Strength for the Journey

Daily I get notices of new blog posts on websites I subscribe to. Do I read them all? No. There is not time. I wonder about what the wise scribe of Ecclesiastes would say today about podcasts and blogs when - even before the printing press was invented - he warned his son:

My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Ecc. 12:12

There is a lot of noise in our lives today. It confuses and tires. The voice of Jesus is different and wonderfully better than all the other sounds you will ever hear. It is powerful and empowering. It is gentle and encouraging. It is full of grace and truth.

It will not weary you. 

I hope that what I post here encourages you to listen to Jesus more. To that end, over the next few months, I am going to share here notes from a Bible study I am teaching at my church on Hebrews 11.

The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages us to listen to Jesus and in doing so, gain strength for our walk of faith and find rest along the way. 

I would commend to you the reading through the whole book of Hebrews even as we do a deep dive into chapter eleven. I also benefit greatly from the overviews produced by the Bible Project. 

https://bibleproject.com/videos/hebrews/ 

We don’t know who wrote the Book of Hebrews or specifically to whom it was written.  The author was well acquainted with the Old Testament scriptures and assumed his readers were as well.  The title, “Hebrews,” comes from the understanding that the audience was a church of Jewish believers. They loved the saints for the Lord’s sake. (6:10) They had already endured hard struggles. (10:32-42). Worse persecution was on the horizon. These believers were becoming weary of continuing in the path of faith and may have been ready to compromise or even give up. And so the writer takes up his pen to encourage them. He encourages them by pointing again and again to Jesus. 

 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for he who promised is faithful.” (10:23) 

Here are some ideas if you would like to follow along with the study.

Read through chapter 11 outloud.  

What are your initial observations? What stands out to you?

Read through the chapter again quietly.

What significant words are repeated?

Do you notice when the writer breaks off from giving examples to giving instruction?

Take note of the causal markers like “since,’ “for,” “because,” 

All of the above will just scratch the surface of observing Chapter 11. There is more to come in the following weeks. I hope you will love digging into God’s word, because it is The Very Words of God Himself.  They are powerful and helpful and life changing. 

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Together we will consider the truths in this chapter. 

We will seek to see the unseen that strengthened these fallible heroes. 

We will strive to hold on to the promises that kept their faith strong. 

We will look expectantly to the day that the Lord will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

(If you would like a copy of the homework for each week - send me a note.)