Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. We like to take our own revenge – getting even with someone. However: judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. But you don't know what he/she did to me. I know we think we will feel better if we take revenge, but in actuality we won't. If we show mercy, we will heap coals of fire upon their heads. Now for James' big question: what use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? Of course we are not saved by works of the law. You remember that Paul says that we are saved by grace and not by works. But if you are saved, you should be doing good deeds daily. We should be able to judge by one's fruit. Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. It's kind of like the glue that needs two chemicals for it to work. One is no good without the other. You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my fa...

  Good morning. Back to James: my brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. He then talks about various appearances of the rich versus the poor, and showing favoritism to the rich. You have become judges with evil motives. That's an easy thing to do in churches. Too many times the rich are placed on various boards in the church. Also sometimes pastors are afraid to do anything that would upset the rich people. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? Obviously you cannot buy your way into heaven. He then call something the Royal law: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself". But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. But it is such a little transgression you may say. However if you keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, you have become guilty of all. Of ...

  Good morning. Here's one of those uh-oh scriptures. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. If you think you have arrived, you usually do not keep it to yourself. You look down on others, and when you do, something bad comes out of your mouth towards them. You definitely want to share their faults with everyone else. You need to put action behind your words. It says that he deceives his own heart, not the other way around. His heart knows he is not right with God. The more he puts down others, the more his heart believes the untruth. How can you know that you are walking the walk and not just talking the talk? This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. If the church took care of the widows and orphans, there would be no need for the government to do so. In th...

  Good morning. Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. How can you prove yourself a doer of the word - by doing the word. And of course we've mentioned many times about people sitting in church hearing the word, but it not affecting their lives whatsoever. That's because they don't do what they hear. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror, for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. These people "glance at the word" like glancing in a mirror. What they see in the mirror does not make them want to change anything. But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. The words translated "looks intently" are the same ones that were used of ...

  Good morning. Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. As soon as we think we hear something, we react. We don't even bother finding out the details. Contrary to the admonition to be slow to speak and slow to anger, we are always rushing in to speak what is on our little minds and express our great anger. Too many times we later regret what we said or did. We think we have justification. In the end, the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. We claim it is righteous indignation. God does not need our help in promoting righteousness. The end does not justify the means. So what should we do? Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. It is up to us to put them aside. They do not go away on their own. We have to humble ourselves to receive the word. We cannot go around thinking that we know more than anyone else. It is the word implanted...

  Good morning. Speaking of temptation: each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. So it comes from within. Then when lust has conceived, it guess birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Sin has a certain outcome – death. Do not be deceived my brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. God does not change. He did not give good gifts in the past and now gives bad ones. If you have received a good gift – it came from God. In the 10th chapter of Proverbs it says: it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. When the devil gives you something, sorrow always trails right along behind. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. We were not an accident looking for some place to happ...

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a really great one with friends and family. The following is without comment. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee call Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and...

  Good morning. Now a statement that seems opposite of the norm. Let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position. You do not think of a person of humble circumstances having a high position. Usually people in high positions are wealthy - either people naturally give high positions to those who are wealthy, or those who are wealthy demand a high position. Those of humble circumstances usually take whatever they can get. What does he say that the rich should do? Let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. Back to encountering various trials: blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. So if we keep on keeping on and endure, then we will be blessed. For once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised, to those who love Him. Now that is an excellent promise! Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himsel...

  Good morning. So far so good. OK so we are enduring through the testing of our faith. Sometimes people can endure things but have a bad attitude in doing so. Let endurance have its perfect results that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Wouldn't that be a great label to have – perfect and complete? But what if we are lacking wisdom? Let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (remember you don't have because you don't ask). Of course too many times we only want "wisdom" that confirms what we already want to do. But as in everything we ask of God – let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. That kind of person is susceptible to believing anything he hears. That kind of person is mentally "seasick". Let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double minded man, un...

  Good morning. We are now into the book of James. We have looked at a lot of verses in James before, so there's gonna be a lot of repetition. There is a dispute as to when it was written. I prefer to go with an earlier date before James came to a full revelation about the Gentile converts. The book says that it was written to the 12 tribes of Israel who were dispersed. It seems to be very much based on the Law of Moses. We tend to think that all of the early believers knew everything there was to know about Christianity on the day of Pentecost. However the book of Acts shows that they had to learn things as they went along. God used Peter fairly early on to show them that the Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit too. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Yeah, I'm really happy I'm going through all of this. Of course our trials are not like theirs. Their very lives were in danger....

  Good morning. Not only should we continue to offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, we should not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Notice it says that doing good and sharing are sacrifices. That helps to confirm that the previous verse does not mean the sacrifice of praise is praising God even when you don't feel like it or have no reason to do so. We don't have animal sacrifices to God, so this is the way we offer up Thanksgiving to Him. Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. There are those that use this verse and others to say "we have control over your life. You can't do anything major without consulting us first". If you don't conform, they kick you out of the church. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you, the reader, in eve...

  Good morning. Picking up where we left off: do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods. Now he was probably talking about things concerning the law of Moses; however it is true for us too, but not about foods. There are a lot of strange teachings, especially among Pentecostals. People hear what they think is a new revelation and they quickly jump onto the bandwagon. We've had enough of this foundation teaching (which he talked about chapters ago), and want something new and exciting that nobody else knows about. We are members of an exclusive club. And since we "know everything there is to know about the basic things", then usually it's about the end times. That's something that people just might not know everything about. And if we can just find that one thing that very few people know about, then we can become a member of that exclusive club. The problem is they hold on for d...

  Good morning. Remember those who led you, and spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Too often we forget those who helped us when we were brand new Christians. We get to the point where we think we don't need them – that we know more than they do. They did not speak their opinions; they spoke the word of God to us. When we look at their lives and see that they turned out well, we need to imitate their faith. Just like little children imitate their parents, we should imitate our spiritual parents. "But they are old fashioned and their beliefs are out of date", you say. Some things may be out of date, but their core beliefs are not. That's because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. He does not change, and our core beliefs should not either. The music and other things might change, but Jesus and our core beliefs do not. Father thank You that the reader walks in Your word just as he/s...

  Good morning. Let the love of the brethren continue. Love is a natural thing from Christians; so it seems strange that he would say to let it continue. Sadly many Christians do not. Sometimes it's different beliefs about doctrines, but other times it's disagreements about natural things that causes love to discontinue. It reminds me of the song that goes "I believe in this, you believe in that; this and that are keeping us from loving one another". Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Yesterday the pastor went even further. He admonished us to entertain fellow believers, even giving them shelter in our homes for the night. Let your character be free from the love of money (remember that money is the root of all evil), being content with what you have; for He Himself said "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you". Because of that we can say with confidence "the Lord...

  Good morning. So we not only come to the church of the firstborn; we also come to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth (Moses), much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. The judgment of mankind today is much surer than that of those in the past. His voice shook the earth then. That would have been very scary to be at that mountain. That's nothing compared to what will happen: "yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven". The good news is: we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. How grateful we should be that we...

  Good morning. Back to Hebrews: that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. Even afterwards, when he desired to inherit a blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Now with our usual understanding of repentance, I used to think that he was seeking for his own change of heart with tears. But the word translated repentance actually means after thinking about it, you change your mind. He was not seeking to change his own mind, but rather his father Isaac's mind with tears; so that he could receive a blessing. Then he talks about; we have not come to a mountain like the children of Israel did on Mt. Sinai. We have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the General assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. We have not come to a physical mountain but rather a spiritual one. We are ...

  Good morning. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. First of all it is in the imperative tense. That means it is not a suggestion – it is a command. Secondly, we have to pursue peace and sanctification. They don't just happen without effort (legally sanctification does, but experientially it does not). In today's world, it takes a lot of effort to have peace with others. They don't want peace. It's like Israel with some of the groups they have conflicts with. The groups don't really want to have peace with Israel. No matter what Israel might do, they would still want the destruction of Israel. Do you want to see the Lord – pursue sanctification. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled. A root of bitterness can be very hard to get rid of. It's like some plants that you would like to get rid of. If you just chop t...

  Good morning. Continuing on the theme of discipline: but if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Ouch! God only disciplines His children; so if He's not disciplining you, then you're not His child. We had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? Too many even of God's children do not respect Him. If you don't respect God when you are "little" spirituality, then you won't respect Him when you "get older". Disciplining is for training; it is not to inflict wrath. They did not want to be trained – they were strong-willed children in the Lord. God disciplines us for our good, that we may share His Holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. No one says "...

  Good morning. OK so we have fixed our eyes on Jesus – what else? Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. As we said before, it is easy to give up when things look bad. But Jesus did not give up; and neither should we. Do not forget the exhortation addressed to you as children: "do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines". Of course we felt that way when we disciplined our children. It's hard to feel that way on this side of the discipline. Why do we endure all of the sufferings we have gone through? It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? The military and all sports coaches make their "team" go through strict training – not to hurt them, but to discipline them. If they can hold up under strict discipli...

  Good morning. The author now mentions several people who were terribly mistreated and yet all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. They endured a lot, but did not give up – they kept the faith. So what should we do? Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The cloud of witnesses were able to do it, and so should we. They could have given in to the pressure, but they resisted. Too many times we look at the things entangling our feet. Instead we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Instead of fixing our eyes on the...

  Good morning. Continuing with the children of Israel: by faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. I don't know if it was like in the movie the 10 Commandments with the water rising high on either side of them. If so, I don't know if I would've gone across. After all, who knows if it would've stayed that way and not come crashing down upon me. Notice they went across as on dry land. After centuries of the water being there, it would be very muddy and hard to walk upon. Exodus says that God made the wind blow across there all night long; so that is probably what dried it out. Then of course there was that problem of all those Egyptians and the chariots right behind them. That would be motivation enough to go forward. Sometimes it takes something like that to get us moving in the direction God wants us to go. And it was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down, after...

  Good morning. He then talks about Isaac blessing Jacob and Esau, and Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph, and then finally Joseph mentioning the exodus of the sons of Israel and giving orders concerning his bones. While Joseph was alive, it did not look like Israel was ever going back to the promised land. After all, they had the best land of Egypt. Why would they want to go back to the unknown? This was before they were enslaved. Sometimes the "good" of the now keeps us from obtaining the "best" of the future. When we settle for the good, it obscures our vision of the best. We then come to think that this is the best that God has for us. Is there some good that you are settling for instead of waiting for the best – don't! The children of Israel may have forgotten, but Joseph did not. Then he talks about Moses' parents hiding him for three months ... Moses left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. Now if yo...

  Good morning. So all of these people of faith that the writer of Hebrews has been talking about made it clear that they were seeking a country of their own. If they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. They kept their eyes on the prize. Remember the people of Israel in the wilderness – when things got rough, they began to bemoan what they had left behind in Egypt. These people of faith did not. They did not say "woe is me – things are bad". They kept looking forward and not back. They did not say "it is too hard – I'm going back". They desired a better country, that is a heavenly one. And because of that God was not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. It was a long and hard road to get Isaac. Now God was asking him to give up his o...

  Good morning. Now we get to Abraham – he describes what Abraham went through, which we have already talked about. He was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Then he talks about Sarah. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. If you read Genesis, that's not what it looked like. Sarah laughed when she overheard that she was to have a baby. Then again maybe he was talking about Abraham's faith and not Sarah's. There was born of one man, and him (I love this part) as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven. Remember we said earlier that he only had Isaac as far as the promise was concerned, and Isaac only had Jacob and Esau. It was not an auspicious beginning to having descendants as many as the stars of heaven. All of these that he has talked about in this chapter died in faith, without receiving the ...

  Good morning. Continuing with the people of faith: it was by faith that Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death. He was pleasing to God. And without faith – it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Remember that Jesus said, "I am", and here it says we must believe that God is. We must also believe that God will reward us when we seek Him. He will let us find Him. Too many Christians are seeking things, not God. He goes on: God told Noah to build an ark. Why would you need an ark? Noah had been alive for hundreds of years and had never seen any reason for needing a big boat. There may have been water around, but how are you going to get this big boat into the water? If he had seen boats before, they would've been nothing like this. And yet he believed God and built the boat. It does not say how much, if at all, his three sons helped him. I'm sure he was the laughings...

  Good morning. You are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of your soul. But what is faith? Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. As we've said before – if you can see it, it is not hope. So what good is faith? By it the men of old gained approval. Abraham did not heal anybody or perform any miracles, but he definitely had approval because of his faith. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. That is actually amazing for 2000 years ago. Mankind's scientific understanding of the creation was limited back then. And of course God had faith that by His word worlds would come into existence. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he stil...

  Good morning. Continuing: you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. Could we joyfully accept it if someone seized our property because we were Christians? Not many of us would. They are after all just things that we cannot take with us, and which are destined for destruction. Don't throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. I'm sure you've heard illustrations of miners stopping just short of the mother-lode. It is hard to keep on keeping on when you don't see the end in sight. For yet in a little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay, but My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. For over 40 years I've heard that Jesus could come at any moment. Many hav...

  Good morning. Continuing with the theme of judgment: anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? This reminds us of earlier when he said they partook of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the powers of the ages to come, and then fallen away, that it was impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. Whether or not they lose their salvation, there will be severe punishment. God knows just what to do - it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. When people do this, they become some of the severest critics of Christianity. They don't want to believe in it, because they know how horrible ...

  Good morning. In addition to stimulating one another to love and good deeds, we should not be forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. There are no lone rangers in the kingdom of God. Even in the best of times, we should be meeting with other Christians. In these days, as the end is drawing near, we should be even more diligent to meet with other Christians. We need their comfort, encouragement, and counsel. In this verse he says that some have even made it a habit to not assemble. It does not take too many times doing something for it to become a habit. It then becomes very difficult to break that habit. In fact many times people don't even want to break that habit. They have comfort in that routine. In this case, they don't want people telling them that they are doing something wrong. Would you want to go to a group that you know would tell you you're doing something...

  Good morning. We saw before that we have confidence to enter into the holy place because of the blood of Jesus: by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.   And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Remember in 9:13 the sprinkling of those who had been defiled in order to sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh - here we have our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. What was done back then was a symbol of what is done now. And we are to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Remember – hope seen is not hope. We can't let circumstances cause us to waiver. Because God is faithful, we can be certain that we will have what He promised us. Remember: never, never, never give up! And so what should we...

  Good morning. All of those sacrifices made year after year could not make perfect those who drew near. It is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sins. However the blood of Jesus did! By God's will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. After He finished, He sat down at the right hand of God till His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. His sacrifice of Himself did not last for just one year. By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. One sacrifice is all it took. Legally we were sanctified – that's what the word Saint means – when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Experientially it is a lifelong process. God said that our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. I'm sure you've heard many illustrations where people kept confessing a sin over and over and God saying "what are you talking about?" So since we are forgiven, there is no need for...

  Good morning. For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Under the old covenant every time a sin was committed the death of an animal had to occur. With the new covenant there was a one-time offering for sin – Jesus. As a result, we who have been called receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. If we inherit something from someone while we are alive, the inheritance lasts only while we're still living. This inheritance lasts even after we die. Where there is a covenant there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never enforced while the one who made it lives. While they are alive, they don't need a covenant. It is only after that they are dead that you need a document stating t...

  Good morning. If that first covenant has been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. It was not enough, because man could never live up to his part of the covenant. God told them in Jeremiah that there were days coming when He would have a new covenant with the house of Israel. In this one God would put His laws into their minds and write them upon their hearts. They would not be written on stone tablets which could never help mankind to live by them. It would not be just a set of rules that mankind had to live by in his own power - out of fear of being judged. Under this covenant, mankind would want to live by them. And all would know God. He then goes through all of the things that were in the tabernacle of Moses. He then talks about the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer sanctified for the cleansing of the flesh; so how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse you...

  Good morning. Talking about Jesus our high priest: He does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever. This repeats what we've said before. And so we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. Everything on earth concerning the law was a foreshadow of what was to come in heaven. As great as it was, it was nothing compared to what was to come. They served a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. But even though everything was a copy, Moses could not be sloppy in his creation of them. God told him to make it according to the pattern that He had...

  Good morning. We will sort of quickly go through his discussion about Melchizedek. He was king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. Abraham gave him 1/10 of the spoils. His name meant king of righteousness; and he was king of Salem which means king of peace. No father or mother no beginning nor end of life. He was made like the Son of God - a priest perpetually. He received tithes and is witnessed that he lives on. Tithes were given to the priests, who were from the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. The one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe. It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah. I know that is a lot, but there is a lot more that I skipped. From these comments (along with God saying that You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek), and the ones I skipped, it seems like the writer of Hebrews was saying t...

  Good morning. God, desiring even more to show the heirs of the promise (that means us), the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. The moment God promised us something, it was certain. That's because He cannot lie, and He would not change His mind. He then also swore by Himself that He would bless Abraham and his descendants. Therefore we can be certain when we lay hold of the hope set before us. Because of this we should not be tossed to and fro. This hope is an anchor for our souls. This hope enters within the veil, where Jesus entered for us as a high priest. Once a year the high priest would go inside the veil to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. Only he could go inside and no one else. Inside the veil above the Ark of the Covenant is where God manifested Himself. No one...

  Good morning. Continuing about those who have fallen away: he talks about vegetation receiving rain. Those that bring forth useful things, receive a blessing from God; those that have thorns, are worthless, close to being cursed, and are burned. But we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation. God won't forget your work in ministering to the Saints. Show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end. In other words don't give up doing the good deeds you have been doing, just because you become tired or discouraged. That you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Just like it's all too easy to become sluggish in your everyday life like doing household chores etc.; it is all too easy to become sluggish in doing good deeds for the kingdom of God. Notice that it is not only through faith, but also patience that you need to inherit the promises. ...

  Good morning. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (this would be salvation- part of the milk he was talking about), of instruction about washings (baptisms), laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. These are the things they learned about when they first became Christians. They are the foundation upon which everything else is built. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. Whoa! How could someone do that? It says that they are partakers of the Holy Spirit. If you have done that, how could you turn your back on God? But people do that all too often. It ...

  Good morning. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. Because of His suffering and learning obedience He saved us not just for a while, but for all eternity. As we said before He was designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron. The writer of Hebrews wanted to talk more about Mel, but they had become dull of hearing; and so it was hard to explain to them. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. Got expects us to grow - not to stay where we are. Remember that Paul told Timothy to teach others what he had taught Timothy, and that they should teach others also. By this time they should be on a solid diet. They did not get a solid foundation. They needed to tear down everything and start all over again. For everyone who partakes only...

  Good morning. So what should our response be to what we've heard so far? Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Remember that those who are of the light come to the light. And we come with confidence – not in fear and trembling. We don't have to fear that our request will be rejected. He then talks about the human high priest who offered sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant since he himself also is beset with weakness. Therefore he has to offer sacrifices, not only for the people, but also for himself. Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest. God is the One who designated Him a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek; not according to the order of Aaron. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus requested that the cup be taken from Him. He was heard because of His piety. He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. None of ...

  Good morning. Continuing: and there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. You can't sneak one past God. He knew you were going to do it before you even thought about doing it. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. As our high priest, He offered the greatest sacrifice ever – Himself. And He is not here on earth – He is in the heavens. If He were here on earth, He could only be with a few at a time. As it is, He can be with all of us all of the time. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. He suffered temptation just like we do. We would have yielded many times over to temptation, if we had been in the garden like He was. He knows how hard it is for us to resist temptation. That does not excuse us when w...

  Good morning. So we have seen that the children of Israel had good news preached to them, and they failed to enter because of disobedience. Centuries later God spoke through David: today if you hear His voice do not harden your heart. For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. Some people are still working for their salvation. Salvation is by grace not by works. However, if one is saved, one should be doing good works. You don't have to "work up" your works. It should be a naturally supernatural thing. We do not want to follow the disobedience of the children of Israel. How will we be judged as to whether or not we obey the word? For the word of God is...

  Good morning. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. Just hearing the good news is not enough. People hear the good news every Sunday; but there is no change in their heart or in their life. It does not profit them. It's like the seed sown on rocky soil. The devil snatches it away. The word has to be united by faith. The word translated united is an interesting one. It means to be blended together to form a compound. It is like taking carbon and iron and blending them together under heat and pressure forming steel. You cannot tell where one leaves off and the other begins. It does not form a new element, but the characteristics of the finished product are different from the two separately. So it is with the word and faith. They are blended together to form something much stronger than each by itself. Each one by itself is not enough to save you. The I...

Good morning. Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me. For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. The reason people disobey is because they don't believe God's word. When God says not to do something or else ... , He means it. Or if He says to do something or else ... , He means that also. And so they were not able to enter into God's rest – they died in the wilderness. If they had entered into the Promised Land, they would not have entered into His rest; and they would've kept all of the others from entering into His rest also. Sadly the same thing is true today. There are those who are in the chur...

  Good morning. Hebrews then quotes from the book of Psalms: today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked Me in the wilderness ... tested Me ... 40 years... always go astray… shall not enter My rest. Take care, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. They saw God perform miracles for 40 years in the wilderness; and yet they still did not believe Him. The fact that they had manna for 40 years did not phase them. They had a miracle every day, and what did they do – complained! We need to be careful to not be like them. We get miracles all the time, and yet we do not acknowledge or even see them. It's like a picture on the wall. After a while, we don't even notice it's there. We get discouraged and think that God does not even care. But encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called today, lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin ...

  Good morning. Speaking of Jesus: Since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. We know that Jesus suffered tremendously; not only during His scourging and on the cross, but also in the garden before He was arrested. Remember the song – He could've called 10,000 angels. And yet He endured all for us. The situations in which we are tempted pale by comparison. Therefore, holy brethren (yes he's talking about you), partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. An apostle is one who is sent. And the high priest intervened between man and God. Jesus is both through our confession. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. Moses was faithful as a servant – but Christ was faithful as a Son over His h...

  Good morning. Speaking of Jesus: since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself   likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. God did not just go "poof" and make us His children. He actually became flesh and blood. As such, He experienced what unredeemed man experiences when he dies. Through death He made the devil powerless. Before that, the fear of death controlled mankind. He experienced death so that He might deliver those who through the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Remember that through faith we are also children of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. The high priest once a year had to sprinkle...

  Good morning. Yesterday we talked about not seeing all things subjected to mankind. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. He suffered death so that we would not have to. The real "us" never dies. He was greater than the angels in heaven; and then He came to earth as a man. It was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. It took the sufferings of the cross to bring everything to completion. Without it we would not be sons and daughters of God. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. Jesus is the One who sanctifies, and we are those whom He sanctifies. We are set apart to God thr...

  Good morning. Yesterday we talked about paying much closer attention to what we have heard. After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard. Jesus spoke to the disciples. They then passed along what they had heard and seen. These were eyewitnesses. It wasn't just someone who heard someone who heard someone say something. That can be far from what was really said. So how did we know that it was accurate? God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. God is the One who bore witness to what they said with convincing proofs. Also, they did not conjure up things on their own. Everything came through the Holy Spirit, and it was by God's will. Back to the angels: He did not subject to angles the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. Quoting from Psalm eight: "what is man… You have put all things in subjection under his feet...

  Good morning. Continuing: when He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. Jesus finished the work that He was sent to do. In Acts chapter 7, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. There are some groups today that are really big on seeing angels. That is what they are looking for when they go to various meetings. We are not to seek or worship angels. The writer of the book of Hebrews then points out how much greater the name of Jesus is than angels. To which of the angels did He ever say "You are My Son, today I have begotten You?" He then goes on with a lot more verses showing how the Son is so much greater than the angels. And of the angels he says: are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? There are some who think that this means that we can c...

  Good morning. I am just going to look at one verse from Philemon. I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake. Too many Christians today do not even know what good things are in them. We received a lot from God when we became Christians. A person is ineffective when they do not know what they have available to them. Now on to the book of Hebrews. Some of these verses we have talked about before. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. God used the prophets in the Old Testament to speak to the people about His ways. But when Jesus came, God spoke to us through His Son, Jesus. The prophets spoke of the coming of the Messiah. Even though the people had those words to direct them towards Jesus, they still did not b...

  Good morning. We were talking about the Holy Spirit last time – whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Remember that John the Baptist said that the One following him (Jesus), was the one who is going to baptize in the Holy Spirit. We were justified by grace not by our works. Why – that we might be made heirs. Paul wanted Titus to speak confidently so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. God did not pour out his Holy Spirit upon us for us to just sit around singing worship songs. We are to get out and do good deeds. We don't attract men to Christ by what we do in church; we attract them by what we do in the world. I'm not aware of this happening at church, but with one that big I would not be surprised that it goes on in secret - reject a factious man after a first and sec...

  Good morning. Paul then tells Titus to remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. In other words, listen to those in authority and be a good neighbor. We need to be understanding because: we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and in envy, hateful, hating one another. In other words we were bad dudes like they are now. Does not mean we permit them to do what they want nor to approve the things they do. We were lost and without hope. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. God so loved that He gave. And it was not because of any of our "righteous...

  Good morning. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. But sadly not all will accept it. Instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. It's not just to not do bad things. It is to live your life as if God were watching you in your presence. We are to live this way because we are to be looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. We would not want to be caught doing those bad things when Jesus appears. However if you say He's not coming for a long time, it is easy to slack off, thinking you can make things right before He comes. However that is unlikely to happen. The longer you feel that way, the harder it is to change. We should behave properly even if He does not come in our lifetime. After all, He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possessio...

  Good morning. Paul just got through telling Titus about all these bad speaking people. Instead Titus was to speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds. We are to lead by example. People will do what we do, not what we say to do. We are to have purity in doctrine, dignified (that does not mean with your nose   stuck in the air), sound in speech which is beyond reproach (Watch that tongue ). Why – in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. You lose the argument before you even get started, if your speech is not beyond reproach. Paul's instructions about bondslaves is good for all of us: to be well pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. Of course you dare not be argumentative with your boss. The not pilfering goes along with what Pastor talked about Sunday. It says e...

  Good morning. Paul left Titus in Crete to set in order what remained and to appoint elders. He then goes through a list of what is required of one to be an elder. The last two were to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. And like before: for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain. Of course today it is not about circumcision versus uncircumcision. We've talked about this before. If you are not grounded in the word, you can be deceived by others. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They were worried about fulfilling the Law of Moses. There was a lot of touch not, taste not - that would defile you. That does not mean that there are not some things that we shou...

  Good morning. We are now in Titus. Paul said that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago. Today, sadly, we have people who are apostles of men, not of Jesus. The church I was attending before was involved with a group of so-called apostles. Without Paul we would have all kinds of people giving their opinions as to how to live the Christian life. Paul wrote truth for our faith. Notice that it says in the hope of eternal life. Remember: if it is seen, then it is not hope. It also says that God cannot lie. Mankind chooses whether to tell the truth or a lie. God cannot tell a lie even if He wanted to – which of course He does not want to do. Eternal life was not a last-minute promise – God made it ages ago. But people could not see it, even though it was in the Scriptures. Those that did see it did not underst...

  Good morning. Paul tells Timothy to: be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. I'm sure he does not mean to not get drunk. We should not turn away from what God has called us to do, even when things go bad - hardship. Even if you are not called to be an evangelist, you should still do the work of an evangelist – bring others to Jesus. Paul tells Timothy that the time of his departure has come. And then those famous last words: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. He persevered and completed the assignments God had for him. He had every good reason to turn back, but he did not. Most of us would have concluded that it was not God's will because of all of the complications Paul went through. We would have given up. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, we will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also t...

  Good morning. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead (all are to be judged) at/by His appearing and His Kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. We have to be ready at all times. The opportunity will come when we least expect it. It's not the unbelievers that will listen when we reprove, rebuke, or exhort. We are to help steer believers in the right direction. After all they will be judged too. It doesn't mean they won't go to heaven; it does mean their actions will come under judgment. But we are to be patient. It's hard to do that when you know what is right and that they are supposed to know that also. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears...

  Good morning. All these bad things that people today do that we talked about before: but evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived. How could they get any worse? Deceiving and being deceived - when you deceive others, you open yourself up to further deception. What are we supposed to do? We are supposed to continue in the things we have learned and become convinced of, knowing from home we have learned them. Because of the lives of the pastor and other teachers, we know we can trust the word that they have given to us. Then Paul tells Timothy: from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. It is the uniting of our faith in Christ Jesus with the word of God that brings us to salvation. It is not just some emotional feel good situation. It has to be based on the word. That does not mean that you have to quote chapter and verse. It does ...