Alright, I am finally getting to writing this post and it is as important as ever to me personally as this read speaks of two enormously important traits: perseverance and faith. I love the lessons that this portion of Hebrews teaches. Let’s start with perseverance portion:

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded . You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrews 10:39 (NIV)

How easy is it to get sucked into the everyday struggles that we find ourselves in. We get stressed out, tired and frustrated. We are going to have our issues and God will teach us the lessons, or discipline us:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

But, he wants us to remember to learn these lessons by being with others who will help us and endure the race:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

But, to do this, we have to have faith in the one that put us here. It is pretty difficult for us to get our arms around God who we cannot see, feel or touch. This is where we have to have faith.

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is evidence of things we cannot yet see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Why should we have faith? There are great examples in the Bible that are listed in this reading including:

• Abel
• Noah
• Abraham & Sarah
• Moses
• Enoch
• Isaac, Jacob & Esau
• Josua
• Rahab
• Gideon
• Barak
• Samson
• Jephthah
• David
• Samuel
• All the prophets

In reading the Bible, we find that things worked out for many of these people. Did it always end well? Not always in this world, but it was good to God:

So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who want to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Man, this read couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Life is going to be rough, but we have to persevere and have faith. It will get us through. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Read on…

(By the way, I could probably write for about four more hours on this read, but I need some rest! I look forward to the comments.)

Next up: James

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Wow, what a day. I did audio for three services today, participated in Home Team (which was great) and I read both the NLT and NIV passages for the Hebrews 8-13 read! So needless to say, I am a bit tired. But, the blogger in me could not go without posting and filling in the date on the calendar. With that being said, there is so much to write about in this read, I had to share a couple of verses in prelude to my post on it:

Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:23-24 (NLT)

I feel good about doing that today. We had a great day of study and worship and I can’t wait to get together again. Something else that really touched me today:

Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36 (NLT)

You can’t even imagine what this meant for me today. And so it is, I will be patient an post hopefully in the morning on Hebrews 8-13. Thanks and read on…

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While I love reading what Paul has written, it was nice to read a book that was not written by him. We don’t know who wrote it, but it is definitely not of the style of Paul. In fact, as it notes in the introduction of my study Bible, it is certainly written by somebody who is very smart and familiar with all aspects of religion at this time.

In fact, that is what I enjoyed most in reading this first part of Hebrews. As I had mentioned in my reading Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, I find it extremely interesting to read about how these early converts originally worshiped and how Jesus changed everything. These Jewish converts were taught to follow their rabbi or high priest who would teach his interpretation of the scriptures, but the author of Hebrews let’s these folks know that Jesus is now the High Priest of everybody:

So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews 5:8-9

It so amazing that the Bible continues to give relevant information for today even though this book is such a historical perspective. With there being only one High Priest now in Jesus, we must keep ourselves and others from turning from the Truth:

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today”, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. Hebrews 3:12-13

And with that being said, not only should we look out for our fellow believers, but all that we may meet. The prize at the end of the race is worth it:

Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and patience. Hebrews 6:11-12

Man, that is awesome! Good stuff. Read on…

Next up: Hebrews 8-13 

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