Js1

The most accurate reflection of who we are is not a mirror, but rather the word of God! Anyone who knows the word yet doesn't do it, is like a person looking in a mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like once he stops looking.

We commonly hear, "actions speak louder than words." We rarely hear, "I have been observing your life and I want to know your God." Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they will see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven."

James will clearly say in his book that our works matter. We don't work to "earn" salvation, but if we have salvation it will be seen in our works. Thinking yourself religious, yet not doing the things God desires is self deceit.

Live like a christian today. Do something honoring to God.

Hb13

Who do we want to be like? Is it a godly person? If not, we should redirect our attention.

We become like the people we admire. We also pursue the things that we value. If we are not admiring godly people and if we are not pursuing God's desires, the end result will be heartache for us.

In this chapter we are encouraged to "carefully observe, imitate and submit to" leadership in our lives. We are to pursue leaders who will lead us to greater godliness. Leaders who will model the things listed in this chapter. Things like loving people they don't know, caring for the hurting, honoring their marriage, living content and not loving money!

Who do we know like this? Are these qualities true of us? Are we following these kinds of people? I pray so.

Hb12

Those the Lord loves, He disciplines. If we can walk in disobedience to God and not experience His discipline, we might need to check out the true nature of our relationship! 

Good fathers use loving discipline to train and shape their sons. Even more so with God! This is not a tame chapter and God is not a passive father. He has made a way for us to be his sons and His expectation is that we would live according to His desires.

My father expected certain things of me as a "Nesbitt". He would say, "remember who you are." He would also expect certain things of me as a christian. He would say, "be a missionary, not a mission field!" 

I will never forget these words.

Hb11

Faith is more about trusting God when you DON'T get what you want than about having hope that you will get what you want. Often "faith" is confused with "want" and generally, modern "faith" is rarely directed toward forever!

Notice these verses. This is the greatest chapter on faith in the bible! These are the heroes of faith! Look closely at what is said, "All these died in faith WITHOUT receiving what was promised." Yet they were not disappointed because their faith was not rooted in this world, but in the world to come.

Faith that is rooted in this life is not biblical faith! All of the promises of God are rooted in faith. All of the promises of God are fulfilled in the life to come.

Where are we placing our faith? If it is for this life, we will be disappointed.

Hb10

What is concerning you today? Is it "How can I encourage others to love more and do more good works?" If not, you are not living out this chapter.

As a pastor I often get complaints about almost everything. The "code" word for a complaint is this word, "concern". You have heard this before. It goes like this, "I have a "concern" for …". Then they go on to tell me about something or someone they don't like, or something that happened that wasn't to their approval. 

What if our major concern as believers was to literally "concern ourselves" with how to encourage others to be more loving and to engage in more good works! Wouldn't that be a culture changing dynamic? What a challenge it would be for us to all think about ways to motivate those we know in this way.

This is a reality that should be being experienced in our christian community. Are we helping or hurting that? What is concerning us?

Hb9

"But now He has appeared one time... for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Jesus is the perfect high priest!

I am so grateful to be living on this side of the cross. Before Jesus came only one man, one time a year could enter into the presence of God. Today, those of us who have trusted Christ can enter in to God's presence multiple times a day!

What a privilege we have in Jesus' sacrifice.

Hb8

Does your relationship with God feel more like a legal contract or an intimate relationship? Is it based on an external set of rules and regulations, dos and don'ts or on love and affection? 

The old covenant was not able to bring about lasting change. Its purpose was to lead us to Jesus. Now that Jesus has come, we can have a true relationship with God built on all that He has done. Jesus has made it possible for us to have an intimate relationship with the living God! It is available to us. Do we have it?

Hb7

Jesus offered Himself for sins "once for all", and "He is always able to save those who come to God through Him." This is an awesome promise!

We all need people to help lead us to God. From the time of Abraham, God established ways for us to demonstrate our dependence on Him and our need for forgiveness. Giving a tithe (one tenth) of everything one has and offering sacrifice for sins was and is to be the pattern of God's people.

Today there is no Mosaic law that requires either tithing or animal sacrifice! Why? Because Jesus gave Himself and He was the perfect sacrifice for sins. Therefore, Jesus has completed the requirements of the law. Praise be to God for that.

The requirement is now gone, but the principles still remain. The law didn't exist until Moses, but Abraham preceded Moses by hundreds of years. The writer of Hebrews is putting all of His "faith" in Jesus who fulfilled the law and encouraging that "faith" to produce actions; not through law, but rather by faith.

Live by faith today.

Hb6

An inadequate anchor makes one subject to the winds and waves of the day! Having Jesus as "an anchor for our lives" brings stability regardless of the storms of life. He is safe and secure.

I have had some experience with anchors! Mostly bad. My only good experiences have come when the weather was calm. Who really needs an anchor in calm weather? Whenever I needed an anchor to combat the wind and waves, my anchor never held! In fact, my anchor became the frustration of the day…more than the wind and the waves!

What are our lives anchored in? If it is anything but Jesus, there is a storm coming that will thrash your anchor. Only Jesus can truly anchor one"s soul.

Hb5

Don't be lazy when it comes to understanding the things of God! It will cost you more than you can possibly know.

"Solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been TRAINED to distinguish between good and evil." Be among those who have trained themselves to feast on the solid food of God's word. Don't settle for the basic understanding of the gospel. Want to know God! Work to know Him!

I would hate to be one of the ones talked about in this chapter. Basically the writer is saying, "I would love to talk to you about so many things concerning God, yet you are unable to understand because you have not spent time getting to know Him and His word." I would so want to be "ready" and eager to learn anything that others would have to share with me concerning God.

Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.

Hb4

Nothing is hidden from God. All things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we will give an account.

Our thoughts, motives and actions are always visible to God. Let His constant awareness of our reality lead us to live for Him. It is not a drudgery, it is a joy! Imagine living in such a way that we would be excited for God to be watching. This is the intention of these verses!

Yet, most of the time, we see them as correctives. They are only correctives when we are choosing to disobey or do things that are sinful. Have you ever thought about the fact that much of our joy in relating to God is directly connected to our obedience? 

Live to please God today.

Hb3

Which family most defines who you are? Your biological family or your adopted family? As believers, we are members (by adoption) of the family of God!

We live in a culture where the core building block is being destroyed. Most of us desire to be identified as "individuals" and are offended if someone categorizes us with a particular group. Even if that group is our own family. We often push away from other members of our family and say, "we are not like them."

We need to remember that God created humans to live in committed relationships with each other. Marriage and family was God's intentional gift for all of us! The church is His household and we are individually members of it. Our identity should be found in Christ and that identity is clarified in our believing community, which is the "household" of God.

Live like you belong to God's family. 

Hb2

Jesus is our merciful and faithful high priest. He has delivered us through faith from the fear of death; the consequence of sin.

Once again, we find ourselves swimming in the deep end of the pool in this book. Notice the truths highlighted in this chapter. First, Satan used to hold the ultimate power card…death! Since we had no way to deal with sin, we were all destined for hell. Jesus has freed us from the fear of death through His sacrificial life! And third, Jesus understands what we are going through as men because He became "like" us.

God's love is constantly on display through all He has made and all He has given to us. God's faithfulness is displayed in the fact that He sent Jesus on a rescue mission to set us free from the ultimate consequence of sin; death. And God's mercy is on display by offering us freedom from His judgement through faith in Jesus.

This chapter warns us to not neglect this amazing opportunity offered by God.

Hb1

This book is the deep end of the pool! Let's dive in together.

In this first chapter alone many different Old Testament passages are quoted and put together! Basically the author is saying, the whole OT is about Jesus! And if you are thinking angels are awesome, know that Jesus is way more awesome than angels.

I love this verse, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word."

Join the angels in worshiping Jesus today. He is worthy of our worship. Worshiping anything less is idolatry.

Hb1

This book is the deep end of the pool! Let's dive in together.

In this first chapter alone many different Old Testament passages are quoted and put together! Basically the author is saying, the whole OT is about Jesus! And if you are thinking angels are awesome, know that Jesus is way more awesome than angels.

I love this verse, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word."

Join the angels in worshiping Jesus today. He is worthy of our worship. Worshiping anything less is idolatry.

Ph1

The joy of something permanently gained outweighs the pain of its temporary loss.

Paul told Philemon that "perhaps you were separated from him for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently." Onesimus left a rebellious slave. He returned a brother in Christ. 

Often our running from a situation leads us home in a more permanent way! This is my pray for everyone who has left a situation bringing brokenness to their households. May each of them find Christ who will lead them home in a permanent way.

This is an awesome book. Onesimus' imprisonment, likely from rebellion, brought him in contact with another prisoner…the apostle Paul. It was perhaps "God's plan". We can never run outside of God's loving arms.

Tt3

Since we have placed our faith in Christ, our whole life should be devoted to advancing HIs kingdom!

Faith is not only about insuring our eternal home in heaven, it is about learning to live in this life in a manner that is fruitful and productive. Multiple times in this book we are called to "good works". What is that? Are we living like that?

Notice the call in this chapter alone; "be ready for every good work" (v.1), "be careful to devote themselves to good works" (v.8) and, "learn to devote themselves to good works." (v.14). That is three times in this one chapter alone. Good works are definitely Paul's objective for everyone who believes.

Notice also the descriptive words that precede good works; "be ready", "be careful", and "learn." This implies that we can actually miss the opportunity and, or miss the mark completely. We are to intentional live our lives for God and His purposes. How are we doing? What should change?

Tt2

Are the qualities of our live commensurate with our stage of life? How do you stack up to the things in this chapter?

Are you an older man who is worthy of respect, sensible, sound in faith, love and endurance? Are you an older woman who is reverent, not slanderous or addicted to wine, able to teach younger women how to love their husbands and be productive both at home and work? Are you a young man with self-control who is an example to others in good works? Are you a young woman who is learning to be the kind of "older woman" younger women want to emulate?

This chapter has a challenge for all of us. Pick your category and examine each quality. What should we be working on? Make it a family discussion.

Tt1

What kind of men does our county, church and family need? The answer is in this chapter. 

If you are a man, are you this kind of man? If you are a woman, are you encouraging the men in your life to be this kind of man? Notice what God values. Notice how different it is than the normal "manly pursuits" of our culture.

Look at the list:

Hospitable = lover of strangers. When was the last time you reached out to someone you don't know?

Lover of Good = Are you more likely to point out positive or negative things?

Sensible = Are you level headed and valuing the right things?

Righteous = Are your relationships broken or healthy?

Holy = What is actually true of your relationship with Jesus? Is it your goal to be "like" Him?

Self-controlled = Are there any habits or negative qualities that rule your life?

Student of the Word = How well do you know and teach the truths of the scriptures to others?

This is the standard which God measures. This is a standard that is all but lost in our culture. Be a man of God. Value men of God. It is the way to a more healthy you. It is the way to a more healthy family. It is the way to a more healthy church. It is the way to a more healthy culture.

2Tm4

Do you ever wonder what spending time with the apostle Paul would have actually been like? What level of intensity would he have brought into the meetings? Do you think you would have gladly followed his leadership or been resistant? 

Paul had no shortage of conflict, from those outside his team and inside his team. He had strong leaders and emerging leaders. People who followed him with pure motives and those who followed for selfish gain. At times he was tender, at times he was harsh. His written words were weighty and powerful, his ability to win a crowd verbally was "unimpressive". 

I really do wonder what he was like. Would we have been friends? Would I have been on his team? I often discover, after getting to know someone personally, that people are generally not like I thought they were. My ability to "know" someone from a distance is rarely the person that I come to know.

I pray Paul and I would have been close. Honestly, I give it 50/50. That bums me out a bit.

2Tm3

The descriptive list in this chapter would describe most people I know! Am I really to "AVOID" these people? Is everyone supposed to avoid me?

I often think we minimize Paul's words. In the name of gentleness and kindness talked about in the last chapter, we fail to confront people with sin. Mostly because we don't want to be confronted. Look closely at the list: lover of self, lover of money, boastful, proud, blasphemer, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderer, no self-control, brutal, no love for good works, traitors, reckless, conceited, loves pleasure more than God, yet calls himself "christian".

God is calling us to a different kind of life. He is calling us to holiness. It has never been easy. It has always been worth it.

2Tm2

The Lord's servant must not quarrel but be gentle to everyone…and patient!

Which describes you better? Quarrelsome or gentle? Are you more likely to get in an argument or settle one down? Are you the person who brings peace to environments or one who stirs things up? Not to mention adding patience to the equation.

Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a great verse for me to meditate on. Learning to follow Jesus requires a lifetime of change.

I am glad God is gentle and patient with me.

2Tm1

Loving God is about loving people. Paul's love for Timothy and his continuous prayers for him and others, evidenced his sincere faith.

Most of us, when we think about our relationship with God, primarily think about ourselves. Actually the gospel is the fuel that engages our life in a journey with God. Knowing Jesus should cause us to want to live for Him. Living for Him should move us to think less about ourselves and more about others.

Who are we praying for today? Who are we looking to bless? Let the gospel get us beyond yourself!

1Tm6

Money and greed grip our hearts! We are rich. We are greedy. Two facts that few admit. 

I heard recently at a conference that the average American believes "rich" is anyone who earns twice as much as they do. It doesn't matter if they earn $50K or $1M annually, the "rich" person is NOT them. At the same conference, our leader and author on this subject, said that even a group of people with over $5M is liquid expendable cash did not consider themselves "rich"! Our culture is sick.

If you earn over $30K annually, you are in the top 1% of the wealthiest people in the entire world! Check out globalrich.com. Put yourself in the system and see where you stand. Now ask yourself, "Am I rich?" The answer is yes. Now ask yourself, "Am I rich toward God?"

Don't miss the heart of this chapter. It is to encourage us to pursue the "life that is real". Life that is real is a life lived and spent on things that are eternal.