Hebrews 5 - 5.13.24

Scripture

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT

“You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.”

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Observation

The author is urging for spiritual growth and maturity amongst the believers. The author knows that some of them have been Christians for awhile, yet they still seem to be messing up over and over again regarding the same issues. They still can’t distinguish between right and wrong. The author compares them to babies. They need to be spiritually fed milk. They have not yet matured enough to even eat solid food. So the author implores the reader to not be stagnant in their faith. They need to be constantly growing.

Application

Striving for spiritual growth.

Imagine for a moment; a full grown adult, still drinking from a baby bottle, needing to be hand fed everything with a spoon, while a grownup makes airplane noises as they spoon feed them each bite? Pretty silly right? Then why should it be any different when it comes to our spiritual growth?! We who have been following Jesus for awhile now shouldn’t be acting the same as we did when we first became Christians. There should be some sort of growth and spiritual maturity in our lives. We shouldn’t want to be that Christian who has been following Jesus for years and years, and yet seem to be repeating the same grade over and over again. We need to strive to be maturing and progressing in our walk with God each and every day.

But how does that look like?🤔

Well, first of all it starts by not just depending on a Pastor to teach you God’s Word on Sunday mornings. We should learn to “feed ourselves” by getting into God’s Word daily and journaling about what we are learning. We should be more involved in church Bible Studies and serving in church ministry. It should also show in our personal prayer life. Don’t just depend on others to pray for us like they have special access to God. We have that same access to God ourselves too! So take it to the Lord in prayer. Spend some quality time with God thanking Him, praising Him, asking for your needs and praying for others. We should be living a life where we are learning from our sinful mistakes. We need to ask for God’s forgiveness, and turn away from those mistakes. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and discipline to not repeat those same sinful mistakes again. And finally, a mature growing Christian is one who should be sharing their faith and making disciples wherever they go-(see Matthew 28:18-20). Don’t just keep the Good News of Jesus to ourselves, share it with others!

It’s definitely a process that each of us has to work on each day. I believe the “churchy” word for it is sanctification. It’s the process of becoming more like Jesus (perfect) each day. It’s something we won’t be able to accomplish until God calls us home. But until then, we need to keep striving, keep grinding, and keep growing. 😊

“Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” -Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for not only myself, but Your Church. I pray for a yearning to grow and mature in our faith and walk with You. May we not settle for just being saved and stagnant in our faith. But may we yearn to know You more each day and have you known by others. Guide us in our path as we try to be more like Jesus each day. Give us the strength and discipline to carry on, even when we’re knocked down. Thank You for Your grace and mercy and patience as You see us through. Thank You for hearing our prayers, and I thank You in advance for answering our prayers. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Hebrews 4 - 5.10.2024

Scripture - Pick one verse that stood out to you.

Hebrew 4: 1-3
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 

Observation - What about this verse stands out to you?

The words, “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, [...]” is what stood out to me. I had to re-read Hebrews 3 and this what stood out to me:

Hebrews 3:12-19
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Application - How will you apply this to your life?

Thank you for sharing with me what I need to do Lord. I do admit that my heart has become hardened over the years. Yet here You are in your word providing a warning and a remedy. I must encourage other believers in Christ, and other believers in Christ need to encourage me—daily. Yikes. I am going to start with today. I will encourage another believer today.

Prayer - Write out a prayer.

My Lord, help me to develop a better routine in my life. Help me start today right now. Help me not to turn away from you and help my belief/faith/love in You to grow. Please, help to soften my heart. Help me to encourage my near and far family in Christ daily! Help me to stand firm in my faith like Moses. Help me to be quick in my faith like Joshua and Caleb. Help me to develop that defense and armor that keeps sin and unbelief as far away from me as possible, Lord!!

Hebrews 3 - 5.9.24

Hebrews 3:12-14

S – 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.

O – This chapter provides a compelling contrast between Jesus and Moses, emphasizing Christ’s supreme role as our High Priest. By connecting Old Testament narratives with Christ’s teachings, the chapter delivers profound insights into faith, disbelief, and the promise of God’s rest.  Jesus, our high priest, is superior to Moses and all others. His faithfulness is our model, and His promises are true. We are called not just to acknowledge this, but to respond with steadfast faith, encouragement to others, and a heart that remains soft to the whispers of God.

A – Not believing that God is supreme over everyone, and everything, is a choice. If someone does not believe God exists, it is not that they “can’t” believe in Him, it’s that they choose not to. They are basically calling Him a liar and stating that His Word is untrue. That is where sin lies.

We can all be discouraged at times, maybe lacking in our faith for a season, but we can’t camp out there, and it is our job as Christian brothers and sisters to make sure no man is left behind. To do that, we must be in constant contact with our brothers and sisters. A hug and a “Good Morning,” on a Sunday morning aren’t going to cut it.  We must be in constant fellowship ….eating together, taking walks together, praying together, doing life together and holding each other accountable. Holding each other up when we are too weak to do it ourselves. Whether that be emotionally, spiritually, and/or even physically.

Exodus 17:12  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

Exhort one another daily.  If we will strengthen our faith and avoid the ruin of unbelief, we must be around other Christians who will exhort – that is, seriously encourage us. This shows our responsibility to both give exhortation and to receive exhortation, and to exhort one another daily. It is an easy thing to judge and criticize, but that is not exhortation. If you are out of fellowship altogether, you can’t exhort or be exhorted. When we are out of fellowship there is much less around us to keep us from becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Spurgeon)

P – Lord, I pray I will never let one of my brother’s or sister’s hearts be hardened by not checking in with them, by being lost in my own life struggles, or by not being purposeful in my time spent with them. I thank you for those you have placed in my “family” who look out for me by ensuring that I am right with you, that I am encouraged, that I am held up in my weakness. I pray that after a moment of despair or self-pity, I, we, reign it in and get back to the ONE thing that is best…the ONE person who is superior to everyone and everything else! Lord may I never sin against you by not believing you ARE who you say you are! May I respond with steadfast faith today and always and help me hear the whispers of Your heart. 

Amen!

- Crystal Flory