partsofspeaking

  7  Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.. . . . 17  Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. 18  Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19  I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.   I have combined these two parts since they are both about leaders. I can’t think of a time in history where people, at least Americans, were more cynical about their leaders (or fawning!). I am among them. Our political class does not lead; they want to get on CNN or Fox and make money and everything but lead us to better outcomes in our country. We ar...

  15  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.. .. The word “sacrifice” or variant is used 18 times in Hebrews. Here twice. What is a sacrifice of praise? It’s not a sacrifice of money, or an animal. It is the fruit of the lips that openly profess his name. It is doing good and sharing with others. It is not singing beautifully. It is saying, “I am Christ’s, I follow Him, I love Him,” in everyday life. I supposed doing it on a Mac and posting to the Internet is part of the fulfillment. Since sacrifices are to be pure, that which comes out of the lips must be pure too. We all use much saltier language than we did in the past. Why? To show we are not bound by old conventions? To seem strong? To emphasize a point? To say “I’m not a pushover?” It becomes a habit that becomes harder and ...

10  We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11  The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12  And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13  Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Here the writer returns to his main themes: the enduring city we hope for, the superiority of Jesus over sacrificial Judaic system, and living in times of persecution. He states, “The High Priest carries,” present tense, which means this was written while temple sacrifices were still going on. The leftovers of the sacrifices, after the edible, kosher portions are eaten, are discarded outside the city proper. I am reminded of the time I visited Pis...

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9  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. Hearts strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods. I think this means “eat normal food for physical strength, don’t think eating something ritual or Kosher or blessed is better for you spiritually. Get your spiritual and emotional strength from grace, not by thinking you are getting some kind of superior strength or power from food some person has called blessed or better or special." Or vegan or gluten free or whatever, I would add. If that is your choice, go for it; just don’t tell everyone and don’t tell us you’re a better person for it. That said, dietary restrictions are necessary for health; we eat far too much and far too much of certain things in the U.S., and gluten does affect people. We could eat less meat; I generally only eat it once a day or less because of health, the ...

  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The final word, eh? Some might question that, considering that the writer himself says that Jesus "became." In whatever way He became, it did not change His being, His essence. God changeth not; Jesus the Son of God changes not. What yesterday is spoken of is unclear--yesterday in eternity past or since His appearance on earth? How long is "today?" I think we read it as eternity past, the present, and the eternal future. Jesus is the same in power, holiness, deity, and so many more. I struggle with the context here too, or  I should say, its place in the context. I see the connection to verse 9: Since Jesus is the same, do not get tossed about with new doctrines (and there is no end to those).  With verse 8, it is admonition to follow spiritual leaders; they might change over time, as people die and move on. Jesus, the example being extolled in Hebrews, does not change or move on in His leadership. However,...

  5  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;      never will I forsake you.” [ a ] 6  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.      What can mere mortals do to me?” No great analysis today (as if there were some previously). This is what I need. “What can mere mortals do to me?” Well, a lot, but not eternally. Our lives are short anyway; all they can do is shorten our lives. We will not be forsaken, not left, not bereft, not desolate. I will not be afraid. I need that today. Someone and something stalks me. We are not to live in a spirit of fear. I also need contentment with what I have. I don’t want more things; those are a bottomless pit. I want more life, more experience, more travel, more work, more writing, more accomplishments, more freedom, more relationships, and probably, more recognition. All ...