Hebrews 7:11-28

Judaism relies on a high priest to intercede on their behalf with God. The wages of sin is death, so the priest offers an animal in your place. But a high priest is just a man. He is not perfect. Nor does the law offer perfection. It is simply there to point us in the right direction. A system run by flawed man will always be flawed.

However, Jesus is perfect. His system is perfect. He is eternally alive, allowing Him to eternally intercede for us. He has no need to continue to offer sacrifices in our place, because He has already offered the perfect sacrifice - Himself.

The author is saying - stop relying on the old, flawed ways & start trusting in the New Covenant. Are you relying on something broken to get you by? Are you putting your trust in flawed man? Look to Jesus - He is the only way that offers true salvation.

Hebrews 1:1-10

The author is setting up an arguments here. Remember, this book was written to Jewish people who were thinking of leaving Christianity & going back to Judaism. The author reminds them of Melchizedek. He was the first person spoken of as a high priest of God Most High. This event in Genesis happened 400+ years before God told the Jewish people about the Tabernacle. This man wasn't a Jew, yet he was honored as an authority by Abraham.

So, how does that apply to us? Realize that it's not about your genealogy, your ethnicity, your family connections. It's about your heart. Melchizedek knew God. That's what's important. Do you know God?

Hebrews 6:13-20

The author is telling us that God is THE highest authority. When He says something, it happens. God told Abraham that he would have many descendants, even though his wife was barren. Abraham trusted God. The promise didn't happen immediately, but his wife became pregnant at 90 years of age. Abraham is also the great-great-great-great-(& so on & so forth) of King David, Solomon, and Jesus Christ.

We should display the same faith. If God says it, it's going to happen. God does not lie. Are you trusting Him? I love verse 19 - write this on your mirror so you see it every morning & evening: "We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure."

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Where are you at in your Christian walk? Let's compare it to reading. As we begin our lives, letters have no meaning to us. As we become toddlers, we start to understand that letters have meaning, but we are still dependent on others to teach us. As we start elementary school, we are starting to understand letter sounds and combinations enabling us to read small, simple words. As we progress through elementary school, our word knowledge grows. We become proficient at reading and begin to move on to comprehension and spelling. In middle and high school, the words get longer, the spelling gets harder, and our vocabulary expands.

Faith in Christ follows the same pattern. When you become a Christian, you are just beginning to understand who God is and what it's all about. You know that God is good, that you are a sinner, and that Jesus died for your sins. As you move into the elementary portion of your Christianity, you learn the basics of faith:

• the importance of faith
• the foolishness of trying to be saved by good deeds
• the meaning of baptism & spiritual gifts
• the facts of resurrection and eternal life

Many people never go beyond a basic understanding of these tenants of faith. They stick with a preschool understanding of God, relying on someone else to continually feed them simple helpings of the Scripture. The author of Hebrews urges us to move beyond this preschool faith. Read your Bible, spend time in prayer, get to know Jesus. As you move deeper in your faith, life becomes easier. Your confidence grows, you gain the ability to correctly judge right from wrong & avoid falling into the traps of temptation. And you learn to discern good teaching from bad. Preschoolers are easy to lead, easy to fool. Don't be a preschooler.

The final verses 4-8 speak of superficial believers. Those who talk the talk, but never walk the walk. They have a preschool understanding of God & investigate who He is for a while, but then they turn back to their old ways. These people have tasted a little of what God has to offer & then they harden their hearts, reject the Bible, and return to the place in which they started.

So, be diligent in your faith. Dig deeper, learn more, grow in your relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Jesus is greater than the Old Testament priesthood.

First of all, we need to understand the role of a high priest. God provided very detailed instructions to the Israelites concerning where & how to worship Him. These instructions can be found in Exodus & Leviticus. He told them how to build the tabernacle (a church that could be moved as the Israelites wandered in the desert); how, what, and when to sacrifice; and how to call and train priests. A high priest was to be appointed to oversee everything pertaining to the worship of God - the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the priests. The first high priest was Aaron, Moses' brother. In first century Jerusalem, the high priest oversaw the Temple and all that went on there. He was the mediator between man and God. Think of him as the president of the United States. He was in charge of everything, because everything in Jewish culture was centered around the Temple.

We learn about Melchizedek in Genesis 14:7-20. He was the "king of peace" who came into contact with Abram. He ruled Salem, which eventually became Jerusalem, and was a priest of the God Most High. What is interesting about Melchizedek is that he was not a Jew. From his life, we learn that anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be a follower of God. It's about your heart, not your genetics.

Finally, the author tells us that Jesus Christ is superior to the high priest. In fact, He is now THE High Priest - our mediator to God. He lived a human life, experienced pain, suffering, and temptation - yet He never sinned. He was the perfect High Priest and He offered a perfect sacrifice - Himself.

Hebrews 4:1-13

The sabbath rest spoken of here begins when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. It is perfected, or completed, in heaven. The Israelites missed out on this rest because they knew all about God, but they didn't put their trust in Him. They had no relationship with Him.

How do you know if you have a relationship or just a knowledge of God? Think of it in terms of the people in your life. You know who President Obama is - he's in the news, you've read about him, you've even heard him speak. But do you know really know him? No. How about an actor, actress, or music group? I like to watch "The Voice." I see the judges, I can read about their lives, listen to them talk. But I don't know them. They aren't friends. Now, think about your friends and your family. Do you know their favorite color? If they like snow or sun? What their favorite food is? Do you share your heart with them? Do you tell them your secrets? How about God? Is He just someone you've read about, been taught about? Or is He your friend? Do you talk to Him? Do you trust Him?

The last part of this chapter tells us that God knows us - everything about us. His Word, the Bible tells us all about Him. It's living & breathing. So, get into the Word and start talking to God. Get that friendship moving!

Hebrews 3:7-19

Oh, those stubborn Israelites in the desert. This passage is referring to the books Exodus through Deuteronomy. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They cried out to God to save them & guess what - He did. He raised up a leader, Moses, who confronted pharaoh. God sent the 10 plagues to convince pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Once the Israelites were free, God parted the Red Sea & they walked right through it on dry ground! He lead them by day with a pillar of cloud and by night with a pillar of fire. And yet, they whined. Oh, how they whined. There wasn't enough water, so God produced water from a rock. There wasn't enough food, so God sent manna every morning to feed them. They got tired of manna every day, so God sent quail too. Then they whined again about water. God lead them to a Mt. Sinai and audibly spoke to them & they cowered in fear. They didn't want to hear the words of the Lord, so they sent Moses up the mountain to speak with God in private. While he was gone, they whined some more, made their own god, and had a great party to honor & celebrate their new god made of gold. On and on and on these people continued to turn away from God. He was RIGHT THERE in front of them day & night. He met their every need. Enemies attempted to harm them & God defeated them. They saw great miracles and yet they choose to live in fear & distrust. When I read these books, I think what dummies they were. Why didn't they believe in all that they had seen? And then I remember - I whine an awful lot. I complain. I mistrust. And God has always been right there protecting me.

Listen to this author's words and put away your distrust. Don't harden your heart to all the good things God does for you each day. Hold firmly to your confidence in the goodness of God and encourage those around you to open their eyes & see God. It doesn't matter how many miracles you witness. Remember, it's all about your relationship. You may see His power, but until you enter into a relationship, you will never know the depth of His love.