9:57AM
Where Does Suffering Come From? Heb 12:4-11
HebrewsHow can a loving God do this to those he loves? Doesn't that indicate lack of love? Doesn't that make him experientially indistinguishable from Satan?
Entries in Hebrews (26)
July 14, 2010
July 13, 2010
8:09AM
How to Not Lose Heart; Heb 12:1-3
What keeps you from enjoying the prospect of future joy? And would you say you enjoy God now? I regularly meet Christian leaders who have sacrificed their joy on the altar of their busyness. They don't have capacity or space left to enjoy God any more. They have simply filled up all their time and God-directed spiritual life goes out of the window
July 8, 2010
July 7, 2010
7:00AM
What is Faith?; Heb 11:1-12:3 part 2
Hebrews 11 gives lots of examples of what faith does, plus 6 teachings about the nature of faith in God
July 6, 2010
8:51AM
What is Faith?; Heb 11:1-12:3 part 1
How do we cling on in such circumstances? The writer's answer is "by faith." Faith is a word with a low currency today. "People of faith" is used on the TV to simply mean "belonging to a world religion," a definition so broad as to make the word practically useless. When the Bible uses it, it means something much more precise: faith in God's promises, trust in God's revealed true truth, acting on the evidences of what God has done in the world and in our lives, putting all our eggs in one basket - namely believing with security that God is real and has sent his son to atone for our sins and bring us to God. That's Christian faith. It isn't vague, nebulous or intangible. It isn't wish fulfilment or make-believe. It isn't "If I can just kid my brain to believe something that isn't true then maybe some magic will happen." It is neither irrational nor a mere intellectual appreciation of some facts we find incontrovertible.
July 5, 2010
7:58AM
Stand Your Ground; Heb 10:32-39
When the recipients of this letter became Christians it seems like the sky had fallen on their heads. The devil had come roaring in, trying to disrupt, discourage and destroy this new faith in God. I think this is so normal that warnings about it ought to be included in all courses exploring Christianity. It is part of counting the cost of following Jesus.
July 2, 2010
9:16AM
The Unforgivable Sin; Heb 10:26-31
This is a passage most Christian were rather not in the Bible. It is extremely uncomfortable reading. Having urged believers to draw near to God with consciences cleansed by Jesus, the writer now warns of the opposite in the most urgent and serious words: