Genesis 38:20-30

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20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said. 22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.” 24 About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.” 26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again. 27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez. 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah. ~ Genesis 38:20-30

Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 38 which provides a contrast to the life of faith that God has called us to in this fallen world. In our last study we learned that after Judah lost his wife he sought the services of a prostitute, thinking that somehow his sorrows could be swept away by an exciting tryst with someone to whom he didn't have to be committed. Boy, did he discover that it does not serve to feed the flesh. The truth is when we live for a fleeting moment of pleasure by feeding the flesh we reap death and destruction.

In v.20-23 of today’s passage we read, "20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said. 22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her."

Having received the services of a prostitute, Judah sent the promised goat with his friend Hirah the Adullamite to be delivered to the unidentified woman. As Hirah went about asking about the whereabouts of the harlot, we learn that he used a different word for “harlot” which was the word used for a temple prostitute. Temple harlots had sex for religious purposes, not specifically for money. With his search being completed, Hiram did not find the woman. 

In this true story we learn that Judah's real problem was he lacked a conscience before God. This is what being defined by sin does to us, it weakens our heart for God. And, it is at that point that we lack the heart to be obedient to God. But, what we fail to see is that when we do not obey God, He loses nothing. In fact, when we choose not to be defined by God, we loose as we will see in this unfolding story.

This chapter began with “Judah departed.” Judah, which means “thank you,” went to visit Hirah the Adullamite. Hirah means “nobility.” Adullam means “the righteousness of the people.” The hidden message given in these names is: our pursuit of righteousness and nobility is of no value before God. Judah named his firstborn son Er which means “watcher.” Judah’s wife named their second-born son Onan which means “strong.” And then she named their third-born son Shelah which means “prosperity.” And, Shelah was named while Judah was in Chezib, which means “false.” Being sons of Judah, they should have been defined by God by being faithful to His covenant, but it is clear that they were not defind by God and thus they did not walk in the ways of God.

The last son born to Judah was Benjamin, which means "Son of my right hand." Benjamin was a picture of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 9:30-32 we read, “30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.”

What the Jews sought, they did not attain, and what the Gentiles didn’t pursue, they did attain. But this was so that God can have mercy on us all, Jew and Gentile alike. The answer is never found in the self life. The answer is always found in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.24-26 of today’s passage we read, "24 About three months later Judah was told, 'Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.' Judah said, 'Bring her out and have her burned to death!' 25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. 'I am pregnant by the man who owns these,' she said. And she added, 'See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.' 26 Judah recognized them and said, 'She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.' And he did not sleep with her again."

It had been a bit more than three months and Tamar was obviously showing the signs of her pregnancy. To this news Judah requested death to Tamar by fire which was the custom of the people in that area at that time. In one of the most ironic twists of the Bible, Tamar, on her way to being burned to death, sent Judah’s signet ring, cord, and staff back to him, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” Judah’s statement that, “She was more righteous than I” was her vindication before her accusers. And then the reason was given. Judah knowingly withheld from her the promised child, his third son, Shelah. This is how we know that she understood her right to the Messianic line. If it was to come through Judah, and Shelah was not to be given to her, then her act with Judah would bring about the child leading to Christ.

In v.27-30 of today’s passage we read, "27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, 'This one came out first.' 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, 'So this is how you have broken out!' And he was named Perez. 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah."

Twins were born to Judah and Tamar. During childbirth, one brother’s hand emerged first, and a scarlet thread was tied around his wrist to confirm that he was to be the heir. But when he withdrew his hand, his brother barged past and was born first. The line-jumper was named Perez, which means break through. The one with the scarlet thread is called Zerah, which means the rising of the light. In those two names is found the heart of the gospel. This is the point of the Bible which constantly points us to that which the scarlet thread points us. Consistent throughout the Bible is the message: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." This is so due to the fact that it is only life that can overcome death. This is the message of the cross that the rising of the light of God on the soul that willingly invites Him in dispels all darkness. 

Hebrews 13:22-25

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22 My friends, I have written only a short letter to encourage you, and I beg you to pay close attention to what I have said. 23 By now you surely must know that our friend Timothy is out of jail. If he gets here in time, I will bring him with me when I come to visit you. 24 Please give my greetings to your leaders and to the rest of the Lord's people. His followers from Italy send you their greetings. 25 I pray that God will be kind to all of you! ~ Hebrews 13:22-25

Today, we come to the final words of the great epistle written to the Hebrews. With deep affection, the writer of this letter has throughout urged his readers to not drift away from the Lord Jesus Christ nor to be fearful of the persecution that came with being defined by Him. 

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "My friends, I have written only a short letter to encourage you, and I beg you to pay close attention to what I have said."

In this verse the unknown writer of this book gives one final exhortation to his readers to be faithful to the truth. He wrote, "pay close attention" which is a present middle imperative meaning to be patient with the truth for oneself. This insists on deep personal involvement with the truth for oneself. And, the truth has been personified in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, knowing Him for ourselves must be our paramount goal.

I have discovered that when I get impatient with God's work in my life, I am in great danger of missing His blessings and falling for less than His best for me. Patience is critical for God's truth to be born out in our lives. And, it is imperative for us in that situation to pray for His panoramic perspective, instead of our limited one. I am learning that as the intensity of the moment arises in any given moment in my life, my self-will rises with it. His patience, when I wait for it, has been known to be the needed sentry that is useful at helping me to arrive upon God's will for my life.

We must be careful to be wise when conflicts arise in our lives. If we are not careful, we will handle these moments in the energy of our flesh. And then, we will be sorry because when we jump too quickly to conclusions, we are in the greatest danger of missing what the Lord has for us in any given  situation. Sometimes, the most spiritual thing we do in a day is to wait upon the Lord.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "By now you surely must know that our friend Timothy is out of jail. If he gets here in time, I will bring him with me when I come to visit you."

It is clear according to Ezekiel 36 that God has put His Spirit within us, and has caused us to walk in His truth. This means the inward working of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to hear the promptings of God with our hearts. And, since He has promised to lead us via the Holy Spirit, we do well to expect Him to speak. We also do well to listen to and obey His leading. And, the best way to modulate our heart's ability to hear the voice of God is by being in His word daily.

The Bible is God’s message through which He speaks to us in tandem with the Holy Spirit. In v.23 of today's passage Timothy is mentioned. Yes, this is the same Timothy who was discipled by the Apostle Paul, and he, as a result of obeying God, had been locked up for preaching the gospel. Timothy was an example to these young Hebrew Christians of the truths the writer of Hebrews was giving in this book. The dying world wants to shut down the proclamation of the living God. This is why they seek to suppress the truth, hoping to distract man from the truth.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "Please give my greetings to your leaders and to the rest of the Lord's people. His followers from Italy send you their greetings."

The Lord Jesus had established His church in Italy through converts who has heard Peter's message in Acts 2. Interestingly, the word used here which we translate “leaders” refers to those who taught and who lived out the Word of God. Notice the leadership was plural. God has prescribed it to be this way because there must be accountability among the leaders. In His word, God provides a structure to strengthen the church’s confidence that when the Word is faithfully read and heard, God’s voice will be heard and God's will will be known.

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "I pray that God will be kind to all of you!"

The word "kind" is the word "grace." Only by God’s undeserved favor can we pursue, understand and know the truth. The writer of Hebrews knew these folks would need God’s grace to be defined by the God of the Bible. And, once we are being defined by God through our obedience to His Word, God's grace is still needed because there should never be anyone who is puffed up with pride due to our success. It’s by God’s grace that we are who we are. 

The resounding message of the book of Hebrews is we must cling closely to the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, we must be realistic with the fallen nature that is still within us and recognize that we will not always be faithful to do what the Father tells us to do. This is why the Lord Jesus came, to do all that the Father told Him to do. And, our hope is not in what we can do, our hope is in who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done on our behalf. The Lord Jesus is God's final spoken word on all matters of life. And, in order to know the blessing of His truth lived out in and through our lives, we must walk with Him in personal relationship every day.

Hebrews 13:21

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I pray God will make you ready to obey him and that you will always be eager to do right. May Jesus help you do what pleases God. To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever! Amen. ~ Hebrews 13:21

Today, we continue our study of the practical portion of this book that is so full of theology. Theology is the study of God. We all have a theology. It is either bad or good. That which has influenced our view of God determines how good our theology is, therefore, the most important thing in all of our lives is our theology which is our understanding of God. If our theology is biblical, then we have good theology, if it is not, then, we will have bad theology. This is why our study of the Bible is so important for the Bible is the autobiography of God.

Our theology is most crucial because our view of God shapes everything we are and everything we do in this life, and in the life to come. Most believe freedom is the ability to do what we want, when we want, and, how we want. This is not so, because when we rebelled against God, allowing Satan to defines things for us, we lost our ability to see all things from God's perspective which is holy and true. Due to the devastating impact of sin we lost the ability to recognize that freedom is the ability to be and to do what God has created us to be and to do. 

It is God's creation of this world, His formation of man as male and female in His image, their fall into sin, His plan of salvation and restoration for a fallen world involving His call of Abraham through whom the Messiah would come, His providential workings to bring about salvation through the incarnation, the sinless life, the substitutionary death, and the victorious resurrection of his Son, and His plans to bring all creation to its divinely decreed end. All of this shapes our theology. It is only as we understand these aspects of life and theology from God’s perspective can we rightly understand who God is, who we are, and how best we should live. 

In today's verse, the writer of Hebrews himself turns to God and prays for his readers. He writes, "I pray God will make you ready to obey him." 

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13, "It is God who is working in you to make you willing and able to obey Him."

We can not work something out of us which God has not first worked in us. So this idea of work out what God has worked in is a very important concept. We might say, "Work hard and obey and serve God, because He is energizing our ability to do so. Be willing to realize His energy, and God will energize our energy to know Him and to do good."

The word translated "working" in Phillipians 2:13 is a very instructive word. The Apostle uses the Greek word from which we get our English word energy. God energizes us to be willing of heart toward Him. He doesn't do this automatically. We must be willing of heart, we must respond positively to His desire to enable us. It is His divine energy at work in us, that gives us the desire and the ability to do His will.

God's power begins in the will, and then it ends in the action. But, it always begins in our will first. God gives the desire to do His will. Our desire to have a deeper walk with the Lord comes from God. He puts those desires within us, but we can not blame Him for our lack of desire in the first place because we must first give a positive response to these desires that causes Him to give us more and more of the desire and the ability to do it. 

In Psalm 37 we read, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." 

That means when we seek first the Kingdom of God, He will actually plant in our hearts the right desires. God addresses our will before He works on our actions. The reason He gives us the will first is so that we will enjoy it when we do His will. He does it this way so that we are not left saying, "I must serve God," or, "I have to serve God." That is like showing up at home with roses for your wife and after she says, "For me," you say, "I had to." And then you walk right past her into the house. Where is the love and the joy in that?

The next part of today's verse is, "May Jesus help you do what pleases God."

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are engaged in a calling that is already accomplished. Our calling in this world from God is a guaranteed success because the Lord Jesus accomplished all that is needed while He walked this earth and while He died on the cross. But if we try to perform in self-effort, we will fail. And, the only thing that any human can do to please God is to trust in the Lord Jesus' person and performance on our behalf. Learning to live out of the success the Lord Jesus garnered for us is what the Bible calls, "Walking in the Spirit."

As a result, the last sentence of today's verse is accomplished. "To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever! Amen." 

The words of this verse state the actual appeal to the “God of peace” mentioned in the previous verses. The appeal is to “make us complete in every good work.” The word translated as “make us complete” carries the idea of bringing something to its proper and intended function. It is to bring to a state of fully functioning or full maturity. The obvious meaning, then, is that we are on a path which will take us from one level to the next, always maturing in order “to do His will.”

The implication is that we cannot do His will perfectly if we are not maturing in Christ. It does mean that if we are walking with Him, we will do His will. And, this can only happen if we are willing to strive for it. In this, He "works in us to do His will." God will work through those who are willing to be worked through. And, when God works in us, it is only because of the Person of Christ and the gospel which He brought forth in the New Covenant. And, as we read in 1 Timothy 2:4, "God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth."

And thus the book of Hebrews closes in the same manner as it began with the focus on the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God was once unknowable to us, He sent His Son in fulfillment of His Word to allow us to know Him more fully and to make Him known to others. And, because of this, the Lord Jesus receives the glory which was reserved for Him alone from eternity past. 

Hebrews 13:20

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Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant. ~ Hebrews 13:20

Today, as we near the end of our study of the book of Hebrews, and our attention is directed to the One who is behind any success that you and I may experience in our walk with Him. It is the all-wise and all-powerful God who makes us who we were meant to be. After all, we are His idea, we are His creation. We have all lived long enough to realize we can not function on our own. We must be connected to our Creator if we are to realize the life we truly desire.

God desires to give us what it takes to do what He has called us to, and, my experience has been that He has done just that. In fact, God does this by making us more and more dependent upon Him. And, as we grow in this way, we mature in our ability to trust Him. This is the abundant life the Lord Jesus died to give us: less of me and more of Him.

Today's verse reads, "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant..."

This prayer in today's verse is a summary of the whole book of Hebrews, and, it outlines all that we need to accomplish that which the Lord calls us to in this world. This prayer begins with "the God of peace." Notice the emphasis is on the source of the peace, the God of the Bible. And, there are two types of peace that we need: peace with God and the peace of God. The God of the Bible is the source of this peace, He is the maker of this peace, and knowing His peace enables us to know Him. And, it is one thing to know His peace and it is so much more to know Him. 

The primary result of the evil first introduced to man in the Garden of Eden was our loss of peace with God. Of course, we lost our relationship with God, but, we lost that because we lost His peace. The initial peace that comes from having our consciences wiped clean grows as we get to know God better. And, when we grow in our understanding of the enormity of His love for us, our souls begin to rest in His sovereignty and wisdom. We begin to understand that He really does make all things work together for our good. This is why the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to fix our eyes on the God of peace, for only He is able to meet us at the level of our deepest needs. 

According to today's verse, the peace we experience with God is the product of the fact that He "brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus." We know the God of peace because of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Someone once said, "Because of the empty tomb, we have peace. Because of His resurrection, we can have peace during even the most troubling of times because we know He is in control of all that happens in this world." There is no greater act in all of creation than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection is the capstone of the Christian faith! The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is God’s proof to all who wonder if Christianity is the only true way to God and heaven. It has never been matched anywhere else in the universe at any other time.

The next phrase in Hebrews 13:20 provides us with that which keeps us from straying away from God: "...the great shepherd of the sheep." It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the great shepherd promised in Ezekiel 34:23-24 which reads, "23  After that, I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David. All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you. 24  He will be your leader, and I will be your God. I, the Lord, have spoken."

As our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus laid down His life for us, His sheep. Thus, He is the Shepherd- Priest who offers Himself as a sacrifice. The whole book of Hebrews affirms His greatness because of that last phrase in today's verse: "the blood of the eternal covenant."

The original plan of God from eternity past has never been upset or detoured despite all the twists and turns throughout the ages of man. The New Covenant as predicted in Jeremiah 31 has been ratified by the blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was His blood that satisfied the perfect demands of the holy God. It was His blood spilt on His cross that guaranteed our salvation. And, this covenant is eternal. 

Therefore, we must not be distracted from the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd-friend. Of all God’s animals, sheep are the least able to take care of himself. David said, "The Lord is my shepherd." He didn't choose something other than Shepherd, like an ambassador, who, when he speaks, everyone stops to listens. No, David chose the metaphor of the Shepherd and His sheep to describe us because only the Shepherd notices when His sheep are in danger. We have His attention and all His resources to fulfill His call on our lives. Simply trust Him and watch what He will do in and through your life, today!

Hebrews 13:19

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I especially beg you to pray so that God will send me back to you soon. ~ Hebrews 13:19

Today, we continue our study of Hebrews 13 wherein the writer of Hebrews is showing us what God's culture looks like in our everyday lives. In our last blog, the writer of Hebrews introduced us to the topic of prayer which is the most important thing we can do in our relationship with God.

Prayer is a conversation with God and is essential to the development of our relationship with Him. Prayer is mostly about the deepening of our relationship with God. On the other hand, much of prayer is that we ask of God certain things for ourselves and others. Prayer connects us not only to God but also to His resources. 

As we pointed out in our last blog and podcast, prayer is a battle. I say this because we all struggle at understanding and knowing the will of God in a given moment. Having said this, prayer must always begin with God! True prayer is not bringing our plans to God, and, asking Him to bless our plans. God is always the One who proposes. Prayer enters in when God enlists our partnership in carrying out His will in this world. 

The best prayers are those which are founded upon God's words and His promises. This is why it is so imperative for us to be in His Word, so that we know we are living in concert with His culture. Biblical prayer begins with a proposal which God makes, or a conviction He gives, or a warning He has given.

We have been given through Christ's finished work on the cross favored position before God. We have been called into the family of God and made sons of the living God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we are being taught by grace how to walk with God, and, as we learn to do this, we will become the people to whom God tells His secrets.

We often find ourselves believing that because we have received the Lord Jesus Christ, all God has is now open to us. And, to an extent that is true. But, in order to access certain secrets of God, we must daily appropriate the revelation that He has afore given us. When we do this, we can expect God to share His secrets with us. This is when we will get a lot more out of the Bible when we study it. God loves to tell secrets to His people who seek His face. This leads us to knowing God's will and how to pray for it. 

In Romans 12:1-2 we read, "1 So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. 2 Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect."

Knowing and doing the will of God involves presenting ourselves to Him and renewing our minds to the point that we are thinking and being defined by His thoughts. This, we must remember, is a process which does not happen over night. It is a process and it is synonymous with our sanctification. 

In Romans 12:1, we are urged to offer our lives to God, not just our bodies, as some translations suggest. When we offer our bodies to God, we have come to the place where we have decided that all of us belongs to Him. And, our sacrifices are not only living, they are "perfect" and "acceptable" to God. The word "perfect" brings with it the idea that we are now being defined by God and we are no longer being defined by the  lesser motivations, namely the thoughts of this world which play on our insecurities. You see, it is the presence of God in our lives that makes us more complete and less insecure.

Now, the command to "be changed" is written in the passive voice, indicating this change is God’s work, through the Holy Spirit. Only He can change us into people who are increasingly defined by Him. We cannot change ourselves, but we can submit our minds to His Word and His will, and when we do this, God will change us from the inside out. The role that we play is to diligently be in the Word of God, as often as we can. More important than this is that the Word of God is getting into us and defining us. And, when we experience the change in our souls through the instruction of His Word, the Holy Spirit will sensitize us to His leading into the will of God.

The word "thinking" can also be translated worldview: God's way of thinking and believing and living. The mind at the mercy of the influence of this world's way of thinking will be defined by the wrong things, things that slowly destroy us. But, the mind at the mercy of God's Word will be led to God's will and to wholeness.

At the end of v.2, we see that the will of God is "pleasing" and "perfect." The word translated "perfect" gets us to the fulfillment of God's purpose in our lives. We fulfill God’s purpose for us when we respond to His will. This is deeply satisfying to the mind that is yielded to Him and it is at this point that our lives will resonate in such a way with God that He will be glorified through us. God’s goal in Romans 12:1-2 is for us to do His will. When motivated by His mercy, we present ourselves to Him, totally, and our mind's are enabled to think as He, and, we are positioned to do His will. 

Hebrews 13:18

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Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience, because we always want to do the right thing. ~ Hebrews 13:18

Today, we come back to our study of Hebrews 13 where the writer of Hebrews closes out the book with a list of basic truths that are meant to define our lives in such a way that we will know the abundant life the Lord Jesus died to give us.

In today's verse we read, "Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience, because we always want to do the right thing."

In this verse the Lord grabs our attention with the most important product of our faith in the God of the Bible: prayer. We tend to think prayer is a duty rather than a privilege. We think prayer is something we have to do rather than something we want to do. But, prayer is the privilege of talking to God. 

Max Lucado once said, "Prayer is the window that God has placed in the walls of our world. Leave it shut and the world is a cold, dark house. But throw back the curtains and see His light. Open the window and hear His voice. Open the window of prayer and invoke the presence of God in your world." 

Prayers that are fashioned by a biblical theology are as honest as the day is long. As is proven throughout the Scriptures, prayer makes intimacy with God a greater possibility, as long as we are honest with Him. Our problem is we struggle believing God hears us. But, as is illustrated throughout the Bible, our prayers move the heart of God. Prayer enables us to be involved in that which God is doing in this world. 

The writer of Hebrews begged, "Pray for us." The most practical expression and the greatest evidence of our faith in the God of the Bible is our prayers. 

In Ephesians 6:18-19 we read, "18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people. 19 Also pray for me that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret of the Good News without fear." 

The protocol for the reality that we all desire is prayer. Spiritual battle is to put on the armor of God first, and, then we are commanded pray. In context here in Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul urges us to make it our habit to put on the armor that God has given us through the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that our thought life must be framed up by the Word of God, and therefore made strong and ready to engage in the battle through prayer. Putting on this God-provided armor is the adjustment of our attitude of heart to reality, to life as God defines it. Putting on the various pieces of weaponry enables us to think through the implications of God's definitions of all things.

Prayer should he an outgrowth of the thoughtfulness that comes out of working through the implications of the belt of truth being tied around our waist, of putting on the shoes of the Good News of peace to help us stand strong. And, also, using the shield of faith and the helmet of our salvation, and taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

After we have put on the armor of God, after we have thought through the implications of the faith, then we are to talk to God about it. In developing these conversations with God, we address the many different aspects of our lives and others with Him.

Although prayer is for us and others, it must not start with us, it must always start with God. God has given promises and they form the only proper basis for our prayer life. This is what Paul means by his reminder that we are to pray at all times in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit always works in tandem with the Word of God.

The phrase, "in the Spirit," means to pray according to the character of God whom the Spirit has made known to us. God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but He does promise to answer the prayer that is in alignment to His Word. When we learn to pray like this, we will be made aware of the exciting and unexpected things that God is doing all around us. We learn of a quiet power at work upon whom we can rely. And as we learn to pray in this way we find there is put at our disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence our own lives and the lives of others.

In his book, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote that this world is enemy-occupied territory and that Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, and is calling us, His followers, to take part in a campaign of sabotage. And it is primarily through prayer that this sabotage takes place. "Prayer is fundamentally a warfare activity." We factor in on that which will last for eternity through our prayers. When we pray, we partner with God, we enter in on what He is doing in the lives of everyone around us.

Most often we are prompted to pray because of our needs, our difficulties, and, our pain. And, when these "unwanteds" come into our lives, we are motivated to do the most important thing we can ever do. In this case, our pains have become our blessings. And, when this happens, we will not be defined by our needs but by the One to whom we take these needs.

All of the weapons of our warfare which God has supplied to us through His Son provide for us the internal substance that we need to live this life. Prayer aligns our will to God's will, rendering for us a settledness, a sense of His presence that serves us in our service to Him. So, in the end, prayer changes us, it provides focus to our hearts by God. And, it is this focus that brings His kingdom to rest in our souls.

In Hebrews 13:18, we are commanded to pray in such a way that we have a clear conscience that renders the right choices. God uses the conscience that is being framed up by His Word to enable us to perceive what is right and wrong. It’s a built-in system just waiting to be bolstered and used. We can tell what’s right and wrong by the response of our God-influenced conscience. And, once it is influenced by the culture of God found in His Word, the sky is the limit to how we factor in on what God is doing in this world.

Hebrews 13:17

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Obey your leaders and do what they say. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. So don't make them sad as they do their work. Make them happy. Otherwise, they won't be able to help you at all. ~ Hebrews 13:17

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 13 wherein the writer of Hebrews is giving to us practical application of the many doctrines we have learned throughout this book. Today's main subject is that of sacrificial submission to the God of the Bible. According to today's verse the believer's submission to God is seen in our submission to the teaching of godly leaders the Lord has placed in our lives. 

In today's text we read, "Obey your leaders and do what they say. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. So don't make them sad as they do their work. Make them happy. Otherwise, they won't be able to help you at all."

History makes it very clear that God mediates much of His rule in this world through men whom He has placed in authority. In Romans 13:1 we read, "Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power." Whereas, that verse in Romans 13 was written regarding all authority both saved and unsaved in this world, among believers, God has placed leaders. And, today's verse speaks into the context of a group of believers in Christ.

The word translated "obey" has the definite connection to the teaching provided, whereas the words "do what they say," has the definite connection to their God-given authority to lead. So, there is to be obedience to the teaching and submission to the authority. And, our obedience and submission is not our responsibility to these men, it’s our responsibility to God. And, God clearly holds these leaders responsible to lead us who are in their care on the behalf of Christ.

The phrase, "They are watching over you" is one word in the Greek. It simply means "leading" or "influencing." God has given to any group of believers in Christ certain men through whom He mediates His involvement in our lives. It is the God-given responsibility of these men to provide direction to the group, to teach the Word of God, to reprove, to rebuke, to exhort, and to do it with all patience and humility.

Perseverance in the truth about the Lord Jesus is one of the great themes of the entire letter of Hebrews. The Lord Jesus  cares deeply about the well being of each believer's soul. This kind of spiritual care and concern is the very thing that characterizes the leadership that God puts in place. And, their primary motivation is that "they are watching over" our souls.

The next phrase in Hebrews 13:17 is "... they must answer to God."

In God's framework of the church, He has provided leaders who have the reputation of being led by the Spirit of God to rule in that group of believers, and every group has its God-given leaders. This does not mean that the leaders have carte blanche to do whatever they want to, they are not to be the dictators of the group. God placed them in the position they are in according to their responsiveness and sensitivity to the needs of the people in their care. The Bible is very clear that the leaders are the under-shepherds of Christ, and they each are responsible to the Lord for their decisions and treatment of the group of believers under their care. They have the responsibility to teach God's word, to warn of impending danger, and, to nurture each who may be injured and wounded in some way.

The next phrase in today's verse reads, "So don't make them sad as they do their work."

The word "sad" literally means "to grieve" or "to groan." The Apostle Paul expressed overwhelming joy in his letter written to the Philippians because they were responsive to the truth of God. In Philippians 1:3-4, he wrote, "3 Every time I think of you, I thank my God. 4 And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy." 

Since the Apostle had the heart of God to motivate him to lead the people to the Lord Jesus, they saw his heart and were submissive to the Lord. This is the way God intended this to work. And, the acquiring of God's heart on the behalf of the leader is of utmost necessity. This is primarily done as the leader follows God for himself, and in doing so, he gains God's heart for the people. The leader does this through the study of God's word and prayer for each member in the group.

The next phrase in today's verse reads, "Make them happy." 

In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 we read, "19 After all, when the Lord Jesus appears, who else but you will give us hope and joy and be like a glorious crown for us? 20 You alone are our glory and joy!" Biblical leaders are made happy when those who follow their teaching follow the Lord with a whole heart and who learn to yield our lives to the Lord Jesus.

The last phrase in Hebrews 13:17 reads, "Otherwise, they won't be able to help you at all."  

When we do not obey the truth and we do not submit to the God-placed authority over us, we lose because we fail to experience intimacy with God by responding to His Word. God has been known to use a donkey to get His word across to us. So, when we do not obey and submit to Him, we find ourselves out of sync with what He is doing in this world. Responding to the Word of God is like inviting a sonar into our souls which is always connected to the satellite of God.

The Lord Jesus told His disciples, "I’m telling you that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full." Our submission to God yields His fruit in and to and through our lives. And, one of the many fruits is His joy expressed in, to, and through us. Rebellion to God not only prevents us from receiving God's instruction into our hearts which results in spiritual barrenness, it also robs us of our intimacy with Him and His truth. This is why we should go outside the camp to the Lord Jesus with regularity.

Hebrews 13:14-16

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14 On this earth we don't have a city that lasts forever, but we are waiting for such a city. 15 Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus. 16 But don't forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God. ~ Hebrews 13:14-16

Today, we return to our study of the book of Hebrews. We return to the practical part of the book, the last chapter wherein the question, "What difference does knowing all of this doctrine make in my everyday life?" is answered. Someone once said, "We should not be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good."

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "On this earth we don't have a city that lasts forever, but we are waiting for such a city."

The Lord Jesus Christ died to bring us into a personal relationship with God. He died so that we would stop trying to make this earth that we currently live on, our paradise. When man sinned, we were introduced to time, and with time, we were introduced to the temporal and the uncertain. Sin is not original, it has not always existed. And, when God created this world, out of nothing, He demonstrated that He alone is independent, absolute, and eternal. But, the sin of man wrecked what God made that was all good. As a result, nothing in this world, apart from the spirits and souls of all men and the word of God, will endure beyond the temporary. This world and all that is in it has an expiration date, and time as we know it, will one day come to an end.

The Lord Jesus' death on the cross was an utter necessity for hopeless and sinful man. With Him at the helm of our lives, our whole approach to life is being changed. In fact, the longer I walk with Him, I discover myself moving toward need, not comfort. With Him at the helm of our lives, we find ourselves looking for a city that has a totally different orientation, a city that is yet to come. But, when it comes, we will know all that which we have long longed for while on this earth. Radical confidence in a glorious future with God is what Christ died to produce in our everlasting existence. 

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus."

When we were introduced to the Lord Jesus, we were introduced to eternity and eternity's language is a sacrifice of praise. Through His work on the cross, the Lord Jesus has saved us completely, made us perfect forever in God’s eyes, set us free from our fear of death, and now, He lives to grant us an intimate and personal relationship with Himself for eternity. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is found in the Lord Jesus. This is the fuel for our praise that expresses itself in our choices to sacrifice our possessions and our very existence.

According to Ecclesiastes 3:11, eternity is placed in the heart of all humans at the point of conception. We are born with the desire to reach beyond. This explains our dreams for a better life. Our problem is our view of a better life has been stunted by the debilitating effects of sin in our lives. And, with the introduction of sin into our existence, covetousness was born. But, God's remedy to our covetousness is His grace. 

The grace of God is not a leaky faucet, it is a massive breach in the main water line. Grace is not an autumn mist, it is a torrential downpour. The kind that brings flash flooding. And it floods our souls with the overwhelming love of God, only if we let it. Many believers do not enjoy all of the benefits of the New Covenant because deep down we still believe that our sin is greater than God’s grace in our lives.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  All of our sins were removed through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Hebrews 10 makes it clear that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus has perfected believers forever. 

As a result, our sin and its destruction upon our psyche does not stop God’s grace from flowing in our lives. We, with our poor theology, are the only ones who can stop the incredible work of grace within. Grace is unearned and unmerited by you and me. Oh, it cost the Lord Jesus more than we can imagine. It is His grace that is the antidote to our covetous sin. Many believers in Christ desperately try to be better Christians through their adherence to the Law of Moses. They lack the understanding that the Law was given to expose our sin. In fact, the Law of Moses has no power to stop sin in our lives. Spirituality is not morality, it is a life rendered in the life of the yielded believer in Christ by the abiding Spirit of God who lives in each of us.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "But don't forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God."

We learned back in Hebrews 11, the only thing we humans can do that brings pleasure to God is our faith. And, when we lose sight of His grace, we lose sight of His faithfulness which is what creates faith in us in the first place. But, when we discover how to wallow in His grace, we will be mindful of others, mindful enough to help them and to share our possessions with them. When we make generous and sacrificial use of our earthly possessions, we declare that our treasure is in heaven, not on this earth. When our hearts are set on seeking the city that is to come, we will be set free from bondage of this world's wealth and we will gladly give generously as yet another act of praise to the God who gave us His only begotten Son.

Hebrews 13:11-13

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11 After the high priest offers the blood of animals as a sin offering, the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp. 12 Jesus himself suffered outside the city gate, so his blood would make people holy. 13 This is why we should go outside the camp to Jesus and share in his disgrace. ~ Hebrews 13:11-13

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 13 wherein the writer of Hebrews gives us practical application of the many doctrinal truths given throughout this great book. This teaching comes on the heels of his comparison of the the Old Covenant given to Israel at Mt. Sinai and the New Covenant procured by the Lord Jesus at the cross of Calvary.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "After the high priest offers the blood of animals as a sin offering, the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp."

Having warned these young Hebrew Christians about false teachings which emphasize food restrictions and external religious demands, and, having highlighted that it is only the grace of God that truly strengthens us in our pursuit of Him, the writer of Hebrews turns our attention to the tabernacle. Back in the days when the sin offerings were brought into the tabernacle the priests were forbidden to eat them, so they were taken outside the camp of the people and burned. The priest could eat the meat of all of the other offerings, but not the sin offering. 

Of course, this was yet again another picture of the coming Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. As was pictured by the sin offering, the Lord Jesus was taken outside the city of Jerusalem and put to death on a cross.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Jesus himself suffered outside the city gate, so his blood would make people holy."

As the sin offerings were taken outside the camp of the people, the Lord Jesus was separated from God while He hung on the cross. He suffered outside the gate. And, by His perfect blood that was shed for the complete forgiveness of our past, present and future sin, He made all who would believe on Him holy, sanctified, perfect in God's eyes, and set apart for our intended purpose. No believer should be weighed down by doubt that He is right with God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. We have been set free from the penalty of all of our sin, past, present and future. And the freedom of knowing this should free us to be totally invested in God's call upon our lives.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "This is why we should go outside the camp to Jesus and share in his disgrace."

When we decided to place our faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin, we separated ourselves from all other beliefs. The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant sin offering who was rejected by the religious system of this world. He willingly went outside the camp to take the load of every sin ever committed upon Himself. And, through His death, God judged that sin as He hung there on that cross from nine o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon. He did this so that the willing of heart might be sanctified with His own blood. He was despised, rejected, hated, betrayed, arrested, mocked, beaten, killed like a common criminal, and, He accepted every bit of it to shed His blood on our behalf. How can we help but to love Him in return?

According to Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." 

The Lord Jesus knew this verse, so He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. The Old Testament sacrifice was a shame to the people and they put it out. So, the Lord Jesus had to be shamed by being put outside and rejected by man and God, in order to do what no one could do. He did this to provide a sacrifice good enough to procure the forgiveness of our sin. And, in order for you and me to benefit from His sacrifice, we had to be willing to go out from the religious system and to identify with His reproach and shame as He bore our sin on that tree.

We share in the Lord's disgrace not only when we receive from Him as our Savior and receive the forgiveness of our sin, we share in His disgrace when we walk with Him on a daily basis. The root word translated "disgrace" was used by Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:25. Elizabeth was barren and she could not have children. And, her barrenness was a disgrace in their Jewish society. According to Luke 1:7, in those days being advanced in age began at 60 years old. After Elizabeth became pregnant at around 60 years of age or older, she said, "What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me." 

This disgrace includes being looked down upon by those not in a personal relationship with God. We must recognize it is an honor to suffer for the name of Christ because in our suffering we are granted a deeper fellowship and intimacy with Christ. We all want a trouble free life, but the trouble free life is a shallow life. You see, when we have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, those around us will welcome our involvement in their lives when their trouble comes. Pain, of any sort, is one of life's greatest fellowship enhancers. It enhances our fellowship with God and with others who share in the pain.

Hebrews 13:7-10

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7 Don't forget about your leaders who taught you God's message. Remember what kind of lives they lived and try to have faith like theirs. 8 Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Don't be fooled by any kind of strange teachings. It is better to receive strength from God's gift of undeserved grace than to depend on certain foods. After all, these foods don't really help the people who eat them. 10 But we have an altar where even the priests who serve in the place of worship have no right to eat. ~ Hebrews 13:7-10

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 13. These young Hebrews Christians to whom this book was written, had long lived their lives according to the Law of Moses. Under the Old Covenant, there were many rules. In fact, there were so many rules that it became very difficult not to break some of them just by virtue of the volume of them. Many of them were man-made. And, they became so absorbed in legalism that they went way further than God ever intended. In fact, their trek down the road of legalism steered them away from God.

Then comes the Lord Jesus and the New Covenant with that one ingredient that best changes the human heart: grace. And, of course, this blew the minds of the Jews. They were so locked into legalism that they thought this was some kind of horrifying heresy. And even when Jews became Christians, they found it extremely difficult to let go of all of their religion. When the heart gets disengaged, we spiral out of the control of God's grace.

But, as we have seen, the New Covenant releases the believer in Christ from the requirements of the Law. All of those little, minute, legalistic standards were absorbed by the Lord Jesus when He said, "Tetelestai," it is finished. He did it all, and all we have to do is believe in Him. To depend upon Him. But, this was very difficult for these young Jewish Christians to process and to live by.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Don't forget about your leaders who taught you God's message. Remember what kind of lives they lived and try to have faith like theirs."

Now that these young believers had been introduced to grace through the Lord Jesus, they now were free to live their lives in the way they saw fit. Of course, as they grew to see the heart of God for themselves they would have wanted to be pleasing to Him. The emphasis in this verse is placed on the faith of these young believers. More importantly the object of their faith. And, here, the writer of Hebrews is imploring them to emulate those who lived by faith in the God of the Bible.

As is insinuated here, we teach the truth to others best by living it. I like the story of the day when St. Francis of Assisi took one of his disciples to go preaching in the city. The young apprentice was so excited. And, from the first of the day to its end, St. Francis and his young disciple went from business to business  and house to house visiting with the people and serving them in a variety of ways. At the end of the day the young disciple asked St. Francis, "I thought we were going to preach today to the people." To which St. Francis responded, "We did! I say preach the gospel and sometimes use words." St. Francis taught that young man a very valuable lesson that day, and it is this: More is caught than is taught. And, this is what the writer of Hebrews is subtly teaching here in v.7.

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

One of the tests to the veracity of something is found in its consistency. What the Lord Jesus was to those of the past, He  is to us today. It is this changeless Christ who is the great refuge of the Christian in an ever changing world. Therefore, as we look back to those of faith in the God of the Bible from the past, we are to imitate their faith which was fixed upon the changeless Christ.

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "Don't be fooled by any kind of strange teachings. It is better to receive strength from God's gift of undeserved grace than to depend on certain foods. After all, these foods don't really help the people who eat them."

Here, the writer of Hebrews, warns against strange teachings which are linked to certain food restrictions and external religious demands. These were those who insisted on Judaistic restrictions of diet as having spiritual value. All through this letter the writer has told us again and again that such observances are simply empty shadows; they are pointing toward something, but the something they point toward is the real value, not the shadows. 

One of Satan’s most subtle approaches to the Christian is to move us away from sound doctrine, to get us wrapped up in some kind of doctrine that happens to be blowing about in the wind at any given point. Christ has not changed, our godly forefathers have not changed, and the word of God is clear about what godliness looks like.  

The word "fooled" in v.9 carries with it the idea of being carried away. We must be careful to know the word of God for ourselves in such a way that when the false comes along, we are able to recognize it quickly. Finding our moorings in the word of God only happens as we respond to it in such a way that it defines us. It is when we ignore His word and we fail to give it safe haven in our souls that we are in the greatest danger of going astray.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "But we have an altar where even the priests who serve in the place of worship have no right to eat."

In Hebrews 10:1 we read, "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.  For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship."

The altar of the New Covenant is the cross of the Lord Jesus through whom God has lavished His grace upon the willing of heart. The priests who serve in the place of worship were the Jews who do not accept Christ. The idea that Christians have to offer a "sacrifice" on an "altar" weekly is blasphemy. It implies that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was not sufficient for our salvation.

Back in the days when the sin offerings were brought into the tabernacle the priests were forbidden to eat them, so they were taken outside the camp of the people and burned. The priest could eat the meat of all of the other offerings, but not the sin offering.

The cross of Christ is the fulfillment of all of those Old Testament sacrifices, and it is through His crucifixion that we have been granted the forgiveness of God. The Old Testament Tabernacle was a shadow of the real. We cannot have both the shadow and the real; it is either one or the other. We cannot feed on the reality of Christ if we place value on the mere picture. And, when we try to feed our hearts on empty religious ordinances, it is then that we will fail to realize the many powerful expressions of God's grace in and through our lives! 

Hebrews 13:6

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"God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.' 6 So we can be sure when we say, 'I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me.'" 

Today, we return to the practical portion of the book of Hebrews. I include the last half of v.5 with today's verse because the crux of all of our problems is revealed in the words: "I will never leave you; I will never abandon you." And here, in a verse and a half, the writer to the Hebrews referred to two Old Testament passages and he showed these struggling young Hebrew believers the foundation of a secure life despite the rough storms that are encountered.

The power of God's presence comes to us in the New Covenant. When Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, they forfeited the security and the reassurance of the presence of God in their lives, so they ran away and hid. Their perceived lack of God's presence in their lives led them to look elsewhere than to Him to address the various needs in their lives. We are no different than they.

We cannot understand or get to the place where this awful separation is in our rear view mirror until we are indwelt by God's very presence, and even then, we must grow in our trust of Him in order to really realize the reality of the New Covenant. This is a big part of our sanctification.

At the cross, for six whole hours, the Son of God was suspended between heaven and earth. And at the height of His suffering, He cried out in the deep darkness, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This was the first time the Lord Jesus referred to His Father as "God." Since the Lord Jesus took our place, believers in Christ, now are guaranteed intimacy with God. But, it does not happen experientially all at once. It is a process.

Before they encountered that storm that night on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples had seen the Lord Jesus do so many incredible things, yet, they lacked trust in Him, still. Like us, they had to experience the blackness of the night on the water to really see the Lord Jesus for who He really was: God.

So, He sent them out into a storm, and, He chose not to be with them in the boat. He sent them out alone, deliberately, and He went up into the hills to pray for them. How many of the storms of our lives are made up of these two elements, trouble that comes and overwhelms us, and the seeming absence of the Lord in the context of those troubles. All the while, He is up on the hillside praying for us.

After the storm had blown for hours and the disciples were in deep distress, the Lord Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When they saw Him they are scared out of their minds because they thought He is an uninvited ghost. He reassured them with the word "it" which is always that thing we see that scares us to death. He said to them, "It is I, do not be afraid." The "it" was Him, and, the thing that scares us the most is really Him. And, after He stepped into their boat, they began to listen to Him like they had never listened before.

God's seeming absence is sometimes overwhelming in our lives, yet it is so very necessary. He deliberately made Mary and Martha wait four days after they had requested His presence, and meanwhile their brother, Lazarus, died. He made Thomas wait in his doubt and disbelief for eight days until he revealed His risen status to Him. He does these things in order to train us to see Him with our hearts.

Every believer in Christ struggles to get to this depth of intimacy with the Lord, and, yet, this is our answer to every problem we have. God is with us and He will never leave or abandon us. On that Pentecost day, just fifty days after the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, the Spirit indwelt those gathered in that upper room in Acts 2, and, they were changed people. We are no different than they.

This leads us into v.6 of today's passage which reads, "I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me." 

God juxtaposes our fear with His presence, and, we get to the place of not fearing when we choose to make the Lord our "helper." The Greek word used here for "helper" is a compound noun composed of two root words which mean "cry out" and "run." God runs to aid us when we cry out to Him. 

Due to our fallenness, even though we may be born gain, we lack something which only the Lord Jesus can supply, and, it is His pronounced presence in our lives. The Lord calls out to us to, "Cry out to me and I will comfort you." And, when this transaction takes place in a given hour of each day, we will conclude, "No one can harm us because the Lord Jesus has our backs."

Integral to our intimacy with God is realizing that nothing in this world is our answer. When my middle son, at the age of 24, went into cardiac failure a few years ago, I found myself thrust into the darkest place I have ever been. Even now, I find it most difficult to visit that darkest of places, yet, I over and over discover the Lord Jesus there. It is not the only place I discover Him, but nonetheless, this is my story. I do not like going through that pain again and again, yet, my intimacy with the Lord increases when I go there. You see, it is there that I see Him most vividly. It is there that I hear Him most acutely. And, I discover a great truth about the Lord when I go there: I discover the Lord doesn't love my suffering, but, He loves me. And, in the end of it all, it is about my heart being captured by this God who loves me much more than I can imagine.

Hebrews 13:4-5

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4 Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” ~ Hebrews 13:4-5

Today, we return to the practical application of the truths learned throughout the book of Hebrews. In yesterday's verse our attention was turned to the imprisoned and the suffering. Today, our attention is turned to the subject of marriage and contentment. As the family goes, so goes the society. And, as the marriage goes so goes the family.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure."

"Marriage should be honored" because it is the foundation for any healthy community. And, like anything else, when we deviate from God's definition of things, we suffer by being defined by the lesser. In Romans 1 we discover the society that increasingly rejects God's definition of things will increasingly degenerate into that which God calls an abomination which is something that causes Him disgust. In biblical usage, an abomination is something that God loathes or hates because it is offensive to Him and His character.

Since God invented marriage, He expects marriage to be honorable and between one man and one woman who have vowed to be committed to one another til death do them part. We live in a day where many are redefining things to the contrary of God's definition and marriage is one of them. In 1 Timothy 4 the Apostle Paul wrote, "In the last days false prophets will come and they will despise marriage, forbidding to marry." 

In the beginning God created male and female in his own image, and he blessed them, and said be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Then He said, "Therefore a man should leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they become one flesh." This is God's definition of marriage: one man and one woman committed to one another in  an one-flesh sexual union until death separates them.

The word for "honored" is more commonly translated "precious" in the New Testament. It's the word used in 1 Corinthians 3:12 where Paul speaks of "gold, silver, and precious stone." It is used in 1 Peter 1:19 in reference to the "precious blood" of the Lord Jesus. It's used in 2 Peter 1:4 to refer to the "precious and very great promises" of God. So, when we honor God's definition of marriage, we are treating it as sacred and precious.

Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are created complementary. The biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father underscores God's definition of a family. To deviate from this definition is to invite destruction not only in our families but also in our very lives. Redefining marriage does not simply expand the existing understanding of marriage; it rejects these truths of God. Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. The future of any people depends on our biblical understanding of marriage and its sacredness and preciousness. 

The next part of v.4 of today's passage reads, "...husband and wife should keep their marriage pure."

This means we must keep our sex at home in our marriages. It means to keep the marriage undefiled. Just as God invented marriage, He also invented sex to complement the marriage in a variety of ways. When we ignore God's clear definition of marriage and sex, we unknowingly undermine the very fabric of our emotional and physical well-being and that of our prodigy. 

The last part of v.4 of today's passage reads, "God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins."

The writer of Hebrews brings up the topic of judgment in the context of marriage because it has always been Satan’s scheme to redefine what God has said is good. The enemies desire is to so trick us that we no longer choose to enjoy the life God intends to give us. Marriage is a picture of God’s great love for us, yet Satan’s ploy to get Adam and Eve to sin involved getting Eve to act in independence of her husband. Even to this day, Satan is working to destroy biblical marriage. He does this by encouraging redefinition of marriage and by getting us to give in to sexual immorality.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you."

At the root of all sin is covetousness. We show our faith in the God of the Bible by being content with what He has given us. Learning to be content is the antidote to covetousness which is a sick ploy of the enemy to get us to distrust God. Covetousness is that unrighteous longing for more of that which God has not given us. Covetousness is that incessant reaching out for something and never being satisfied with what we get. And, the more we get, the more dissatisfied we become. 

The salve to discontentment and covetousness is contentment. The Apostle Paul said, "I have learned in whatever state I'm in to be content." The Apostle learned this as he grew in his relationship with the Lord Jesus wherein he was granted the ability to see just how big the God of the Bible truly is. This is what develops contentment in our souls, our God-sized understanding of the bigness and the goodness of God. It is when we seek after the things of this world that our view of God takes a blow to the head. And, the reverse is true, as well. When we seek after Him, our view of the things of this world are revealed to be what they truly are: limited to this world and lacking in its delivery.

In 1 Timothy 6:6 we read, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

When we believe this world is the ultimate, we will live for what this world has to offer us. When we choose to let this world define us more than God, we will have false happiness. But, happiness grows not through the pursuit of a process, but through the presence of a person. The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives is the mystery to happiness. When we practice His presence which is to treat Him like we do our best friend, we will experience the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. 

Twice in 1 Timothy 6 the Apostle uses the word content which is true wealth. We are taught in this world that contentment is the product of the comforts of this world. When we are being defined by God and what He says, our covetousness will diminish because we will increasingly be defined by His definition and pursuit of us. Loving the things of this world ignores the true gain which is the discovery of what is really real. 

The word used for godliness is the Greek word which means sacred awe. This is the secret to contentment, the awe of God. In Colossians 1:27 we discover that it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory or the presence of God in our lives. If all we pursue is the things of this world, we will never know this awe of God, because we will never be made content by the things of this world. Only God renders contentment in the soul He has created. Genuine gain is the product of being defined by God which is inseparably linked to His presence in our lives. 

The Greek word for contentment means unflappable, not moved by circumstance, oblivious to outside troubles. Being content with what we have is one of the greatest principles in life. When our contentment is based on the sufficiency of Christ, we will be able to transcend everything in and of this world. True contentment comes from God in our heart, not wealth in our hand. A person who depends on material things for peace and assurance will never be satisfied, for material things have a way of being lost.