Hebrews 13 - How to lessons on life

This is a work in progress, but I wanted to get up what I have so far.

As our men's bible study has slogged through Hebrews, I feel that most have missed the point. I believe that had we done an in depth, serious study of Hebrews, we would have walked away from this book as changed men. That is not to say that men are not changing, for I have heard not only a change in me, but a few others have expressed that there is a need, in their own lives, to invest in God's word.

I understand my need to control my eating habits, (I did not say diet because we are all on a diet, it is just that most of our diets are not good.) but, having knowledge and doing something about it are two different things.

I have come to realize that serious study is not the purpose of our men's fellowship. None-the-less, I cannot give up, even though there is no way to keep up with the pace of the group and put the necessary time in on each verse.

One of the men made a statement that chapter 13 of Hebrews is the “how to do it” chapter. With that in mind, Hebrews 13 can be looked at as capsulizations of the outflow of God's life in us. Although I believe that the how to aspect is embedded in an understanding of our relationship with Christ and his death and resurrection, it is clear that there will be evidence of His life in you, and it should be demonstrated whenever possible.

When challenged, Jesus responded with what are the greatest commandments? To love the Lord your God, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

13:1 - Keep on loving each other as brothers

Seems simple enough. Why would you have to say "keep on" unless you had noticed that it had become a difficulty to love some people. We base our love upon performance; if you do not please me, or act in the proper manner. God loved us and we could meet none of those standards. So perhaps love is acting out of the greater good, regardless of the circumstance.


Our human brokenness can twist anything into something unhealthy, and no, while on this earth we will never be able to shake it off; so if you treat yourself with the honesty of an alcoholic you will fare better in this understanding. The writer of Hebrews has to frame the love word with "as brothers". Do not turn love into stalking or perversion, and do not try to control people, because that is not love (it is a whole other can of worms). If they will not let you near, then pray for their well being and soundness. Scripture gives us some excellent examples of that.


Ephesians 4:3; 1Peter 1:22; 1Peter 2:17; Romans 12:10; 1Peter 4:8 (Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.)


as brothers – I read this and saw it as loving on fellow Christians exclusively, and yet that is not what this says. We are to love on people, our neighbors, therefore nobody is excluded and we have the command if you want to call it that. Think about this. Some of the people who came to Jesus for healing, must have been particularly disgusting and yet he loved on them; unchanged by their smell or appearance. What if we could do that?


13:2 – Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.


The first example that popped into my mind was Lot. 


You might say that entertaining these two angels was easy because there must have been something significant about them, and therefore Lot just knew. A far reach, and presumptive. Daniel on the other hand could say that, for the presence of the angel put him on his face as though he was dead. Lot did not respond that way. 


The angels that appeared before Lot were strikingly handsome (probably looked like Tom Selleck), but step back a moment and ask yourself what you know about Lot. He was trying to be an upright, righteous man, and he was part of the city council. He was sitting in the place that the council was supposed to sit, and people could apparently find them, as ruling bodies, there. Read the story in Genesis 19, part of what you find in the story is that the men of city said, "this man judges us" Interesting heh!. 

Did you also notice that Lot sat alone. That may be nothing or God is pointing out something significant. Lot did the appropriate thing, he had the ability, but he is also thinking that he needs to protect these guys. 


The only thing, in my mind, that makes them stand out as being from God would be the message that they brought.


Another person that entertained an angel was Abraham. Genesis 18 says that the Lord appeared to Abraham, and that may put a different spin on it, but let's not assume that Abraham knew this. What might give away the identity of these angels was the manner in which they appeared. That would be significant in the desert where it is difficult to suddenly walk up on someone. What if they were all glowy like the angels portrayed on a television show, that would make it easier, wouldn't it.


The thing that made them significant was their message!


13:3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

The word remember is mimnesko (mim-nace'-ko) v. 1. to remind 2. (middle voice) to recall to mind, remember

Jesus said something significant about this in Matthew 25:36 (NIV) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
He is speaking about what appears to be the same thing that is described in Revelation 20. This is hugely significant because Jesus is placing his identity upon what we deem as broken and throw away people.

Unless you have spent some time in prison you will probably never be able to relate to this. From what I see on television there is a level of stress in prison that is unrelenting. Violence is constant and random, and the absolute worst behavior of humans is exhibited. Now you are being asked to remember prisoners as if you were in there too. The pain of another takes on a different meaning when it is happening to you too. 

POW's in Vietnam had to uphold and pray for each other; they did so by using and creating codes that the guards did not recognize. Just knowing that others shared in your pain, and hopes made a huge impact upon the morale of those held captive, helping them to maintain their sanity and make it through years of torture. 

Just recently I read that several hundred in Nigeria were slaughtered with machetes because they were Christians. No one but  Christian oriented sources reported on this. These people clearly suffered, but how do I put myself in their shoes. It is beyond the scope of my understanding when I have had no direct relationship with the one who suffered in a manner such as this. Seeing this kind of reality is disgusting at it's best, but I can walk away detached from the people that mean little to me. 

This passage is asking me to relate to them as if it were me.

Here is my reality of what this is saying. Do not just walk away, take ownership, pray for them like your life depended upon it, and if you have the ability to do something, do it. 

Jesus spoke about the things that these responders did; their response was, "when did we do that?" That tells me that even the insignificant things are significant.

13:4 – Marriage should be honored by all, and the  marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

This is hard to hear when you are not married, but good advice for future marriages. It is also hard to talk about at all, because I feel like I am doing the judging and I fight to stay away from that arena. I was trained well to be judgmental, and I will spend my life refusing to drink from that cup. I am serious. This is like alcohol to an alcoholic, and you have to maintain your sobriety using every reasonable and Godly means.
 

Why should you even have to say marriage should be honored by all? 

I suppose the primary reason was that this was written at a time, and to a people who by tradition did not show respect to women. Jesus did! The secondary reason is that we are born into a broken world, and it still has an impact on us.

Who are the all? 

Those inside or outside the family? It would be understandable if the writer was directing his comments at the world, we (self-righteously) tend to think of them as living outside of the Father's influence, but in truth this is all of us. We give ourselves over to our selfish indulgences constantly.

The word honored means valuable. The word is timios (tim'-ee-os) in the Greek. So I could say marriage is to be considered valuable, as if you paid good money for it and now intend to take care of it. This reminds me of the neighbors. They know the Lord, and we are all thankful for that, but they fellowship at a church that worships material things far to much. Their cars are nice and the man of the house washes them both, several times a week. I wonder if he feels that way about his wife?

The marriage bed kept pure. The implications can go a couple of ways.

1. 
   
   Keep what you do with your wife to yourself and in your bedroom. Allowing your mind to go places in fantasy relationships is adultery. Did it ever occur to you that your pictures and videos cannot get mysteriously put on the internet if they do not exist.
2. 
   
   We all fantasize, but that certainly does not make it right. To pursue those fantasies through the internet, magazine, videos, or otherwise, bringing them into bedroom is an act of breaking trust, and destructive.

“..for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral.”

The word judge is krino (kree'-no) v. 1. (properly) to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially)

It may be possible that what you do with your spouse, as long as you two are in agreement (and I do not think that means coerced agreement), in the bedroom is holy before God. I like this idea, but God will krino, distinguish if what you are doing is out of line. No, He probably will not strike you dead right there, but you, like a Pastor, will answer for the way you treated your sheep. Besides, if you are listening to Him, He is telling you when you are out line.

The KJV uses the term whore-mongers for sexually immoral. I can guarantee that everyone of us has been sexually immoral, even if only in thought; Therefore, if we are going to live under the law, then we are all going to get judged. I do not know what that judgment will look like for the Christian.

The Greek word for whore-mongers is pornos. Now doesn't that sound familiar? Originally used to mean a male prostitute for hire. Remember the position of women in this society, which I suppose makes this even more disgusting.

But this phrase whore-monger is being spoken of in terms of the marriage bedroom. What are these people bringing back into their homes, outside of the obvious diseases? It almost sounds like the married partners are performing these acts themselves.

The Greek word for adulterer is, moichos (moy-khos') n. 1. a (male) adulterer

Women on the whole do not tend to go in pursuit of sexual relationships, but men do. Dr. Dobson says it is our hormone levels that drive us. Considering what we have seen in scripture, this passage may well be referring to those who pursue sexuality outside of their marriage relationship, on any level, with anyone. My impression is that this is all extremely distasteful to God, and will be dealt with.

Here is the larger question to ask yourselves. Why would anyone have to make this point unless it was creating a great divide in man's ability to live a life in relationship with the loving God?

13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

The quoted portion seems to have come from:

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

This is similar to the theme that Paul wrote to Timothy about. See 1Timothy 6:6-10

Do a comparison of translations and word study of the Hebrews 13:5 and you will find something interesting. The KJV used the word “conversation” in comparison to the NIV which says to “keep your lives free from”.

Okay then, I might not talk about my passion for money, but all you would have to do is look at how I live to know where my heart is. Everything about this world is in resistance to God, including money. To obsess over it, is to demonstrate one's selfish desires and lack of interest in God. You are putting you first. 

How does one love their neighbor as themselves, if you are filthy rich, while your neighbor is impoverished?

Young's literal translation says, “Without covetousness the behavior, being content with the things present”

It sounds like a script for Star Wars, where Yoda is instructing young Luke. Our behavior is to be without covetousness. Whether that is money or things, but get real; you cannot have things without money. They call people who have things and did not use money, thieves.

Being content with the things present. 

This does not give you the excuse to sit on your rear doing nothing. You are to take care of responsibilities as best you know how, but trusting in God that He will open the appropriate doors. 

If you are fortunate enough to have prosperity then pay attention to what the Father tells you to do with it.

If you have little to nothing, then you need to come to terms with it. This is your opportunity to learn to lean heavily upon God. 

Stepping aside and giving him first place in your life is all He has ever asked you to do. All that money can buy is just junk that will burn up. Why should we obsess over stuff. Are we hoping we gain some twisted security out of it.

I can tell you that going back home and living with mommy is not the ideal situation either, but if that is what life has dealt you then learn to play the cards you are dealt.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NET) The LORD is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”

Here is why you can be content with whatever state of being that you are in. Because God, himself, is going before you.

As I wrote I heard this in my spirit, and so I am giving it to you.

No, you may not see the path, or understand the reasons, but you are in the center of My love and I have a plan for you. I have already gone ahead and charted out the course, and I am ever willing to take you in hand, along that course, if you will let me. I know everyone has abandoned you in the past, but I never will. You are going to have to trust Me on this one, for that is what faith is all about. I desire for you to give up control, because you keeping stepping off of the path, and doing that has caused you great grief. Lean upon me, and put your trust in Me. I am asking you to not be afraid or discouraged, and I know that is difficult for you, but as you learn to lean upon me the fear will go away. I have been there continually as you have been walking, waiting for you to reach out and take my hand, and I have seen how difficult that has been for you. 
You are like the child that wants to grow, make your own decisions, and have an identity. I wish I could make it easier, but then that is why I sent my Son. Please allow My Son to be your identity. He has already been where you need to go and succeeded, making this so much easier for you. When you let go of your will and desire for control you will find an a place of contentment, joy, and love like you have never known. Come and walk in relationship with me.

Phase two added May 27, 2010

Hebrews 13:6 (YLT) so that we do boldly say, `The Lord [is] to me a helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.`

Having covered verse 5. A recap.

Verse 5 is part of a continuing thought initiated in verse 4. Oddly verse 4 starts off with honor within the marriage. That is hugely significant because that is our relationship with Jesus, a marriage. Even though in Jewish tradition the marriage begins in relationship well over a year before consummation, consummation of a deal, or in this case marriage, is the ultimate end or completion of the agreement. A Jewish girl over the age of 13 had the right to refuse the marriage. We too have the right to refuse the marriage, and we have the ability to dishonor the marriage contract.

Keeping yourselves free from the love of money, as verse 5 says ( I think we can easily tie money into selfish desires, and therefore unhealthy desires outside of the “relationship”), being content with what you have, because God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never forsake you.” Allows us to move toward a confidence, because we understand that the “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

David wrote those words, “what can man do to me?” twice. Have you read the story of David. He ran from King Saul for a long time, and I think that demonstrates his understanding of how easily he could have died. Sure, he was like a mountain man, skillful enough to survive and take care of himself, but he ran for his life. That leads me to believe that David had a deeper understanding of what this meant. This is not just talking about the physical harm that people can bring. Just look at the world around you and you will know that people are horrible to each other, and if they do not kill the body they can leave it useless and a burden to others. There has to be an inner strength, one that only seems to come out of relationship. That bond is what we look for when we get married. 
Does the strength come when you say I do? Not hardly. It had better have been established as a strong foundation long before you said I do.

Now here is an interesting thought. What of the contractual marriage? If a bond forms between them, is it based upon love; for love comes out of mutual trust and respect. Except in the case of God who loved us regardless of our lack of mutual trust and respect.

Hebrews 13:6 (NIV) So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

The KJV states it this way: “So that we may boldly say, the Lord is helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

The word boldly is the Greek word tharrheo, and means to exercise courage.

Say is the Greek word lego, and means to lay forth, generally as an expression of speech.

So, is our expression of courage directly related to what we say? Or, are we being told to speak as an expression of our convictions. Or, is this a command in a sense, directing us forward, as in a battle. The word may here, makes it somewhat optional. The implications being much like a doctor's prescription; apply when needed or multiple times a day.

Helper is the Greek word, boethos n.

1. a helper that gives aid or relief in time of distress

This is the description that David uses of God consistently while he is on the run. He must have needed that kind of help on numerous occasions

In verse 6 the Greek has the word for fear used twice. Almost as if they were trying to say fear not fear. It is one thing to fear a man with a weapon, but to fear fear itself is going far into the broken psyche. To fear fear is to fear nothing; for you are fearing that thing which may never happen, and you certainly cannot see.

Hebrews 13:7 (NET) Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

Remember: mnemoneuo (mnay-mon-yoo'-o) v.

1. to exercise memory, i.e. recollect

2. (by implication) to punish

3. also to rehearse

[from a derivative of G3420]

KJV: make mention; be mindful, remember

Leaders: hegeomai (hayg-eh'-om-ai) v.

1. to lead, i.e. command (with official authority)

2. (figuratively) to deem, i.e. consider

[middle voice of a (presumed) strengthened form of G71]

KJV: account, (be) chief, count, esteem, governor, judge, have the rule over, suppose, think

Over you, or to you: humon (hoo-mone`) p/p.

1. 
   
   of (from or concerning) you

Whose faith: pistis (pis'-tis) n.

1. persuasion, i.e. credence

2. (morally) conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher)

3. (especially) reliance upon Christ for salvation

4. 
   
   (abstractly) constancy in such profession

Follow: mimeomai (mim-eh'-om-ai) v.

1. 
   
   to imitate

Considering: anatheoreo (an-ath-eh-o-reh'-o) v.

1. 
   
   to look again at (i.e. attentively)

The end, or outcome: ekbasis (ek'-bas-is) n.

1. 
   
   an exit

Their lives or conversation: anastrophe (an-as-trof-ay') n.

1. behavior

[from G390]

KJV: conversation
 

Here is my take on this. Even in men's bible study we have a hierarchy of leadership. They have yet to demand obeisance, but it is nice that someone is there to occasionally maintain decorum. The problem within the group is that there are several who invest time studying and there are those who fancy themselves learned, and feel the need to shove their ideas down the throats of others. (I suppose that is my interpretation based upon the manner in which the idea is conveyed.) Scripture is not of private interpretation.

Following the lives of those that demonstrate a solid, purposeful lifestyle, not one of greed and overbearing, but maturity and consistency in the Lord, is a great idea. I am all for it. I have even told people to follow my example, because I felt that no one around, at that time, was willing to demonstrate a life of faith. (I suspect that I was feeling a little self-righteous at the time.)

I have struggled with my own inner image and fears to a degree that I cannot imagine why anyone would consider it wise to follow after me. I have such issues with anger that on that basis alone I would not recommend me. Fortunately God may have other ideas. I feel a calling to be a pastor, but that will have to be God's work or it will not happen. Here is what, and all that I will do to promote that – Study to show yourself approved.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

I desperately wanted some serious bible study and could not find it. I have no venue, and though serious, I feel like I am lacking in some of the research training aspects. Besides that I am not sure how to make that happen, nor do I think I should try to force a door that may not be there in the first place. In my quest for a bible study I found a flier that seemed to convey my hearts desire and so I went to it. The pastor said we do serious bible study here. verse by verse, and chapter by chapter. What I got was his opinion, legalism, and a serious lack of understanding about the grace and mercy of God. What made that lack of grace part harder to handle was that God had shown him so much grace, and Jesus was the one who told us that those who have been forgiven much, love much. Well, I believed I could overlook the shortcomings of the legalism, and make a difference there. I believed that God had spoken to me and told me this was where I was supposed to be, and so I made a verbal commitment to him. 4 weeks later I could not stand another minute and vacated abruptly. (Not to panic, I have a fine group of men that I meet with regularly.)

In terms of submission, are we to just allow someone to damage us. I believe that if I did not have a strong identity in the Lord, this legalistic pastor could have caused some serious damage to any progress God was making in me. There are people going to churches like this all over this nation, and because they will not READ the bible for themselves they may never be free, outside of the grace of God.

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

In light of someone to follow, consider Jesus. He never changes, never will. He is the definition of consistency. Follow him.

Hebrews 13:9 (NIV) Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.

Hebrews 13:9 (WBS) Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines: for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied in them.

This one is used by the legalistic churches to put down those of us who exhibit some freedom in the spirit. (I suppose you figured out by now that I lean strongly that direction.)

This verse is used so frequently it is worthy of a look.

Greek is similar to Spanish in that so many things seem to be said backward, and yet if you think about it it makes sense.

^G165. ⁹ Be ^G4064 not ^G3361 carried about ^G4064 with divers ^G4164 and ^G2532 strange ^G3581 doctrines ^G1322. For ^G1063 it is a good thing ^G2570 that the heart ^G2588 be established ^G950 with grace ^G5485; not ^G3756 with meats ^G1033, which have ^G5623 not ^G3756 profited ^G5623 them that have been occupied ^G4043 therein ^{G1722 G3739}. Jer 29:8; Matt 24:4; Rom 16:17; Eph 4:14; Eph 5:6; Col 2:16; 2Thess 2:2; 2Tim 4:3; 1John 4:1; John 6:27; Rom 14:17;

Carried about

periphero (per-ee-fer'-o) v.

1. to convey around, i.e. transport hither and thither

[from G4012 and G5342]

KJV: bear (carry) about

Root(s): G4012, G5342

Transported here and there. 
What is the motivation behind the movement? 

While I was a member at one church, I used to go to another, because there was something more there that I needed at the time. Add to that the fact that this gave me other places to go during the week, and this satisfied a spiritual feeding that I so desperately needed at the time. During this time I did not abandon my home church. Now I have seen several come to a church that I had attended, only to leave after a period of time. Mind you I went to that church for about 7 years, and became disgruntled, and found that I was no longer able to get fed there. (No need for your corrective comments, I have thought this through, and do not feel it's necessary to explain all the garbage involved in my leaving. So save it.)

What if people move merely because they are thrill seekers. In other words, they go where the big draw seems to be, primarily because they need to be entertained.

With divers

G4164 ποικίλος poikilos (poy-kee'-los) adj.

1. motley, i.e. various in character

[of uncertain derivation]

KJV: divers, manifold

Various in character? So this is the character of the meeting or the style of the pastor, we are talking about. Every place you go is different, and yet so many are the same. We have all these different flavors of church, and they find it necessary to carry the party line in attitude and message.

and strange

G3581 ξένος xenos (xen'-os) adj.

1. foreign

2. (literally) alien

3. (figuratively) novel

4. (by implication, actively) a host

5. (by implication, passively) a guest

[apparently a primary word]

KJV: host, strange(-r)

This would have to be foreign in comparison to what your original teacher would have taught. That is assuming that you grew up (symbolically) in a good church, under some good teaching. But why do we exclude the ability of the Holy Spirit to teach us. I suppose it would be beneficial if the new Christian were to dive into the Word and let it speak to them, teaching them.

Doctrines

G1322 διδαχή didache (did-akh-ay') n.

1. instruction (the act or the matter)

[from G1321]

KJV: doctrine, hath been taught

Root(s): G1321

Teachings. Ideally, correct teaching on who God is, and for the most part we have done a lousy job.

Webster's

DOCTRINE, n. [L., to teach.]

1. 
   
   
   In a general sense, whatever is taught. Hence, a principle or position in any science; whatever is laid down as true by an instructor or master. The doctrines of the gospel are the principles or truths taught by Christ and his apostles. The doctrines of Plato are the principles which he taught. Hence a doctrine may be true or false; it may be a mere tenet or opinion.

“.....For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”

heart – thoughts and intents

be established – made firm and steadfast.

With grace – a manner of acting. This has to be the love that God has poured out upon, and continues to do so. As Pastor Greg Laurie, of Harvest Christian Fellowship says, “it is God's Riches At Christ's Expense.”

To say that is is a good thing that the heart be established only makes sense.

“… not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”

The website Judaism 101 has a section called “Why do we observe the Laws of Kashrut?” Their short answer is that the Torah says so, and that may have been the case with these people, but I am not so sure.

We had Paul, in scripture, addressing ritualistic meats several times. The Jewish christian leadership simplified the instructions to new, non-Jewish believers by saying stay away from meats offered to idols. In this whacked out world of ours, how would you know what had been done to the meat prior to you buying it at the super-market?

What ever was going on here, was either ritualistic, or more obvious when they bought the meat. But it was not the buying of the meat, but importance of the ritual that the buyer placed upon it. Clearly the point is being made that all the hoopla surrounding the rituals was doing them no good, and it was occupying far to much space in their heads.

I do not think that it was intended to take up any space in our heads, but that may well be another matter altogether.

Hebrews 13:10 (NIV) We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

Now you have some more clarity as to what the preceding verse was speaking of. The meats aspect had to do with temple practices. You might ask, I thought that the offering of sacrifices was a good thing? This is what the entire book of Hebrews has been talking about, our freedom from ritual; a ritual that originally was intended to point people to Jesus, but once Jesus came it obviously became a snare.

The priest's had an altar upon which the sacrifices had to be made. Jesus was offered upon an altar as well, but one not made with hands. We are invited to that altar, and as followers of Christ, have a right to eat from that altar. Those outside of the “family” have no right to that altar.

I doubt that most of us will ever be invited to the dinner table with the President, you have to be invited, and God invited everyone to come and join him. The only thing prevents anyone from sitting at dinner, or as this passage might put it “having the right to eat”, is their non-acceptance of the dinner invitation.

Hebrews 13:11 -13(NIV) The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. Hebrews 13:12 (NIV) And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Hebrews 13:13 (NIV) Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

There is something very significant here, but it is eluding me. What is being said has a direct tie in with previous thoughts such as, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.”, and the writer is tying them all together, and giving us explanations for things previously said.

Consider: The priest had to perform the sacrifices, and here we have Jesus sacrificed; the priest had to carry the blood into the Most Holy place, and we have Jesus carrying his own blood there; the body had to be burned outside the the camp, and Jesus carried his own cross outside the city, bearing the disgrace and sin of us all.

This is all so rich and deep, it is the core of who we are and why. His life and death, painted in a fractal of such magnificent beauty and complexity that it requires you to step back and take it in; the pieces of the painting slowly coming together as you grow in His grace and understanding.

Hebrews 13:14 (NIV) For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

This seems straight forward, and easy enough to understand. While on this, looking forward to the promise that is in Christ, we are not in that city. There is a city that is ours, but we are not there yet. And yes, I have even had to endure the oddball teachings of several of my own family members that believe that we are there now. Wrong.

We anxiously await that day. Hang in there.

Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.

For the variety of reasons that are common to us all, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

Praise: from the ISBE

The word comes from the Latin pretium, "price," or "value," and may be defined generally as an ascription of value or worth. Praise may be bestowed upon unworthy objects or from improper motives, but true praise consists in a sincere acknowledgment of a real conviction of worth.

So then we are to esteem value to the one who saved us, and do so when we do not feel like it.

Sacrifice – To devote with loss.

Originally this loss would have meant a life, and in a sense that life should have been ours, but God accepted the life of an animal. We do not have to take that route anymore, for Christ became the sacrifice for us. Now if we sacrifice something as part of our giving worth or value to the one that loved us, then what does that look like. It is not unreasonable to give up some small aspect of your precious time, now is it.

Because Jesus gave up his time, and became a sacrifice on our behalf, our efforts to give worth and value to a redeemer should only be to and through him.

Hebrews 12:2 The act of fixing my eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This concept of fixing my eyes on Jesus will not let go of me.

The KJV puts it this way: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;"
 The Greek word is aphorao and means to consider attentively. Attentively (with fixed attention.)

To be honest, I have a problem with this concept of looking, because it implies distance, and distance, to me, suggests a God that I can never get close to (Much like some churches I have attended, with their superstar pastors). I have already had more of that than I can stand. I have never known of anyone never to leave me nor forsake, and yet that is exactly what God says he will not do. Although I sometimes wonder how embarrassed God is with how I talk or act, I have never felt any distancing on God's part toward me. Do not get me wrong; I have felt significantly distanced at times, but I can assure you that that was because of my selfishness/indulgence in sin.

The NET version says: "keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,.."
This version has pulled in both concepts; keeping our eyes on Jesus and the idea of fixation upon Him.

Why would you fix your eyes upon something?
A detective would do it because they are on the hunt for something. An artist studies or sets his eyes upon a subject so that they can attempt to capture the essence of that subject while painting. We are told to fix our attention, our vision, our thoughts, and emotions upon Jesus because I truly believe that God wants us to live in a state of peace that passes understanding. To have a peace about me, at a time when it is illogical, passes my understanding. And yet having read this, and desired it, I find it easier to know that it was only God in that situation.
Hebrews is a faith book. It is meant to train us and establish us with a solid background of information and witnesses. If it were a trial the evidence for conviction is overwhelming and beyond reasonable doubt. So that peace I just spoke of takes faith and is wrapped up in my faith.

Is it my faith or God's?
I suppose both. I have to exhibit some degree of faith as an act of accepting my position within the family of God; I have to act in faith upon God's promises to me to live in this world; And God, clearly places a confidence within me, at times, for the occasion. Example: There was a brief time in my life that I was keenly aware of a tremendous faith for healing. How would I know that? I am a shy person and for the longest time very timid. Speaking out boldly, placing my hands upon someone for healing, and expecting God to move would have been way out of character for me, but in several circumstances, I saw God's hand at work in extraordinary ways. Pretty darn cool, and yes I sort of wish that could happen more often. (A word of caution. People began to look at me and not God. Not Good! It is just the nature of individuals.)

Here is where the faith aspect comes in. God's word tells us to lay our hands on the sick, and they will recover. There is no emotion needed in that, merely obedience. The faith part is acting and letting God do what he said he would.


"Not with bodily eyes, for at present he is not to be looked upon in this manner, but with the eye of the understanding, or with the eye of faith; for faith is a seeing of the Son;"
( John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)

    Having read several commentaries on the passage, and I tend to agree with Gill. I believe that the intent is to focus on Jesus at all times and in every circumstance, but that seems so impossible to do. When I am at work, I am barraged by customers, to the point that I barely have time for a thought of my own.

Where and how do I squeeze God into this hectic scene?
I know I am not alone in this struggle, primarily because it is a human struggle, and it does not take a great investigator to realize that few people invest quality time with God to the degree that He becomes predominant in their thinking.
 
To say that I am looking at Jesus with the eye of my faith makes it sound like I am very spiritual, but in reality, it seems to imply an act of our inward man that operates on a different plane than the rest of the body, and that may well be true. In reality what we are talking about here could be nothing more than the ability to reason, that would have to include the mind, would it not?

It would seem that the spirit, which wars against the flesh, can function independently of the body. If that is the case then potentially I can have a conversation with you and the Father at the same time.

In truth, I am not that good. If I have too many conversations going on at the same time, then someone is going to lose in the battle for my attention. I believe that Jude was speaking to this distinction between the spirit and the flesh when he wrote:  "For if I pray in an unknown language, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful." (1 Corinthians 14:14 ).

Perhaps I am missing the point. It may be that Jude is saying that the spirit bypasses human reasoning. I have never been able to pray in the spirit without involving my mind, as far as I can tell. That does not mean that if I am praying in the spirit (that means praying in tongues to me), that I am always keenly aware of what I am praying about. Do not despair at the apparent futility of this exercise of the tongue for James tells us that God gives wisdom to those that ask. Is he talking about understanding everything that you might say in tongues? Probably not, but at least we have the opportunity to understand a  great deal of what we say in tongues. This will require some faith on your part, and you will never separate your humanity from your spirit life.

I have experienced, at least, a degree of understanding about what is being said when praying in the spirit. I do not often worry about what I am speaking toward when I am praying in tongues for I have come to trust that the Holy Spirit knows what He wants to convey to the Father. I suppose in computer thinking I am just an available networked server that can be used for the Father's function. What I am putting out is his responsibility and not mine. (There's a can worms for you.)


I suppose that while I am on the subject of tongues, there have been many of God's faithful that got brave enough to fling their tongue gifting upon the church body. Hopefully, someone within the body, attune to the spirit of God, would be able to interpret what they are saying (if it is a God thing, and they then share that interpretation with the church body.) and so the tongue given without an explanation is unfruitful and at the least embarrassing. But here is my take. You do not throw something as peculiar as tongues out at an audience without having a clue as to the heart of God on the matter, and if you have a clue then give it in English, at least people can understand your words then. (Correct grammar may be another issue.)

As to judging what was being said: Did it magnify Jesus Christ, and did it align with God's word.

Some would tell us that God only speaks through his word anymore, and that is not true, but all that God deemed necessary for life has already been spoken through His Word and therefore prophetic words should always align with His Word. I cannot remember a time that I have given a WORD to someone where they could not have picked those same words from scripture, had they looked for themselves. I suppose that is why God puts prophets on this earth, to uplift those who will not, or cannot do it for themselves.

Back to my struggles with fixing my eyes on Jesus (A funny thing happened as I wrote this. I said ears instead of eyes. Why that might be funny is because if we could hear what God is saying, and respond, then maybe we would be walking as Enoch did. We have no evidence that Enoch saw God so that any seeing would have been in faith, but hearing is a different story altogether. I do not see how they can wellspring.)
So as I try to deal with all the people at work, I can at the same time be praying in the spirit on the inside. If I can pray in the spirit, then I can have communication with the Father at the same time too. I think at this point it would be primarily Him talking to me. The trick in this is to fine tune your listening skills. You are aware that there are too few of us that have any clue as to how to listen, even on a personal level with others. Speaking from personal experience, I have tried to share my heart with people only to have them interrupt so that they could be heard. Trust me, I understand this concept and will be more than happy to give you the time to speak.

In your keenness you picked up on something, I can tell. How does a person fine-tune their listening skills so that God becomes the focus? Prayer and spending time in His word. The words He uses are no different from the ones he has already spoken, but trust me on this, God can speak your language. How many translations of the Bible are there? Many, and yet He has brought innumerable lives into the family by talking their language or slang.

There is always the skeptic who does not believe that God speaks all the time. God is not rambling just to hear His head rattle, as we often do, but there is a purpose in everything He says.
Keep this in mind as you read your Bible; everything in that book has a purpose. For example, why does the Gospel of John emphasize things like the cloth that was folded in the tomb (there was a reason); why is the trip to Samaria a three-day journey?; Why did Jesus go to the Samaritans, they were effectively Gentiles, and going there was contrary to his stated mission? There are things that all throughout the Bible that seem like nothing and yet the Jewish leadership believes that when the Messiah returns (he already did) that he will explain even the spaces between the letters; they are that serious about this.

A wee bit of scripture about God speaking.
Proverbs tells us that wisdom (that would be God/the Holy spirit of God) cries out in the streets. Proverbs 1:20

Eph 1:8 In which he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

Paul prays in Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Proverbs 18:4  The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

Proverbs 15:33  The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom:

Proverbs 14:33  Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding:

Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without

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Now "since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" Hebrews 12:1

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

By opening the sentence with "therefore" the writer is tying what is about to be said with concepts previously stated. It would be logical to read the prior statements, as they may have a profound effect upon what is coming. All of Hebrews, to this point has been an attempt at progressively building faith in the reader; and the writer has given you the strong reasons why. The primary reasons center around the Son, Jesus; the price he paid on the cross; all that he did for us; his resurrection from the dead (that is not just the tomb.), and his faithfulness not only to the father, but to us as well.

Now "since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" we should have some tremendous inspiration.

Who are those that make up the cloud? That was part of the "therefore". People like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Rahab. And then there were the nameless, that in truth did not seem so victorious, and yet may well be our strongest examples, for they represent most of us who are not the great leaders, but those who live our lives and hang in there. At least we hope that God looks at us and says you had great faith, if even for a few minutes.

I want to ponder Rahab for a moment, because she is considered one that had great faith. Israel comes toward Jericho and spies are sent to scout the place out. Unless you look extremely different how difficult could it be to spy on someone's land? As sneaky as the spies might have been they were seen and so they took refuge in the prostitute's house. How did they know that this was the home of the prostitute? For a spy this would be the perfect place to hide out, because there were probably many who quietly slipped in and out of the prostitute's home. The spies told Rahab why they were there and how any in her house would be treated (saved) when Israel comes, and destruction that will come with them.

Something I just saw. Once again God has given us an analogy to our salvation from the destruction that is to come (the tribulation). In this case the destruction comes upon the city, and just as the spies said, everyone who stayed in the house (our house is Christ, make note of that.) was saved. The fact that they stayed in the house with Rahab may not have indicated a change of heart, but certainly showed that they wished to avoid the destruction and death that was coming.

Jericho seemed impenetrable, but the people already knew that Israel was coming and had knowledge of their reputation for winning battles. As impossible as that would seem, because of the strength of Jericho's walls, it still happened, and only a handful believed. Noah said it would rain, and he said this to people who had no idea of what rain was. In a similar act as Rahab, Noah builds an Ark, in a sense a house, and any who wanted salvation from the destruction that was to come were invited in. None came, save his immediate family.

So then, how did Rahab show faith:
- She believed the story that the spies told her and based upon what she knew of Israel's accomplishments, acted.
- She did not want to die (quite possibly her primary motivation, but if you think this through there are several other strong motivations that can be inferred.) and after telling her parents and other family members, they followed the instructions that the spies left them.
- She and those with her had to trust that the spies were telling the truth. That may have taken the most faith, but when someone may have a knife against your throat how many options do you have.
- She had to have a belief that Israel and their God were coming, and bringing destruction with them. (She told them she had heard of their God. That would imply an interest on her part.)
- When destruction came, they had to believe that the spies would have shared their little secret with everyone else, and that Israel, in general, would agree with the deal
- Once saved Rahab became one of them, and became part of the lineage of our Savior. We do not know what became of her family, but we can assume that they lived and died quietly, protected by Israel and, in a sense, God.

About this cloud of witnesses. A cloud is made up of so many water molecules that you could probably not count them. Most times those molecules are so small that you cannot see them unless they are amassed together. Clouds can be transparent or dense, dark, and ominous. To use a cloud for an analogy would seem to convey that the number of people that have demonstrated faith in a way that God would have you use as an example, is innumerable. Some are listed here in the bible. Some pass you on the street and have amazing stories of how God's love and mercy moved into their situation and changed their lives forever.

Many of those people, in that cloud, never experienced the great salvation, but like Rahab understood that what was promised was coming. Because of their faith in the words they waited patiently, knowing that what surrounded them was not the salvation, even though others pranced about mocking. I am sure that Noah heard the mocking, for while he built the Ark life for others went on; people continued to die and be born without seeing this rain that he spoke of, and never believed that it would come.

I believe that God expects us to be like Rahab and Noah. Having been given the word we are to do what we have been asked to do. Rahab was told to hide her family in the house. She had an advantage, and that was that Israel was such a large contingent that Rahab could see Israel coming, know then that time was short, and gather her family in, all the while continuing to work, but prepared to move. Noah and his boys just went about their business of living and building. This boat took one hundred years to build; one hundred years of knowing that God was coming. Rahab knew that God was coming, and we know that God is coming. Why? We have his word on it, and we have a consistent track record by God demonstrating that he does what he says.
Our inability to have faith in God comes because of an arrogance that refuses to believe. Those who stood about, in the rain, when the door of the Ark shut, may now have understood what Noah was saying, but it was to late. Those who did not believe that anyone could penetrate the walls of Jericho, suddenly had their minds changed as the walls came straight down and Israel came rushing in. How striking it must have been to have the section where Rahab's house was, still standing.

Because we have strong words, witnesses, and Christ to lead the way we too can do this, for that is the purpose of this book. It was written to bolster and remind us that we can walk in faith. Yes, there will always be something that tries to convince you that your faith is faltering or even gone. That is why you have someone like this that occasionally comes along and gives you a backbone again.

Faith is not about the huge victories, although those are fun and tend to show the world that God is real, but it is about the daily grind. Working toward a goal while facing opposition and keeping on anyway. Build your ark (that is a spiritual one, and it is inside of you) knowing that the rain is coming upon the earth, and you will have your safe haven when that rain comes.

Every time I open the Word I see a God that will rescue us when that time comes. In the mean time I am to live my life in worship toward Him with the best possible effort that I can muster, trusting that God will do what he said he would do regardless of what the world tells me. If I die living this way then I have done my job, living my life in behalf of others, showing kindness whenever possible, living as generously as I can, and loving the God who made me.

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is.."

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith –

Vine's Expository Dictionary has this definition of faith. The Greek word is pistis, and means a firm persuasion, or a conviction based upon hearing.

Scripture also defines faith.
See: 2Thess 2:11-12; (2) a personal surrender to Him, John 1:12; (3) a conduct inspired by such surrender.

We can also use the words persuasion, assurance, belief, faithfulness, and still convey the same meanings.

The KJ concordance shows the word pistis used 221 times. 215 times it is translated as faith, but has also been translated as effect, and fidelity.

Webster's says faith is: Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth.

To assent to something is to admit that it is true; to agree; yield or concede, or rather to express an agreement of the mind to what is alleged, or proposed.

(My comment: Assent by itself is not a definition of faith, but merely a thin aspect. To assent to something leaves the door open to one that assents due to forced coercion, and that is not God. God gave us brains and we are to use them. I may assent, but evidence convinces me.)

Truth - Pontius Pilate said to Jesus, "what is truth". He was looking truth in the eyes and could not see it. Truth means: conformity to fact or reality.

Arthur Pink, in "What is Truth"

Truth comes to a man only through the Holy Spirit, no man can of himself find it out. 1Jo 5:6, John 16:13

Truth must be sought after. Matt 7:7-8

Truth can be attained. john 8:31-32

Truth is a hard way to follow, therefore few men go on to perfection. Matt 7:13-14

Truth is infinite, it is deeper than you know. Rom 11:33-36

A warning for those who would reject truth. Rom 1:18, Rom 1:25, 2Thes 2:12, 1 Tim 6:5

Therefore if we say we have faith then we have come to admit that something is true, and we have then conformed to that fact or reality. That requires that you have made a determination as to what makes that thing true, factual, or a reality.

The world has such a hard time accepting most aspects of Christianity, for they find most every aspect unbelievable. The current President of Iran makes statements indicating that he does not believe that the Holocaust even occured. The Holocaust is documented, historical, and the remains of its impact can be seen in the tatoos on it's victims arms, as well as the remains of the buildings.

So then, the idea that I have come to adapt my life to concepts, such as the plan of redemption, or what Jesus called the "good news", that I now believe are true, makes me certain that the things I hope for are an absolute.

No one in their right mind believes that you will get everything you want. There in is the rub. Through your investing yourself in a belief in God (that is what conformity is all about), you come to understand that you are to operate in the best interest of others, and that your will is becoming aligned with God's will, because you are putting His word inside of you.
Oh, you are not doing that. My bad, I assumed that because you proclaimed His life in you, you understood what you had gotten yourself into.

A friend, a believer, let us know how sick his son was by posting the boys condition on facebook. Several of us prayed, and overnight the child had a dramatic change for the better. I have learned from scripture that God wants people well, that I can pray, and that God hears and responds. I could not see the boy; I could not see the changes, and I certainly could not see God working, but He did.

Am I always so certain? No, but then faith and trust is a building process. God's methods and attitude toward me have not and will not change, but my faith in Him grows as I exhibit confidence, based upon His word and actions, in who He is and what He does.

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Hebrews 11:3 Comments by a man struggling to grasp the greatness of God.

Hebrews 11:3
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.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which appeared.(WBS)

Through pistis (faith), we concede that God formed or created the universe. How He did it, is irrelevant. The fact that we now walk upon this earth is evidence enough that it exists, but at some point, it did not.
The Greek says that by persuasion we are able to conclude that God created the universe. What is it that persuaded us?

".. we understand..."
Understand is the Greek word noieo, and means to "to exercise the mind (observe).
You want faith to be simple. I suppose it is if you do not think.

So far we can rewrite the passage to read - by the exercise of the mind, we can observe things that convince us that God made the universe. We must therefore concede that the only logical explanation is that God created the universe. Our application is called faith and demands that we come into conformity with that evidence in which we have believed. God is, and has made the universe, whether we know the definitions of how or not.

For those who want things simple, it is not. Language, a tool created by God, has parameters; understanding what those parameters are helps us to understand what God is trying to say to us. We want to believe that God demands that we merely accept things, disregarding thought, and that is just not the case.
Even though verse three, upon a simple reading gives the impression that a mindless acceptance is demanded, looking at the root of the words makes it clear that understanding is involved in every faith process.

"... that the worlds..." or "... that the universe..."
The term that the writers translated worlds is the Greek word aion. It means an age or perpetuity. The use of the word age implies a time frame, but that time frame is a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in the period.
What we do know from scientific observation, is that time has not been constant, but has slowed down.
Read: Upheaval in Physics: History of the Light-Speed Debate - Helen D. Setterfield
http://www.khouse.org/articles/2002/423/print/

framed or formed
Greek word katartizo.
Meaning: to complete thoroughly.

".. by the word of God, ..."
Word in Greek, here, is rhema. An utterance.

God here is the Greek word theos. Meaning: a deity. It is the same word that was used when the angel told Mary that her son would be the Son of God.

So then, we can comprehend with a sufficient understanding that the ages, and that encompasses what happened within those ages, regardless of the time frames that we want to constrain them to, were completed by the utterance of God. Our understanding of those facts, based upon what we see, are enough for to develop a conviction that God did create everything in the universe. This belief should now guide our lives as we come into conformity with the creator of the universe.

John told us that the nothing was made without Jesus' word.

".. so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
A potter makes pots from a nondescript mass of clay, but God started with nothing that our eyes could see. Prior to this I am given some form of tangible evidence, that which I can see, but now I must assent to God making a universe out that which seem to be nonexistent.
Therefore in this verse there are two conditions of faith. One based upon evidence, the other based upon taking God at His word, without being able to comprehend the how.

This is not new for early church fathers struggled to understand these same concepts. Thomas Aquinas being one of them.

Since we have this confidence.

    Hebrews10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

"...since we have confidence..."

Do you have confidence? If so why? What was it that gave you the ability to have confidence, and what do you have confidence in?

Confidence seems to convey the image of a person that walks boldly into a situation, undaunted by the task that is before them or the people that they are to encounter. This makes me think of the last speech class that I took. I can compare it to the first one. When I gave a speech, the last time, I came prepared. I had done my research; I knew my subject matter (no, I was not an expert.); I rehearsed my speech several times, and although I had notes as a back up, I typically only used them to keep myself on track. I felt very confident, but that was not the case with my first attempts at public speaking. I had been unprepared and intimidated. I literally walked out crying on one occasion.

Webster's dictionary defines confidence as:
1. A trusting, or reliance; an assurance of mind or firm belief in the integrity, stability or veracity of another, or in the truth and reality of a fact.
2. Trust; reliance; applied to one's own abilities, or fortune; belief in one's own competency.

(This belief in one's own competency is the one that scares me. Perhaps because I have, for so long, felt like I had none. We see a world that has this as their anthem, believe in yourself. The problem is that we have had this belief in ourselves to the exclusion of God.)

3. That in which trust is placed; ground of trust; he or that which supports.
4. Safety, or assurance of safety; security.


Why do we have confidence?

Based upon what Webster's says then our faith is one of a trusting reliance or a firm belief in the integrity or stability of another. Let's suppose that I had pursued some self help guru (anyone remember Tony

Robbins). Is the confidence now in me or in the doctrines of the guru? Clearly I could have a reliance in the guru's integrity. (That takes a leap of faith, for I really know nothing about the background of the man on stage.) My confidence could also be "the grounds on which we trust". Doesn't that mean that there are facts that support that position. Again I have to take a leap of faith, because people generate information and call it fact all the time. If I base my life, and therefore my confidence on "evidence", do I gain a sense of security from those things? If I gain a sense of safety, then one could assume that I have an assurance, but of what?

This is exactly what has happened within our lives during the process of following Christ. We had to put our faith in Him. That meant trusting that He could do what we found we could not. (What of those who believe that they are self made? I think that  to see into their heads would give you nightmares due to the fears they live in.) Our confidence begins to grow as we learn more, gather more evidence, hear more facts, and come to understand that there is safety in Him, for He has and will do what He said He would do. 

Here is where the world has such a problem, for they ask "where are the facts?" and "who is the man that is doing the talking?" Isn't that funny how and why God uses people to speak in His behalf. If God spoke directly to most of us, it would kill us. Daniel fell on his face as though he was dead when the angel spoke to him. Belshazzar's knees were knocking at the sight of the hand, writing on the wall. When someone who is trying to get it right, learning to hear the voice of the Lord, especially a big guy like me, speaks out and causes the building to shake, (it was a small building) people get scared and upset and do not want to hear "God's" voice anymore. Israel did the same thing. What they heard, while Moses was on the mountain, sounded like thunder, they did not like it and they did not want God speaking anymore. How did God finally come across to Moses upon His initial contact with him in the desert? God was in the still small voice. Make note, God comes across however He sees fit.

It may seem like I am rambling, but there is a point. Scripture, as tainted as one might choose to believe it to be, carries with it the power to make the Sun go backward in the sky by several degrees. It carries the life of God, and spoken into people's lives will change them too. Is it factual? Few manuscripts were written within such close proximity to the actual events, as the collection of letters that we call the bible were. The world seems to base it's life upon Greek philosophy, and yet the documentation of any of those words were well over hundreds of years later. Sadly that is more than enough time for fallacy to creep in; the very thing that the world attributes to our bible. The New Testament portion has the words of at least three eyewitnesses, and there is strong reason to believe that Mark is the same young man that we see with the blanket around him, after Jesus' arrest. Because we have supporting facts and evidence, you have every good reason to have confidence, trust, and a backbone to move forward in strength. 

God is who he said, and he does what he says. Although Jonah never saw it Nineveh was destroyed as God said. God has never not followed through. Many were fortunate, because the forgiving God relented on several occasions from pouring out his wrath, at that time.

A sad thought – I know far to many who call themselves Christians, that cannot vocalize any of the attributes that comprise their confidence in the one with which they have a relationship, God – the Father.

Why should that be any of my concern?

Perhaps it should not, but God seems to have placed a pastors heart within me, and that heart in me grieves over what I perceive as their struggle on this earth.
Trust me on this one, I understand, because I have been in that place far to often. If you have read the book of Job then you might have noticed how God points out this lack of confidence, at the very beginning of the account. Job, knowing that his adult children are going to be celebrating, worries that they might do something outside the parameters of righteousness.

Let's be honest, Job believes that they will sin. Job proves to us that he feels this way by starting up the sacrificial fires, and begins offering sacrifices to God on behalf of his children.

Whether they sinned or not is really not the point in the book. The point is: Job's reaction; the harm that his worries may have brought upon himself; Job's trust in the God who made him, and Job's ability to stand firm in the face of tremendous adversity from a wife and so called friends.

Another aspect that gives us confidence is our belief in the integrity of the one who gave us the word. In essence the Word (the bible) all comes from the Holy Spirit of God, and passed through men. Jesus was God, John testified to that fact. Jesus did what he said he would do; We have eyewitnesses to that. He established a track record of being dependable, and then leaves us with the promise of a life with him, but there is more. He left us with, not just a promise, but a definition of as much freedom as we can handle, while on this earth. (Paul, tells us that this is not a license to go crazy, but to live our lives, in Him, to the fullest.)

The writer of Hebrews tells us, based upon God's word, and revelation from the Holy Spirit, why we can have this confidence. Trust me, this has nothing to do with any strengths that you might think you have. The life that we now live, is only because of, and through the death and resurrection of Christ. I truly believe that the writer of Hebrews wanted you free, just as God wanted you free.

Consider those that God calls His people. They have a confidence in His supremacy, but not in His desire for relationship.

Here are some of the major reasons that Hebrews gives us for this freedom:

"because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Jesus offered himself. In doing that he became the author of eternal salvation.

Jesus set aside the law; the law that required sacrifices to be made in order to obtain holiness.

He became our sacrifice, and by that we have been made holy, once for all.

Holy here requires some definition. This word hagiazo occurs only 20 times in the King James version of the New Testament. It was translated holy (1), sanctified (13).

Sanctified means to be consecrated or set apart for sacred services.

God has chosen us and set us apart, but for what? To live a life that exemplifies Him.

Although that sounds restrictive it is one of the most satisfying experiences of you life. I speak from experience when I say that everyday I long for more of Him.

Consecrated means to be made sacred by ceremonies or solemn rites; separated from a common to a sacred use, and something or someone that is devoted or dedicated to the service and worship of God. This is also us, for we were made sacred by the washing of Jesus blood. There is also a correlation in that scripture tells us that we are washed by the water of the word. This consecration transpired shortly after His death on the cross.

Jesus offered himself as the sacrifice for sins, one time, for all. Then he sat down at the right hand of God, never to offer another sacrifice for our sins. By that one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. The word "their" refers to the world in general; we are covered under that blanket of forgiveness that Jesus blood bought, but we are not members of an exclusive club, God did it for everyone. Now whether the world accepts that Christ died for them or not is another matter.

Jesus has become our High Priest, God made him so, and he performed in the same manner that the earthly priests had to do, substituting his own body and blood. He did this for our salvation. Something that Hebrews tells us the ordinary sacrifices could not do.

Do you have confidence?

I hear some talking about respect for the Holy, but they are conveying an attitude that says we cannot go to God. Not without making ourselves pure first. We could not make ourselves pure. God poured out his love upon, why would he change his mind now? Only one reason, Love.

We have been given an open door of access to the Father. In John 10:9, Jesus stated that He was the gate, and "whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." This person has the God given right and ability to go in and out. Not out of the flock, but the word used conveys a coming forth.

The Greek word for out is exerchomai, and carries several meanings: come (forth, out), depart (out of), escape (David said, "I have escaped from the hand of the fowler"), go (abroad, away, forth, out), proceed (forth), spread abroad. It almost gives the sense that there is more of a sending out than escaping.

What reasons would we have to escape from God's hand? None. So, a confident person could go in and out, knowing that they are always welcome, because the sheepfold is theirs. God tried to paint you a picture that would instill in you confidence. A confidence that would allow you to feel free. A free person may not want to leave, because of the comfort, but knows full well that they can. There is a tremendous freedom in this relationship, because there is a confidence in the arms of Jesus, the one who gave his all for you. The shepherd will not leave you lost out there in the world, but will come and find you.

This verse also demonstrates God's eternal attitude toward those who come into the flock/door. "whoever enters through me will be saved." There are no "if's" involved with that statement. The moment you enter that door you are his.

In Ezekiel you have God saying that no matter where my sheep have gone, He will seek them out and find them. "...to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,..." The shepherd's pen is not the holy place, although it could well be, for how could you get any closer than in the shepherd's arms. The Holy Place was the innermost court of the temple. This was the place God dwelt (so to speak). To enter there, without sacrifice and with sin, would have meant your death. (It is not that God hated the man that came, but the sin that the man brought with him. By the way, we know from Hebrews that the sacrifices did nothing to remove the sins from the man. The blood that was shed represented a covering for those sins.)

A hugely significant event occurred when Christ died; God himself, ripped the temple veil that had been separating man from God. Why would He have done that? Because separation included fear, exclusion, and a sense of distance from the one who gave His life for you, therefore, that separation had to end. The encompassing purpose in all this was the restoration of a family. He, by his own blood, as our High Priest, did what the high priest could only symbolically do. Jesus became sin, took our sin, and covered us for all eternity, by the offering of His own blood.

I mentioned that God's purpose may have been solely for the restoration of a family, His. Although all that Christ did was beyond imagination, it does not bring you into the family. Perhaps a crude analogy might help. If God came to this earth, a huge adoption agency, and pays the price for our adoption ( that just happened to be Jesus own blood.) That certainly does not mean that He brought a rope and dragged us all away. The mere fact that we are still here might demonstrate that. He comes to the agency, eyeballs the lot of us and regardless of our bad attitudes, ill manners, and disabilities decides that he has to have us all. There is merely one stipulation. You have to agree to come live with Him by signing the adoption papers. In reality all that means is you have to agree to accept that He gave his Son in your behalf and wants you to choose to come live with Him. Sadly, you will have to stay here on earth for a bit while He builds your mansion, but I suppose that is a small price to pay.

Not quite through with this passage yet.

“...to enter the most holy place...”

We were made acceptable through the blood of Jesus. The blood is a vital part of who we are; decisively an integral part of our salvation, and redemption.

Acceptable? Everything was a pattern for future events, therefore the priests sacrifices and cleansing's only foreshadowed Christ's actions on our behalf. Everything was done for the sole purpose of making His people acceptable. Do not allow yourself to get lost in condemnation here. God chose you when you were not acceptable, and sent His Son, Jesus, to die to make you acceptable. The invitation to join Him has never been rescinded, it merely has to be accepted by you.

God won us back by paying a huge price, but for what purpose? As I wrote this line I could see people sitting around a poker table, playing for a million dollars. After a couple of turns one player pushes out a mountain of chips. In a recent poker game, on the television, I was stunned to see the man betting 600, 000 dollars. He was calling the bluff of the other man. Now our lives are not to be compared to poker chips, but there is an analogy here. God gave control of the earth to man, Adam. Adam called God's bluff and partook of the tree. Problem there is that it was not a card game and God was not bluffing. Adam lost. There was another player in that game, but he was not so prominent. The background player was Satan, and he seems to have been pushing Adam to make the bad play. Satan was playing in an attempt to wrest the world away from Adam. Don't think for a moment that this mud ball called earth was all that was at stake. Remember that Satan said to Jesus that all the kingdoms of the earth were his to give, and scripture tells us that he is prince of the power of the air. There was more to his play for dominance than just the earth, he wanted to take God down. God countered Satan's hand with His own Son.

Throughout the ages of man Satan has continued to play the game, attempting to take control by; corrupting man's lineage, inserting legality into man's worship, destroying God's people, and attempting to destroy anything that had the potential of representing Christ. There is so much more, but that is not the purpose here. God won for a reason, and you need to be asking yourself why?

God is not interested in puppets, nor slaves. He seems to relish our personalities, broke as they are, and there is a clear and favorable attitude toward the down cast and unacceptable. Why?

Jesus said of the woman who poured the fragrance upon his feet while weeping, then wiping his feet with her hair. "Those who have been forgiven much, love much." Dear Lord, that is every one of us, and there are few who so much as thank Him.

God is seeking worshipers. If you look up the word worshipers and you will find the concept of kissing the ring of the king.

Webster's definition:

1. To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration. Thou shalt worship no other God. Exo 34.

2. To respect; to honor; to treat with civil reverence. Nor worshiped with a waxen epitaph. 3. To honor with extravagant love and extreme submission; as a lover. With bended knees I daily worship her.

It is human nature to rebel against forced worship, but we willingly worship those who can benefit us, or people we are look up to.

Does God reject those who do not worship him?

Those who do not worship seem to fall into the category of those who after adoption make no effort to assimilate into the family, but chose to display hostile and independent attitudes, expecting the new, rich daddy figure to buy them everything their heart desires.

Why did the priests enter the most holy place?

It was necessary to: talk with God, and to offer prayers to God on behalf of the people.
Exclusive entrance does not mean that this was all about the priests, it was about prayer for the people and communion. The main intent of offering prayers for the people was so that they could, at least for the moment, have free communion with God. I am sure there will those that will fight with me on that point, for free communion is something that we do not seem to see in the old testament. Think about the number of people, in the old testament, that seemed to have some form of relationship with God and yet demonstrated no intense pattern like the priests did; a pattern that we attribute with closeness to God.

(We seem to have this idea that religious activity has some exclusivity with God. What those that appear religious might have is a heart that pursues God, and often causes the outsider to have jealousy.)

David may well be an example of that lifestyle. What we see with David is a man whose heart is constantly being poured out before His maker. Perhaps there is a communication that even David did not understand. I could easily have said, that David may not have been willing to express how he communicated with God, to us, but since communication seems to have been one David's stronger points, at least on paper, that may not be such a strong argument.

I am really not interested in hearing that David was a prophet, although he was, since prophet status may not have been attributed to him until after he was dead. Being a prophet does not make hearing God any easier, intimate relationship does. That means that you spend time getting to know the voice of the one that you have relationship with.
One of the scenes that we find David in, is the cave of Adullam. When you read this story, put flesh and blood on him. The cave is so called protection, there are no comforts of home, and in reality you are scared. When King Saul comes into David's cave to relieve himself; David's men are telling him to kill Saul.
Try taking in every aspect of the chess board. Whose voice did David listen to when he opted not to kill Saul? Whose voice did he listen to when he held up the tassel of Saul's garment, called him father, and pointed out that he spared his life? By the way, that act caused David great grief and is the one of the main reasons that David said I will not touch God's anointed.

Back to why the priests entered the Holy Place. Their entrance gave us entrance, and Jesus did no less for us.
Prior to the cross entrance to the Holy Place was restricted, and not without fear. (Even at the time of Jesus birth priests would tie a rope around themselves so that they could be dragged out should they fall dead because they entered with sin.) God tore the veil and Jesus paid all that was due to make us right in God's eyes. Jesus even performed the cleansings for us, so that we could now enter the Holy Place. The fact that God tore the veil seems to imply that God invites us all in. This one moment in time, the tearing of the veil alone, should be one of the indicators telling us that the main purpose for the restoration of man is the restoration of communication with God.

God always seemed to be straight forward when He talked with man.
Abram (his name prior to God changing it to Abraham.) was apparently approached by God. (Yes, I am aware that Jesus told us that no man has seen God. Then who was it? Jesus? Scholars have argued over that for years. There really are only a handful of options as to who talked with Abram, but it is clear that they had God's authority to speak in behalf of God.) In doing so God states His position toward Abram in these terms; “as for me.” Our understanding of who God is should now be one of trust, for God has always been the one making the commitment, and risking the most in his attempts at communication and relationship.

If we use the priests as our pattern, then our purpose is set before us; we have been called to pray.
One of the scriptures that speaks to me of this purpose is one that God spoke to His people about. Isaiah 58:12 (NIV) Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Keep in mind that all scripture is useful for the building up and exhortation of God's people. If you have accepted your adoption then you too are God's people.
This passage speaks to me, not only into my life as a purpose driver, but as a call to God's people to speak on His behalf into the lives of those who are broken. It would be rare to find someone who does not comprehend what a broken and deteriorated city looks like, not to mention the people that live there. We have seen the news showing people, in third world nations and even in America that are broken people. There appearance is one of hopelessness. If it is in your power to do something, then do so. If not then pray, knowing that you have the confidence and right to operate in God's behalf.

As a side note: There are many things that I said in here that may seem conceptual and not so factual. Should you doubt that I speak God's heart then I implore you to dig. I once knew a man who told me that he read his entire bible trying to find something that would back up what a preacher said from the pulpit. You have been called to do that. This is the only judging that is left for those who follow Christ, and that is to judge according to the scriptures. IS IT IN THE BIBLE?; If not, then throw it out. If you do not see it in scripture, is it because you choose not to?

A word to the body, It was valid then, and it is valid today.

God has grabbed my attention and shown me an image like a noisy drill sergeant, which snaps out commands to soldiers under his authority. You soldiers are Marines, and he gives a series of instructions, finishing with an energetic “Semper Fi” (Always faithful.)

Why? Knowing little about the background of those under his command, he must create in these new recruits a skill level, so that during times of war they will not have to be coached on how to survive and who they are.

God called and you enlisted you; now through God’s word He has trained you and you have become the person God designed you to be. You have questioned your standing with God and wondered why you have struggled with the simple sins; it seems as though you cannot rise above life’s circumstances.

Romans 5:15 Gives you an answer.
… For if by the transgression of the one (Adam) the many died, (the entire human race) much more did the grace (favor though undeserved) of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

We were all born into sin, and sin required a death. Jesus paid the price required for us, brought on by Adam, with His own life.

If you think you are alive because you breathe, know this, it is only through Christ that you live, and move, and have your being.

If you have not been commissioned, or do not understand who you are, then I would have you stand to your feet and commission you. I would look into your eyes so that I could see that what is being said to you is becoming an image that is emblazoned in your memory and heart. Another way of putting this is in relation to knighthood. You would be announced before the public, and given parameters concerning your abilities, your sphere of influence, and how you impact others and the kingdom.

Perhaps you understand these concepts already and yet you struggle; I would remind you of whom you are.

As you stand before God the King, I commission you this day in the presence of the God whom I serve and have sent me; I declare by God’s hand who you are this day.

You have been adopted into a royal family, a family whose nobility shall never cease. This adoption of yours came through your acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the redeemer of your life. I declare that from this day forward you are free from the sinful nature that held you down and separated you from God. I declare to you that because you have accepted Christ’s death and burial that you have buried you old nature with Him and like Christ, you are now raised to new life. A life in which your human nature is now hidden in Christ, regardless of what it seems like.

Will you have opportunity to stumble? Absolutely, but you are to remember this day; the day that God’s servant declared to you who you were. You are nobility and through the Word of God you have trained yourself to rule and conduct yourself as a king. Your calling in life is to rise to your highest potential in Christ, and carry His presence in you as you wear the royal robe; a robe that was washed in the blood of the one who made you able to be adopted. When you stumble you are to get up, dust yourself off, remind yourself of who you are, and stand in an erect, dignified manner for you represent the Kingdom of the Most Exalted God. The only One to who praise is due.

You have been: Washed, Clothed in Him, made new, brought into the family of God, established, caused to reign, and given the Father's authority to rule over and change this life.

Let God's Grace, which poured out toward you when you did not deserve it be the light that you pour out toward others.

Until we reign together in Glory, all my love in the Holy Spirit.