Devotional Thoughts

Hebrews 13:22    "And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words." Paul is encouraging the Hebrews, and you and me, to hold close and recall these words over and over.  It is interesting to see the words, "beseech and exhortation" come from the same root word. It is as though the Apostle Paul is strongly encouraging through his own words to hold close and repeatedly bring to mind the things that were written under the influence of the Holy Spirit.  One more surface thought concerning this verse which will finish our study of the book of Hebrews. Paul said, "I have written a letter unto you in few words."  My carnal mind kicked in when I first read those words.  My mind said, on a lighter note, "If these are few words, what would a long letter from Paul look like?" Forgive my thoughts on that, for the Lord soon spoke to my heart concerning the truth of that statement. What did Paul

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. – Psalm 46:10 In a time of turmoil and upheaval, it is important to take a step back and consider what’s important.  Take time to breathe and take in the majesty of God. Consider how unchanging and eternal is God. What wonder and power comes from on High.  Though the world rages around you, your life in God’s hands is secure. Your hope is built upon a rock, the Rock of Salvation, the LORD. Be still and know, trust, that God is there.  He is always there.

Hebrews 13:20-21    "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  (21)  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." "Now the God of peace.... make you perfect."  Can we ever be perfect in this life - in this flesh?  When we take the word, perfect, to mean without any blemish or flaw,  the answer is no.  There has only been One to walk this earth in absolute perfection.  In 1 Peter 1:19, Peter speaks of the blood of Christ as being the sacrificial offering of "... a lamb without blemish and without spot."   In this sense of the word, we will only be perfect (without blemish and spot) when we are translated into heaven's eternal glory where we will be just like Jesus.  See Romans 8:29. The writer, in today's verses

Hebrews 13:18-19    "Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.  (19)  But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner." "Pray for us."  Do those words not apply to each and every one of us?  We all stand in need of each others' prayer. As I read those three words this morning, it seemed to have an impact on me concerning the writer of Hebrews. He was asking those to whom he was writing to pray for him.  I have tried to avoid naming the writer because he does not identify himself in this book. Most people believe the writer to have been the Apostle Paul.  This book fits his style of writing and certainly he was most knowledgeable concerning the things of the law in contrast to the things concerning grace. We tend to think that Paul as very straightforward and was not intimidated by the strongest followers of the law. Yet as he comes to the conclusion of the book, he instructs

Hebrews 13:15-16    "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.  (16)  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." We can readily identify the "him" in today's verse as being Jesus.  He is "the same, yesterday, today, and for ever." I passed over a couple verses, so let us think for just a moment about them. The writer digressed to the animal sacrifices in verse 11. He told us concerning the shed blood of the animal sacrifices earlier and now he is telling us the bodies of those animals were carried outside the camp to be burned following the blood offering. He then spoke of Jesus' body being taken outside the gate of the city.  We read in verse 13, "Let us go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach."  By this, he is speaking to us concerning those daily transgressions that we commit. We

Hebrews 13:7-8    "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  (8)  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Sometimes, we look at something and think it almost seems out of place, or we wonder why it is placed at that point in the Scripture. We might even be tempted to think the writer had suddenly had a thought and simply decided to insert it into whatever he was writing at the moment.  We can be assured since God is indeed the God of order, there is nothing that is placed in His Word haphazardly or on impulse. He had just finished the thought of the Lord Jesus being with us constantly and having faith over fear in our daily walk. The verses that follow today's text speak of being careful that we are never carried away with "strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." So we think about these tw

Hebrews 13:5-6   "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  (6)  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." One of the most detrimental statements that anyone can make would be, "I can't do that."  Now we all know there are times when that statement is necessary. It is very appropriate to say those words when we are encouraged to do something that we know is contrary to God's will. But when we feel the Lord is leading us to follow Him, we should never say that we cannot do it.  It is my understanding that the ability has already been given when the Lord calls us into His service, at whatever level that might be. On the opposite end of that spectrum, we should never enter into the Lord's service merely for the purpose of our own gain.  When I speak of the Lord calling us into His service,

Hebrews 13:5    "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Have you ever experienced the feeling of loneliness?  Being homesick is a very rough condition through which anyone has to battle. There may be times when we all need moments of quietness, or moments to be alone, to collect our thoughts; but we were not made to live to ourselves. It was never intended for man not to have interaction with other people. In fact when God looked at His finished product of creation, He declared, "It is very good."  There was only one part of creation which God said was not good. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18) The Lord provided the remedy by making Eve from the rib of Adam. He placed them in the perfect place with all their needs being provided. Because of their transgression God cast them out of the Gard

  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13 One of the greatest advantages of devotion to God is hope.  Hope for today and hope of forever gives us courage to face the Adversary.  Hope makes up for our lack of understanding of why evil persists.  Hope helps us trust that obedience leads to joy and peace.  Jesus Christ was born to bring hope to us.  Like so many other wondrous things about Him, He gives us hope that love is not beyond our reach. May the God of hope fill you today with the joy and peace known only through believing and trusting in Him.

Hebrews 13:1    "Let brotherly love continue." This verse brings to mind two different ideas. The first thought that I have is to allow love to flow into our hearts and then continue through, and out of, us to one another.  In this vein of thought, I hear the Lord telling me not to stop the flow of love within myself.  Peter stated it this way, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10) I am not to be as the Dead Sea in which water is only received; but, there are no outlets in which the water can continue flowing. The second thought that comes to my mind is for this love to continue within me, even as I give it away. It is a true statement that you cannot give away all your love. The Lord has a way in which the storehouse of love is always replenished. Let the love that we have received continue within us. Do not allow yourself to run dry. I can hear the thought

Hebrews 12:27-29    "And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  (28)  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  (29)  For our God is a consuming fire." Why is it necessary to be shaken at times?  Do you find your life becoming cluttered with things that really don't matter?  Do you find that your mind sometimes will not settle; which makes it difficult to concentrate on the most important things? Do you find at that moment that the most important thing has been shifted to the side in order to make room for the clutter? Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that ever experiences this in my life. When this happens, God is able, and oftentimes will, shake that which clutters our lives. He is able to bring us to the place where we realiz

Hebrews 12:25-26    "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:  (26)  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh."  We are not to decline or beg off from obeying the Lord as He directs us through this life. But before we can even consider that part of the verse, we must understand that indeed the Lord speaks to us each day we live.  It is astonishing to know that many people, who proclaim to be Christians, do not believe the Lord is active in the lives of His people on a daily basis. I would hate to think I had to go one day without the Lord speaking to me, in some fashion. We've even seen in this chapter that He speaks to us in a chastening voice at times. But the beautiful part of that is this

Hebrews 12:24    "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." If we could only see how glorious Jesus truly is, I think our worship would be more enthusiastic.  We often hear it said, "I can't wait to get to heaven to see Jesus."  And yet, the truth of the matter is, through faith, we can see Him daily and especially when we come into the House of God. "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) And to Jesus ..." (Hebrews 12:22-24a)  We come into the House of God to honor the very One Who laid down His life for us. Once, during the time of the great feast of the Passover, Greeks came to Philip with a very real requ

Hebrews 12:22-24    "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  (23)  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  (24)  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." In Scripture, the term "mount Sion" (or often is spelled Mount Zion) refers to the Church. What is the one main activity that is to be accomplished when we go to "church"?  May I add that simply walking into the building which we refer to as the Church House, or meeting house, does not automatically accomplish the one main activity of worship.  Prayer, Praise, and Preaching of the Word of God is to be used in drawing worship out of our hearts.  There is a song that says, "We have come into this house to ma

Hope by George Frederic Watts, 1886 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good report.  Hebrews 11:1-2 One of the most frustrating things for unbelievers is the faithful calm of the devoted Christian.  Jesus Christ frustrated the Pharisees and Saducees with patience and firm determination in the Truth.  These characteristics can help us too. Our hope rests in faith. Faith gives us the hope we need to be patient when others grow angry.  Faith lends us that same Christ-like determination to do the will of the Father. When all else fails, trust the faith handed down by Jesus Christ to the Apostles.  It is the stuff of hope.

Hebrews 12:20-24     "(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:  (21)  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)  (22)  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  (23)  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  (24)  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Have you ever stopped to think about how blessed you and I truly are?  We sometimes think of blessings as though they only consist of material things. We think of blessings in terms of health.  We often hear people proclaim a health, wealth, and prosperity doctrine; and quite honestly, that

Hebrews 12:18-21    "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,  (19)  And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:  (20)  (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:  (21)  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake)" I love how the Lord is constantly showing us glimpses of His righteousness, His holiness, His majesty, and glory. Sometimes, we become like Moses and are fearful when the Lord is showing Himself. We do that because we are sinful creatures.  "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:  (11)  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." (Romans 3:10-11) Paul goes on to quote, "There is

Hebrews 12:1-2   "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  (2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Chapter 11 ended with these words in verse 40, "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."  How can we make them perfect?  Be assured, their faith was a perfect faith in that the ground of their confidence was no other than the Lord God Almighty. But we have been blessed by receiving the promise upon which they placed their faith but did not fully see. What promise have you and I received?  As we look back on those dear saints of God in the Old Testament, we can see their actions through

Hebrews 11:39-40    "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:  (40)  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." I glanced forward yesterday to read these two verses that conclude this great "Hall of Faith," the 11th chapter of Hebrews. I wanted to use these verses as a text today so as we read portions of the previous verses, we might have in our hearts and minds the great blessing that you and I have that even these dear saints of God were not able to enjoy. So, before I go back and share some of the thoughts in the concluding verses, let this sink into our hearts: "that they without us should not be made perfect." Who are the "they" under consideration? We have seen just a few of them. Let's think of some others and the things they endured. The writer of Hebrews shares a few more names with us in verse 32:  "... for the time would fail

The Ascension by Benjamin West, 180 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;   Zechariah 9:12 Jesus Christ was born to set prisoners of sin free.  This purpose drove the Savior on to Calvary. From cradle to grave, the Lord worked to liberate His people.  When the Lord ascended, He carried the captivity captive. God’s children are no longer captives of sin, but like the Apostle Paul, we are prisoners of Jesus Christ.  We, the prisoners of hope, do therefore return to the stronghold of the Rock of our Salvation. Run to the Savior.  His yoke is easy, His burden light.

Hebrews 11:29-31    "By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.  (30)  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.  (31)  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace." As the writer continued the 11th chapter of Hebrews, it was as if he realized the names were too numerous to place within a letter. (I am not discounting the fact the Word of God is totally inspired by the Holy Spirit.) But in the verses that will be ending this chapter, he does not go into quite the detail with these individuals as he did with the first ones. That is not to say they are any less important. In these three verses, we see the great things performed by God on behalf of those who believed His promise and His power.  When the Lord brought Israel to the Red Sea, they only saw a great roadblock with no way to turn. Their immediate

Hebrews 11:28    "Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them." This morning, I seem to be stuck on two words, "through faith".  Some of the verses in this 11th chapter begin with the words, "by faith," while others, as this morning's verse, begin with "through faith."  As I quickly glance back, I see action taking place with the words, "by faith." For example, "by faith he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter and he forsook Egypt."  "By faith Noah prepared an ark." Whereas the words, "through faith" tend to infer an inner strength that allows a mindset to be toward the very power of God. "Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God."  "Through faith Sara received strength.... because she judged him faithful who had promised." And now we come to this mornin

Hebrews 11:27    "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." "By faith he (Moses) forsook Egypt."  In verse 25, we read that Moses made a decision "to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."  This was a conscious decision made by Moses. It can be readily understood the choice was given to him and the proper direction was guided by the Lord God Almighty.  He chose to walk away from sin. He chose to walk away from the pleasures of Egypt. He chose to walk away from the riches of the palace of Pharaoh.  I assure you the results of his decision did not cause him to accumulate earthly riches, but he was blessed by the Lord to see and experience things that he never would have seen in Egypt. He chose to forsake Egypt with no fear of the king. He realized Pharaoh had the earthly capacity to kill him with one movement of the finger. But he did

Hebrews 11:24-26    "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;  (25)  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;  (26)  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." One day, a man was going on a business trip. His little boy wanted to help him carry his luggage out to the car.  He told the little boy that he could not handle the big luggage, but he allowed him to carry his briefcase. The little boy wanted to know why he couldn't help with the larger bags. The father told him he was not strong enough yet to handle the big things, but he would be able to do it when he grew older and stronger.  We often try to tackle situations and circumstances that we are not strong enough to handle. When Moses was a young man, he walked out one day to see an Egyptian hitting on