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!

"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

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!

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.

“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

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

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

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. ;)

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.

“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

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!

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.