Ezekiel 8-10; Hebrews 13

In Hebrews chapter 13, verses 15-16 are my favorites!

“¹⁵With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name. ¹⁶Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God.”

I have an old bag from a Christian conference that has a printed logo with the words ”Sacrifice of Praise” on the cover. It’s a funny-look’n bag, but I use it sometimes just to remind myself that life’s not about me. My Small Group has been reading through Romans, and last week we talked about our purpose in life. God created us with the sole purpose of bringing glory to His name! He is the potter and we are the clay.

When life begins to feel poinless or unproductive, remember that our purpose is to worship God with our lives! Do something for Him today, even if it’s just taking 5 minutes to say thanks. Afterwards, you’re inevitably going to feel a deep sense of purpose!

Ezekiel 5-7; Hebrews 12

My Grandma went home to be with Jesus last month. Knowing that she now lives in Heaven has helped our family live with more of an eternal perspective. Hebrews 12:27-29 reminds me that the eternal aspects of my life on earth are all that will remain after I’m gone. So my right and pure words, thoughts, and actions are all I can bring to my God and Savior when I’m finally home.

And my little trials and frustrations from today…like when the computer wouldn’t work, haha!…will all be burned up by God’s holy perfection as if nothing had ever happened! And today, in the middle of our junk, God still understands our hurts, guilt, and frustrations. After all, Jesus felt all of it during his life on earth! Soak in those words from Hebrews 12:1-4 and find encouragement today!

Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40

Instant gratification would have been a foreign concept to the people of faith found in Hebrews 11. Their faith was simple: Choose the future over the present. Sacrifice the temporary to gain the permanent. Choose God over people.

Looking at our culture, just the opposite is true. Instant gratification is the norm. Faith is the foreign concept. Everything is about the now, the fun, the feel good. So how do we live against the grain of society – and represent a counter-culture that they so desperately need? We spend time reviewing WHY. The Apostle John summarized the WHY of our faith this way:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

After instant gratification has had it’s fun, then what? Death. After faith has lived out its course on earth, then what? Live Forever. Final Score: Faith – 1, Instant Gratification – 0.

See you tomorrow!

Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

The “ancients” in Bible times understood “believing” differently than we do. They defined believing as obedience. Or to put it another way: “Faith is that which is worth acting on.” The rest of Hebrews 11 describes how men and women of faith acted on what they believed. They were sufficiently “confident in what they hoped for,” and “assured of what they did not see” – that they took great risks and acted boldly for God. Faith and works weren’t the same thing – they were saved by faith just like we are – but they had this understanding of faith: Saving faith produces good works. It’s what authentic faith is. It acts. That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 2 – right after declaring that we are saved by faith, not works: “We are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God has prepared beforehand…” James put it this way, “Show me your faith without works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works.”

People around us aren’t too interested in throretical, abstract faith. But dare to act in kindness on their best interests, and they want to know why. My invisible faith is very real to me, but it’s not real to anyone else – until it’s acted on.

Have a Great Thursday!

Lamentations 3-5; Hebrews 10:19-39

We have a phrase for the experience Jeremiah describes today. We call it “Adding insult to injury.” These are unquestionably some of the most painful verses in Scripture. Jeremiah expresses the combination of pain, embarrassment, and hopelessness he and his Jewish brothers and sisters feel. And yet, even here in one of the darkest moments of God’s punishment, there is hope. You don’t see it in their circumstances, or in any flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. You find it – in the character of God – because no matter how severe His response to disobedience, He always acts in line with Who He is: 

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

There’s an old Christian saying: “When God is all you have, you discover that God is all you need.” Jeremiah calls Him “My portion.” And rain or shine, pain or pleasure, joy or sorrow, He never changes. He’s always our portion. His great love never runs out. His compassions never fail. His faithfulness and goodness are always there. SO – when life gets hard, rather than freak out or fall apart, the thing to do is to seek Him and wait quietly for Him. Because He never disappoints; He can’t – it’s Who He is.

Have a Blessed Wednesday.

Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18

It was like a revolving door. Year after year – priests standing before an altar offering the same sacrifices in a never-ending cycle of futility. As today’s Scripture says,

“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.”

But then Jesus came. The Creator, Priest, and Sacrifice all rolled into one – and having made HIS sacrifice, the Scripture says – He SAT DOWN. And that was it. No more endless cycle of futility. No more revolving door. His sacrifice was enough. As our passage says,

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Once for all. No more half-measures. No more fingers in the dike. Jesus’ sacrifice was final. And when my own guilty conscience tries to dredge up old accounts, the same sacrifice applies – “paid in full.” Isn’t it great to be free?

See you tomorrow.

Jeremiah 51-52; Hebrews 9

Have you ever been forgiven by someone – but still felt guilty?

That’s how it was for the Hebrew people in Old Testament times. The animal sacrifices they brought to God absolved them of their outward acts of sin, but did nothing to set their hearts free. Their guilt remained. Not so with the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus sacrificed Himself once for all our sins, and not only forgives, but heals our consciences:

“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. 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!”

When God forgives, He also heals. Guilt is obsolete. Jesus died to give us a CONFIDENT relationship with God. We never have to visit guilt again. There is no longer any reason to beat yourself up over your past. Jesus not only saves. He frees.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

A mezuzah is a piece of parchment paper upon which is inscribed verses from Deuteronomy in the Hebrew language. lt is then placed in a decorative case and affixed to the doorframe in Jewish homes. This is to fulfill the command in Deuteronomy 6:9, “Write them on the doorframes of your house…”. The mezuzah is affixed at eye level on the right side at a slight tilt towards the inner house. lt serves as a reminder of God’s laws.

ln today’s study, God promises in Hebrews 8 verse 10 to… “put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts…”. What an awesome image this creates for us. Superior to a mezuzah of parchment on our doorframes, God will put his laws in our minds and hearts. Then we will truly have a “Heart for God!” Let that be a vision to guide and inspire you this week. Amen!

Jeremiah 48-49; Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7:25 states that Jesus always lives to intercede for us. Remember in the Old Testament book of Leviticus chapter 16 where the duties of the High Priest are detailed. The most important ones pertained to the Day of Atonement. It was the only day the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and there was a ritual involved with doing the sacrifices. There was an extremely heavy, thick curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the other Holy places in the temple. No one except the High Priest could enter and only on the one day a year.

Back to the New Testament gospels; on Good Friday, after Jesus died, there was an earthquake. There also was another event in the temple. The curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. No human man could have done it. God tore the curtain that separated him from the people. (See Matt 27:51, Mark 15:38 and Luke 23:45) But what does it mean? Jesus was unlike any other sacrifice. His one time death on the cross, forever removed our sins. But not only is He “The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”; he is also our High Priest. As such, he intercedes for us to God the Father. The curtain to the Holy of Holies was removed to take away all barriers between us and God. Jesus tells us to come boldly into the throne room in His precious name and because of His precious blood shed for us we can come to the Father’s throne room and be received just like Jesus! Let us sing a verse of the familiar hymn, “Just As I Am”

“Just as I am – Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea Thine alone,
- O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

Have an awesome Saturday and see you in church tomorrow!

Jeremiah 46-47; Hebrews 6

An anchor for the soul, states Hebrews 6:19. Technically, an anchor is adevice that connects a floating vessel to the bed of the sea bottom however deep it may be. The purpose is to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. There are permanent and temporary anchors. Permanent anchors are used to moor a vessel like the Queen Mary which is moored at Long Beach. Temporary anchors are used on vessels in ports and harbors when they want to remain relatively stationary. When storms are forecast, anchors are used to secure the vessels against the ravages of the storms.

This also applies to us. We are like vesssls at sea, beset by storms in the form of trials and troubles that frequently assail us. We may know ahead of time that we are headed for trouble. But at other times, our life storms catch us by surprise. That is why we need a permanent anchor. An anchor in which to place our hope with confidence. We can TRUST the certainty of God’s promise; it is impossible for God to lie. ls there a storm on your vessel? Set your anchor…an anchor for your soul! Wishing you good sailing on Friday!