Tag: Hebrews

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Thankful for Discipline: Hebrews 12:5-6

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:  6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Hebrews 12:5-6

Explanation:

Christ strove with sin, enduring, even unto death. He did this to purchase our redemption and provide resurrection life to those who would trust in Him. Now he strives with us, His children, to correct us when we sin. He will discipline us to help us do what is right. The preacher tells us to not despise this, or faint at it. Why? 

First, we should not despise it because it is evidence of the love of the Father. Good and loving fathers correct their kids and train them.

Second, we should not despise correction because it does just that. It corrects! We are better off for it because chastening and scourging from a loving father is always less severe than the pain that would come from not correcting the behavior. A received son is a loved son. A loved son is one who is corrected and trained.

Application:

How should we respond to such things?

  1. Be teachable. Chastening is all about helping us to understand what we’ve done wrong and changing it. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t waste the pain. Learn from it and change.
  2. Be thankful. Remember that this is an act of love from a loving father. He wants us to have a life that can be blessed through being obedient. Thank him for teaching us even through difficult circumstances.
  3. Be obedient. Kids who are obedient do not need to be corrected. Trust the Father enough to learn from hearing rather than learning from experience. It’s a better plan.

Response:

Heavenly Father, I do not want to learn through experience or the hard way. I want to learn by listening and obeying. Give me the wisdom and the will to do that. Help me to be thankful for the spankings and the chastening. Help me to learn from them. Not my will, but thine be done. Amen.

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The focus of the race…Hebrews 12:2

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

Explanation:

For the first 3 check out yesterdays post on Hebrews 12:1.

  1. The focus for the run…Jesus

“Looking unto Jesus…”

All of those faithful people who have gone before are faithful witnesses. None of them come close to Christ.  He is the author of our faith.  It started with him. He is the finisher of our faith.  It all culminates in Him.

How did he run?  “Who for the joy that was set before him”

The course set before us…the joy set before Him. What was it?  Pleasing his Father and redeeming His people. What did running look like for Jesus? Enduring the cross, despising the shame, and…

  1. The finish of the run…heaven.

“And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

He purchased our victory for us. He is now with God. He is where we are going to be. He now lives to make intercession for us. Now he is seated in victory.  It is finished.  Tetalestai.

Application:

  • Christ is our ultimate example.
  • Christ exemplifies endurance.
  • Christ exemplifies focus.
  • Christ exemplifies finishing.
  • Christ exemplifies obedience.

Response:

Lord, help me to live like Christ today. Help me to run with Him as my focus and my example. I love you, Lord. Amen.

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Let Us Run the Race. Hebrews 12:1

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional1 Comment

“Wherefore seeing also we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…”

Hebrews 12:1

Explanation:

  1. The motivation for the run… witnesses

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,”

The preacher has just taken us on a tour of Old Testament History and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy that points us to Jesus Christ. He has shown us the supremacy of Christ at an incredible level. He uses the illustration of a stadium full of those who have gone before and been faithful. It’s like they are sitting in the stands watching what we are going to do, how we are running, and cheering us on. Part of our motivation for running is to do honor to those who have run before. They’ve handed us the baton so to speak.  Will we drop it?  Will we mess up?  Will we lose faith?  Will we lose heart? They endured.  God was faithful to them.  He will be faithful to us.

  1. The preparation for the run… 

“Let us lay aside every weight,  and the sin which doth so easily beset us…” 

When a runner runs, they do not run in a three piece suit with dress shoes. They do not run in overalls and heavy boots. They run with very light clothing.   Running shoes are not known for being heavy, but light and tough. The runner tries to get rid of everything that could weigh them down in the course of the race.

Here there is a distinction between weight, and the besetting sin. Certainly sin can weigh us down and keep us from running a good race.  That is obvious, and it should not be controversial that this is a problem. There are things that are “weights” that are not necessarily immoral but that could become so when they keep us from running the race.  I believe that this is anything that could cause us to lose focus, and be prioritized over what is most important.

  1. The mentality for the run… Patience

“And let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

Here an attitude is given to us.   The word is patience.  A synonym for this word is endurance. A race has been set before us.  It is a race that happens in this life.  Everything in this life impacts eternity. We have been called to live by faith for the Lord, being salt and light in this generation. We’ve been called to be on his mission with his vision for the world. We’ve been handed the Gospel.  We have been given the great commission.

Endurance takes sustainability.  What do I mean? When we keep those weights and that sin in our lives, it keeps us from running very long or very far. There are certain things that will cause us not to make it.That means even small decisions in our lives could become impactful later.

Application:

  1. Do the examples of those who have gone before inform my conscience, mind, and behavior?  
  2. Is there something sinful that is keeping me from running this race well?  
  3. Is there something that isn’t inherently sinful but is a weight keeping me from being faithful to Christ?
  4. Do I have a mind, and heart for endurance?  Is there some behavior that I’m doing or not doing that will keep me from running with patience/endurance?

Response:

Heavenly Father, It’s a long run. You know what it means to live for you. Please help me to live for you with endurance! Amen

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Faith in God helps us endure suffering. Hebrews 11:35-38

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Highlight:

(35) Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection; (36) And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: (37) They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (38) (Of whom the world was not worthy;) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Explanation:

This passage continues the list of actions that showed faith in the living God even when it was difficult.  The first statement is about women who thought that their loved ones were dead but through faith received them back to life.  The widow of Zerephath in 1 Kings 17:22, and the woman of Shunem in 2 Kings 4:34 certainly qualify.  The rest explain people who placed their faith in God and were mistreated for it.  The phrase that sticks out from the rest, though all of it is remarkable, is the parentheses in verse 38 which says “of whom the world was not worthy”.    This seems to indicate that there was a level on honor the preacher is ready to give and believes that these people deserve based on the faith that they expressed in enduring these calamities.  

Of course, we know that these people were sinners, too.  How did they get to the point where they were willing to endure such trials?  It is the mercy and grace of God in their lives to which they responded.  They believed God and He helped them to live for him in such a critical way.

Listen to this list from these verses:

  • Tortured
  • Cruel mockings
  • Scourgings
  • Bonds of Imprisonment
  • Stoned
  • Sawn assunder
  • Tempted
  • Slain with the Sword
  • Wandered…being destitute
  • Afflicted
  • Tormented
  • Homeless in mountains, dens, and caves

The disciples that Jesus sent endured martyrdom and exile.  It serves an important apologetic today.  These men were not notable before they met Jesus.  They had no reason to die for this falsifiable claim that they were making if it were not true.  They claimed to have seen Jesus live an extraordinary, supernatural life and ministry, die a substitutionary death, and resurrect from the dead.  That this truth is the hope for forgiveness of sins was their message, and they suffered death and exile for this message is crucial.  Their faith helps to assure our faith that Jesus Christ is in fact who He said He is.

Application:

Several points of application:

  1. Let their example encourage your walk of faith.
  2. Question whether or not you would be willing to endure these things for Christ.
  3. Juxtapose their expression of faith, and what God asks of you in living for him today.
  4. Thank God for the example that they are to us.

Response:

Heavenly Father,  I admit that I have it pretty good.  I have much affirmation for my expressions of faith in you.  I have a comfortable life relatively.  Help me to not get soft.  Help me to be bold in my living out my faith in you.  Thank you for their example and for your Son who endured the worst of all of it so that I could have eternal life.  God grow me in this area.  Amen