our last breath. We can never retire from doing the Lord’s work, or His calling on our lives. We cannot become one of the old people who just come to church to occupy the same place in the same pew each Sunday and then go home and be the typical retiree who does nothing the rest of the week. Even if we are still employed, and busy as a beaver during the week, have we lost our excitement about Jesus, and our salvation because of the distractions of life? No, it does not matter our age, or our situations in life, we are to continue to love the Lord with our whole being and serve him, following our calling until we simply cannot move on. Indeed, someday our bodies are simply going to wear out, and we must give in to that day when our bodies quit on us, and we take that last breath. Until then, we must show the same diligence to the very end. In the immortal words of Winston Churchill, “We will Never give up.” How can we ever give up serving our Lord for He saved us from our sins, wiped them clean, cleansing us in the blood of Jesus so we are white as snow, being holy and blameless in the sight of God? We cannot, we must show our diligence to the end, for we will outlast our bodies and live on for eternity with our Lord. In that sense, we have no end, and yet as far as this body is concerned, we will work it until the end, in service to our Lord. 

Being Useful

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

BEING USEFUL

Heb 6:7-8

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.

NIV

We will get more on this as we proceed with what this author, through the inspiration of the Spirit, has said regarding this matter, but it would be good for us to ponder on this first. We have often been compared to a tree that produces good fruit, and trees that do not are cut down and thrown into the fire, but here we are compared to the land. The rain must be the goodness of God, and most likely would be the blessings the land received through Jesus. He is rained down upon the land, and as we soak up that rain, or accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we also are being rained down upon by the Holy Spirit, and as we soak in the rain, we produce what is useful for the kingdom of God, because He is the,  for whom it is farmed. God is blessed when we produce what is useful to Him, and His kingdom. But of course, that would also mean we are useful to others who live in the kingdom, and it would also be appropriate for us to be useful to those who live outside the kingdom, showing them the blessing of being a child of God. It is sad to think about those who live outside the kingdom because they only produce thorns and thistles that are useless to the farmer, who is God, and they are in danger ending up cursed and thrown into the fire, that lake of burning sulfur. However, the challenge we must face is we believers, the land Jesus and the Spirit are rained upon need to produce a crop useful to the kingdom. That means we are not supposed to sit and soak in our pews and look good but are not producing what we should. The question is, what do we do that is useful for the kingdom of God? It is great to get together with other believers and chat about whatever, and hopefully about the word of God, but we have noticed even that is lacking in our conversations. However, just getting together is not a benefit to the kingdom unless we are building each other in the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. If we are doing all that when we gather then we would be useful. The question is are we doing that, or do we look for our own benefit in some way, lifting ourselves up, and boasting about our works, which does not build anyone else, but perhaps creates attitudes and feelings that are also not beneficial to the kingdom. Let us allow the rain to fall upon us, soak it in, and produce a useful crop for the kingdom. 

Stay or Quit

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

STAY OR QUIT

Heb 6:4-6

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 if 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.

NIV

These are harsh words, however, if we ponder on what we have, these words are beautiful. First, we are among the enlightened. Our eyes have been opened, and we have been given the light, or come into the light. We know the light and the difference between darkness and light. Secondly, we are also among those who have tasted the heavenly gift, that is we have enjoyed the flavor of what is in heaven. We have not yet been given the fullness of heaven, the complete meal, but we tasted it and have understood all the goodness of heaven. Oh, taste and see, the Lord is good. Thirdly, we have shared in the Holy Spirit, which is an incredible gift, to know and feel the influence and power of the Spirit as he dwells within us. He manifests His gifts, through us, giving them according to His will, to each of us. Then if that is not enough, He works within us to exhibit His fruit so that others can enjoy His fruit from our lives. Fourth, we have tasted the goodness of the word of God, as it has brought us to salvation, and it has revealed the character and truth of God, so we can know His love for us, and it has revealed the coming age with all the powers of eternity to us. Simply put, we are a blessed people, in fact, blessed more than we can fully comprehend. Nevertheless, we live with the power of God in our lives, with all the fullness of Jesus in us. Now for the harshness of what happens if a believer decides to step away from God and turn back to that life of darkness. Simply put, it is impossible for them to come back. They might think they can, but God will not allow them back into the heavenly realm. It is difficult to think that God would block their return because he is a loving and forgiving God, but He is also a just God, and He will not allow those who have had it all, to give it up, turn away from or give back the heavenly gift, throw out the Holy Spirit, spit out the word of God, and refuse or throw away the power of the coming age, to come back to Him, because they would be crucifying Jesus all over again, and subjecting him to public disgrace. They would be showing this dark world the things of God are useless and unimportant, or meaningless, something that was ok but does not have much merit. Spitting in the face of God, so to speak. With that in mind, let us always be in the hands of God, always walking by His side, always experiencing all He has for us, in us, and through us until we step into the age to come. 

Live Accordingly

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

LIVE ACCORDINGLY

Heb 6:1-3

6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.

NIV

There are some fundamental beliefs we believers hold to, although we still have discussions regarding some of these mentioned by the author of this letter. It would be good for us to examine each of these, but the author will do that for us as we proceed through the letter. However, let us remind ourselves of these basic truths. First, we know we have left the life that led to death because we disobeyed God, although we were ignorant of the truths of God, acting purely on our evil nature. Having found Jesus or rather having Jesus intervene in our lives, and reveal himself to us, changing the course of our lives from the road to death to the road that leads to life. Now we live having faith in God. We have put our lives in the hands of God, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savoir. We know the truth of baptism and how it is an act of following Jesus and is usually used as a public sign of our confession of faith, although we think the church added that usual part. When Jesus was baptized, he did not make a public confession of his faith in himself, but the Father did declare publicly Jesus was his Son whom he loved, and the Spirit descended upon Jesus. So then if we are truly following Jesus in baptism, we would think God and the Spirit would have the major role, rather than our feeble voice. However, it is always good to declare our faith in Jesus publicly, rather than just among other believers, while we are being baptized. As far as this laying on of hands, the denominations we are familiar with have forsaken this truth. We do, on occasion ask for those who need to be anointed with oil to come and at least we do anoint with the sign of a cross on their forehands, but that is not the laying on our hands as the scripture is speaking of. We have experienced this on occasion, as when we send forth someone on a special task, or journey when we ask the congregation to come forward and lay hands on them as we pray for them. We have seen this done in a former church we belonged to, but it seems to have gone away. When it comes to the resurrection, we believe all of us have a sound understanding that we will experience this at some time in the future and that all people, both good and bad, will stand before God for judgment. However, there may be some misinformation about what we are judged for. We believe we are not judged for either our sins or our good deeds, but strictly on the fact of our faith in Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God, and we are considered the sheep or lambs of God because we are in Jesus. We will,  as we are now, be seen by God as holy and blameless, and thus we will enter into His rest. Those who refused to accept Jesus will be judged solely on that fact alone and will be cast out not being allowed to enter His rest, and that judgment will last for eternity. Let us always live aware of the truth of God, and live accordingly.