God's Word For Every Day

Hebrews 1:1-2:9 We thank You, Lord, for Your Son, Jesus Christ. He is our Lord.  He came from heaven, where He is worshipped by angels (Hebrews 1:6). He is our Saviour. He came to earth where “He suffered death, so that, by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – to catch a glimpse of His heavenly glory and His saving grace. Hebrews 2:10-3:19 We thank You, Lord, that You invite us to become Your “children” (Hebrews 2:13) – through faith in Your Son, Jesus (John 1:12). When we hear Your voice, calling us to come to Jesus, help us to open our hearts to Your love (Hebrews 3:7,15) – and receive Your Son as our Saviour. Hebrews 4:1-5:10 When, Lord, You speak Your Word to us, You say to us, “Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). These are words that we need to keep on hearing – again and again. This may not be what we like to hear – but it’s what we need to hear. Help us to hear what ...

* Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who died on the cross for us – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). * Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd who rose from the dead for us – “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21). * Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd who is coming again for us – “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade aw...

"Beware lest any man spoil you through  philosophy  and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8). On the one side, there is philosophy. On the other side, there is Christ. The two are very different. Philosophy begins with man - "after the tradition of men." When we speak of Christ, we begin with God - "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son ..." (John 3:16). Sometimes, philosophy may try to find God. In philosophy of religion, we hear about the arguments for the existence of God. When these arguments are discussed, it soon becomes clear that it is questionable whether such arguments can be regarded as 'proofs' for God's existence. There are arguments. There are counter-arguments. We're left wondering, "What does all this really prove? - Neither side of the debate is likely to convince many on the other side. There may be some who will move from one...

"He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). Salvation is never something that we earn. It's always God's gift. When He saves us, He doesn't reward us for our good works. He saves us - despite our persistent failure to live the kind of life that pleases Him. He saves us because He loves us. His love is stronger than our sin. His love breaks the chains of our sin. He saves us because Jesus died for us. We look at Jesus Christ, crucified for us, and we know, in our hearts, that we have a great Saviour, who "is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him" (Hebrews 7:25). "To God be the glory! Great things He has done, so loved He the world that He gave us His Son ... " - Here's a link to that great hymn:  To God be the glory - YouTube  - May your heart be blessed as you listen to it and sing along with it.

Refusal to come to Christ for salvation leads to judgment: ‘How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:3).

There's a story about a race between a tortoise and a hare. The hare started well, but he didn't finish. Somewhere along the way, he  became distracted - and lost his way. The tortoise started slowly, but he kept on going and he did finish. Jesus told a story about two about two men. One started well - but he didn't finish. The other was slow to start - but once he was started, he kept on going " There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29  “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30  “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31  “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered." (Matthew 21:28-31). What about us? Did we get off to a flying start, and then run out of steam? or Have we kept on going, after making a slow start?   May God help each of us to keep on...

 * He is the God who is life. He is the God who gives life.  * He is the eternal God. He gives us eternal life.

"See that you do not refuse him who is speaking" (Hebrews 11:25). Have you heard what Jesus has to say about the Kingdom of God and the one way in which it can be entered? What have you done about it? The message of God's Kingdom calls for our response. Have you received this message with faith?  This is the only way in which you can enter the Kingdom. This is the matter of the greatest urgency. It is more important than anything else. 'So long as you've got your health' - What about the salvation of your soul? 'He's really getting on in the world.' - What about the salvation of your soul? Jesus says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Have we done this? The truth of God's Kingdom has been laid before us. Every one of us make our response. You cannot remain neutral. You can enter the Kingdom of God through faith in Christ or you can reject Christ and remain outside of the Kingdom. Let it...

Tomorrow, next week, next month ... More quickly than we would like, next month becomes next week, and next week becomes tomorrow ... Here's a deadline that's more urgent than any of these deadlines: " Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). What makes "the day of salvation" so urgent? - We may not have a tomorrow, a next week, a next month, a next year ... We can do a lot of planning for our earthly future. What about our eternal future? Today is the time for planning for our eternal future. When Christ comes to us, He calls us to trust in him and receive from him the gift of his salvation. He calls for our immediate response: " Today , if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7).   

"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). Here, on earth, we have the beginning of our salvation - purchased for us by the Saviour, who died for our sins. The completion of our salvation is yet to come - when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, we will enjoy the full glory of God's salvation.

"looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) Where would we be without Jesus? We would have no Saviour while to accompany us on our journey through life - and we would have no Saviour to welcome us into God's heavenly and eternal glory when we reach the end of our earthly journey. Thank God - we have a great Saviour: for now and for ever.

Past grace is no guarantee of present growth. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, ‘the Author and Finisher of our faith' (Hebrews 12: 2).

" And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good works, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). It's great that we are able to encourage one another in the Lord. Hebrews 10:25 speaks about "the assembling of ourselves together" and "exhorting one another." Each of us has a particular ministry of encouragement to those with whom we are gathered together to worship the Lord. It is a privilege to be able to share something of this ministry of encouragement with other people. We encourage one another in the Lord when we gather together for worship (Hebrews 10:25). The preaching of Christ strengthens our faith (Romans 10:17). What a great encouragement it is to know that "God is pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). What happen...

"God, who at various times and  in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  2  has in these last days spoken to us by  His  Son ..." (Hebrews 1:1-2). " See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For  if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more  shall we not escape  if we turn away from Him who  speaks  from heaven" (Hebrews 12:25). The letter to the Hebrews begins with a great statement concerning the God who speaks to us. Towards the end of the letter, we are challenged to listen attentively to His Word and to act on our listening by living to please Him. "God has spoken" is always more than a statement about God. It's also a challenge to us. How can we say, "God has spoken" and refuse to listen to what He has to say to us? Often, we do not listen to Him - and our lives are the poorer for it! How dare we refuse to listen to God's Word? Often, we start out with good intentions,...

" ... h aving  boldness  to enter  the Holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). What a contrast there is between the many animal  sacrifices made by the Old Testament priests and the single sacrifice of Himself made by our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ! --- Here's a link to a song that may help you to see,  more clearly, the difference  between the two:  Petra Enter In Music video 1995 - YouTube  

" Now may the God of peace,  who through the blood of the eternal covenant  brought back from the dead  our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,   21  equip you with everything good for doing his will,  and may he work in us  what is pleasing to him,  through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20-21). What wonderful words of blessing these are! When we consider how much the Lord has blessed us - and how much he will bless us, may we say, from our hearts, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name" (Psalm 103:1). May we say, with hearts full of praise and thanksgiving, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:3). When we pay more attention to blessing the Lord rather than seeking blessing for ourselves, we will be blessed - not because we have made getting blessing for ourselves our chief priority, but because we are learning, by His gra...

"God, who at various times and  in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  2  has in these last days spoken to us by  His  Son ... " (Hebrews 1:1-2). This is more than the prophets speaking about God. This is God, speaking through the prophets. The prophets looked forward to Jesus, God's beloved Son. God speaks to us through Jesus. "I am the good shepherd; and   I know My  sheep, and   am known by My own.   15  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father;   and I lay down My life for the sheep.   16  And   other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice;   and there will be one flock  and  one shepherd" (John 10:14-16). Jesus, the Good Shepherd, tells us that his sheep will hear his voice. How are we to hear his voice? How are we to listen to him? We listen to him when we pay attention to his words. The...

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:3). The Old Testament contains many stories. In Hebrews 11, we read about some of these stories of “faith”. Beyond the many pictures of faith, there is the big picture – the picture of the eternal God, creating the universe. We cannot take it in. It is too much for us. It is beyond our understanding. “By faith we understand” – Having faith in the Lord doesn’t mean that we’ll ever achieve a full understanding of what he has done. It does mean that we’re able to see the big picture in a way that we could never have done without faith in him. When we see the big picture, our life on earth begins to make sense in a way that it never would if we travelled through life, thinking that there were only questions and no answers. We may not have all the answers, but we have been given enough, in God’s Word, to encourage us to cont...

Let us never forget the importance of faith and holiness – 'without faith it is impossible to please God ... without holiness no-one will see the Lord' (Hebrews 11:6; 12:14). We are to 'live holy and godly lives' – 'make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love ... if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ'. In all of this, let us never forget to give all the glory to our Saviour – 'To Him be glory both now and for ever!' (2 Peter 3:11; 1:5-11; 3:18).