I always like to know stuff about people I spend my time on or with, so if you’re anything like me, this blog is for you. It’s a list of fifty completely random, off the top of my head things about me that you may or may not know. I’m sure all of you know number two, but I threw it in there anyways. At the end of the list is the first ever video of me doing….I don’t know what I’m doing. I guess you’ll find out more about me in the video too. It’s more of a test to see if videos will work on my blog. -_-
1. I really like cookies.
2. Skillet is my favorite band. Like, of all time.
3. I have a love/hate relationship with the words, “Seth Morrison”.
4. My old youth leader’s name is Barry.
5. I like pink and black together.
6. If I was a video game character, I would have the biggest crush on Link.
7. I listen to Justin Beiber on occasion.
8. I bite my fingernails, and sometimes past my fingernails.
9. My hair has had purple, blue, green, red, pink, orange, and blonde streaks.
10. I am NOT single.
11. I like boxes, you can put stuff in them.
12. The first letters of my top friend’s names spell T.R.W.C.H.C.
13. That last sentence was extremely hard to get grammatically correct.
14. My favorite song of all time is either Savior or Rebirthing (iTunes Session) by Skillet.
15. I wear glasses, but I take them off for almost every picture.
16. I will never buy a Mac, I am a PC.
17. There is a whole drawer in my desk filled with little items and papers that hold some sort of sentimental value.
18. I have a Wii, a GameCube, and a 3DS.
19. I crack my index and middle finger knuckles.
20. I pace when I’m nervous.
21. I have a horrible blushing problem.
22. I love dancing, but I never do it in public unless it’s a contra dance or a waltz.
23. Oh yeah, I’m an accomplished waltzer.
24. The first song I ever learned on the piano was The Muffin Man.
25. I’m lactose intolerant, but I have cheese sometimes anyway.
26. I love Dr. Pepper.
27. I also love coffee.
28. My favorite coffee is a peppermint frappichino from Starbucks.
29. I secretly like when dudes wear make up.
30. I value personality over looks.
31. I love people in wheelchairs, they are awesome.
32. I hate when I’m typing and I accidentally hit the “insert” button instead of the “backspace” button.
33. I used to have really short hair.
34. I was a tomboy from age 9-ish to age 14.
35. Someday, I’m going to look John Cooper straight in the eye and say, “I am a peanut”.
36. Brown hair is awesome.
37. I have nothing against people who don’t have brown hair.
38. I am currently listening to Hero by Skillet.
39. If you are still reading this, you are weird.
40. I love Mexican food.
41. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
42. I have a friend who’s a missionary in Russia.
43. Besides Jesus and my parents, my biggest role model is Ben Kasica.
44. I’ve worn glasses since I was five. (Except for one year when I wore contacts and the following year when I refused to wear my glasses.)
45. I like hugs.
46. My favorite movie is Pride & Prejudice.
47. I scared my sister just now because I popped a balloon.
48. When I sing, I kiss my microphone, like, seriously make out with it.
49. I never used to like games where you shoot things until this week.
50. Biology is the stupidest subject ever.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas!
There will be no blog today as it is a holiday weekend, a very important holiday weekend. I hope you all have a good Christmas!
Love,
Selena
Love,
Selena
Friday, December 16, 2011
September 2012
I have been known to wait until the last minute to write my blogs. This means they usually get written on Thursday night or Friday morning, but today, I'm really cutting it close here. At this moment in time, it is 11:19am, and I have just started my blog. I think I need to get on a schedule.
My last minute topic is...SKILLET! What else can I write an entire page of information on in less than thirty minutes anyway? More specifically, I want to address Skillet's new album, not Awake, but the new album set to release late summer of 2012. Such a painfully long time to wait for new Skillet music, especially with Awake being such a disappointment to me and many other Panheads.
Now, Awake wasn't a bad album. It just wasn't the album we were all waiting for and expecting. If you know your Skillet history, Skillet officially became a rock band after they released Collide in 2003. All the albums before then were either more electronic or softer rock. After Collide came Comatose in 2006, and in my opinion, this is the album that made Skillet so popular, both in the secular and Christian genres. It's definitely my favorite album, with songs like Rebirthing and Whispers In The Dark rocking my face off. This was the album Skillet was promoting when I became a really obsessive Panhead. I listened to Skillet for a long time, but Comatose was the album for me. It was the first Skillet record I ever bought, and I loved it to death. I love Collide as well, but Comatose was different and awesome in it's own unique way. I don't think there will ever be another album as awesome as Comatose.
When they announced the new album in 2008, I freaked out. By this time, I owned almost all of the Skillet CDs you could buy, blasted them in my room on a daily basis, and had my own handmade poster of them in my room. Some people in my church even called me Skillet instead of Selena. I followed the production of this album like bankers watch their stocks. I ate up the little bits and pieces of the new album that they allowed to be released on the podcast. It was so exciting for me.
You can imagine that when August 2009 finally came around, and Awake finally hit the stores, I was very excited. I had actually already listened to all but two of the songs on the new album, but they were low quality anyways, and I needed a CD copy of this record to add to my collection. I bought it the day after it came out (only because my dad refused to take me on the day it came out), and immediately put it to my harsh tests.
It was a major disappointment. Were the songs bad? Only a couple. Was it what I had expected? Not at all. I knew Skillet by now, and I was expecting something harder, something fresher, not this pop stuff. But still, I listened to it until I had every lyric, guitar solo, and drum beat memorized. It was going to be a long time until I had anything new anyways.
So Awake let me down. I went into a period in my life I like to call my most un-Panhead days since I was 12. Skillet was even not my favorite band for a short while there. But talk of the next album drew me back. I was riding on the hope that maybe John Cooper would come to his senses and realize that the Panheads wanted something different. In the interviews talking about the next album, he does mention that he wants to go back to the Collide era, which is Skillet talk for harder rock. This has given me great joy in my heart. This is what I was hoping for with Awake.
Another thing that has inspired me to hold on to my favorite band a little longer is Seth Morrison. I will miss Ben Kasica very much on this next album, but Seth's guitar playing is a little different than Ben's, more crunchy and less classical. I'm sure his influence on the new record will bring a welcome change.
That's about it. I'm going to buckle down for the next nine months or so, not let myself get too excited, and hope for a Collide like album. Skillet, please don't let me down again. I'm trusting you.
It is now 11:42am. I'm pretty good. B)
My last minute topic is...SKILLET! What else can I write an entire page of information on in less than thirty minutes anyway? More specifically, I want to address Skillet's new album, not Awake, but the new album set to release late summer of 2012. Such a painfully long time to wait for new Skillet music, especially with Awake being such a disappointment to me and many other Panheads.
Now, Awake wasn't a bad album. It just wasn't the album we were all waiting for and expecting. If you know your Skillet history, Skillet officially became a rock band after they released Collide in 2003. All the albums before then were either more electronic or softer rock. After Collide came Comatose in 2006, and in my opinion, this is the album that made Skillet so popular, both in the secular and Christian genres. It's definitely my favorite album, with songs like Rebirthing and Whispers In The Dark rocking my face off. This was the album Skillet was promoting when I became a really obsessive Panhead. I listened to Skillet for a long time, but Comatose was the album for me. It was the first Skillet record I ever bought, and I loved it to death. I love Collide as well, but Comatose was different and awesome in it's own unique way. I don't think there will ever be another album as awesome as Comatose.
When they announced the new album in 2008, I freaked out. By this time, I owned almost all of the Skillet CDs you could buy, blasted them in my room on a daily basis, and had my own handmade poster of them in my room. Some people in my church even called me Skillet instead of Selena. I followed the production of this album like bankers watch their stocks. I ate up the little bits and pieces of the new album that they allowed to be released on the podcast. It was so exciting for me.
You can imagine that when August 2009 finally came around, and Awake finally hit the stores, I was very excited. I had actually already listened to all but two of the songs on the new album, but they were low quality anyways, and I needed a CD copy of this record to add to my collection. I bought it the day after it came out (only because my dad refused to take me on the day it came out), and immediately put it to my harsh tests.
It was a major disappointment. Were the songs bad? Only a couple. Was it what I had expected? Not at all. I knew Skillet by now, and I was expecting something harder, something fresher, not this pop stuff. But still, I listened to it until I had every lyric, guitar solo, and drum beat memorized. It was going to be a long time until I had anything new anyways.
So Awake let me down. I went into a period in my life I like to call my most un-Panhead days since I was 12. Skillet was even not my favorite band for a short while there. But talk of the next album drew me back. I was riding on the hope that maybe John Cooper would come to his senses and realize that the Panheads wanted something different. In the interviews talking about the next album, he does mention that he wants to go back to the Collide era, which is Skillet talk for harder rock. This has given me great joy in my heart. This is what I was hoping for with Awake.
Another thing that has inspired me to hold on to my favorite band a little longer is Seth Morrison. I will miss Ben Kasica very much on this next album, but Seth's guitar playing is a little different than Ben's, more crunchy and less classical. I'm sure his influence on the new record will bring a welcome change.
That's about it. I'm going to buckle down for the next nine months or so, not let myself get too excited, and hope for a Collide like album. Skillet, please don't let me down again. I'm trusting you.
It is now 11:42am. I'm pretty good. B)
Friday, December 9, 2011
Waste Of Time
This is my 100th blog. Yay, fanfare. Okay, fanfare's over.
Have you ever been thoroughly annoyed? Completely, entirely, and surely annoyed about something? Then you know how I feel about my generation. I don't know why my generation's parents even bothered to have us. We're a waste of time and money.
I'm specifically referring to the 16-25 year olds who come into In-N-Out on the weekends with their friends. This is when you can truly see them at their best, and I don't like what I see. If you think about it, the girls are all the same, and the guys are all the same. The girls are all worried about their physical image; what the guys think of them, what will or won't make them fat, and what the other judgmental freaks in their social circles think of them. The guys...are checking out the girls. So maybe the girls have a right to be constantly worried about the outside!
There's a lack of personality in my generation. No one stands out from everyone else because everyone else is trying to be like everyone else! It's called fashion, and you can observe this a little more easily at the mall (my local mall happens to be called Fashion Fair). All the guys have their pants hanging off their rears, which is something I despise, guys. It's not attractive in the slightest, unless you consider me wanting to barf a desirable reaction. The girls aren't any better, with their short shorts in the middle of December and their shirts unbuttoned to their navels. All of them have a horrible vocabulary, because they can't even get through a sentence without a profanity.
What is wrong with us? When are we going to wake up and realize that life isn't about what “they” think of you? When are we going to realize that forty years from now, our bodies are going to be less than perfect, no matter how much work we put into it now? I have always valued personality over looks. I would rather be friends with the quiet girl who can make me laugh and has something interesting about her, like a specific talent or passion, than the popular girl who would give me a once over before completely ignoring me because I'm not her “type”.
Maybe I'm being too harsh. But let me tell you, I have been rejected many times in my life, sometimes multiple times by the same girl or guy, based on my outward appearance alone. It used to really hurt when I was considered unworthy for them because I wear all black or because I prefer to play my guitar over keeping up with the next big thing. But if someone doesn't want to take the time to get to know me because they don't like what they see, then would that friendship have been worth it? I don't think I want to invest my time and emotions into someone like that. Nowadays, if someone declines my acquaintance based on the outside alone, I come to the conclusion that they wouldn't have been worth it anyways. Nothing was lost.
If I were to put my closest friends in a room together and asked you to observe them, at first glance, you would think they were crazy. Most of them are quiet, but all of them can make me laugh. They aren't perfect, but they're all extremely talented at something. And they all have the thing I value most in relationships: they care. I would rather have one friend who truly cares about me than fifty of those under-dressed girls at In-N-Out. They're hard to find, but let me tell you, when you find one, you better treasure them more than anything else, because they're hard to come buy.
If you're one of my friends, thanks for being so awesome. Thanks for dealing with my speech issues and my obsessive personality. Thanks for understanding when I blast Skillet in my room at midnight. And most of all, thanks for being there for me. You rock.
Have you ever been thoroughly annoyed? Completely, entirely, and surely annoyed about something? Then you know how I feel about my generation. I don't know why my generation's parents even bothered to have us. We're a waste of time and money.
I'm specifically referring to the 16-25 year olds who come into In-N-Out on the weekends with their friends. This is when you can truly see them at their best, and I don't like what I see. If you think about it, the girls are all the same, and the guys are all the same. The girls are all worried about their physical image; what the guys think of them, what will or won't make them fat, and what the other judgmental freaks in their social circles think of them. The guys...are checking out the girls. So maybe the girls have a right to be constantly worried about the outside!
There's a lack of personality in my generation. No one stands out from everyone else because everyone else is trying to be like everyone else! It's called fashion, and you can observe this a little more easily at the mall (my local mall happens to be called Fashion Fair). All the guys have their pants hanging off their rears, which is something I despise, guys. It's not attractive in the slightest, unless you consider me wanting to barf a desirable reaction. The girls aren't any better, with their short shorts in the middle of December and their shirts unbuttoned to their navels. All of them have a horrible vocabulary, because they can't even get through a sentence without a profanity.
What is wrong with us? When are we going to wake up and realize that life isn't about what “they” think of you? When are we going to realize that forty years from now, our bodies are going to be less than perfect, no matter how much work we put into it now? I have always valued personality over looks. I would rather be friends with the quiet girl who can make me laugh and has something interesting about her, like a specific talent or passion, than the popular girl who would give me a once over before completely ignoring me because I'm not her “type”.
Maybe I'm being too harsh. But let me tell you, I have been rejected many times in my life, sometimes multiple times by the same girl or guy, based on my outward appearance alone. It used to really hurt when I was considered unworthy for them because I wear all black or because I prefer to play my guitar over keeping up with the next big thing. But if someone doesn't want to take the time to get to know me because they don't like what they see, then would that friendship have been worth it? I don't think I want to invest my time and emotions into someone like that. Nowadays, if someone declines my acquaintance based on the outside alone, I come to the conclusion that they wouldn't have been worth it anyways. Nothing was lost.
If I were to put my closest friends in a room together and asked you to observe them, at first glance, you would think they were crazy. Most of them are quiet, but all of them can make me laugh. They aren't perfect, but they're all extremely talented at something. And they all have the thing I value most in relationships: they care. I would rather have one friend who truly cares about me than fifty of those under-dressed girls at In-N-Out. They're hard to find, but let me tell you, when you find one, you better treasure them more than anything else, because they're hard to come buy.
If you're one of my friends, thanks for being so awesome. Thanks for dealing with my speech issues and my obsessive personality. Thanks for understanding when I blast Skillet in my room at midnight. And most of all, thanks for being there for me. You rock.
Friday, December 2, 2011
VHNNNNNNNNNNhscxgjrn (Because I'm in a hurry)
I spent most of my life up until I was fourteen as a tomboy. I only spent a few of those years as a serious one, but I wasn't by any means your typical girl. I have never been girly, and I'm not girly now. I don't intend to ever be girly. But one girly trait I've always had is a love for shoes. I love shopping for shoes, I love buying shoes, I love looking at shoes, anything that has to do with shoes I will do and probably love. I'm not picky about my shoes either. The only type of shoe I don't wear are running shoes, unless I'm running of course.
I'm not wealthy, so my shoe collection is not anywhere near what I'd like it to be, but following is a list of all the shoes in my closet and any back story they may have, for example, if I wore them to any place special or if they carry any specific memory. Why am I doing this? I don't know, I love shoes I guess.
My Vans slip-ons I wear the most right now. They're fairly new, I got them from my awesome friend Katie because she loves shoes too and is always making room for more. Lucky for me, I'm only a half size smaller than her, so I get lot's of hand-me-downs.
Ahh, my Eskimo boots. What girl doesn't own a pair of these? I also have two other pairs in black, but these are my nicer ones I wear to Christmas parties and the like.
A basic pair of flats. They're kinda....flat. I think it's been a while since I've worn them.
Another former Katie shoe, my sorry excuse for Converse. I think the actual brand is OP, for some reason I haven't made it over to the Converse store to get me a good pair of my favorite shoe. Oh well, these will do for now.
My running shoes, which I ONLY wear while running mind you. I don't know why it bothers me so much when people wear their running shoes while they're not running.
These aren't Converse either, sadly. (Are any of you getting good Christmas ideas for me? I like all colors!) These shoes used to be my every day shoes before I ripped them on one of those big heavy bathroom doors. Now I only wear them to concerts, including my very first Skillet concert. They are actually boy shoes, the women's sizes didn't go small enough.
Katie gave these to me as well. I only wore them once because they're a little big, but I need to wear them more, they're so cute.
THESE! I have worn these shoes so much, as you can probably tell. I wanted a pair of these in all black, but they only had my size in the white and black, so I had to settle for that. The small feet curse I guess. My friend Wednesday bought me purple shoe laces for them after my hair dying accident. We had a bit of an issue while trying to dye my hair purple with not getting it all over her mom's sink, so she made me get into the shower fully dressed to wash it out. I was freaking out because I didn't want to get any in my eyes, otherwise I might have had time to at least remove my shoes. So my hair matched my shoes for a while.
I don't know why I have these. I don't even wear them.......
Well, you know. I need something to wear in the 100 degree weather, and there's no way I'm putting socks on to go places.
These are my first pair of high heels. I learned a lot while wearing them, like taking smaller steps and letting the guys carry your keyboard for you. (What was I thinking trying to lug that thing around in these?) You should also be ready to laugh it off when you fall, because you will fall, or at least have a bad trip. Ha, Haha. Bad trip.
Once I got used to walking in heels, I was ready to take the next step. These are considerably easier to walk in than my first pair, I'm guessing because they're closed. I even danced in these at my friend's wedding. And come on, look at them! They're like, totally awesome.
I've never worn these either. I don't think I ever will. But how can I bring myself to get rid of a perfectly good pair of shoes?
My military boots. I wore these to a 1940s party with a green military dress. It was so much fun. I wear them with my jeans now when I feel like being a rockstar.
That's pretty much all of them. There's other pairs, like a very old pair of flip-flops and another pair of running shoes. But yeah.
For Christmas, I'm hoping on getting a real pair of Converse hi-tops and Converse All Stars, the hi-tops in black and the All Stars in bright green. I wear size 7 ½ or 8. Just throwing that out there. ;)
I'm not wealthy, so my shoe collection is not anywhere near what I'd like it to be, but following is a list of all the shoes in my closet and any back story they may have, for example, if I wore them to any place special or if they carry any specific memory. Why am I doing this? I don't know, I love shoes I guess.
My Vans slip-ons I wear the most right now. They're fairly new, I got them from my awesome friend Katie because she loves shoes too and is always making room for more. Lucky for me, I'm only a half size smaller than her, so I get lot's of hand-me-downs.
Ahh, my Eskimo boots. What girl doesn't own a pair of these? I also have two other pairs in black, but these are my nicer ones I wear to Christmas parties and the like.
A basic pair of flats. They're kinda....flat. I think it's been a while since I've worn them.
Another former Katie shoe, my sorry excuse for Converse. I think the actual brand is OP, for some reason I haven't made it over to the Converse store to get me a good pair of my favorite shoe. Oh well, these will do for now.
My running shoes, which I ONLY wear while running mind you. I don't know why it bothers me so much when people wear their running shoes while they're not running.
These aren't Converse either, sadly. (Are any of you getting good Christmas ideas for me? I like all colors!) These shoes used to be my every day shoes before I ripped them on one of those big heavy bathroom doors. Now I only wear them to concerts, including my very first Skillet concert. They are actually boy shoes, the women's sizes didn't go small enough.
Katie gave these to me as well. I only wore them once because they're a little big, but I need to wear them more, they're so cute.
THESE! I have worn these shoes so much, as you can probably tell. I wanted a pair of these in all black, but they only had my size in the white and black, so I had to settle for that. The small feet curse I guess. My friend Wednesday bought me purple shoe laces for them after my hair dying accident. We had a bit of an issue while trying to dye my hair purple with not getting it all over her mom's sink, so she made me get into the shower fully dressed to wash it out. I was freaking out because I didn't want to get any in my eyes, otherwise I might have had time to at least remove my shoes. So my hair matched my shoes for a while.
I don't know why I have these. I don't even wear them.......
Well, you know. I need something to wear in the 100 degree weather, and there's no way I'm putting socks on to go places.
These are my first pair of high heels. I learned a lot while wearing them, like taking smaller steps and letting the guys carry your keyboard for you. (What was I thinking trying to lug that thing around in these?) You should also be ready to laugh it off when you fall, because you will fall, or at least have a bad trip. Ha, Haha. Bad trip.
Once I got used to walking in heels, I was ready to take the next step. These are considerably easier to walk in than my first pair, I'm guessing because they're closed. I even danced in these at my friend's wedding. And come on, look at them! They're like, totally awesome.
I've never worn these either. I don't think I ever will. But how can I bring myself to get rid of a perfectly good pair of shoes?
My military boots. I wore these to a 1940s party with a green military dress. It was so much fun. I wear them with my jeans now when I feel like being a rockstar.
That's pretty much all of them. There's other pairs, like a very old pair of flip-flops and another pair of running shoes. But yeah.
For Christmas, I'm hoping on getting a real pair of Converse hi-tops and Converse All Stars, the hi-tops in black and the All Stars in bright green. I wear size 7 ½ or 8. Just throwing that out there. ;)
Friday, November 18, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Twelve and Thirteen: Therefore...
Six days. Six until I turn eighteen. That's crazy to say the least. Who cares about the birthday though really? It's all about the gifts isn't it? What am I looking forward to this holiday season? Money! Video games! Instruments! I've already received a lot of my presents, but still, maybe someone will kick down some extra cash if I look extra cute? You never know. On Sunday, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword comes out, and even though I'm not allowed to play it until my birthday, I'm getting it as a gift from my dad. However, I need Wii motion plus to play it, and for some reason my dad refuses to listen when I try to explain that fact to him. He says, “You don't need the fancy remote” and I'm like, “Dad, it's not a fancy remote. It's a required piece of equipment.” Oh well. I'll have birthday money.
Today we finish Hebrews! It's been awesome doing this study with you three people who read. You guys rock. I'm doing chapters twelve and thirteen today so I have next Friday open for a special blog. Are you ready? Here we go:
Chapter 12
1-3 “Such a great cloud of witnesses.” It's a blessing to have so many examples of people that have run the race before us. If you don't remember who these people are, you can review my list in chapter eleven's study. Their lives were recorded for us so we would know how to respond and take action against the hardships of the world. We are to throw off sin and everything that hinders us in the race toward Jesus. Throw off sin, don't just do it less or try to get rid of it. Far be it from us! Throw the retched sin away! We should have nothing to do with that as we fix our eyes on the one who gave us a way to overcome it. Remember the opposition he faced here on earth, how he endured our sin already for us, so that way you don't give up and get tired of running. It's a lot easier to run a race if you know you've already won.
4-11 It's kinda scary to think that God disciplines us. But just like our earthy fathers have to give us a groundation now and then, God has to let us know that we're following the wrong path sometimes. It's not because He's angry with us, or because He's disappointed. It's because He loves us so much and doesn't want to see us messing up our lives. He does it because He desires to be close to us, and we can't be close to God with sin in our lives now can we? God's discipline makes us into better people that can do bigger and better things for God. If you accept and heed God's instruction, you'll grow tremendously in your faith, because your chances of making the same mistakes again have significantly lowered.
12-13 Therefore, we need to get ourselves in shape. We need to make sure we're following God by heading His correction, so the people around us who might not be saved or are not as mature in their faith can see us and be encouraged, not weakened. Be a good example.
14-17 We need to live at peace with everybody, and be good witnesses to those around us, saved or not saved. We need to look out for each other to make sure none of our brothers or sisters are doing things they shouldn't be doing. Esau is used as an example here. If we're careless and do things out of impulse, we might loose something important, perhaps the salvation of a friend or the opportunity to help someone overcome sin. We can't get certain moments back once they're gone.
18-24 The first part of this passage describes what going to God was like back in Moses' day. God basically lived on the top of this fiery mountain and spoke with a voice so terrifying, that the people begged Him to stop. But He's different now. The angels are rejoicing around Him. He's become the righteous judge, and I don't know about you, but if I've been completely washed clean of all guilt, I wouldn't be very afraid of judgment. We come to Jesus, who made it possible for things to change, for the law to be fulfilled, for the awesome way things are now.
25-27 God has an intense voice. He shook the whole earth with His voice, and soon He's going to shake both heaven and earth, leaving nothing but that which cannot be shaken. I think this is a picture of the new heaven and earth. He's showing us that what we have now is temporary. It's all going to be destroyed by the sound of His voice. But we, His children, are going to inherit that which can never be shaken, eternal life.
28-29 God's giving us a permanent, truly secure home someday, and we should be praising Him for that! Things may be a little unstable right now, but someday we're going to be so incredibly stable that nothing can move us. Let us praise our God, who is a consuming fire.
Chapter 13
1-3 Don't go looking for angels around every corner, but be aware that they're out there. Be nice to your fellow Christians no matter what, but be extra nice and consider that things aren't always as they seem. God might send someone to you without them even knowing it to help you with something in your life. I can think of at least a couple of people in my own life that God's sent to me to encourage me and help me get through things. I know they're just normal people, but I would definitely consider them to be angels. :)
4-6 There's two important things to take note of here. The first is to keep the marriage bed pure. This means saving sex for marriage, not mocking the gift of sex once you are married, and encouraging your brothers and sisters to do the same. Sex is an incredibly sacred thing that should never be viewed lightly. The second thing is not to love money, because God is more than enough for us. We shouldn't seek after material possessions that can be taken away from us. Rather we should seek after God, who has promised never to leave us. We can say with confidence that God is our helper because of this promise. Man can't do anything to us.
7-8 We should look to the people above us that have taught us the word: our parents, our pastors, or older friends, and imitate their faith based on the outcome of their lives. If you see someone who is strong in their walk with the Lord, you should watch them closely and try to live your life the same way. If you don't have anyone around you like that, Jesus was a perfect example. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, so what worked for Christians thousands of years ago will work for you. God's not going to change things up on us.
9-10 We need to understand that we aren't saved by things or religion. We're saved by grace, and therefore we shouldn't get carried away with all this extra stuff. Confession doesn't save us, baptism doesn't save us, communion doesn't save us, being vegetarian doesn't save us. I might be stepping on a few toes by saying that, but it's true. It's not by our strength. Jesus is the only one that can save us.
11-14 When the priests offered sacrifices, they always took the gross nasty body of the animal they killed outside the city gates to burn it. It was considered unclean because of the sin that it had died for. Jesus did the same thing, he took our sin and shame for us. We humble ourselves when we come to the cross, because we admit that we're too dirty to show ourselves elsewhere. He understands, because he had to carry out the same procedure. How amazing it is to have a Savior who understands!
15-17 Always praise God, no matter what. He deserves praise. Always think higher of others than yourself. Obey the leaders God has placed in authority over you, because God judges them according to the way you turn out. If you have a youth leader who pours his life into you, and you mock him by not taking him seriously, there's a much worse outcome than you would expect. God given authority is an incredible responsibility, and by being submissive, we can make their job a little easier.
18-21 The writer asks for prayer here, and uplifts by asking the Lord to strengthen His people to do His will. We should pray for each other in the same way, asking God to give our brothers and sisters strength to carry out the will of God. I love when people pray for me. I know when people pray for me, is crazy. If you ever need prayer, don't hesitate to let me know. We should take joy in lifting up each other's needs to the Father.
22-25 Annnnnnnnd the letter of Hebrews has been concluded. I don't know about you, but that was not a short letter. It felt like forever and a day long. I'm kidding, it was amazing. Thanks for reading! Come back next Friday for my very first blog as an adult! :D Have an awesomely fantastical day!
Today we finish Hebrews! It's been awesome doing this study with you three people who read. You guys rock. I'm doing chapters twelve and thirteen today so I have next Friday open for a special blog. Are you ready? Here we go:
Chapter 12
1-3 “Such a great cloud of witnesses.” It's a blessing to have so many examples of people that have run the race before us. If you don't remember who these people are, you can review my list in chapter eleven's study. Their lives were recorded for us so we would know how to respond and take action against the hardships of the world. We are to throw off sin and everything that hinders us in the race toward Jesus. Throw off sin, don't just do it less or try to get rid of it. Far be it from us! Throw the retched sin away! We should have nothing to do with that as we fix our eyes on the one who gave us a way to overcome it. Remember the opposition he faced here on earth, how he endured our sin already for us, so that way you don't give up and get tired of running. It's a lot easier to run a race if you know you've already won.
4-11 It's kinda scary to think that God disciplines us. But just like our earthy fathers have to give us a groundation now and then, God has to let us know that we're following the wrong path sometimes. It's not because He's angry with us, or because He's disappointed. It's because He loves us so much and doesn't want to see us messing up our lives. He does it because He desires to be close to us, and we can't be close to God with sin in our lives now can we? God's discipline makes us into better people that can do bigger and better things for God. If you accept and heed God's instruction, you'll grow tremendously in your faith, because your chances of making the same mistakes again have significantly lowered.
12-13 Therefore, we need to get ourselves in shape. We need to make sure we're following God by heading His correction, so the people around us who might not be saved or are not as mature in their faith can see us and be encouraged, not weakened. Be a good example.
14-17 We need to live at peace with everybody, and be good witnesses to those around us, saved or not saved. We need to look out for each other to make sure none of our brothers or sisters are doing things they shouldn't be doing. Esau is used as an example here. If we're careless and do things out of impulse, we might loose something important, perhaps the salvation of a friend or the opportunity to help someone overcome sin. We can't get certain moments back once they're gone.
18-24 The first part of this passage describes what going to God was like back in Moses' day. God basically lived on the top of this fiery mountain and spoke with a voice so terrifying, that the people begged Him to stop. But He's different now. The angels are rejoicing around Him. He's become the righteous judge, and I don't know about you, but if I've been completely washed clean of all guilt, I wouldn't be very afraid of judgment. We come to Jesus, who made it possible for things to change, for the law to be fulfilled, for the awesome way things are now.
25-27 God has an intense voice. He shook the whole earth with His voice, and soon He's going to shake both heaven and earth, leaving nothing but that which cannot be shaken. I think this is a picture of the new heaven and earth. He's showing us that what we have now is temporary. It's all going to be destroyed by the sound of His voice. But we, His children, are going to inherit that which can never be shaken, eternal life.
28-29 God's giving us a permanent, truly secure home someday, and we should be praising Him for that! Things may be a little unstable right now, but someday we're going to be so incredibly stable that nothing can move us. Let us praise our God, who is a consuming fire.
Chapter 13
1-3 Don't go looking for angels around every corner, but be aware that they're out there. Be nice to your fellow Christians no matter what, but be extra nice and consider that things aren't always as they seem. God might send someone to you without them even knowing it to help you with something in your life. I can think of at least a couple of people in my own life that God's sent to me to encourage me and help me get through things. I know they're just normal people, but I would definitely consider them to be angels. :)
4-6 There's two important things to take note of here. The first is to keep the marriage bed pure. This means saving sex for marriage, not mocking the gift of sex once you are married, and encouraging your brothers and sisters to do the same. Sex is an incredibly sacred thing that should never be viewed lightly. The second thing is not to love money, because God is more than enough for us. We shouldn't seek after material possessions that can be taken away from us. Rather we should seek after God, who has promised never to leave us. We can say with confidence that God is our helper because of this promise. Man can't do anything to us.
7-8 We should look to the people above us that have taught us the word: our parents, our pastors, or older friends, and imitate their faith based on the outcome of their lives. If you see someone who is strong in their walk with the Lord, you should watch them closely and try to live your life the same way. If you don't have anyone around you like that, Jesus was a perfect example. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, so what worked for Christians thousands of years ago will work for you. God's not going to change things up on us.
9-10 We need to understand that we aren't saved by things or religion. We're saved by grace, and therefore we shouldn't get carried away with all this extra stuff. Confession doesn't save us, baptism doesn't save us, communion doesn't save us, being vegetarian doesn't save us. I might be stepping on a few toes by saying that, but it's true. It's not by our strength. Jesus is the only one that can save us.
11-14 When the priests offered sacrifices, they always took the gross nasty body of the animal they killed outside the city gates to burn it. It was considered unclean because of the sin that it had died for. Jesus did the same thing, he took our sin and shame for us. We humble ourselves when we come to the cross, because we admit that we're too dirty to show ourselves elsewhere. He understands, because he had to carry out the same procedure. How amazing it is to have a Savior who understands!
15-17 Always praise God, no matter what. He deserves praise. Always think higher of others than yourself. Obey the leaders God has placed in authority over you, because God judges them according to the way you turn out. If you have a youth leader who pours his life into you, and you mock him by not taking him seriously, there's a much worse outcome than you would expect. God given authority is an incredible responsibility, and by being submissive, we can make their job a little easier.
18-21 The writer asks for prayer here, and uplifts by asking the Lord to strengthen His people to do His will. We should pray for each other in the same way, asking God to give our brothers and sisters strength to carry out the will of God. I love when people pray for me. I know when people pray for me, is crazy. If you ever need prayer, don't hesitate to let me know. We should take joy in lifting up each other's needs to the Father.
22-25 Annnnnnnnd the letter of Hebrews has been concluded. I don't know about you, but that was not a short letter. It felt like forever and a day long. I'm kidding, it was amazing. Thanks for reading! Come back next Friday for my very first blog as an adult! :D Have an awesomely fantastical day!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Eleven: Faith (No Imagination...)
It's cold, it's raining, my amazing mom made me oatmeal, and now I get to sit by the window and write. Afterward, I'm going to do school, and then I have my choice of playing on my Wii, on my GameCube, or on my 3DS. Life doesn't get much better than this.
The faith chapter, chapter eleven of Hebrews, is one of my favorites. All the people mentioned in this chapter had the same God and the same faith as we do. All of them had faith in their salvation. All of them had faith that God would do exactly as he promised, and all of them had faith in the heavenly home God has promised.
As much as I would like to do mini rants about each individual in this chapter, I'm going to turn the tables on you this time around. Instead of going through the chapter like I normally do, I'm only going to list the different people, situations, and where you can find the original story in the bible. You are more than welcome to print this list out for reference. What I want you to do as you read this chapter is ponder each thing these people did. Go back and read the stories if you have time, and try to relate to them as much as possible. Would you have done what they did? Have you found yourself in the same situations? Can you make such drastic choices or actions based on faith alone? When you're done, I would love for you to describe anything God showed you in the comments. Have fun!
Creation of the Universe: Genesis 1
Cain and Abel: Genesis 4:1-16
Enoch: Genesis 5:21-24
Noah: Genesis 6-8
Abraham in a Foreign Country: Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham's Descendents: Genesis 15:1-6
Abraham and Issac: Genesis 22:1-18
Issac, Jacob, and Esau: Genesis 27:1-40
Jacob and Joseph's Sons: Genesis 49:22-26
Joseph Near Death: Genesis 50:24-25
Moses' Parents: Genesis 2:1-2
Moses Mistreated: Genesis 4:18
Moses Leaving Egypt: Genesis 12:42
Moses and the Passover: 12:1-28
The Red Sea: Genesis 14:5-31
Jericho: Joshua 6:1-21
Rahab: Joshua 2:1-16, 6:22-25
Have an awesome weekend!
The faith chapter, chapter eleven of Hebrews, is one of my favorites. All the people mentioned in this chapter had the same God and the same faith as we do. All of them had faith in their salvation. All of them had faith that God would do exactly as he promised, and all of them had faith in the heavenly home God has promised.
As much as I would like to do mini rants about each individual in this chapter, I'm going to turn the tables on you this time around. Instead of going through the chapter like I normally do, I'm only going to list the different people, situations, and where you can find the original story in the bible. You are more than welcome to print this list out for reference. What I want you to do as you read this chapter is ponder each thing these people did. Go back and read the stories if you have time, and try to relate to them as much as possible. Would you have done what they did? Have you found yourself in the same situations? Can you make such drastic choices or actions based on faith alone? When you're done, I would love for you to describe anything God showed you in the comments. Have fun!
Creation of the Universe: Genesis 1
Cain and Abel: Genesis 4:1-16
Enoch: Genesis 5:21-24
Noah: Genesis 6-8
Abraham in a Foreign Country: Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham's Descendents: Genesis 15:1-6
Abraham and Issac: Genesis 22:1-18
Issac, Jacob, and Esau: Genesis 27:1-40
Jacob and Joseph's Sons: Genesis 49:22-26
Joseph Near Death: Genesis 50:24-25
Moses' Parents: Genesis 2:1-2
Moses Mistreated: Genesis 4:18
Moses Leaving Egypt: Genesis 12:42
Moses and the Passover: 12:1-28
The Red Sea: Genesis 14:5-31
Jericho: Joshua 6:1-21
Rahab: Joshua 2:1-16, 6:22-25
Have an awesome weekend!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Ten: November!
I like the month of November. Here in my area of residence, it's finally beginning to get cold. People are walking around all bundled up. The anticipation of the holidays is building, and something in the air smells like happiness. Of course for me, it also means my birthday, and this year, I will be turning eighteen. I know, you know already right? Moving on. My family just received a new computer from a friend of my grandma's, and it's so weird! I haven't used it yet. The keyboard is actually in front of the screen, and it's this grey-ish color...and it's dirty. Hmm.
Hebrews ten and eleven are the longest chapters in the book, so expect lots of rambling in the next two blogs. I will be doing chapters twelve and thirteen in the same blog, so that means we only have three weeks left of Hebrews! It feels like my blog has been nothing but Hebrews for a very long time, but it was worth it. I've learned so much by publicly sharing my notes with you guys, and it's my prayer that you've also gained a deeper understanding of the greatness of belonging to God.
1-4 I mentioned earlier in this study that my family used to belong to a religion that put at lot of stock into keeping the law. The certain one that my family was involved with, however, is not the only religion that teaches that you will be judged according to how well you keep the law. Many people believe that being good and doing more right instead of wrong will get you into heaven. This is clearly not the case. If it was, the people in the old testament wouldn't have needed to offer sacrifices all the time. For if it was, they would have been made perfect with the first sacrifice, and guilt for sins and sin itself would have vanished. The law is not a means by which we can be saved, it is only a reminder that we sin. It acts like a mirror, showing us what we're doing wrong.
5-10 By following the will of his Father and dying on the cross, Jesus gave the Lord what he truly desired: A complete removal of sin and the old ways. Although they were required by the law, offerings of animal flesh didn't please the Lord, There was something more he wanted to accomplish with his relationship to His people, and it wasn't happening with the old way of doing things. With the help of Jesus, we have been made holy and perfect enough for us to have the connection with God He desires to have with us.
11-18 I kinda feel sorry for the priests, repeating the same act that could never save the people, only keep God among them for a limited period of time. But he had nothing to worry about with Jesus on the way. Jesus took care of the whole thing for eternity. Forever we are covered by his blood. There won't ever be a need for us to worry about our sin separating us from God! I love verse 16, where the Lord says, “I will put my law in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” It's like He's saying that we have the ability to keep the law now, because we have Jesus who took away all our offenses against it. We are forgiven! And if we have been forgiven, there is no longer any need to pay for our wrongs. YES! HE'S AWESOME, ISN'T HE?!?!?
19-25 I almost don't want to say anything about this part, because it clearly gives us instructions about what we should do now that we belong to Christ. We shouldn't be afraid to draw near to God, for we have been made clean. We should hold on to the hope we profess, for the one who promised it is faithful. We should encourage each other to do good things. We should meet with each other and and encourage each other as the day of the Lord's returning draws closer.
26-31 All this stuff about being freed from sin and having to keep the law to be able to enter into the presence of God is wonderful, but does this give us an excuse to do whatever we want? Under no circumstances should we keep on sinning after we have received forgiveness for the things we've already done. In Moses' day, when someone broke the law, he was punished severely for his actions. Someone who sins against God after he's already done so much for us should be punished even worse! It's unthinkable to take the act of Jesus on the cross and throw it back in his face by continuing to sin after we've received his gift. I wouldn't want to receive punishment from God almighty for sure.
32-34 When the Christians were persecuted for their faith, they didn't mind because they had something much better than anything here on earth. They had the promise of heaven and eternal riches that no one could take away from them. The gift of salvation was so great to them, that no amount of suffering could make them loose hope.
35-39 We should be like those Christians, looking forward to the return of Christ and not shrinking back. We live by faith, knowing that God will do as He promised. We have the knowledge of the things He's done for us, and the horrible things He's set us free from. That should be more than enough motivation for anyone to keep pushing through.
Second longest chapter DONE! Next week will be the longest chapter, but probably the one that takes the least explaining. Make sure you keep reading, I have a surprise starting the week after I finish this book. It's a reward of sorts for the faithful readers who stuck with me during this first attempt at doing a bible study. It's so weird, but it's going to be great.
Now go out and do something useful! Please! You must have so much free time if you've made it this far!
Hebrews ten and eleven are the longest chapters in the book, so expect lots of rambling in the next two blogs. I will be doing chapters twelve and thirteen in the same blog, so that means we only have three weeks left of Hebrews! It feels like my blog has been nothing but Hebrews for a very long time, but it was worth it. I've learned so much by publicly sharing my notes with you guys, and it's my prayer that you've also gained a deeper understanding of the greatness of belonging to God.
1-4 I mentioned earlier in this study that my family used to belong to a religion that put at lot of stock into keeping the law. The certain one that my family was involved with, however, is not the only religion that teaches that you will be judged according to how well you keep the law. Many people believe that being good and doing more right instead of wrong will get you into heaven. This is clearly not the case. If it was, the people in the old testament wouldn't have needed to offer sacrifices all the time. For if it was, they would have been made perfect with the first sacrifice, and guilt for sins and sin itself would have vanished. The law is not a means by which we can be saved, it is only a reminder that we sin. It acts like a mirror, showing us what we're doing wrong.
5-10 By following the will of his Father and dying on the cross, Jesus gave the Lord what he truly desired: A complete removal of sin and the old ways. Although they were required by the law, offerings of animal flesh didn't please the Lord, There was something more he wanted to accomplish with his relationship to His people, and it wasn't happening with the old way of doing things. With the help of Jesus, we have been made holy and perfect enough for us to have the connection with God He desires to have with us.
11-18 I kinda feel sorry for the priests, repeating the same act that could never save the people, only keep God among them for a limited period of time. But he had nothing to worry about with Jesus on the way. Jesus took care of the whole thing for eternity. Forever we are covered by his blood. There won't ever be a need for us to worry about our sin separating us from God! I love verse 16, where the Lord says, “I will put my law in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” It's like He's saying that we have the ability to keep the law now, because we have Jesus who took away all our offenses against it. We are forgiven! And if we have been forgiven, there is no longer any need to pay for our wrongs. YES! HE'S AWESOME, ISN'T HE?!?!?
19-25 I almost don't want to say anything about this part, because it clearly gives us instructions about what we should do now that we belong to Christ. We shouldn't be afraid to draw near to God, for we have been made clean. We should hold on to the hope we profess, for the one who promised it is faithful. We should encourage each other to do good things. We should meet with each other and and encourage each other as the day of the Lord's returning draws closer.
26-31 All this stuff about being freed from sin and having to keep the law to be able to enter into the presence of God is wonderful, but does this give us an excuse to do whatever we want? Under no circumstances should we keep on sinning after we have received forgiveness for the things we've already done. In Moses' day, when someone broke the law, he was punished severely for his actions. Someone who sins against God after he's already done so much for us should be punished even worse! It's unthinkable to take the act of Jesus on the cross and throw it back in his face by continuing to sin after we've received his gift. I wouldn't want to receive punishment from God almighty for sure.
32-34 When the Christians were persecuted for their faith, they didn't mind because they had something much better than anything here on earth. They had the promise of heaven and eternal riches that no one could take away from them. The gift of salvation was so great to them, that no amount of suffering could make them loose hope.
35-39 We should be like those Christians, looking forward to the return of Christ and not shrinking back. We live by faith, knowing that God will do as He promised. We have the knowledge of the things He's done for us, and the horrible things He's set us free from. That should be more than enough motivation for anyone to keep pushing through.
Second longest chapter DONE! Next week will be the longest chapter, but probably the one that takes the least explaining. Make sure you keep reading, I have a surprise starting the week after I finish this book. It's a reward of sorts for the faithful readers who stuck with me during this first attempt at doing a bible study. It's so weird, but it's going to be great.
Now go out and do something useful! Please! You must have so much free time if you've made it this far!
Friday, October 28, 2011
History in the Making
Time: 6:19 am
Place: My house, in my room
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: Oh man! I have to write a blog before noon today! I better get up right now!
Time: 7:21 am
Place: My house, in the back room, on the couch
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: (Finished my bible study) Okay, now to write this blog. But I'm so sleepy.....why does this couch have to be the comfiest in the entire house.......what is that bright.....huh? No, mustered please......(Falls over)
Time: 9:35 am
Place: My house,
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Some Voice: Hey, hey Selena, it's almost eleven, is your blog written yet?
Me: No, no it's not.
SV: Isn't chapter ten the second longest chapter in Hebrews?
Me: Yes, yes it is.
SV: Then what are you doing sleeping in?
Me: I'm tired!
SV: This is no way to be acting.
Me: Seriously? One, maybe two people read my blog anyways.
SV: That doesn't mean you can just blow it off.
Me: I can and I will, watch me. (Rolls over)
Time: 10:45 am
Place: My house, in front of the computer
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: (Type, type) What am I doing? I'm trying to be funny but it's really not funny that I'm a procrastinator. (Thinks) Maybe if I came up with something......(Clears throat)
Hello and welcome to my blog this week. I'm your host, and basically, there is no blog this week because forty minutes is not long enough to do a study on Hebrews chapter ten. I'm going to own the title of procrastinator, and come to you this week with a humble apology, and an invitation to come back next week, even though I don't deserve your devotion. But who's to say I can't do as I like anyways? This is my blog, and if I decide to write about peanut butter for six days straight, who's going to stop me? Besides, you have to be pirate for the code to apply which you're not. Any kind of blogging rules are more like guidelines anyway. Be safe this weekend in your activities and make sure you save a bag full of candy for me okay? Have a lovely day.
Post Time: 11:05 am B)
Place: My house, in my room
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: Oh man! I have to write a blog before noon today! I better get up right now!
Time: 7:21 am
Place: My house, in the back room, on the couch
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: (Finished my bible study) Okay, now to write this blog. But I'm so sleepy.....why does this couch have to be the comfiest in the entire house.......what is that bright.....huh? No, mustered please......(Falls over)
Time: 9:35 am
Place: My house,
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Some Voice: Hey, hey Selena, it's almost eleven, is your blog written yet?
Me: No, no it's not.
SV: Isn't chapter ten the second longest chapter in Hebrews?
Me: Yes, yes it is.
SV: Then what are you doing sleeping in?
Me: I'm tired!
SV: This is no way to be acting.
Me: Seriously? One, maybe two people read my blog anyways.
SV: That doesn't mean you can just blow it off.
Me: I can and I will, watch me. (Rolls over)
Time: 10:45 am
Place: My house, in front of the computer
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Me: (Type, type) What am I doing? I'm trying to be funny but it's really not funny that I'm a procrastinator. (Thinks) Maybe if I came up with something......(Clears throat)
Hello and welcome to my blog this week. I'm your host, and basically, there is no blog this week because forty minutes is not long enough to do a study on Hebrews chapter ten. I'm going to own the title of procrastinator, and come to you this week with a humble apology, and an invitation to come back next week, even though I don't deserve your devotion. But who's to say I can't do as I like anyways? This is my blog, and if I decide to write about peanut butter for six days straight, who's going to stop me? Besides, you have to be pirate for the code to apply which you're not. Any kind of blogging rules are more like guidelines anyway. Be safe this weekend in your activities and make sure you save a bag full of candy for me okay? Have a lovely day.
Post Time: 11:05 am B)
Friday, October 21, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Nine: Dead to Sin
OH MY GOSH I GOT A 3DS!!!! I'VE BEEN FREAKING OUT SINCE WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHEN THAT GUY AT TARGET OPENED THE GLASS DOOR AND TOOK OUT THIS BOX THAT HAD MY 3DS IN IT AND IT WAS MINE AND IT'S STILL MINE AND SO FAR I HAVEN'T WOKEN UP SO IT MUST NOT BE A DREAM! It's about time something good happens to me, I mean really. I have no games for it as of now, but you know, one thing at a time. It was totally worth the work, time, and money. I'm very impressed with it so far, I think the negativity surrounding the 3DS is blown out of proportion, but that's just me. I'll do an official review once I get some games and the excitement of finally having it has worn off, perhaps after Christmas sometime. I'm usually not lacking in money from my birthday (which happens to be on Thanksgiving this year) to Christmas, so I'll be able to purchase some games to review and talk about.
So, I'm running out of witty intros to each chapter of Hebrews. The initial blog intro that I do at the beginning is easy because it's usually something that's happened to me over the week. But, yeah, can I simply say, “Time for Hebrews nine” and be done with it? Okay, time for Hebrews nine.
1-5 I could maybe write a four page book on the significance behind the items mentioned in these verses alone, but I don't think that's the point. Perhaps it was the main focus at one time, but the book of Hebrews is not about the old covenant, but about the new covenant overtaking the old one. I see this brief list as a reminder that at one time in the past, these things were important for salvation itself. But now there's a new way of doing things.
6-10 Remember, only the priest was permitted into the inner room of the Tabernacle, and that once a year and with the shedding of blood. Limited access to the presence of God. This wasn't enough to truly cleanse God's people of their sin. There needed to be something more, something much more powerful and final to completely do away with sin.
11-12 Jesus used the power of his own perfect blood to enter eternal redemption for the whole world. It wasn't something that needed to be repeated, it wasn't a ceremony, an example, or a picture of things to come. It was the real thing.
13-14 If the ashes of an animal can make us “clean” on the outside, or basically, cleansed of sin from the past only, what can the blood of Jesus do? It's a rhetorical question, by the way. The blood of animals might have been enough to clear you of the acts of sin you committed, but what about tomorrow? What about next week? The blood of Christ not only washes away past acts, but the things you are going to do. It did away with sin entirely so we can more effectively serve God.
15 I pretty much love this verse. Any verse in the bible that talks about how we've been set free from sin is my favorite honestly. Think about this for a sec: we are set free from sin. No longer does it control us. No longer does it have power over us to make us do what it wants. We have the power over sin to say no. We have the power to run from sin!
16-22 Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Without blood or death, a will can't be put into effect. It's the same way with the covenants. There has to be bloodshed in order to remove sin.
23-26 Jesus doesn't enter the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwells to intercede for us. He went straight to the Father after he shed his own perfect blood for us. He's a direct connection to the source. So instead of having to sacrifice daily for a temporary, incomplete connection to God, Jesus gave himself as a one time sacrifice to open up a full connection (or at least as full as is attainable in our earthly bodies) to God himself.
27-28 I like this picture of us waiting for God to come. He already shed his blood so he can call us his own children, now we just have to wait until his return, when we will be taken to the Father and our promise of salvation will be complete.
What do you say after that? The end, that's what you say. Man, I need to stop putting off blog writing until Thursday night........
So, I'm running out of witty intros to each chapter of Hebrews. The initial blog intro that I do at the beginning is easy because it's usually something that's happened to me over the week. But, yeah, can I simply say, “Time for Hebrews nine” and be done with it? Okay, time for Hebrews nine.
1-5 I could maybe write a four page book on the significance behind the items mentioned in these verses alone, but I don't think that's the point. Perhaps it was the main focus at one time, but the book of Hebrews is not about the old covenant, but about the new covenant overtaking the old one. I see this brief list as a reminder that at one time in the past, these things were important for salvation itself. But now there's a new way of doing things.
6-10 Remember, only the priest was permitted into the inner room of the Tabernacle, and that once a year and with the shedding of blood. Limited access to the presence of God. This wasn't enough to truly cleanse God's people of their sin. There needed to be something more, something much more powerful and final to completely do away with sin.
11-12 Jesus used the power of his own perfect blood to enter eternal redemption for the whole world. It wasn't something that needed to be repeated, it wasn't a ceremony, an example, or a picture of things to come. It was the real thing.
13-14 If the ashes of an animal can make us “clean” on the outside, or basically, cleansed of sin from the past only, what can the blood of Jesus do? It's a rhetorical question, by the way. The blood of animals might have been enough to clear you of the acts of sin you committed, but what about tomorrow? What about next week? The blood of Christ not only washes away past acts, but the things you are going to do. It did away with sin entirely so we can more effectively serve God.
15 I pretty much love this verse. Any verse in the bible that talks about how we've been set free from sin is my favorite honestly. Think about this for a sec: we are set free from sin. No longer does it control us. No longer does it have power over us to make us do what it wants. We have the power over sin to say no. We have the power to run from sin!
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
-Romans 60:11
-Romans 60:11
16-22 Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Without blood or death, a will can't be put into effect. It's the same way with the covenants. There has to be bloodshed in order to remove sin.
23-26 Jesus doesn't enter the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwells to intercede for us. He went straight to the Father after he shed his own perfect blood for us. He's a direct connection to the source. So instead of having to sacrifice daily for a temporary, incomplete connection to God, Jesus gave himself as a one time sacrifice to open up a full connection (or at least as full as is attainable in our earthly bodies) to God himself.
27-28 I like this picture of us waiting for God to come. He already shed his blood so he can call us his own children, now we just have to wait until his return, when we will be taken to the Father and our promise of salvation will be complete.
What do you say after that? The end, that's what you say. Man, I need to stop putting off blog writing until Thursday night........
Friday, October 14, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Eight: Summing Things Up
There was almost no blog this day on account of me completely forgetting about it until Thursday night and me feeling the beginnings of a stupid cold. I swear it's like two hundred degrees in here, I'm sweating and I haven't done anything but sit here. Nevertheless, I am determined to make sure there is reading material for my readers every Friday no matter how bad my health is. I am a dedicated blogger! YEPPERS!
We are currently in Hebrews chapter eight, for those of you new readers, and those of you like me who forgot while floating around in the space of life. I like how chapter eight starts, “The point of what we are saying is this”. We're finally getting a main point, a summery of all this information we've been taking in and picking apart the first seven chapters. This is the part I skip to in textbooks. “Don't give me all the details! Just give me the important stuff that's going to be on the test!” Ladies and gentleman, it's test time.
1-2 Remember back in chapter three, when we talked about how Moses was the builder of the earthly Tabernacle where God dwelt, and that we are the new “Tabernacle” as God's dwelling place? Jesus is the high priest connecting us “tabernacles” to God. He is the bridge between you and God, the mediator, the connector, the missing piece of the puzzle.
3-4 Jesus can't be a priest on earth because there are already people who offer up sacrifices or other material things in exchange for their sins. Maybe you are one. Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough for God? Have you ever felt that you broke too many rules or skipped too many Sunday services to be worthy of God's grace? Thinking you have to be good enough for God is the same as offering up sacrifices for your sins. Nothing YOU can do will make up for your sins. Only through Jesus we are saved, not by man's power.
Let Jesus be your priest in heaven, the high priest who already did all that was necessary to save you. It's already done, you just need to accept it.
5-6 The Tabernacle had to be so exact, and everything had to be in the right place and happen in the right order, because it was a picture of what was to come. The old covenant was a perfect picture of the new covenant. The old covenant included things like the earthly Tabernacle, the human priest, and the daily sacrifice. The new covenant involves us, Jesus, and his one ultimate sacrifice. Do you see how everything connects here? The new covenant is far superior to the old one, as it involves us totally relying on the power of God to save us and to get us through each day. There's more intimacy between you and your Creator this way.
7-12 The quoted passage here is from the book of Jeremiah, which was written long before Jesus walked the earth. God new from the beginning that he would perfect His relationship with His people using the new covenant. No longer would people need to be told what God was saying to them, for God would be able to speak to each one directly.
I just sneezed on the computer screen and now it's all colorful.
13 So, the old covenant is completely done away with, guys. Religion and all that garbage is no longer necessary to be saved. We don't have to dress a certain way, abstain from eating certain things, or talk like we're super holy. God wants us to be just as we are, weak, helpless, imperfect, so He can show us how strong He is to save us. He needs us to be fully dependent on Him in order for Him to work through us. Otherwise we'll rely on our own abilities to get us through things, and that's not what we want at all.
I gave you the summery, now it's time to see what you have learned so far (or, time for me to see if I've been doing this right....) For this week's challenge, write a brief summery of the old covenant in comparison to the new covenant. For example:
Old: Tabernacle
New: Us
Everyone who completes the challenge will receive a cookie like last time. I'll check your answers next week. Have a smashing weekend! (Don't smash anything, just, oh never mind. I'm sick, give me a break.)
We are currently in Hebrews chapter eight, for those of you new readers, and those of you like me who forgot while floating around in the space of life. I like how chapter eight starts, “The point of what we are saying is this”. We're finally getting a main point, a summery of all this information we've been taking in and picking apart the first seven chapters. This is the part I skip to in textbooks. “Don't give me all the details! Just give me the important stuff that's going to be on the test!” Ladies and gentleman, it's test time.
1-2 Remember back in chapter three, when we talked about how Moses was the builder of the earthly Tabernacle where God dwelt, and that we are the new “Tabernacle” as God's dwelling place? Jesus is the high priest connecting us “tabernacles” to God. He is the bridge between you and God, the mediator, the connector, the missing piece of the puzzle.
3-4 Jesus can't be a priest on earth because there are already people who offer up sacrifices or other material things in exchange for their sins. Maybe you are one. Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough for God? Have you ever felt that you broke too many rules or skipped too many Sunday services to be worthy of God's grace? Thinking you have to be good enough for God is the same as offering up sacrifices for your sins. Nothing YOU can do will make up for your sins. Only through Jesus we are saved, not by man's power.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
-Ephesians 2:8-9
-Ephesians 2:8-9
Let Jesus be your priest in heaven, the high priest who already did all that was necessary to save you. It's already done, you just need to accept it.
5-6 The Tabernacle had to be so exact, and everything had to be in the right place and happen in the right order, because it was a picture of what was to come. The old covenant was a perfect picture of the new covenant. The old covenant included things like the earthly Tabernacle, the human priest, and the daily sacrifice. The new covenant involves us, Jesus, and his one ultimate sacrifice. Do you see how everything connects here? The new covenant is far superior to the old one, as it involves us totally relying on the power of God to save us and to get us through each day. There's more intimacy between you and your Creator this way.
7-12 The quoted passage here is from the book of Jeremiah, which was written long before Jesus walked the earth. God new from the beginning that he would perfect His relationship with His people using the new covenant. No longer would people need to be told what God was saying to them, for God would be able to speak to each one directly.
I just sneezed on the computer screen and now it's all colorful.
13 So, the old covenant is completely done away with, guys. Religion and all that garbage is no longer necessary to be saved. We don't have to dress a certain way, abstain from eating certain things, or talk like we're super holy. God wants us to be just as we are, weak, helpless, imperfect, so He can show us how strong He is to save us. He needs us to be fully dependent on Him in order for Him to work through us. Otherwise we'll rely on our own abilities to get us through things, and that's not what we want at all.
I gave you the summery, now it's time to see what you have learned so far (or, time for me to see if I've been doing this right....) For this week's challenge, write a brief summery of the old covenant in comparison to the new covenant. For example:
Old: Tabernacle
New: Us
Everyone who completes the challenge will receive a cookie like last time. I'll check your answers next week. Have a smashing weekend! (Don't smash anything, just, oh never mind. I'm sick, give me a break.)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Seven: The Most Holy Place
Alright, so I've been wanting to by the new hand-held video game system from Nintendo, the 3DS, for a few months now. I don't have a job at this time, so the only way I'm able to earn money is by doing odd jobs for family members and friends from church. I had a big one that I just finished, which was supposed to put me just twenty dollars short of the price of the 3DS, but it took me so long to finish this job that I had forgotten how much money me and the person I did the job for had agreed upon, which was twenty-five dollars less than what I thought. Now I'm about forty-five dollars short of my 3DS. I get twenty dollars tonight for another job, and as soon as I finish two other jobs, forty more, but that could be weeks. I've probably already missed the free download of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures by now, which is a game I really wanted to play. I'm crazy about Zelda, for those of you who don't already know. I'm desperate for cash right now. Only twenty more to go! Why?! WHY!?!?!?! *Sad face* If you have any jobs for me that won't take more than a week or that you can pay me in advance for, or if you'd like to just give me money I would be very grateful. You'd be helping the overall happiness of my life a lot.
Last week, I promised a more in-depth explanation of the Tabernacle and why it keeps coming up in the book of Hebrews. If you're anything like me,the Tabernacle is one of those things in the Bible that holds significance to you but you never fully understood. I still didn't quite understand what it was, besides a place where they killed animals, until last year in school when I did an intense study on it and the Israelite people. The connections between the Tabernacle and the “new covenant” and Jesus as our new “high priest” are so evident and so important in comprehending what it is that Jesus did for us on the cross.
The Tabernacle was basically a very beautiful and detailed tent. The Israelite people used it while they were on their way to the promised land, and then while they were wandering in the desert or forty years, so it had to be portable. To get a better picture of how beautiful this tent was, you can read Exodus 36:8-38.
It's a little hard to get a visual of the tent without seeing a model of it. Before I wrote this post I ran around the house panicking because I had to do a description of the Tabernacle and I hadn't seen my fold out pamphlet of it since we moved a couple of months ago. I finally found it last night at around ten o'clock, and right at this moment in time, it's nearly midnight on Thursday, so I hope I make sense. It shouldn't be a problem though, I'm very jacked up on a delicious caramel frappe right now. I'm literally twitching in my chair.
Anyways, the Tabernacle was just a big tent, like I said before, with a large outer courtyard that the people could enter into to make their sacrifices. The actual Tabernacle where God dwelt was inside this larger courtyard. In the courtyard, there was an alter where the people made their sacrifices. The offering had to be a perfect animal without any faults, and as it died the people would place their hand on its head to symbolize their sin going into the animal. This method of sacrifice only lasted the people a certain amount of time, so sacrifices were offered daily. Beyond this alter there was a large basin of water that had a mirrored bottom for the priests to wash themselves in before entering the Tabernacle. The purpose of the mirror was to remind the priest, as he made himself physically clean, that the Lord sees what's in the heart, and not just what's on the outside.
Once inside the tabernacle, there were a few other furnishings like the lamp stand, the table of showbread, and the alter of incense. Farther than this, at the very heart of the Tabernacle, was the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt. The priest would only enter this place once a year to sprinkle blood on the Ark of the Covenant, which held the ten commandments inside of it and was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place. The lid of the Ark is called the Mercy Seat, and this is where the glory of God dwelt. The blood sprinkled here covered the sins of the priest and the people for the rest of the year. It was only by these daily sacrifices and shedding of blood that God was able to dwell among the sinfulness of the people.
I know this is intense and maybe confusing stuff, but stay with me here. It's all going to come together as we read the seventh chapter of Hebrews.
1-10 Melchizedek was one of the priest that served in the Tabernacle. Pay attention to how he's being likened to Jesus here. His name means “king of righteousness”, and he was given a tenth of the plunder Abraham had gained from his battles. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be making a connection to tithing or not, but every priest collected a tenth of everything from the people while they were in service.
11-17 No matter how many sacrifices were made at the Tabernacle, there still had to be sacrifices for the sins of the people daily. It was an imperfect system based on the law. If this was a flawless system, why then did it have to be repeated with more bloodshed so often? When Jesus became our high priest, there had to be a change in the way things were done, just as there was a change in the priesthood. Jesus did not become a priest because of his ancestry, but because God his Father told him to so he could perfect His relationship with His people.
18-19 These are the key verses that bring it all together. The former way of doing things, the daily sacrifice of blood, the limited access to the Mercy Seat and to God's presence, all changed with this new way of doing things.
20-22 Each priest gained his title simply by being of the line of Levites, which was a tribe in Israel. But Jesus became a priest because he was promised with an oath by God. He was the guarantee of a better covenant before he was even born. Your salvation is a rock solid, promised by the God of the universe thing, guys. We shouldn't take this stuff lightly. This is powerful.
23-25 Priests die because they are human like you and me. But Jesus lives forever, and is therefore our priest forever. What he did cannot end, because he will never end. He has completely saved those who have called upon his name. When he died, the curtain that separated us from God's presence was ripped in half, and full access to the Mercy of God was granted to us. Oh man, I don't know if it's the coffee or the Spirit, but something is getting me hyped up!
26-28 The best part of it all, Jesus, our new High Priest, the one who took all our sins on himself and died once and for all to save us. Unlike the animal sacrifices that had to be offered multiple times, Jesus died one time and took EVERY SINGLE SIN away. This means all the sins you have committed, the sins you are committing, and the sins you will commit, already washed away more than 2,000 years ago on the cross. This perfect sinless man became our sin, and died in our place. He offered the blood we should have paid. He walked this earth and experienced all the things we experience. And now he's alive, bridging the gap between sinful man and a holy perfect God. The curtain was torn. The way is opened. WE ARE SAVED!
Now that that's over with, let me make some connections between Jesus and the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the place were God dwelt, Jesus came down from heaven to dwell among the people, and Jesus is God in the flesh. The high priest offered sacrifices for the people, Jesus offered himself as our final and perfect sacrifice. The place where God was, the Ark, held the ten commandments or the law. Jesus came to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17) When you sum it all up, Jesus completely replaced all that stuff. He made it so simple. He's the reason we're not still dragging animals to the alter to sacrifice for our sins.
The law shows us how imperfect we are, and how badly we fail with each passing minute to be worthy of entering the presence of God. It's like looking into a mirror and seeing all the dirt of our life. But Jesus washed us clean. His grace covers us. Like my pastor said on Sunday, “Grace doesn't give us an excuse to sin, but rather gives us the means by which we can keep it.” In other words, without grace, we would never be able to show our faces in the presence of God because we are not capable of keeping the law by ourselves. I thank the Lord for sending His son to make me perfect.
Last week, I asked for prayer requests as the challenge. I only got one, and I'm pretty sure it's been taken care of, so I'll let it go. The only challenge this week is getting through this blog, so if you made it this far congratulations, here is your virtual cookie. Now I must be going. It's almost one in the morning.
Last week, I promised a more in-depth explanation of the Tabernacle and why it keeps coming up in the book of Hebrews. If you're anything like me,the Tabernacle is one of those things in the Bible that holds significance to you but you never fully understood. I still didn't quite understand what it was, besides a place where they killed animals, until last year in school when I did an intense study on it and the Israelite people. The connections between the Tabernacle and the “new covenant” and Jesus as our new “high priest” are so evident and so important in comprehending what it is that Jesus did for us on the cross.
The Tabernacle was basically a very beautiful and detailed tent. The Israelite people used it while they were on their way to the promised land, and then while they were wandering in the desert or forty years, so it had to be portable. To get a better picture of how beautiful this tent was, you can read Exodus 36:8-38.
It's a little hard to get a visual of the tent without seeing a model of it. Before I wrote this post I ran around the house panicking because I had to do a description of the Tabernacle and I hadn't seen my fold out pamphlet of it since we moved a couple of months ago. I finally found it last night at around ten o'clock, and right at this moment in time, it's nearly midnight on Thursday, so I hope I make sense. It shouldn't be a problem though, I'm very jacked up on a delicious caramel frappe right now. I'm literally twitching in my chair.
Anyways, the Tabernacle was just a big tent, like I said before, with a large outer courtyard that the people could enter into to make their sacrifices. The actual Tabernacle where God dwelt was inside this larger courtyard. In the courtyard, there was an alter where the people made their sacrifices. The offering had to be a perfect animal without any faults, and as it died the people would place their hand on its head to symbolize their sin going into the animal. This method of sacrifice only lasted the people a certain amount of time, so sacrifices were offered daily. Beyond this alter there was a large basin of water that had a mirrored bottom for the priests to wash themselves in before entering the Tabernacle. The purpose of the mirror was to remind the priest, as he made himself physically clean, that the Lord sees what's in the heart, and not just what's on the outside.
Once inside the tabernacle, there were a few other furnishings like the lamp stand, the table of showbread, and the alter of incense. Farther than this, at the very heart of the Tabernacle, was the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt. The priest would only enter this place once a year to sprinkle blood on the Ark of the Covenant, which held the ten commandments inside of it and was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place. The lid of the Ark is called the Mercy Seat, and this is where the glory of God dwelt. The blood sprinkled here covered the sins of the priest and the people for the rest of the year. It was only by these daily sacrifices and shedding of blood that God was able to dwell among the sinfulness of the people.
I know this is intense and maybe confusing stuff, but stay with me here. It's all going to come together as we read the seventh chapter of Hebrews.
1-10 Melchizedek was one of the priest that served in the Tabernacle. Pay attention to how he's being likened to Jesus here. His name means “king of righteousness”, and he was given a tenth of the plunder Abraham had gained from his battles. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be making a connection to tithing or not, but every priest collected a tenth of everything from the people while they were in service.
11-17 No matter how many sacrifices were made at the Tabernacle, there still had to be sacrifices for the sins of the people daily. It was an imperfect system based on the law. If this was a flawless system, why then did it have to be repeated with more bloodshed so often? When Jesus became our high priest, there had to be a change in the way things were done, just as there was a change in the priesthood. Jesus did not become a priest because of his ancestry, but because God his Father told him to so he could perfect His relationship with His people.
18-19 These are the key verses that bring it all together. The former way of doing things, the daily sacrifice of blood, the limited access to the Mercy Seat and to God's presence, all changed with this new way of doing things.
20-22 Each priest gained his title simply by being of the line of Levites, which was a tribe in Israel. But Jesus became a priest because he was promised with an oath by God. He was the guarantee of a better covenant before he was even born. Your salvation is a rock solid, promised by the God of the universe thing, guys. We shouldn't take this stuff lightly. This is powerful.
23-25 Priests die because they are human like you and me. But Jesus lives forever, and is therefore our priest forever. What he did cannot end, because he will never end. He has completely saved those who have called upon his name. When he died, the curtain that separated us from God's presence was ripped in half, and full access to the Mercy of God was granted to us. Oh man, I don't know if it's the coffee or the Spirit, but something is getting me hyped up!
26-28 The best part of it all, Jesus, our new High Priest, the one who took all our sins on himself and died once and for all to save us. Unlike the animal sacrifices that had to be offered multiple times, Jesus died one time and took EVERY SINGLE SIN away. This means all the sins you have committed, the sins you are committing, and the sins you will commit, already washed away more than 2,000 years ago on the cross. This perfect sinless man became our sin, and died in our place. He offered the blood we should have paid. He walked this earth and experienced all the things we experience. And now he's alive, bridging the gap between sinful man and a holy perfect God. The curtain was torn. The way is opened. WE ARE SAVED!
Now that that's over with, let me make some connections between Jesus and the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the place were God dwelt, Jesus came down from heaven to dwell among the people, and Jesus is God in the flesh. The high priest offered sacrifices for the people, Jesus offered himself as our final and perfect sacrifice. The place where God was, the Ark, held the ten commandments or the law. Jesus came to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17) When you sum it all up, Jesus completely replaced all that stuff. He made it so simple. He's the reason we're not still dragging animals to the alter to sacrifice for our sins.
The law shows us how imperfect we are, and how badly we fail with each passing minute to be worthy of entering the presence of God. It's like looking into a mirror and seeing all the dirt of our life. But Jesus washed us clean. His grace covers us. Like my pastor said on Sunday, “Grace doesn't give us an excuse to sin, but rather gives us the means by which we can keep it.” In other words, without grace, we would never be able to show our faces in the presence of God because we are not capable of keeping the law by ourselves. I thank the Lord for sending His son to make me perfect.
Last week, I asked for prayer requests as the challenge. I only got one, and I'm pretty sure it's been taken care of, so I'll let it go. The only challenge this week is getting through this blog, so if you made it this far congratulations, here is your virtual cookie. Now I must be going. It's almost one in the morning.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Six: Convicted
Something interesting you might like to know about me is that I'm a hunt-and-peck typer (I don't know if that's the correct term, that's just what my mom calls it). I don't place the fingers of my left hand on asdf, the fingers of my right hand on lkjh, and my thumbs on the space bar. Rather my fingers hover over the key board and I look down at it as I type. I have a pretty good idea where each letter is, but if I take my eyes away I'm clueless. I use all my fingers except my pinky fingers, so if you didn't watch me too closely I actually look like I'm using proper form. I'm a fast typer for sure, however I don't do it “correctly”.
Heres and eaamsplr ps ke dad;e I ra[e weodklpa ;pp;imd ad the dkeiaoce.
Translation: Here's an example of how badly I type without looking at the key board.
Thank you for your understanding about last week's post. It was much needed and it felt good to write. As a reward I will now resume my study of Hebrews where we left off in chapter six. This is the first chapter that I'm truly nervous about, because I might not have the best or even the right translation for some things discussed here. I may have said this before, but I'd like to remind you that everything I say on my blog is strictly my opinion on what I'm reading in the Word of God, and if you disagree or find fault in my words, I'd be more than happy for you to let me know. In fact I encourage you to correct me if something I say doesn't sound right.
1-3 The end of chapter five and the beginning of chapter six flow into each other here. If you remember, chapter five ended with a call for Christians to mature in the Word and not stay in the elementary teachings of the bible. We don't grow with age, we grow in our relationship with Christ, and one of the ways we do this is by reading his Word and digesting it. We should already know to avoid sin, what baptism is, to lay hands on people as we pray, and the basic stuff like this. We continue to do them of course, but there comes a time when we need to dive deeper into what God has to say to us. Sometimes I'll read a certain scripture, and it'll inspire me to read more on the subject or to pull out the dictionary to help me fully understand what's being said. A few verses about God's grace and the song, “Your Grace Is Enough” by Matt Maher were enough to inspire me to go on this long study of God's grace, and ultimately to do this study on Hebrews. This is my way of eating up the Word of God.
4-6 I think the way most people would translate what's being said in these verses is that if someone accepts the gift of salvation and then falls away, they can't be saved again. The way I translate it is a little different. I think that once someone receives Jesus as their savior, they're saved for the rest of their life. If they fall away, this is a sign to me that maybe they weren't really saved in the first place. Once you experience Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it's impossible to just leave the faith. I know that when I'm in sin or when I'm not doing what I should be doing in my relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit convicts me like crazy. I might be able to handle it for a little while, but eventually I get found out or I confess what I'm doing and stop doing it. If someone gets saved and then neglects their relationship with the Lord later on down the road, I would seriously question if they were ever real in their faith. I don't understand how someone could have the Holy Spirit burning inside them and remain in sin. You should want to get rid of that!
7-8 These verses help us to further determine of someone is truly saved or not. We are represented as the land in this picture, and the kind of crop we produce tells others what's going on inside of us. Those of us who are saved produce a good crop that other people can use, but if we're just pretending, we produce a crop that's good for nothing but to be burned.
9-12 If we do happen to fall away from doing the work of God, He promises us that He'll still accept us and remember all we've done for Him. We shouldn't grow lazy in our work, but it's not like God will get mad at us and revoke our salvation privileges if we screw up every now and then.
13-17 When it says that God swore, it doesn't mean that he said a naughty word or anything like that. Rather swearing means that he made a promise or an oath to Moses, and to secure that promise, he swore by Himself, since there is no one greater than He is in the entire universe. By doing this, he showed Moses that he wasn't playing around with this. He meant what he said when He told Moses that he would make his descendents innumerable. God doesn't need to swear to make his promises steadfast and true, however. I believe He did this to destroy any lack of faith in Moses and His people. When God says He will do something, you better believe He's going to do it.
18-20 Now that we know that God can't lie and that there is nothing and no one greater than Him, we can put our absolute trust in the hope of salvation He has offered to us. We should be encouraged by possessing such a great and secure gift! There is nothing that can take away our title as a child of God, nothing!
In verse 19b, there's more priest stuff I'll explain for you real quick. Before Jesus died for us, the only way to be purified of our sins was to enter into the presence of God and make a blood sacrifice to cover up what you did. There was one place God could dwell among the people, and that was in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle. I'll talk more of this in the next chapter, but all you need to understand for now is that the high priest was the guy that was required to make the sacrifices and ask for God's forgiveness in place of the people who weren't allowed to enter God's presence. When it says in verse 19 that Jesus went behind the curtain on our behalf, it means that Jesus, who is our great high priest, provided the blood and the forgiveness we needed to enter into the presence of God. Now we can come to God whenever we like, because we've been washed clean of all sin.
Like I said, in the next chapter I'll write more on the Tabernacle and the high priest. We have reached the end of our studies for today unfortunately, but there's a little thing I want to start doing for the remainder of Hebrews. I've already been kinda doing it here and there, but I want to ask you to do something at the end of each blog. We'll call it the Hebrew challenge, or the Epic Fish, or maybe How-I-Want-You-To-Get-Involved or something. Maybe name suggestions would be a good Idea. Remember last week, it was to show someone your smile, and a few weeks back I asked for you to comment your favorite verse. This week, I want you to go to the “Contact Meh” page on the blog, and comment a prayer request. It doesn't have to be real long or detailed, and you're more than welcome to comment anonymously. I just want to know how I can pray for you, and I also want my readers to pray for each other. Next week, I'll provide a verse for each request I get, even if I only get one from the one reader I know will comment. ;-) Have an amazing day!
Heres and eaamsplr ps ke dad;e I ra[e weodklpa ;pp;imd ad the dkeiaoce.
Translation: Here's an example of how badly I type without looking at the key board.
Thank you for your understanding about last week's post. It was much needed and it felt good to write. As a reward I will now resume my study of Hebrews where we left off in chapter six. This is the first chapter that I'm truly nervous about, because I might not have the best or even the right translation for some things discussed here. I may have said this before, but I'd like to remind you that everything I say on my blog is strictly my opinion on what I'm reading in the Word of God, and if you disagree or find fault in my words, I'd be more than happy for you to let me know. In fact I encourage you to correct me if something I say doesn't sound right.
1-3 The end of chapter five and the beginning of chapter six flow into each other here. If you remember, chapter five ended with a call for Christians to mature in the Word and not stay in the elementary teachings of the bible. We don't grow with age, we grow in our relationship with Christ, and one of the ways we do this is by reading his Word and digesting it. We should already know to avoid sin, what baptism is, to lay hands on people as we pray, and the basic stuff like this. We continue to do them of course, but there comes a time when we need to dive deeper into what God has to say to us. Sometimes I'll read a certain scripture, and it'll inspire me to read more on the subject or to pull out the dictionary to help me fully understand what's being said. A few verses about God's grace and the song, “Your Grace Is Enough” by Matt Maher were enough to inspire me to go on this long study of God's grace, and ultimately to do this study on Hebrews. This is my way of eating up the Word of God.
4-6 I think the way most people would translate what's being said in these verses is that if someone accepts the gift of salvation and then falls away, they can't be saved again. The way I translate it is a little different. I think that once someone receives Jesus as their savior, they're saved for the rest of their life. If they fall away, this is a sign to me that maybe they weren't really saved in the first place. Once you experience Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it's impossible to just leave the faith. I know that when I'm in sin or when I'm not doing what I should be doing in my relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit convicts me like crazy. I might be able to handle it for a little while, but eventually I get found out or I confess what I'm doing and stop doing it. If someone gets saved and then neglects their relationship with the Lord later on down the road, I would seriously question if they were ever real in their faith. I don't understand how someone could have the Holy Spirit burning inside them and remain in sin. You should want to get rid of that!
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
- Ephesians 4:22-24
- Ephesians 4:22-24
7-8 These verses help us to further determine of someone is truly saved or not. We are represented as the land in this picture, and the kind of crop we produce tells others what's going on inside of us. Those of us who are saved produce a good crop that other people can use, but if we're just pretending, we produce a crop that's good for nothing but to be burned.
9-12 If we do happen to fall away from doing the work of God, He promises us that He'll still accept us and remember all we've done for Him. We shouldn't grow lazy in our work, but it's not like God will get mad at us and revoke our salvation privileges if we screw up every now and then.
13-17 When it says that God swore, it doesn't mean that he said a naughty word or anything like that. Rather swearing means that he made a promise or an oath to Moses, and to secure that promise, he swore by Himself, since there is no one greater than He is in the entire universe. By doing this, he showed Moses that he wasn't playing around with this. He meant what he said when He told Moses that he would make his descendents innumerable. God doesn't need to swear to make his promises steadfast and true, however. I believe He did this to destroy any lack of faith in Moses and His people. When God says He will do something, you better believe He's going to do it.
18-20 Now that we know that God can't lie and that there is nothing and no one greater than Him, we can put our absolute trust in the hope of salvation He has offered to us. We should be encouraged by possessing such a great and secure gift! There is nothing that can take away our title as a child of God, nothing!
In verse 19b, there's more priest stuff I'll explain for you real quick. Before Jesus died for us, the only way to be purified of our sins was to enter into the presence of God and make a blood sacrifice to cover up what you did. There was one place God could dwell among the people, and that was in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle. I'll talk more of this in the next chapter, but all you need to understand for now is that the high priest was the guy that was required to make the sacrifices and ask for God's forgiveness in place of the people who weren't allowed to enter God's presence. When it says in verse 19 that Jesus went behind the curtain on our behalf, it means that Jesus, who is our great high priest, provided the blood and the forgiveness we needed to enter into the presence of God. Now we can come to God whenever we like, because we've been washed clean of all sin.
Like I said, in the next chapter I'll write more on the Tabernacle and the high priest. We have reached the end of our studies for today unfortunately, but there's a little thing I want to start doing for the remainder of Hebrews. I've already been kinda doing it here and there, but I want to ask you to do something at the end of each blog. We'll call it the Hebrew challenge, or the Epic Fish, or maybe How-I-Want-You-To-Get-Involved or something. Maybe name suggestions would be a good Idea. Remember last week, it was to show someone your smile, and a few weeks back I asked for you to comment your favorite verse. This week, I want you to go to the “Contact Meh” page on the blog, and comment a prayer request. It doesn't have to be real long or detailed, and you're more than welcome to comment anonymously. I just want to know how I can pray for you, and I also want my readers to pray for each other. Next week, I'll provide a verse for each request I get, even if I only get one from the one reader I know will comment. ;-) Have an amazing day!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Patient Endurance
My dad and I had a conversation last week that went something like this:
Me: Do you ever feel like there's so many problems in your life that you can't do a single thing about?
My dad: Yes, I call it life.
It was a depressing statement, but that's definitely how I've felt this past week. It's like I'm just hanging in there, fighting through the current problem until the next one hits me. No one is there for me to talk to, that's all I really want right now is someone to talk to who will listen and not just tell me what to do. I feel so small and helpless. I feel like there's nothing I can do to fix things, and I hate it.
I'm not going to do Hebrews chapter six today because I think like I need to write about what's been going on. I usually write my best stuff when things go downhill, so I figured now would be a good time to do this blog I've been wanting to do for a while.
Last Friday, things just kinda went wrong. It was one of those nights where suddenly, I realized I wasn't alright. I don't know if you ever feel like this, but I just had to go somewhere by myself and cry. I'm not afraid to cry, in fact, it feels good to know I can still feel anything. Crying is good. I sit on my back porch listening to Jeremy Camp, praying, and crying until two in the morning, when my sister had to come get me because I'd almost fallen asleep. I don't think I've ever prayed so intensely for such a long period of time. Prayer was the only thing I had left, the only weapon left in my inventory. When I'm not strong enough to use my words, or when it's impossible for me to be there for everyone who needs me, I know I can pray. I couldn't even sleep in after staying up so late, I got back up at six and continued praying. I wanted to spend time with the Lord so badly. I wanted to know he was working.
Saturday night, I was flipping through my bible and reading all the key verses I had highlighted in school. The color code goes something like this: Red means things we need to do, plans of action, things we're commanded to do, and things we should be doing. Yellow is for verses relating to prayer, and Green is for the important verses that speak to me or that bring a passage together. Usually when I need something more than my daily study, I go through the chapters I've already studied and read the green verses. But my bible just kinda fell open to a verse in red, and things finally started to make sense. I knew what I had to do, and what better way than to write it out.
That's exactly what I wanted, that's what I wanted to give to those around me who were also hurting, but I didn't know how. But God provided me with everything I needed to say, and it's all right up there ^ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the God of compassion! Comforting his children is what he does! He comforts me in order that I may comfort others. He pulls me through things so that I can help others get through what they're going through. If we never suffered anything, how are we to be comforted? You need the rain to get the rainbow. It sounds so cliche, but this is just another good thing that can come from suffering. Friday night as I sat outside praying, song after song kept playing on my Zune that worshiped God, telling him how amazing and wonderful he was. It might feel odd to praise God when it seems like he allowed all the bad stuff to happen, but there's always a reason for what he does, always.
Monday morning, I started reading a book called Experiencing God: Youth Edition. What better time to start reading such an amazing book. After the first lesson, you're required to pray about what you had read, and again I found myself in tears. The whole lesson had been about following the Lord day by day, not trying to figure out all the details about what he wants you to do. Most of last weekend I found myself asking God to show me what to do, but this book challenged me to ask him to lead me in what he wants me to do. Instead of trying to understand everything that's going on, I need to take things day by day. Instead of wondering why things were the way they were, I needed to trust God that he was working.
When I'm lost, Jesus is my way. When I don't know what to do next, God knows exactly how things are going to end. While I pray, he works. I just need to trust the God who is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever ask for or imagine, the same God that is at work inside of me!
If only my words could do any sort of justice to what God is able to do through your life, through your circumstances, through your pain, then maybe I'd be able to make some sort of impact on you today. But sometimes I need to write what I can based on what He's been showing me, and hope that through my life, your life might be changed as well. Although I want whoever happens to read this post to get something from it, I wrote this blog for someone special that I know is having a crappy time right now. To wrap things up, I want to say to him and everyone else reading that's going through some difficult stuff that you aren't alone. I'm here, God's here, and I've been praying for you non-stop since Friday. God has a hand in every little detail of your life, your amazing beautiful life, and he wants you to grow closer to him. Trust him to make things clear to you as you live each day. Take things one step at a time, and know that Jesus is your way. It's often when you're broken and confused that God teaches you his biggest lessons, I've experienced this many times in past years. It's now that he wants you to put your whole life into his hands so he can do with it as he wants. I'm not perfect, I've never been perfect. I'm pretty screwed up right now, and I can't be that example to you that I'd like to be. I'd like to be that person that does everything right, but I'm just as broken as you. But I'm here to listen. In fact, please feel free to let me know how I can pray for you. I'm one of those people who likes getting those long emails that make no sense or phone calls from people who just need to talk at three in the morning. I can't promise I'll have all the answers, but I can promise to be there for you if you need me.
Okay, I'm going to ask you to do something a little silly, but I'm doing it too, so just go along with me here. I'm going to ask you to think of one thing in your life that makes you happy. Maybe it's a person, a song, an item, a scripture, whatever you like. Dwell on your happy thing for a little bit. Think of why it makes you happy. Think of when you first met that person, or first heard that song or read that scripture. Alright, now that it's firmly fixed in your mind, I want you to say it out loud and smile. Trust me, when you've had a hard weekend, it almost hurts to smile. But we need to get those muscles working again. Did you do it? Good, now go show someone that smile. ;)
Me: Do you ever feel like there's so many problems in your life that you can't do a single thing about?
My dad: Yes, I call it life.
It was a depressing statement, but that's definitely how I've felt this past week. It's like I'm just hanging in there, fighting through the current problem until the next one hits me. No one is there for me to talk to, that's all I really want right now is someone to talk to who will listen and not just tell me what to do. I feel so small and helpless. I feel like there's nothing I can do to fix things, and I hate it.
I'm not going to do Hebrews chapter six today because I think like I need to write about what's been going on. I usually write my best stuff when things go downhill, so I figured now would be a good time to do this blog I've been wanting to do for a while.
Last Friday, things just kinda went wrong. It was one of those nights where suddenly, I realized I wasn't alright. I don't know if you ever feel like this, but I just had to go somewhere by myself and cry. I'm not afraid to cry, in fact, it feels good to know I can still feel anything. Crying is good. I sit on my back porch listening to Jeremy Camp, praying, and crying until two in the morning, when my sister had to come get me because I'd almost fallen asleep. I don't think I've ever prayed so intensely for such a long period of time. Prayer was the only thing I had left, the only weapon left in my inventory. When I'm not strong enough to use my words, or when it's impossible for me to be there for everyone who needs me, I know I can pray. I couldn't even sleep in after staying up so late, I got back up at six and continued praying. I wanted to spend time with the Lord so badly. I wanted to know he was working.
Saturday night, I was flipping through my bible and reading all the key verses I had highlighted in school. The color code goes something like this: Red means things we need to do, plans of action, things we're commanded to do, and things we should be doing. Yellow is for verses relating to prayer, and Green is for the important verses that speak to me or that bring a passage together. Usually when I need something more than my daily study, I go through the chapters I've already studied and read the green verses. But my bible just kinda fell open to a verse in red, and things finally started to make sense. I knew what I had to do, and what better way than to write it out.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
That's exactly what I wanted, that's what I wanted to give to those around me who were also hurting, but I didn't know how. But God provided me with everything I needed to say, and it's all right up there ^ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the God of compassion! Comforting his children is what he does! He comforts me in order that I may comfort others. He pulls me through things so that I can help others get through what they're going through. If we never suffered anything, how are we to be comforted? You need the rain to get the rainbow. It sounds so cliche, but this is just another good thing that can come from suffering. Friday night as I sat outside praying, song after song kept playing on my Zune that worshiped God, telling him how amazing and wonderful he was. It might feel odd to praise God when it seems like he allowed all the bad stuff to happen, but there's always a reason for what he does, always.
Monday morning, I started reading a book called Experiencing God: Youth Edition. What better time to start reading such an amazing book. After the first lesson, you're required to pray about what you had read, and again I found myself in tears. The whole lesson had been about following the Lord day by day, not trying to figure out all the details about what he wants you to do. Most of last weekend I found myself asking God to show me what to do, but this book challenged me to ask him to lead me in what he wants me to do. Instead of trying to understand everything that's going on, I need to take things day by day. Instead of wondering why things were the way they were, I needed to trust God that he was working.
When I'm lost, Jesus is my way. When I don't know what to do next, God knows exactly how things are going to end. While I pray, he works. I just need to trust the God who is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever ask for or imagine, the same God that is at work inside of me!
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is as work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
- Ephesians 3:20-21
- Ephesians 3:20-21
If only my words could do any sort of justice to what God is able to do through your life, through your circumstances, through your pain, then maybe I'd be able to make some sort of impact on you today. But sometimes I need to write what I can based on what He's been showing me, and hope that through my life, your life might be changed as well. Although I want whoever happens to read this post to get something from it, I wrote this blog for someone special that I know is having a crappy time right now. To wrap things up, I want to say to him and everyone else reading that's going through some difficult stuff that you aren't alone. I'm here, God's here, and I've been praying for you non-stop since Friday. God has a hand in every little detail of your life, your amazing beautiful life, and he wants you to grow closer to him. Trust him to make things clear to you as you live each day. Take things one step at a time, and know that Jesus is your way. It's often when you're broken and confused that God teaches you his biggest lessons, I've experienced this many times in past years. It's now that he wants you to put your whole life into his hands so he can do with it as he wants. I'm not perfect, I've never been perfect. I'm pretty screwed up right now, and I can't be that example to you that I'd like to be. I'd like to be that person that does everything right, but I'm just as broken as you. But I'm here to listen. In fact, please feel free to let me know how I can pray for you. I'm one of those people who likes getting those long emails that make no sense or phone calls from people who just need to talk at three in the morning. I can't promise I'll have all the answers, but I can promise to be there for you if you need me.
“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
-2 Corinthians 12:10
-2 Corinthians 12:10
Okay, I'm going to ask you to do something a little silly, but I'm doing it too, so just go along with me here. I'm going to ask you to think of one thing in your life that makes you happy. Maybe it's a person, a song, an item, a scripture, whatever you like. Dwell on your happy thing for a little bit. Think of why it makes you happy. Think of when you first met that person, or first heard that song or read that scripture. Alright, now that it's firmly fixed in your mind, I want you to say it out loud and smile. Trust me, when you've had a hard weekend, it almost hurts to smile. But we need to get those muscles working again. Did you do it? Good, now go show someone that smile. ;)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Five: What We Have Learned
Have you ever heard a song and been all like, “This is totally my song!” And then a week later you hear a different, probably better song and say, “No, wait, this is so totally my song”, and this goes on for pretty much your whole life and you begin to wonder if you will ever find the right song? I'm going through this dilemma right now. My song is currently a Jeremy Camp song and NOT a Skillet song (wonder of wonders). “The Way” really describes what I'm trying to accomplish right now, so I consider that to be my 'song' at this very moment in time, but don't expect it to stay that way. I'm sure I'll change it before the week's over.
Already we're on chapter five. It seems to be going fast, but I did some calculations and we won't finish this book until mid November! If any of you sticks around all the way through, there will be a party at the end of Hebrews, AND THERE WILL BE CAKE! (Selena is giggling right now because she knows only her and one other person reading got that joke, you know who you are.)
1-3 I'm usually the friend people go to when they need to talk. I don't know what it is about me, but it's almost guaranteed that I'll have at least one person come to me with their deepest concerns and secrets every month. I imagine most of the reason that my friends pick me to open up to is because God knows what I've been though; he knows that I'm able to sympathize with a lot of individuals because I know what it's like. Although there's so much to learn from difficult times in life, I think one of my favorite by-products of suffering is your new ability to understand what everyone else in your situation feels like. This way, if you ever find yourself in my shoes and someone pours out their heart to you, you can hug them, cry with them, and let them know that they're not alone. The most comforting words I can hear when I'm upset about something is, “Yeah, I know what you mean, I've been there too.” God knows this, and I think this is a big part of why he set op the sacrifice system in the way he did. He had a regular guy like you and me asking for forgiveness, someone who knows what it's like to screw up. We've been over the priest thing already in past chapters, but this same thing is repeated often in Hebrews. The bottom line is, we're not alone in whatever it is we're facing. You have God, you have me, and I'm sure you have a really good friend who's willing to help you through the tough things. If you're not going through anything, I encourage you to make yourself available to those around you who are. Sometimes, you're all they have.
4-6 Jesus was called to glory by God, just as you and I are. No one can just step up to the plate and say, “I'm here God. Do with me what you like.” No, rather it's God who makes that first step by calling us out of the darkness of sin. Sometimes it's early on in life, and sometimes it's later on, but all of us were called. Some of us, like me for example, have to be called more than once to get back to the glory of Christ. But just think, even Jesus had to be called. It's a wonderful thing to be chosen, to have God pick you out and call you by name for his glory
7-10 Jesus was aware of the fact that he was going to take on the sins of the world. But he also knew that only God had the power to make him perfect and complete the work of salvation through him. It was after he submitted to the plan of God and went to the cross that he was able to complete the work he had been called to do. The same thing goes for us as well. We need to trust that God will complete the work he has for us. It might be pretty awful until then, but what could be more horrible than carrying the sins of the entire world? I think it's only right of God to ask us to continue even if things get hard. This has been an issue I've been dealing with, and am dealing with right now: trusting that God will complete what he started in my life. I know God has so much for me, but right now I feel...stuck. I don't know what I should do next. It's times like these that I need to put my whole life and all my trust in the One who knows exactly what I'm supposed to do next.
11-14 What it means here when it says we still need milk instead of solid food is that we still don't understand the depth of God's Word. That's like a full grown man who was raised in the church still reading the picture bible story about Noah and the Ark. By this time he should know enough to be teaching the word to other baby Christians, yet he's still a baby himself. The Christian doesn't grow older with age, but rather by deepening his or her relationship with God. The only way you will grow in your faith is by reading God's Word, by praying, and by living it out every day. You need to practice something in order to be good at it.
As I close this chapter, I'd like to challenge you to grow a little more. Right now, wherever you are, bow your head and pray for five minutes. It might not seem like a long time, but try it and see if you still think that. *Wink* I'm sure there's so many things you can think of to pray about. If you can't come up with enough things to fill five minutes, pray for me! I'm not afraid to ask for prayer right now. Pray for my grandpa! I just received word last night that he's back in the hospital. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your family. Just talk to God about anything and everything that comes to mind, even if it sounds silly. He wants to talk to you. If you had a girlfriend or boyfriend (or maybe you do have one), you'd want to spend time with them and tell them everything that's going on. God's the same way.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Already we're on chapter five. It seems to be going fast, but I did some calculations and we won't finish this book until mid November! If any of you sticks around all the way through, there will be a party at the end of Hebrews, AND THERE WILL BE CAKE! (Selena is giggling right now because she knows only her and one other person reading got that joke, you know who you are.)
1-3 I'm usually the friend people go to when they need to talk. I don't know what it is about me, but it's almost guaranteed that I'll have at least one person come to me with their deepest concerns and secrets every month. I imagine most of the reason that my friends pick me to open up to is because God knows what I've been though; he knows that I'm able to sympathize with a lot of individuals because I know what it's like. Although there's so much to learn from difficult times in life, I think one of my favorite by-products of suffering is your new ability to understand what everyone else in your situation feels like. This way, if you ever find yourself in my shoes and someone pours out their heart to you, you can hug them, cry with them, and let them know that they're not alone. The most comforting words I can hear when I'm upset about something is, “Yeah, I know what you mean, I've been there too.” God knows this, and I think this is a big part of why he set op the sacrifice system in the way he did. He had a regular guy like you and me asking for forgiveness, someone who knows what it's like to screw up. We've been over the priest thing already in past chapters, but this same thing is repeated often in Hebrews. The bottom line is, we're not alone in whatever it is we're facing. You have God, you have me, and I'm sure you have a really good friend who's willing to help you through the tough things. If you're not going through anything, I encourage you to make yourself available to those around you who are. Sometimes, you're all they have.
4-6 Jesus was called to glory by God, just as you and I are. No one can just step up to the plate and say, “I'm here God. Do with me what you like.” No, rather it's God who makes that first step by calling us out of the darkness of sin. Sometimes it's early on in life, and sometimes it's later on, but all of us were called. Some of us, like me for example, have to be called more than once to get back to the glory of Christ. But just think, even Jesus had to be called. It's a wonderful thing to be chosen, to have God pick you out and call you by name for his glory
7-10 Jesus was aware of the fact that he was going to take on the sins of the world. But he also knew that only God had the power to make him perfect and complete the work of salvation through him. It was after he submitted to the plan of God and went to the cross that he was able to complete the work he had been called to do. The same thing goes for us as well. We need to trust that God will complete the work he has for us. It might be pretty awful until then, but what could be more horrible than carrying the sins of the entire world? I think it's only right of God to ask us to continue even if things get hard. This has been an issue I've been dealing with, and am dealing with right now: trusting that God will complete what he started in my life. I know God has so much for me, but right now I feel...stuck. I don't know what I should do next. It's times like these that I need to put my whole life and all my trust in the One who knows exactly what I'm supposed to do next.
“Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:4-5
11-14 What it means here when it says we still need milk instead of solid food is that we still don't understand the depth of God's Word. That's like a full grown man who was raised in the church still reading the picture bible story about Noah and the Ark. By this time he should know enough to be teaching the word to other baby Christians, yet he's still a baby himself. The Christian doesn't grow older with age, but rather by deepening his or her relationship with God. The only way you will grow in your faith is by reading God's Word, by praying, and by living it out every day. You need to practice something in order to be good at it.
As I close this chapter, I'd like to challenge you to grow a little more. Right now, wherever you are, bow your head and pray for five minutes. It might not seem like a long time, but try it and see if you still think that. *Wink* I'm sure there's so many things you can think of to pray about. If you can't come up with enough things to fill five minutes, pray for me! I'm not afraid to ask for prayer right now. Pray for my grandpa! I just received word last night that he's back in the hospital. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your family. Just talk to God about anything and everything that comes to mind, even if it sounds silly. He wants to talk to you. If you had a girlfriend or boyfriend (or maybe you do have one), you'd want to spend time with them and tell them everything that's going on. God's the same way.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light...” Ephesians 5:8
Friday, September 9, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Four: HOW LONG HAS THIS NOT HAD A TITLE?!?
Chapter four of Hebrews hits close to home for me and my family. Back when my mom was younger, her family was Seventh Day Adventist, which is a denomination of a church that puts a lot of value on Saturday or the Sabbath. After my dad and I came into the picture, she converted him and raised me to be Adventist as well, so I spent my early years in that church. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember not being allowed to do much of anything on Saturday because “it wasn't pleasing to the Lord”. In that church, the tendency is to teach that you are saved by works, not by grace. Some think that the better you do on earth, the greater your reward will be in heaven. I'm crazy about the awesomeness of grace, so those two statements alone could send me on a very long rant. The Lord spoke to my mom through the book of Hebrews though, which should make sense if you've been with me for the first three chapters, because most of it is on the grace of Jesus. It was chapter four that began to help her realize that it's by grace and not by works that we are saved. None of us are even qualified to try to earn salvation. It's something that's unattainable by anything we can do.
1-2 If you remember in chapter three, we were discussing the Israelite people and how they failed to heed the calling of God into his rest. We have that same calling, that same gospel preached to us, whether it is in a church, through our family, or even through words on a website typed by a teenage girl. They didn't enter God's rest because they had a lack of faith that God would stay true to his word. They questioned the things he said he would do for them, because all they could see at the moment was that they were in a desert with no food or water. Instead of trusting in God to do as he promised, they complained that they were dying in the desert. It reminds me of all the times I felt lost and confused, and I wondered how God could possibly be working in my life. But every time, usually after I've reached a point so low that I give up trying to do things myself, he reveals his master plan. It's times like this that we need to have faith that the Lord will do as he promised, that he will take care of things, and we will enter his rest.
3-5 Here's the first mention of the Sabbath (or the “seventh day”). It started at the very beginning of the world when God rested after creating the world. I always imagine God in a bean-bag chair with a Dr. Pepper and a Wii remote when it says he rested, but that's just me. I never understood why it was that God needed to rest at all, but now as I read this passage, I wonder if this too was symbolic of the rest he wants us to enter into. After it was finished, he rested. After Jesus died on the cross for us, we can rest knowing the price has been paid. I'm no expert, but that's what it sounds like to me.
6-7 Today is the day we can enter God's rest. We don't have to travel a long distance like God's people did thousands of years ago. Today, right now, without cleaning ourselves up or following a bunch of rules, we can have the peace and the rest God offers us. It's not a matter of works, it's a matter of faith that God will do as he promises and that he has done the necessary things to save us. All we have to do is...not harden our hearts.
8-11 Joshua was the man who finally lead the Israelites into the promised land. He led them into the rest that was promised them by God. But there is still another rest, one that we can enter into. We can rest from our work just as God rested from his. What is our work exactly? It's trying to live up to God's standards (an impossible task really), trying to earn our rights in a way. It's keeping the Sabbath day by not doing anything that would be displeasing to God. It's following every single commandment perfectly from the moment we take our first breathe to the moment we breathe our last. That's what we rest from, for Jesus paid the price for us because he knew we were imperfect. If we had the ability to earn our way to a higher place in God's heart, we'd have no need for grace or Jesus, because we could obtain salvation on our own.
12-13 The Word of God...I could never effectively describe what goes on between the covers of the bible. I think verse twelve does a good enough job however, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating the very soul and spirit. No matter how good we think we are, the Word of God is like a mirror, reflecting all the evilness in our hearts. There is no way someone can truly be in the Word and not realize his desperate need for a savior. Even if our eyes are never opened to the wickedness in our hearts while we're living here on earth, everyone, everywhere (this includes you and me by the way) will have to give an account to God for our actions. There's no shoving anything under the couch with God either. He pretty much knows everything. I'd much rather be washed clean by the blood of Jesus when it's my turn to give an account to God.
14-16 And the grand ending to an amazing chapter. Our great high priest, Jesus, who understands what we're going through. I don't know if you've ever tried going to someone for help with a situation you're facing, but if they haven't been through the same thing, it's hard to get anything out of their advice. How should they know? But Jesus, he knows exactly what I'm going through, what you're going through. He knows! Somehow, he managed to walk this earth you and I are on without once sinning. Gosh, I've probably sinned in the hour I've been sitting here typing about God's grace! But since he washed us clean, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, clean and like we've never sinned. We can claim that grace and rest in our time of need, in the times we feel defeated and unworthy. I feel unworthy a lot, especially recently. Honestly, I've asked the Lord time and time again why he keeps giving me grace, for I definitely don't learn my lessons. But that's the thing. He took care of that for me, all of it, the things I have done, am doing, and have yet to do. Isn't he amazing?!
In closing, I'd like to ask each of you to comment your favorite verse in this chapter and why. It doesn't have to be long, just something that God spoke to you about while reading chapter four. Thanks! Have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Three: Rest
In Spanish, there is a type of bread called pan (pronounced paun), that's somewhere between regular bread and a doughnut in sweetness. I was having some at a bible study last Friday, and I was jokingly calling it pan, like you'd say it in English, the kind you cook in. Now, here in the part of California I live in, everyone can speak Spanish to some degree, so therefore everyone knew I was joking when I called it pan in English. But the awesome part was that my friend pointed out that I was a Panhead, and since pan means bread in Spanish, he was going to call me Sckbreadhead from now on. I think it's a brilliant idea, what do you guys think?
You think on it, and in the mean time, I give you Hebrews chapter three.
1 I like how the writer calls us holy brothers right here, almost as if he was reaffirming our acceptance by Jesus. It's been my experience that when you fix your thoughts on Jesus, it's easier to pray. When I think of him, I think of all he went through to erase the separation between man and God, how he knows from experience what we're going through, and how much he wants to hear from us. It's easy to talk to someone like that.
2-6 These next five verses were difficult for me to understand at first, so I had to ask for help from my parents. Here, it's talking about Moses and Jesus, and I could tell there was a connection, but I was unsure of what that connection was. Let me walk you through what my parents and I were able to find out: In verse two, it says Moses was faithful in all God's house. If you remember in the old testament, Moses was in charge of building the tabernacle, which was the place God dwelt. It was his house. The Tabernacle was the only way the Lord was able to communicate to the people, since sin separated the people from the Lord. They could only communicate with the Lord after they had made the necessary sacrifice for their sins. You can imagine that this wasn't the easiest way to talk to God. You gotta get the priest to kill an animal for you and ask the Lord for forgiveness. In verse three, it says that Jesus was of greater honor than Moses. Jesus took care of ALL of our sins on the cross, one time, one lamb, done forever. Moses was faithful in the temporary house of the Lord, while Jesus was faithful in his eternal house. Where is his eternal house you ask? Verse 6 gives us the answer: “And WE are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.”
7-11 Here it talks more of the Isrealites, the same people that were with Moses and used the Tabernacle. They were technically the only people on the planet that had access to God, and still they hardened their hearts and refused to trust God to take care of them. I like how back then, there was a lot of physical illustrations of what was to come in the future with Jesus. In verse 11 it says that they shall never enter God's rest. What that meant back then was that they couldn't go into the land God promised them because they were rebellious. Now, it means the rest of God's salvation, the peace we have knowing Jesus took care of our sins for us. Beloved, don't harden your hearts against the Lord today! He wants you to have eternal rest, even when this world gives you trouble. “And I rest in the shelter of your love, and I rest in the wonder of your grace!” - Skillet song.......
12-15 These verses tell us not to be so caught up in sin that we turn away from God to pursue our sin instead. And not only to keep ourselves from sin, but to encourage our brothers to do the same. We shouldn't harden our hearts as the Isrealites did, but be faithful in our relationship with the Lord, staying away from sin and drawing closer to him.
16-19 Again, we have the example of the Isrealites to look to. Even after all the things the Lord did for them, they still didn't believe. They still preferred their sin over the rest that God was offering them. We should take this as a warning. Seek God's rest while you still have the time.
You think on it, and in the mean time, I give you Hebrews chapter three.
1 I like how the writer calls us holy brothers right here, almost as if he was reaffirming our acceptance by Jesus. It's been my experience that when you fix your thoughts on Jesus, it's easier to pray. When I think of him, I think of all he went through to erase the separation between man and God, how he knows from experience what we're going through, and how much he wants to hear from us. It's easy to talk to someone like that.
2-6 These next five verses were difficult for me to understand at first, so I had to ask for help from my parents. Here, it's talking about Moses and Jesus, and I could tell there was a connection, but I was unsure of what that connection was. Let me walk you through what my parents and I were able to find out: In verse two, it says Moses was faithful in all God's house. If you remember in the old testament, Moses was in charge of building the tabernacle, which was the place God dwelt. It was his house. The Tabernacle was the only way the Lord was able to communicate to the people, since sin separated the people from the Lord. They could only communicate with the Lord after they had made the necessary sacrifice for their sins. You can imagine that this wasn't the easiest way to talk to God. You gotta get the priest to kill an animal for you and ask the Lord for forgiveness. In verse three, it says that Jesus was of greater honor than Moses. Jesus took care of ALL of our sins on the cross, one time, one lamb, done forever. Moses was faithful in the temporary house of the Lord, while Jesus was faithful in his eternal house. Where is his eternal house you ask? Verse 6 gives us the answer: “And WE are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.”
7-11 Here it talks more of the Isrealites, the same people that were with Moses and used the Tabernacle. They were technically the only people on the planet that had access to God, and still they hardened their hearts and refused to trust God to take care of them. I like how back then, there was a lot of physical illustrations of what was to come in the future with Jesus. In verse 11 it says that they shall never enter God's rest. What that meant back then was that they couldn't go into the land God promised them because they were rebellious. Now, it means the rest of God's salvation, the peace we have knowing Jesus took care of our sins for us. Beloved, don't harden your hearts against the Lord today! He wants you to have eternal rest, even when this world gives you trouble. “And I rest in the shelter of your love, and I rest in the wonder of your grace!” - Skillet song.......
12-15 These verses tell us not to be so caught up in sin that we turn away from God to pursue our sin instead. And not only to keep ourselves from sin, but to encourage our brothers to do the same. We shouldn't harden our hearts as the Isrealites did, but be faithful in our relationship with the Lord, staying away from sin and drawing closer to him.
16-19 Again, we have the example of the Isrealites to look to. Even after all the things the Lord did for them, they still didn't believe. They still preferred their sin over the rest that God was offering them. We should take this as a warning. Seek God's rest while you still have the time.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Hebrews Chapter Two: Becoming Human
My tummy is happily full of delicious dinner. If you haven't discovered this for yourself already, bacon makes everything awesome. A moment of silence for bacon now please.
For an explanation of how I'm doing this study, please see chapter one's blog post. Alright, Hebrews two:
1 Here we have a warning to pay attention to what we have heard. But if you're anything like me, you're asking what it is we have to pay attention to...
2-4 Here we find the answer: salvation. In verse two it talks about how if every little sin (violation and disobedience) were punished, we would be in trouble. There would be no escape for us. But Jesus provided a way out, and the people that heard him during his ministry on earth passed on the knowledge of how to obtain that sweet salvation. Not only do we have their take on it, but we have signs from the Lord himself and the Holy Spirit burning inside of us.
5-8a At the present time, the angels are above us because they share in the glory of the Lord. But God did not destine them to share in his glory forever. He made us to share in that someday! I'm using an NIV translation of the bible, and in the footnote for verse seven, it mentions that you could also say, "You made him for a little while lower than the angels".
8b Everything in existence is under the power of God. There is nothing and no one more powerful than he is, and although our human bodies limit what we know about heaven and earth, we know God is above all. How wonderful is he!
9 By suffering death and bringing salvation to us, Jesus exalted himself and is once again crowned with glory and honor. Now he's not only our Lord, but our savior. He is our perfect high priest.
10-11 When Jesus suffered death, he not only brought himself glory, but he brought glory to us by washing us clean. The author of salvation, Jesus, made perfect by defeating death. Isn't this like, the most amazing thing ever? Can I get an amen? Now we are all perfect and of the same family, so Jesus doesn't even have a problem with calling us his children and brothers.
.............*silence*............
For an explanation of how I'm doing this study, please see chapter one's blog post. Alright, Hebrews two:
1 Here we have a warning to pay attention to what we have heard. But if you're anything like me, you're asking what it is we have to pay attention to...
2-4 Here we find the answer: salvation. In verse two it talks about how if every little sin (violation and disobedience) were punished, we would be in trouble. There would be no escape for us. But Jesus provided a way out, and the people that heard him during his ministry on earth passed on the knowledge of how to obtain that sweet salvation. Not only do we have their take on it, but we have signs from the Lord himself and the Holy Spirit burning inside of us.
5-8a At the present time, the angels are above us because they share in the glory of the Lord. But God did not destine them to share in his glory forever. He made us to share in that someday! I'm using an NIV translation of the bible, and in the footnote for verse seven, it mentions that you could also say, "You made him for a little while lower than the angels".
8b Everything in existence is under the power of God. There is nothing and no one more powerful than he is, and although our human bodies limit what we know about heaven and earth, we know God is above all. How wonderful is he!
9 By suffering death and bringing salvation to us, Jesus exalted himself and is once again crowned with glory and honor. Now he's not only our Lord, but our savior. He is our perfect high priest.
10-11 When Jesus suffered death, he not only brought himself glory, but he brought glory to us by washing us clean. The author of salvation, Jesus, made perfect by defeating death. Isn't this like, the most amazing thing ever? Can I get an amen? Now we are all perfect and of the same family, so Jesus doesn't even have a problem with calling us his children and brothers.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
~1 John 3:1
~1 John 3:1
12-15 Psalm 22 is quoted here, and I recommend you take the time to read it right now. Jesus was only able to suffer death by becoming human like us. He took the power of death away from the devil, showing that he had complete power. Death was the only weapon the devil had, and even that was taken away from him at the cross.
16 Again, the lord did all this for us, not for the heavenly beings. When a point keeps being repeated like this, we should take note. This is for us!
17-18 By becoming like one of us, Jesus is able to understand what we're going through. He walked the same earth with all the same temptation and lusts. He knows what it's like, yet he still lived a perfect life. Although he knows we can't be sinless like he was, he provided the example of saying no to temptation by never giving in. The temptation was there, but he never let it have its way. We have the ability to do the same, and say no to the things of this world.
In closing, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for sort of falling off the face of the earth recently. I no longer have a Facebook and won't until next year sometime, but I still check my email every week at the least, so if you need to reach me there you can do that. I'm obviously still active here on my blog as well, so if you'd like to comment me anything, feel free. Have an awesome day! :D
17-18 By becoming like one of us, Jesus is able to understand what we're going through. He walked the same earth with all the same temptation and lusts. He knows what it's like, yet he still lived a perfect life. Although he knows we can't be sinless like he was, he provided the example of saying no to temptation by never giving in. The temptation was there, but he never let it have its way. We have the ability to do the same, and say no to the things of this world.
In closing, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for sort of falling off the face of the earth recently. I no longer have a Facebook and won't until next year sometime, but I still check my email every week at the least, so if you need to reach me there you can do that. I'm obviously still active here on my blog as well, so if you'd like to comment me anything, feel free. Have an awesome day! :D
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