October 18, 2007 –
It is impossible for those who have been once been
enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in
the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God
and the powers of the coming age, 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.
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. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless
and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of
better things in your case – things that accompany salvation.
Hebrews 6: 4 – 9 (NIV)
The serious warnings in
these verses are given in the context of encouragement and
comfort. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are
confident of better things in your case – things that accompany
salvation. The author is persuaded that those he is writing
to will not fall away from God. He is trying to encourage them to
grow to maturity. God sends warnings not to discourage us but to
get our attention and stir us up. To make our hope in Christ more
certain we must continue to grow. Are you growing or dying?
Spend time daily with
Jesus. Let Him minister to you, love you and speak to you.
July 13, 2007 – 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, instruction about baptisms, the
laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal
judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6: 1 –
3 (NIV)
Every believer is encouraged to press on to
maturity in Christ. This means we should build on the basic
foundation we know already, not forgetting the elementary
teachings. Some of the elementary teachings listed here include:
repentance from acts that lead to death (or repentance from dead
works), faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of
hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
So what are some of these elementary
teachings mentioned in Hebrews? Works done apart from God
are spiritually dead works. They may be morally good works but
they are still spiritually dead. Faith in God means that
we no longer look to ourselves or our own works to be right with
God. We are to trust in Jesus Christ alone. Both the Old and New
Testaments contain instructions about baptisms. There are
many baptisms mentioned in the Old Testament and a variety of
baptisms mentioned in the New Testament. Understanding these
baptisms helps us understand the gospel and God’s grace. The
laying on of hands is another elementary teaching mentioned
here. In the Old Testament one would lay hands on a sacrifice to
identify with it. In the early church often the Holy Spirit was
given by the laying on of hands. Healing and ordination also
involved the laying on of hands. The resurrection of the dead
and eternal judgment are also important elementary
teachings. Jesus is victorious over death and someday God will
call everyone who has ever lived to account.
How much do you know about these
elementary teachings? Do you need to learn more about them?
Are you going on to maturity in Christ Jesus?
June 29, 2007
– We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain
because you are slow to learn. 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! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not
acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food
is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to
distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5: 11 – 14 (NIV)
Jesus Christ from His
position of maturity reaches out to us in love to help us. In the
same way we should be maturing so that we can help others learn
and grow. The writer of Hebrews encourages those he writes to
master the Word of God. By now they should have been far more
advanced in experiencing the rest and grace of God. By now they
should have been ready for solid food. By now they should have
been mature teachers but they still needed to be taught the basics
of the gospel themselves. The prolonged immaturity of God’s
people really bothered the writer of Hebrews. They were lazy and
slow to learn.
How would you describe
your spiritual appetite? Do you only let someone else feed you
milk? Can you feed yourself? Do you just nibble a little bit of
food occasionally? Or do you consistently feed on the solid food
of God and His Word?
Our
souls are designed to be constantly fed.
May 18, 2007
– Every high priest is
selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in
matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are
going astray, since he himself is subject to weaknesses. This is
why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for
the sins of the people. No one takes this honor upon himself; he
must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not
take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God
said to Him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
And He says in another place, “you are a priest forever, in the
order of Melchizedek.” During the days of Jesus' life on earth,
He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to
the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of
his reverent submission. Although He was a son, He learned
obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became
the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was
designated by God to be a high priest in the order of
Melchizedek. Hebrews 5: 1
- 10 (NIV)
Jesus Christ is supremely
qualified to be a high priest. Jesus was appointed not as a
temporary high priest, but as a permanent - eternal - high
priest. The sacrifice He offered was Himself. Unlike other
priests, Jesus did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sin.
He is perfectly able to understand and gently minister to us
because of the suffering He experienced. Jesus suffered greatly.
He experienced death, felt the intense pain of spiritual death,
separation from the presence of God.
These verses give us insight
into prayer. Jesus prayed fervently with tears to be saved out of
death and He was heard. How was Jesus prayer heard and answered?
In one sense the Father's answer was no, Jesus would have to
suffer a horrible painful death. In another sense the answer was
yes, Jesus would rise from the grave never to die again. He was
saved out of death and now sits enthroned as King of Kings at the
right hand of God. We now have the hope of eternal life because
of His death and resurrection. God's eternal purposes were
accomplished through the suffering, death and resurrection of
Jesus.
God often
answers our prayers in ways that may at first not seem like an
answer at all. We may be close to despair. But, God's answer is
often to bring life out of death. Have you experienced a loss?
The death of a dream or vision? Deep disappointment or pain?
Jesus Christ is a high priest who understands. Our Lord is a God
who brings life even out of death.
Suffering comes in many forms; the worst is feeling that we have
been abandoned by God. When this happens understand that this is
not the reality of your situation.
Jesus experienced forsakenness, but
was never forsaken by God. Cling to
Jesus Christ, you will never actually be forsaken.
May 10,
2007 – There remains,
then a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters
God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from
his. Let us therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so
that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart. Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God's
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
Him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a
great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne
of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4: 9 - 16 (NIV)
God’s
sees what he has made. He describes it as good. God sees all
things. Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God's
sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before God's eyes.
His word is active and living
and can penetrate our hearts. His Word cuts us apart at the
innermost place. As God’s people we can now approach God. We
don’t have to offer animal sacrifices at an altar. We have the
Word of God and we are living sacrifices (Romans 12: 1). When we
come under conviction of sin from meditating on God's Word we have
Jesus Christ, a high priest, to whom we can go to with anything
because He can sympathize with us, understand us and cleanse us
from every sin.
Do not be
afraid when you think of God wielding the knife of His Word and
cutting you apart. The priest handling the knife is Jesus Christ
himself. He sees everything clearly. His blood cleanses us from
sin. He loves us deeply. We can trust Him completely. He is the
one who takes up the knife to cut away our sins. When our
suffering under that knife becomes intense we can
approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need. The reward
of God’s rest awaits us.
Entering God's
rest is a benefit of faith in Jesus Christ. To what extent to you
experience God's rest? Reflect and meditate on the idea of
resting in God alone. Thank God for His promise of rest both now
and in the future (in eternity). Thank Him for knowing you and
loving you completely. Thank Him for providing understanding,
grace and mercy.
May 3, 2007 – Who were they who
heard and rebelled? Were they not all those who Moses led out of
Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not
those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom
did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those
who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter,
because of their unbelief. Therefore, since the promise of
entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you
be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the
gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they
heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not
combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest,
just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They
shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished
since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken
about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God
rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he
says, “They shall never enter my rest.” It still remains that
some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel
preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.
Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a
long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if
Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about
another day. Hebrews 3:16 – 4: 8 (NIV)
Who rebelled against God? The people God
delivered from bondage; the people who had seen God miraculously
rescue them and provide for them. They had actually had the
privilege of hearing God speak. They still rebelled. In fact,
they rebelled again and again, until finally God left them to
die. It is not enough to go to church and be exposed to the
Bible. We must respond in trust to God and His Word. Being
delivered from bondage – experiencing deliverance from a powerful
addiction, for example - is not enough. That experience must be
followed by a life of trusting God or it is an empty faith.
God’s gracious promise of rest still
stands. His work has been finished since the creation of the
world. Jesus Christ finished his work of redemption and as a
man entered God’s rest. In union with Jesus Christ we also enter
God’s eternal rest.
God entered his rest after creation, Jesus
Christ entered his rest after his work redemption, we experience
Christ’s rest daily as we trust in his finished work of
redemption, and we will enter our final rest when we finish our
life then enter God’s presence and hear the words “well done”.
Rejoice and delight in meditating on the
incredible promised rest that God has prepared for his children.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what
God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2: 9
April 19, 2007 – See to it,
brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that
turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily,
as long at it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened
by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we
hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has
just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your
hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3: 12 – 15 (NIV)
We are called to follow God and move forward
walking with Jesus. There is always temptation and pressure to
look back and turn away from the living God. We are warned here
about sin’s deceitfulness. People do not set out to fall away
or renounce the Lord; they compromise in small areas and over time
drift into disobedience and unbelief.
We need not fear falling away from God. We
do need to encourage one another often (daily); faithfully feed on
God’s Word and enjoy spending time with Jesus Christ. It is easy
to let the busyness of life keep us from God. When we hear God’s
voice today we are to have open and receptive hearts; we
must not harden our hearts. We need to allow God opportunities to
speak to us daily so we can hear God’s voice today.
“We can choke God’s word with a yawn; we
can hinder the time that should be spent with God by remembering
we have other things to do. “I haven’t time!” Of course you have
time! Take time, strangle some other interests and make time to
realize that the centre of power in your life is the Lord Jesus
Christ and His Atonement.” Oswald Chambers.
April 5, 2007 – So, as the Holy
Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your
hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in
the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty
years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that
generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and
they have not known my ways.’ So I declared in my anger, ‘They
shall not enter my rest.’” Hebrews 3: 7 – 11 (NIV)
How receptive is your heart to God and His
word? When we hear God’s voice today we must not harden
our hearts, but have hearts that are open and receptive to God.
This passage quotes Psalm 95. This Psalm is
a reminder that the very people that God miraculously rescued did
harden their hearts against the Lord. These people had seen God
do amazing miracles and provide food for them (manna). This is
referring to an incident when they had run out of water. They
thought they were testing and trying God (would God provide?), but
God was actually testing them. Would they depend on God? Would
they humbly come to God and ask Him for help? Or would they
accuse God of not providing for them and leaving them to die in
the wilderness?
In their pain they failed the test. Instead
of crying out to God, they cried out against God. In spite of
their sinful rebellion, God gave them water anyway.
Do
not harden your heart during your times of testing and pain. Cry
out to God, not against Him. You will experience rest, love,
comfort and healing. God will not leave you or forsake you.
March 29,
2007 – Therefore, holy
brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on
Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was
faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful
in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor
than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than
the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is
the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all
God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But
Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are His
house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we
boast. Hebrews 3: 1 - 6 (NIV)
The
writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is greater than the prophets,
and then he says that Jesus is greater than the angels. In this
chapter he says Jesus is superior to Moses, who was considered to
be the greatest leader the Jewish nation ever had. Moses redeemed
and liberated the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. He
spoke to God as one speaks to a friend and gave the written law to
the Jewish people. He mediated between God and the people. No
one was more respected than Moses. Yet, Jesus Christ, the Messiah
is far superior to Moses. Jesus never failed; He will never
fail. Jesus was much greater and has greater honor than Moses
because He is the builder. Moses was a part of the house that is
being built by Jesus. Verse 4 clearly says that God is the
builder of everything; verse 3 says Jesus is the builder. Jesus
is God. We are precious stones in God’s house. Moses was a gem,
a faithful servant. Jesus was God, the master builder and a
faithful son.
We are
told in this passage to fix our thoughts on Jesus. This means we
are to put our mind on Jesus and let it remain there so that we
will understand who He is and what His will is for us. We are to
thoughtfully consider Jesus and concentrate our attention on Him.
He is the amazing builder of everything; the lover of our souls.
Fixing our thoughts on Jesus is vital if we want to know, love,
walk with and obey God.
Where is your
heart today? Do you love Jesus? Where is your hope? Take some
time now to examine your heart. What things are distracting you
from fixing your thoughts on Jesus Christ? What can you do about
these?
March 23,
2007 – -
Since the children have flesh and
blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He
might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the
devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
their fear of death. For surely it is not angels He helps, but
Abraham's descendants. For this reason He had to be made like His
brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make
atonement for the sins of the people. Because He himself suffered
when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being
tempted. Hebrews 2: 14 -
18 (NIV)
Jesus
Christ is fully God and fully man united in one person. The Lord
of the universe humbled Himself by taking on human flesh and
becoming a man -
made like His brothers in
every way. God loved us so much that He was willing to
suffer and die to defeat our biggest enemy, death. He understands
intimately what we are experiencing - our fears, suffering and
temptation. There is no trial or trail or temptation we will ever
face that Christ does not perfectly understand.
God is
holy. He hates sin. It is God’s wrath with which we ultimately
have to deal with. Jesus removes the threat of God’s wrath from
us. In His mercy He made atonement for our sins by offering and
becoming the sacrifice Himself. As high priest, Jesus took his
own blood before God to satisfy God’s wrath against sin.
Are you enslaved by the fear of
death? By other fears? By sin and temptation? Are you
experiencing suffering? Jesus Christ understands and is able to
help. Let this truth sink deep into your heart; meditate on the
truth of God's Word. Meditate on what your own death will mean in
light of what Jesus has done for you. Pray and ask Jesus to help
you come to Him, trust Him and let go of your fears.
March 16, 2007 – It is not the
angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are
speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you
care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you
crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his
feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is
not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything
subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he
suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death
for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that
God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the
author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one
who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same
family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Hebrews 2: 5 – 11 (NIV)
Hebrews 8: 6 – 8 is quoting Psalm 8: 4 – 6.
Psalm 8 begins by reflecting on the amazing majesty of God’s
creation. The universe that God has created is beyond amazing.
Yet God places humanity even greater than the universe. God
bestowed His own image on us. God crowns us with glory and honor
and gave us dominion over His creation.
Jesus Christ was made a little lower than
the angels for a time. Christ submitted to the punishment and
suffering we deserve. He set aside His glory and rule; suffered
and died for our sins. He was then elevated on High and crowned
with glory and honor. In union with Christ we are lifted up.
Jesus’ death is an invitation to life.
Jesus Christ transformed suffering. He went
through what we go through, but Jesus went through it to the
maximum degree. Jesus’ suffering completed the purpose for which
he came in to the world. Through suffering we share in what
Christ did for us.
In verse 11 we are called Jesus’ brothers.
In the culture of the time if a person fell into poverty and was
sold into slavery, his brother redeemed him. We fell. The debt
we could not pay was holiness. Both the one who makes men holy
and those who are made holy are of the same family. That
statement seems too good to be true. Jesus, our stronger brother,
paid our debt. Jesus restores our holiness.
Praise God for the grace that has been
poured out on us!
March 8, 2007 – We must pay more
careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do
not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding,
and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,
how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This
salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to
us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs,
wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit
distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2: 1 – 4
These few verses give us a very serious
warning. We easily can drift away from the Lord and His
message! We won’t likely rebel against God and His Word but we
might become lax. The result is almost the same as rebellion;
non-participation in and devaluing of God’s grace. The cure to
prevent drifting away is to pay closer attention to Scripture (to
what we have heard). Carefully study and apply the Bible.
The Angels from God revealed a message that
was certain. The New Covenant message revealed by Jesus, the Son
of God is even more certain. We have been given a greater
revelation in Jesus Christ. If people were cursed for despising
the message of the Old Covenant, how much greater will be our
punishment for ignoring what God has told us through His Son?
When we ignore the message of Christ we are ignoring such a
great salvation.
The author of Hebrews wants us to pay
attention to this severe warning. He wants us to daily experience
the joy of walking in the great salvation we have been given. To
be alienated from God means to be alienated from His life, grace,
joy, glory, power and happiness. Salvation restores us to life.
Hear this message and heed the warning.
February 27, 2007 –
For to which of the angels did God
ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or
again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? And again,
when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all
God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He
makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” But about
the son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have
loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God,
has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of
joy.” He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the
foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your
hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out
like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment
they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years
never end.” To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my
right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”?
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who
will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1: 5 - 14
If angels are great then how much greater is
Jesus Christ? God calls Jesus His eternal begotten Son. When God
brought Jesus into the world He commanded all the angels to
worship Him. He actually calls the Son God and says that
His throne will last for ever and ever. The eternal Son
created the world. He laid the foundations of the earth.
Jesus Christ, the superior Son of God, sits
on the eternal throne. The Angels serve the throne on which the
Son sits. The Son is higher than the angels. The Son rules on
the throne.
I don’t fully understand the amazing mystery
revealed in these few verses. I don’t really expect my finite
mind to understand everything I read here. It is too amazing and
beautiful to comprehend. These are amazing word pictures
describing our Lord Jesus. I do know that He more amazing and
beautiful that I can ever imagine. Meditating on these few verses
helps me grow in knowing the One whom I love and worship.
Angels are ministering servants; God sent
them to serve us. They were created to serve humanity. They
joyfully serve us as God directs them. Praise and thank God, Our
Father, for caring for you though the work of His angels.
February 8, 2007 – In the past God
spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His
Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He
made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the
exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His
powerful word. And after He made purification for sins, He sat
down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as
much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is
superior to theirs. Hebrews 1: 1 - 4 (NIV)
The glory and greatness of Jesus Christ
permeates the entire book of Hebrews. With the arrival of Jesus,
God speaks finally and completely in the incarnation, life, death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each time the prophets spoke
they only reveal part of the story, now God's revelation is
complete. These four verses speak to us of the incredible
greatness of Jesus. He is the heir of all things, He made
everything that exists and He shines forth God's glory. When we
look at Jesus we are looking at God. He maintains and carries
along every thing in the universe. Without Him, our sin could
never be forgiven. He is now sitting at the right hand of God the
Father, a position of honor, glory and power. Jesus is greater
than the angels, who are extremely powerful and exalted beings.
He is the Lord of the universe. My heart has been overwhelmed
with praise for our Lord Jesus as I have read these verses over
and over again.
Meditate and think about these verses. Is
Jesus more than just a name to you? Do you adore Him? Do you
love Him? Do you trust Him with your life? When our trust is in
Jesus Christ we have nothing to fear. Take time today to tell Him
how much you love and adore Him. Ask Him to help you trust Him
with your fears.
On My Heart - A
Weekly Devotional by Bob Krepps