Bible Commentary & Daily Devotional

  Hebrews 12 - Worship Jesus with Fear and Awe Jesus reigns in heaven indeed.  He is alive, resurrected, and ascended to heaven.  Yet, do we as His people follow Him as commanded in this chapter?  Are we burdened by our sin, the church's greed and gluttony, and the detestable sins committed in our communities? God showed Ezekiel the depth of the depravity of idolatry, disdain for God, and open rebellion.  The so-called leaders were even worshiping the sun with their backs to God right in the Temple.  How is that even possible?  Easy for us to ask of others, but again, what about ourselves.           And God brought justice (Ezekiel 9).  Likewise, we hear a lot of so-called Christian leaders bemoan the state of America and the blasphemy of our political leaders - and rightly so to a large degree.  But culture starts in the hearts of men and women, right in our homes.  Many of our leaders, just like the ancients in Ezekiel, don’t even try to hide their rebellion against God.  The

 Hebrews 12:1 - Good Friday We may feel alone.  But we are not.  Not in God’s Kingdom.  We are surrounded by “a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up” (12:1).  Saved from sin; saved unto eternity with God. Good Friday.  In Calgary, where we raised our kids, we got together with thousands of other Christians on Good Friday for a massive gathering and reverent remembering of what Christ did for us.  Body broken.  Blood shed.  Once for all time.  Then we spent the day with those in our church, picnicking, fellowshipping, sharing in the goodness of God, and remembering His sacrifice.          Good Friday  is a day to be revered by the Christians.  I remember my Muslim neighbour, Manal, asking me one day why Christians don’t make a bigger deal about Easter.  I didn’t have a good answer for her.   Good Friday is when we remember the enormity of the Son of God’s sacrifice for us on th

 Hebrews 11  - A Good Reputation We have freedom.  That’s the reality.  God is so Sovereign that He gives men and women the freedom to choose what they do.  People are proven to be righteous and faithful to God by what they do.  Those who have unfaithful hearts and whose lustful eyes long for the things of this world prove God’s freedom and His justice.  We can have as much faith as we want.  There is no excuse at the end of the day.  We have one life; we choose what to do with it (Ezekiel 6:13). Let’s be honest, life is a struggle.  Our battle against sin is a struggle.  Studying.  Problem solving.  Overcoming hardship, bad government, poor leadership, family relations, health issues, finances, business challenges, parenting, marriage, aging, etc.  Life’s a struggle. And yet we are surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith in Jesus Christ.  God’s faithful alumni.  Our ancestors and our brothers and sisters in Christ.  God watched over them as they lived and di

 Hebrews 10  - Christian Standards One more quick thought from an old hockey goalie (a sinner saved by Jesus) on Chapter 10 before we move on to the exciting Hall of Faith in Chapter 11. There is this big warning in 10:26-31 that ends with this, “For we know the one who said, ‘I will take revenge.  I will pay them back.’ He also said, ‘The LORD will judge his own people.’  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:30-31).           It reminds me of God’s message to Israel just before Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.  God said, “You people have behaved worse than your neighbors and have refused to obey my decrees and regulations.  You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you.  Therefore, I myself, the Sovereign LORD, am now your enemy.  I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch.  Because of your detestable idols, I will punish you like I have never punished anyone before or ever will again” (Ezekiel 5:7-10).  Man, to

 Hebrews 10  - Confident Hope God calls us to his good work.  As our LORD God commissions us, his workers and messengers, he gives us a realistic assessment of the tough tasks ahead.  We will face hardships, threats, rebels and rioters, and opposition from those with hard hearts and stubborn resolve.  And that’s just inside the church. The odds do not matter.  Do not be dismayed.  Whether people accept the message of God our job is to be brave - to fearlessly deliver on the task God calls us to do today.  Do not fear.  God provides. Hebrews 10 encourages us and strengthens our resolve.  We are reminded that Jesus, our great High Priest, rules over God’s house (10:21).  Christ is King.  That is what matters.  Jesus reigns and rules and He alone judges.           In this passage (v. 26-31), we hear the penalty in Moses' time for anyone who refused to obey Moses’ laws.  And that penalty is held up against the standard of our Holy God as light punishment compared to the penalty c

 Hebrews 10  - Motivate and Encourage Well, even for the most charmed, things get tough.  If you’ve been on the Christian walk for a while, you’ve tasted spiritual and physical hardship, crisis, suffering, and loss.  You’ve likely had something stolen from you - something like property, or something like a career role, a sports position, or your good reputation.   Have you tasted that?  Have you experienced life getting real?  Injustice.  I suspect you have.  If we look back over our lives - especially for those of us getting long in the tooth - we can see God’s grace and His discipline through many situations.  God’s way builds our character.   This is one of the best chapters in the Bible.  Let’s cherish it.  It reminds us of who Jesus is.  And that He waits patiently for the hour of His return.  Likewise, we are to be patient and to persevere.  Let this chapter motivate us and give us the resolve to do right by Jesus - no matter the cost. It’s funny, you know, challenges com

 Hebrews 9  - New Life Just a short note today.  I’m thinking of Easter, of the celebration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Our Rescuer and Savior. We can’t understand the power of God, the power of a resurrected God unless we understand the power of His death.  The Good News covenant between God our Saviour and his people could not go into effect until Jesus' death on the cross.  Under the new covenant of Jesus Christ, we are born again, purified, and completely cleansed.  We are no longer guilty before God.  Jesus took the penalty for our sins on the cross.  Thank you, God! God’s justice is rooted in his goodness.  Sin and awful evil deeds are the cause of death and destruction.  Don’t blame God.  He didn’t defile anything.  God’s anger ceases with confession of sin, sorrow, and mourning.  It’s God’s requisite justice.  There is no cheap salvation.  Restoration begins with repentance for what we’ve done.  There is no forgiveness without admission of

 Hebrews 8  - Tents and Priests Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest, died to set us free from the penalty for all the sins we have committed.  God promises us an eternal inheritance.  God’s people are now responsible to honor Him.  We are free men and women, awaiting God’s return. Hebrews is required reading for every growing Christian.  I love chapters 7-10 regarding the new covenant of Christ.  We won’t grow, I suggest, if we don’t understand this.  Indeed, as explained in this Scripture, the rampant moral therapeutic deism, so common in the modern church, must be refuted with God’s truth. Thankfully God makes his point clear so that even a simple farm boy from Saskatchewan like me can grasp it.  The main point is that Christians have a High Priest who ministers from the heavenly tent (Tabernacle) (8:2).  Where Jesus ministers today is the true place of worship.  It was not built by human hands.  It was built by the Master Carpenter himself, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is not only o

 Hebrews 7 - The Source of Grace God’s promise and oath to bless Abraham and to make him the spiritual father of God’s people is unchangeable.  It is impossible for God to lie.  God’s promise of entering His rest still stands - for you - and for me. God has prepared and planned an eternal home for us - a new earth.  We must follow Abraham’s example of faith, endurance, courage, fear of God, and patience.  We must not disobey God as Israel did (4:11), or we will fall.  We must keep loving others as long as life lasts (6:11).  Our hope will come true.  We will enter God’s promised rest.           Jesus Christ is the source of our salvation.  That is our hope.  That is what we hold to.  Our hope in Jesus is trustworthy; it is a strong anchor for our souls.  No matter the suffering, the raging storm, obey Jesus.  Trust Him for He goes before us. How God acts and intervenes amongst people of all nations from all time is mysterious, but we get insight into His ways in the Bible.  Melch

  Hebrews 6:4 - Turning Away From God No material thing can withstand the righteous anger of God (as we see in Jeremiah 52 when God has Nebuzaradan destroy Jerusalem’s walls and the Temple - a foreshadowing of what the Roman General Titus, under orders from his Emperor Father Vespasian, would do to the Second Temple in AD 70 - and just as Jesus said it would happen (Matthew 24)). Well, I’m certainly not perfect.  Don’t claim to be.  I screw up.  I make mistakes.  There's a big difference between mistakes and intentional evil.           We all sin.  But I’m well aware of my responsibility to be holy because of the mercy and grace God has given me.  In my Christian freedom, I can sin, but I have no obligation to sin.  I would add that I believe I have no “right” to sin.  My obligation is to honor Christ by obeying the Holy Spirit.  I think that is why the Apostles called themselves slaves of God.  They knew that God was their Master and that they were free to follow Him, but not

 Hebrews 6 - Faith and Endurance These next two chapters of Hebrews are incredibly encouraging for the Christian.  God gives us confidence and courage to do what we must.  When the whistle blows, be ready to go.  God in Heaven is developing your character; He’s preparing you to fight His battles.           We are responsible to grow.  We know that God repays people for the wrong they have done (Jeremiah 50:24).  And that God uses whomsoever He chooses as His instruments of justice (Jeremiah 50:20).  “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full” (Jeremiah 50:56). Thinking of God’s character is sobering, and good.  We know Jesus is the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.  In the next few chapters, we hear the truth about who Jesus is and our responsibilities to Him. Nearly 2,000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our King we are reminded that there are false teachers today - those leading people astray for power and greed - just as there

 Hebrews 6 - Our Strong Anchor - Jesus Christ Storms will come.  Raging winds.  Rough seas.  High, battering waves.  Without a strong anchor, we will drift away - out to sea.  Don’t take my word for it - take God’s. The strong anchor for our souls is Jesus Christ.  God’s promise and the certainty of His oath is trustworthy.  We can trust God who holds our souls, loves us, and seeks the best for us, now and in eternity.  No matter what or who comes at us we must increase our faith in God and yearn for more spiritual understanding and effectiveness.  We grow so that we are more useful to God.           Be wary of those who say all you need is a cheap ticket to get into heaven, you can have an easy street now.  Those same tickling pastors say there is no need to bear good fruit for God’s blessing.  But what does Hebrews 6 say?  People can and do drift away after they have experienced the good things of God and “shared in the Holy Spirit” (6:4).  God can't lie.  He gives us this wa

 Hebrews 5 - Spiritual Growth and Accountability God does judge people and nations of this world based on their morality.  But God also speaks grace (Jeremiah 49:39).  Our God of Grace is also God of Justice.  God does not bear the sword in vain (Romans 13:1-14). Jesus is gentle and full of patience and mercy with us.  As children of God we are not to take God’s grace for granted - we are to take accountability, pray earnestly, and walk above reproach because of our deep reverence for our Holy God. Oh, what a shame to hear church leaders who make excuses for immoral behavior who ignore injustice, and who put up false fronts of religiosity when it is plain to see that their motives are greed and power.  I’m burdened when I see that in the church.  God doesn’t miss any of it - the pitiful and unfruitful plight of hypocrisy. We don’t have high priests today, at least we shouldn’t!  Instead, we have Jesus Christ.  “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, bu

 Hebrews 5 - Solid Food - A Call to Spiritual Growth Let’s be honest for a minute.  Stop the spin.  We are an ignorant and wayward people - in many ways like Moab (Jeremiah 48).  We can clean up well on Sundays, but often only for half a day.  The other half is for worldly pursuits.          S hopping, restaurants, and doctoral degrees in professional football.  Oh yes, we complain about the lack of biblical literacy in America.  But just ask us.  We know everything about the fullback, safety, and tight end  - where they went to high school how fast they are, etc.  We know the offensive strategy of each team in the league and don’t even get us started on the salary cap issues.           But sadly in the things of God, we are clueless.  I was told recently that the modern church's level of biblical literacy is lower than non-church people just fifty years ago.  I suspect that is true.  We are uninterested.  Thank God Jesus can deal with ignorant and wayward people (5:2).