For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but m...

In an effort on reflecting on the promises of God, take that same note that you worked on yesterday concerning His promises. Turn those into praise today. Give thanks to the Lord for His promises and be specific about them. Let His Spirit fill you with joy in that, and may the joy of the Lord be your strength.......

Recently, my wife needed to go in to the hospital due to some complications after giving birth to my son. She and I had to visit the conversation of how to approach getting her the help she needs when we live on such a tight budget. It is an unfortunate reality but one we have had to face. Still, we had to wait to find out what the doctors would recommend. Of course, they recommended staying multi...

Life throws all kinds of things our way. It is unpredictable. It can be difficult to manage all that is there and often times, we feel the need to deal with and address them. Our lives become tumultuous as a result and we can find ourselves tossed to and fro by the varying circumstances that prevail against us. Rather than trying to address all the things that are going on, what would it take for ...

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.-Hebrews 2:119 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil-Hebrews 6:19 There is a line of messaging that the book of Hebrews has been following. We are in need of holding fast to our hope in faith. Earlier in chapter 2, as you can see ...

We are given an example of the faithfulness of the Lord. The comparison made is one that is made throughout the New Testament. As we look at Abraham, we can see the pattern that the Lord works in. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son unto the Lord. Understanding the Lord to be faithful to His promises, Abraham knew that, through Isaac, he would have many descendants. Hebrews later tells u...

As we come out of the context of hope, the writer of Hebrews does not simply move on from the subject. He builds it further. What we have is an immutable, or unchangeable, promise from God. A comparison is made of a time when Abraham was promised blessing from the Lord. Seeing as mankind swears by those things which are higher than them, the Lord had nothing to swear by, so He swore by Himself tha...

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more ...

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.-Romans 5:5This was one of the verses we covered in yesterday's devotion. The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and confirms the hope that we have been given. If our hope is confirmed by the love of God and we are pursuing hope, I ask then that we ...

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.-Philippians 4:8 There are a lot of voices that want to speak into our lives. Often when hope enters the conversation, a mul...

It is a significant theme in the word of God for the people of God to have hope. It might catch you off-guard a bit, but one of the greatest detriments to God's people has been when they lose hope. Think of Israel just after they have experienced the Exodus out of Egypt. At first they were celebrating. Once they realized they had no food, they lost hope and yearned to return. But the Lord provided...

This same word has been used a few times over at this point. Be diligent. It is a clear lesson for the believer that our walk in the faith is certainly not a passive endeavor. There is an active element that drives us to move forward. It is noteworthy the things that the author of Hebrews tells the reader to put their diligence in. In this case, the writer encourages diligence in continuation.When...

As a preacher and a teacher, one of the critical elements of what I do is to know my audience. Some preachers and teachers take this to speak a very generalized message to a large group of people. Others make specific mention of things across the spectrum. That is what the author of Hebrews is doing here. Many of the Messianic Jews are departing from the faith to rejoin the synagogue. But others o...

The last few verses of chapter 6 have been pretty bleak. The warning has been clear. Do not fall away. The depth of the warning is not lost as the author of Hebrews shifts gears into encouragement. While all of those things are true, there is a better testimony among the recipients.The writer of Hebrews acknowledges the weight that he speaks with, yet he highlights that there are works that accomp...

9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the e...