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Christian Living  |
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| [ Hebrews 13:1 - 13:15 ] |
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Practicing Love
1. Keep on loving each other as brothers.
2. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
3. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
5. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ¡°Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.¡±
6. So we say with confidence, ¡°The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?¡±
7. Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Practicing Faith
9. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.
10. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.
12. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
13. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.
14. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
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Reflection |
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Practicing Love (13:1-8)
There is a story about a man who was asked by his pastor to take care of an elderly church member at his home. The man agreed because he wanted to be a good Christian, but he soon regretted his decision because the old man was very mean and difficult. Even though the man did not enjoy taking care of the elderly miser, he continued his duty faithfully. After some time, the old man died and the younger man suddenly found himself weeping. He had realized that love was not so much a feeling as it is a duty. The actions of love lead to and produce the feeling of love, not the other way around. That is why Jesus commands us to love our neighbors and enemies. Here, we are told to love others by showing hospitality (v. 2), visiting prisoners (v. 3), staying faithful in marriage (v. 4), and supporting our leaders (v. 7).
Practicing Faith (13:9-15)
From here, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to live our lives according to the truth of the Gospel. Even today, many believers are led away by strange teachings and unbiblical practices (v. 9). We need to guard ourselves from such things and make sure that everything we do is based on biblical truth, not intriguing new ideas. Another important truth that this passage reminds us of is that Christians are called to suffer just as Christ suffered for us (vv. 11-13). Servants are not greater than their masters, and so if Christ suffered, so must we (John 15:20). Verse 14 tells us that the life we have now is temporary, as is this world, so we should not put our hope in them. Rather, we should put our hope in ¡°the city that is to come¡± (v. 14) from which Christ will reign with us over a new, perfect, and eternal creation.
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Application |
- Modern-day Christians often ignore the many exhortations in the Bible to visit those in prison and to care for widows and orphans. When it comes to love we tend to focus on ourselves and our families. Pray about expanding the ways you love.
- Take time to examine your beliefs and practices under a microscope, and if there is anything you find that may be unbiblical, pray about cutting those things off.
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A Letter to
God |
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Father in heaven, make my heart into a new wineskin so that it can expand and carry more of Your love and truth. Cut out of my mind and life the things that go against Your Word. Humble me through suffering, that I may be a better servant of Christ. In Jesus¡¯ name I pray. Amen.
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