Much like the cross is the sign of God’s faithfulness to us in the New Testament, the book of Exodus and the cry of God’s people in Egypt is God’s reminder to His people of His faithfulness in the Old Testament. He heard our cry—He...
When we encounter the Bible, we are encountering God. Through His Word, we are reproved, corrected, and trained in the way we should go; it defines and directs our lives. Will you listen to how God is speaking to you through His Word today or...
Christ’s return and final judgment are the ultimate solution to the problem of sin. Instead of judging humanity based on a set of rules, Jesus’ standard for judgment is how people respond to Him, and our behavior toward His people reveals our response to Him....
1 Corinthians 12 is written as both an encouragement and a rebuke to believers about spiritual gifts. Although we are quick to make spiritual gifts all about us, God reminds us that it is through these gifts in believers that He makes Himself known. We...
God wants to demonstrate His presence with us through the gifts of baptism and communion. Although these might have become “casual” traditions for us as believers, we are reminded that they are blessings given to us from God meant to help us to experience Him...
There is a war taking place among all believers: while our new nature of the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, our fleshly desires are constantly fighting against it. We must evaluate the "fruit" of our lives to know what has taken root...
The Holy Spirit is at work to convict the world of sin, reveal God’s righteousness, and remind us of the coming judgment. As Christians, we are ushered in to be a part of the work He is doing here—pointing the world to Christ....
Suffering is integrated into the life of every person, both believers and nonbelievers, because of the broken world we live in. Instead of being surprised by suffering, we should root our perspective in the truth of the Bible–that this world is broken by the presence...
Studying the basics of Christianity begins with our relationship with God. All people are born completely sinful as rebellious enemies of God. The way to be right with God is not by comparison to others or good works but through faith in Jesus by the...
The writer of Hebrews leaves his audience with a final list of important principles to remember and concludes the book with a reminder of the gospel and a benediction of grace....
The writer of Hebrews continues to warn us not to drift. In order to persevere until the end, we need to have clear direction in our walk of faith, powerful affections toward Jesus, and a healthy combination of fear and hope. The kingdom God has...
The examples of faith in Hebrews 11 encourage us to run our own race of faith, looking to Jesus as the reward for our perseverance. As we grow in faith, God disciplines us like a father to make us more and more like Him. Our...
Faith—the objective content of the future and our subjective certainty about that content—is the one thing we need to face the future. By looking to the ordinary people who have gone before us in faith, we are encouraged to grow more certain about the promises...
The Christian life is marked by faithful endurance produced by confidence and trust in Jesus. We are able to love others and suffer well through the painful situations of our fragile world because we look forward to the hope and promise of our future reward...
Last week, we were reminded of the access to God that we have through Jesus; our need for access is met in Jesus and no longer in the tabernacle. Although the forgiveness of sins used to come through the sacrifice of animals again and again,...
Although the tabernacle was once a holy place of worship instituted by God, the writer of Hebrews reminds the Hebrew people of its limitations and ultimate failure to perfectly reconcile us to God. The tabernacle was only a precursor to the perfect tabernacle that we...
The Hebrew people tend to find security and rest in the old ways of the old covenant, but the author attempts to introduce them to the new covenant where they can find hope once for all. Although we cannot identify with the familiarity of the...
As we have continued to walk through the book of Hebrews, the big idea remains the same: Jesus is Greater. Although the Hebrew audience is still caught in the old ways of a Levitical priesthood to grant access to God, the solution the author gives...
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us a living hope and an inheritance that is imperishable. Because of His great mercy, we are invited into a personal relationship and new life with our Savior....
God’s faithfulness is on display throughout history. Although we can lack belief that God will truly fulfill His promises, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God will not back out and He will not change His mind; He will stay faithful to His people....
The author of Hebrews continues to warn us in Chapters five and six to check our souls to make sure we are not deceiving ourselves. We need to acknowledge that there is something at stake and that we always need to be progressing, growing, and...
In Hebrews 4:14-5:10, the author is describing to us how Jesus is our “mega” high priest. Jesus was made high priest by God and He charted a path to God that was marked by His suffering, sacrifice, and obedience. Jesus is like us in all...
As believers, we can rest in the truth that we do not have to work to prove or earn our salvation. We need only to do the work of examining and exposing our souls. We are free from exhausting ourselves with good works, because our...
The author of Hebrews warns his audience to inspect their souls and be able to care for others. As believers, we are susceptible to hardening our own hearts and living in disobedience to God. It begins with drifting from our faith, and if we are...
As believers, we have direct access to God’s messenger and our High Priest, Jesus. However, we often settle for “good” things when we have access to the Greatest. We focus on and place our hope in the things of this world rather than the One...