Day 30 - Hebrews 13:21 - 13:25

Recap from yesterday's post:

20 Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—

Hebrews 13:21-25 

21 may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
22 I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.

23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.

24 Greet all your leaders and all the believers there. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

25 May God’s grace be with you all.


Tori's Comments -

"may he equip you with all you need for doing his will" (vs. 21)

Like what? Is this referring to the fruits of the spirit, or spiritual gifts? How do you know God's will? 

Weird to end with more questions, but there it is! 

What I learned from Hebrews:

• We are freed from slavery of fear!!!
• We should not forget that the people around us don't know God's love
• 
  

via GIPHY

• We show our love for God by how we love others
• Even small, insignificant-seeming stories in the Old Testament point to Jesus (Melchi)
• Don't settle for chasing shadows instead of the real thing!!
• I'm guilt-free in Christ! 
• Faith inspires God's blessings
• I should get rid of anything holding me back from wholeheartedly pursuing Christ
• We aren't focused on the here and now, but the eternal.

Thanks for reading along with us! Please share if you have learned anything throughout Hebrews, or if it was just me. (I really hope not.)

Terrie's Comments - 

As you have read Hebrews with us I hope that you have come away confident in the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.  We are not alone in this we have the Holy Spirit to give us power and to counsel us every step of the way.  Jesus is interceding for us with the Father. And we also have ministering angels who take care of us as well.  

This road we walk here on earth will not be easy but it will have great rewards.  Perspective is everything.  We are looking forward to our heavenly home and our time here on earth is brief.  We must always keep in mind that no matter what happens here on earth the only thing that matters is that we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.

This prayer is a perfect way to end our Hebrews challenge:

 Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood-
may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Join us for our next challenge... we are planning to Roam on through Romans this summer... we hope you will join us!

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 29 - Hebrews 13:11 - 13:20

Hebrews 13:11-20

11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

18 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. 19 And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.

20 Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—


Terrie's Comments - 

Do I act like am I willing to bear the disgrace that Jesus bore?  
Do I live like this world is not my permanent home?
Do I offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God?  
Do I proclaim allegiance to his name?
Do I do good and share with those in need?
Do I give my spiritual leaders reason to lead with joy or am I creating sorrow in their work?
Do I live honorably in everything I do?

These are the things that the writer of Hebrews is encouraging us to do continually.  To keep our eye's fixed on Jesus and he definitely has given plenty of reasons why to do it and examples of what it looks like to walk out our faith with no excuse.  So let us spur one another on as we walk this road together.  Jesus is definitely worth following each of us needs to decide for themselves if the sacrifice of following Jesus is worth it to them.

A question I ask myself frequently is "am I honoring God?"  It is a question that keeps me in check and reminds me that no matter how noble or how "right" it feels if it doesn't line up with God's word then it doesn't honor God and it should not be the choice I choose.



Tori's Comments - 

My facebook feed is currently filled with political posts. Instead of getting riled up, I have to remind myself that this world is not my real home. While we should fight for the helpless and voiceless, I also think we fight just because we want to be right. Looking at comments on certain posts definitely shows this. I have to constantly remind myself that the right here and now is temporary. God is my focus, and He is eternal.

I find vs 17 really interesting. Another topic that has really piqued my interest lately is worship. It's a recurring theme in the bible, and I like this perspective that proclaiming Christ's name, not being ashamed of who saved you, is a sacrifice to God. And the same goes for denying yourself to love someone...it's a beautiful perspective we get to have. (Although, admittedly, sometimes a hard one.)

Last note- in verse 18, the writer's main desire is to live honorably. Is that mine?


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 28 - Hebrews 13:1 - 13:10

Hebrews 13:1-10 

13 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,

“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper,
    so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.


Tori's Comments - 

So, Hebrews is coming to a close. I always love reading the last few comments, the last few reminders the author gives. It's like he's trying to sum up the most important things.

And the first one? "Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters."

Unity in the church is so important. 

I also love what is said about empathy for our brothers and sisters in vs. 3. That's something that, especially today, is necessary with all of the Christian persecution going on around the world.

Vs 8 is beautiful.

Vs. 9 is important. My strength doesn't come from legalism or endless rules, but God alone.


Terrie's Comments - 

We have an helper.
We need to keep perspective... what can mere people do to us?  We need to fear God more than what people think about us.
It is important that since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever that we can look to all who came before us and learn from their examples of faith and how God moved.  When we rely on God He will move the same way he did since he doesn't change.

I am glad that we aren't called to follow food rules anymore and that my strength doesn't come from what I eat or do not eat but from God alone.


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!