I hope you’ll join me Monday for the Bridge! Love God Greatly has made it easier to stay consistent in our daily Bible study habit with a 2-week reading plan and SOAP passages. If you haven’t tried SOAPing the Word yet this is a great way and time to learn. It’s easy and it’s a great way to get into God’s Word and grow your faith. Tag me in the comments with any questions or simply reply “I’m in” if you want to participate. If you want to add someone to the group type their name and I’ll be happy to add them – everyone is welcome!
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.[a]2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”[b]
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”[c]
7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.
.10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle[d] have no right to eat. 11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make His people holy by means of His own blood. 13 So let us go out to Him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace He bore. 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
18 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. 19 And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,[a] for without it no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up[b] and causing trouble, and through it many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes[c] an immoral or godless person like Esau, who soldhis own birthright for a single meal.[d]17 For you know that[e] later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing[f] with tears. 18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,[g] to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words[h] such that those who heard begged to hear no more.[i]20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”[j]21 In fact, the scene[k] was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”[l]22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city[m] of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator[n] of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.[o]
25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”[p]27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our Godis indeed a devouring fire.[q]
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,[a] gained what was promised,[b] shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire,[c] escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,[d] became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life.[e] But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.[f]36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart,[g] murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended[h] for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.[i]40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.[j]
Week 6 Challenge: This week, make a list of two practical things you can do each day to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Share these things with a friend and ask her to hold you accountable.
Over the past 5 weeks we have read a lot about Jesus, faith, and endurance. In our everyday lives I bet we’ve all faced times where we called out to Jesus, where we’ve had to lean on our faith and perhaps where we’ve even struggled to endure. In this last week we will continue to look at these three factors. We will read why and how and what we must endure. Our focus verse will give us yet another example to consider, as it leads us to daily remember how and why Jesus endured. An example I believe, is the best answer as to why Jesus is our everything. My prayer is that we will finish strong and as we close the last page we will find our FAITH stronger than when we entered in – and together we will endure and not shrink back.
By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him[a] for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ[b] to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on[c] the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible.28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood,[d] so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them[e] for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of[f] the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.9 By faith he lived as a foreigner[a] in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs[b] of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations,[c] whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,[d] he received the ability to procreate,[e] because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 12 So in fact children[f] were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand[g]on the seashore.[h]13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised,[i] but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners[j] on the earth. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is,[k] they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises,[l] yet he was ready to offer up[m] his only son. 18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,”[n]19 and he reasoned[o] that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense[p] he received him back from there. 20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff.[q]22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life,[r] mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel[s] and gave instructions about his burial.[t]
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 2 For by it the people of old[a] received God’s commendation.[b]3 By faith we understand that the worlds[c] were set in order at God’s command,[d] so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.[e]4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith[f] he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith[g] he still speaks, though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard[h] constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us,[a]27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury[b]of fire that will consume God’s enemies.[c]28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death[d] without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.[e]29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for[f] the Son of God, and profanes[g] the blood of the covenant that made him holy,[h] and insults the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[i] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[j]31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison,[k] and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly[l] had a better and lasting possession. 35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it[m] has great reward. 36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.[n]37 For just a little longer[o] and He who is coming will arrive and not delay.[p]38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I[q] take no pleasure in him.[r]39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.[s]
Therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the fresh and living way that He inaugurated for us[b] through the curtain, that is, through His flesh,[c]21 and since we have a great priest[d] over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings,[e] because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience[f] and our bodies washed in pure water.23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works,[g]25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day[h] drawing near.[i]
Me From the Inside Out 