Hebrews

“We have an altar from which those who minister at the earthly tabernacle have no right to eat.” Hebrews 13:10 Several years ago, I heard a sermon where the Pastor spoke about the difference between the Old and New Covenants. He explained it like this:  The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and a nation. The conditions of the covenant depended on whether the Israelites continued to obey the law or disobeyed. Deuteronomy 28 promises blessings for obedience and…

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb. 12:1-2 I grew up…

Written by Noah Seiple I was in junior college working towards a degree in music and mathematics. Although my two majors didn’t often entertain the subject of history, as is true for all college students, I was required to complete general education courses that included two history classes. I was not interested in taking history classes at the time, for I felt they would distract me more than aid my main courses of study. Fortunately, I was able to take…

Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last…

When reading a book like Hebrews, it is very important not to let the chapter divisions break the flow of the text. Hebrews was written as one communication, and at times the chapter divisions can interrupt the train of thought. This is never clearer than when reading chapters 5-10. This entire section of scripture is best understood when read together and, when that is done, a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ as our high priest begins not only to appear…

A recent online article caught my eye this week. It reads, “Company Breaks Open Apple Watch to Discover What It Says Is ‘Planned Obsolescence’.”   The point of the article was to explain what most of us already know — that manufacturers build products that are intentionally designed not to last. They have a sort of built-in “expiration date”, requiring us to replace them with something new and better (and usually, more costly). While the motivations are certainly different, we find…

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20 Many of us have spent time in dentist offices getting repairs done to our teeth. We don’t realize how much we need our teeth until we start losing them! I recently cracked a tooth…

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself” Hebrews 6:13 Here’s a funny question: When God swears, whom does he swear by? We know when people swear an oath they almost always do so by swearing to God. For example, when people are sworn in as witnesses in a court of law they are asked to put their hand on the Bible and ‘swear to God that…

You may not realize it, but you may need an upgrade. You are reading this blog on a phone or a computer which runs on an operating system. Chances are, you have had to update the system many times over the years. The idea is that the old system has flaws and can’t run the apps and software that you want to run as smoothly as the new one, so you need the upgrade. That is roughly the idea of…

Just the other day, I was watching a scientist from NASA describe the incredibly detailed pictures we now have of the sun. What only before had been a very limited awareness of the sun’s activity has now become vastly more refined. This new knowledge was all due to the movement of an exploratory satellite designed to come closer to the sun than anything ever had before. The pictures it sent back were astounding in their ability to capture solar events…