Deeply Rooted (When I Read Your Word)

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:22-25 22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.   23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.   24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.     25 Grace be with you all. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? These are the last words of Hebrews, can you believe it?!   Lots of letters in the Bible end with a greeting, which seems silly to us since most of our greetings would be at the beginning of a letter. Something you may have noticed in our devos this summer is that we actually don't know a lot about the author of this letter! But these last verses teach us little bits and pieces about who this author is, even if we don't know their name. We know they genuinely cared about the people they were writing to, we know they were very close with Timothy (they call

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:20-21 20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We are ALMOST done with Hebrews! Here, the author begins the conclusion of the letter with a benediction, which is a fancy word meaning a blessing or a prayer for the people the author is addressing. We can also read this passage like a prayer that the author has for us too!   This blessing/prayer reminds us that the God we believe in is capable of doing incredible things like bringing Christ back from the dead... but that's just the first half of this blessing. Then, the author prays that God will prepare us with everything that we need to carry out what He asks us to do! Lastly, the author prays that when we do

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:17-19 17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.    18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Depending on the setting, you can be either a leader or a follower, and sometimes both at the same time. These verses actually help us do better in both positions!  When a follower: When we are following leaders who we know are following Jesus, then we need to have confidence in them. We have to trust that they are truly looking out for our best interest, even if we don't like what they're telling us. As we are following, we need to make sure that we are being good  followers and not making it harder for people who are

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:15-16 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? THEREFORE! You know what that means! You have to look back at the previous verses to really understand why we should offer God sacrifices of praise, doing good, and sharing. It's because Jesus sacrificed His whole self on the cross, first. He died for us so that we could share in eternity with Him. So, when we accept that we live through Jesus, we should let Jesus live through us by sacrificing our whole selves, too!  But how is praise, doing good, and sharing a sacrifice? All three of those things means doing something for someone else rather than ourselves. We are sacrificing our preferences and fun for the sake of God and others. Jesus willingly sacrificed His comfort, privacy, praise, and very l

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:10-14 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. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday's verses  ended by saying that it is better for us to focus on the grace of God than to try to do all the correct ceremonial things. The verses today speak into that more. But, first, we have to understand some important ceremonial things. In the Old Testament, those who ministered the "sin offering" would shed the blood of animals over certain holy areas and things, including an altar inside the tabernacle, and then t

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:7-9 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.  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 eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Do you remember the Hall of Faith?! Remember Hebrews 11 with all the heroes of the faith?! God puts in our lives more than just stories about faithful people; He also puts actual faithful people in our lives. Jesus/God/Holy Spirit is the same from age to age. People who were good faith examples in the Old Testament aren't any better than people who are good faith examples today because both sets of people are following the exact same God!  If we are all following the same God, then that helps us figure out what we should listen to. If someone is a leader, b

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 13:1-6 1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, 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 mere mortals do to me?” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? GUYS WE ARE IN THE HOME STRETCH! IT IS THE LAST CHAPTER! Part of it being the last chapter means that the author is about to say a whole bunch of final thoughts all in one go. So, brace yourselves. These verses

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:25-29 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? These verses genuinely don't make sense unless you read the verses beforehand . The verses tie back to God coming down and talking to the Israelites on a mountain when He gave the Law to Moses. The whole mountain shook when He spoke, and in Haggai 2:1-9 , God promises that the whole worl

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:18-24 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? In the Old Testament, specifically in  Exodus 19  and  Deu

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:15-17 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral , or is godless like Esau , who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? *Quick note: These verses come directly after a whole chat on focusing on our own behavior and making sure we are walking with God in his holiness. So that's what comes first!* There are three things these verses tell us to look out for in other believer's walks with God, highlighted above in yellow, orange, and green. So, first, the yellow. When people don't realize that they are given grace by God, that they are forgiven, sometimes they can become bitter and hard against God and, honestly, ag

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:11-14 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The first verse of this makes me laugh a little because it just shows how little humans have changed throughout the times- #relatable. No one necessarily likes being disciplined but similar to yesterday, we can learn from the Bible that in the grand scheme of things, it will help train us to be better disciples of Christ! Also, verse 12 made me think of the lyric from Jesus Loves Me, "We are weak but He is strong." God knows we are incapable of doing it all by ourselves but when we lean on Him, we

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:5-10 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”   7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The picture of God as a father really is painted in this passage. S

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 12:1-4 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? For what seems like eternity, we have been learning about the different heroes of the faith. That's what all of Hebrews 11 was about! In these verses, the author points out that we have such great examples who can encourage us to be more like them! We can be people who cling to our faith in hard times and who choose God instead of sin.  B

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:32-40 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the gr

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:31 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? I feel like if you were assigned the task of writing down "heroes of the faith," you probably wouldn't end up including a prostitute in the list. But, fun fact, a prostitute is part of Jesus's family line, and her name is Rahab. Yes, this Rahab in the verses above! Yesterday, we talked about Joshua 6 and that whole situation, and Rahab is mentioned both there and in Joshua 2 . Rahab lives in the city of Jericho, and when Israelite spies come to scope out the city, she actually hides the spies from her own people and protects them, saying:  "I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt...

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:30 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about one of the greatest and faithful leaders of the entire Old Testament: Moses! Today’s verse talks about a huge moment that happened with the Israelites not too long after Moses passed away. Imagine… the Israelites leader for generations had passed. It could have been so easy for them to give up on one another, on God, and on their new leader named Joshua, but they didn’t! Joshua 6 tells us the crazy story of how the Israelites were able to defeat the city and people of Jericho. They had a very fortified city that seemed impenetrable to them, and God’s plan for them was to simply spend 6 days marched around the city. That’s it. No fighting or anything! But on the 7th day, God had them play trumpets and shout all around the walls of the city after they marched, and when they did, the walls crumbled! This was certainl

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:24-29 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.   29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday we learned about the birth of Moses and how his parents walked in faith, but today's passage focuses on his adult life. It is basically the book of Exodus wrapped up in a few sentences!  First of all, Mo

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:23 23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? When Moses was born there was an edict (or order) from the king to kill every baby boy that was born in Egypt ( Exodus 1:15-16 ). However, Moses' parents knew God's law trumped the pharaoh's law, so by faith they hid him as long as they could, so he would not be killed. Eventually, they could not hide him anymore so they put him in a basket and let him float down the Nile river. However, the pharaoh's daughter eventually found him and raised him in the palace.     The fact that she put him in the Nile river actually has a deeper meaning as well! When the pharaoh heard that not everyone was following his law about the baby boys, he revised the law to say, "Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile," ( Exodus 1:22 ). So, Moses' mom

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:22 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about how Jacob/Israel blessed the two sons of his favorite child, Joseph, near the end of his life. A few chapters later, in Genesis 50, we read about the end of Joseph’s life and how he acted in faith, just as his father did! Joseph went through a whole lot  of ups and downs in his life, but despite those moments he kept his faith in God. By the end of his life, he and his family were in Egypt, far from the land that God promised to His people, but Joseph still had faith he’d end up where he needed to be. Genesis 50:24-25 (Joseph’s last words, by the way) says this: 24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:21 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We are now on the second day of talking about blessings. Yesterday, we saw Isaac bless Jacob, and since then, Jacob goes on to have 12 sons which is the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel. One of his sons is Joseph, his favorite, and Joseph has two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.  When Jacob goes to bless them, he puts his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on the older son, Manasseh. The right hand is the place of honor, so it should go on the older son, which Joseph tries to fix. But, Jacob insists, and he insists in a really cool way. He basically says that he can't help it. The truth is that Ephraim is going to end up a greater nation than Manasseh. It's not favoritism, just facts that he believes through faith. To read the whole story, look at Genesis 48 .  In the chapter right bef

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:20 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We are about to embark on a few interesting stories that seem a little odd to include in the Hall of Faith, so buckle in. Isaac, Abraham's son, ends up having two sons himself. They are twins, named Jacob and Esau. Their whole story is very messy, and Isaac blessing them is confusing. Yet, somehow Isaac blessing his sons was done in faith.  I encourage you to read the story here . In short, Esau is the oldest son, so he's supposed to get this awesome blessing, especially since he was Isaac's favorite. But, Jacob's mom wants Jacob to have the better blessing, so they work together to steal Esau's better blessing, tricking Issac into thinking he was blessing Esau when in reality he was blessing Jacob. When Esau comes to be blessed, Isaac freaks out because he doesn't really have anything left to ask God for, and Esau gets a pretty rough blessing

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:17-19 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We actually talked about Abraham a few days ago,  here , in reference to Genesis 11. Today, we're referencing Genesis 22 ! Can you imagine having a faith so great that you get talked about in the Hall of Faith twice . Last time, we talked about Abraham picking up and going where God wanted him to, believing crazy promises that came true. Part of what came true was having a son! God had made a lot of promises when it came to Isaac, and, yet, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac before those promises were fulfilled.  Abraham willingly starts to offer Isaac, but Go

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:13-16 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We just went over 5 different people, covering literally half of Genesis. Each person wasn't living a faithful life to God because they loved their current life. They walked with God because they loved Him, no matter the circumstances, whether their brother was a jealous guy or they had to live in a confined boat for weeks upon weeks or they couldn't have a kid. They

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:11-12 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.  WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Intermingled throughout Abraham's story is also Sarah's story. Sarah is Abraham's wife who struck out with Abraham when he was first called by God to go. God had promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. One hiccup to that promise was the fact that eventually, Sarah and Abraham got super old and still didn't have kids. So, Sarah went ahead and made an alternate plan so Abraham could have kids through her maid, Hagar. After that happens, God reappears to Abraham ( Genesis 17 ) and includes Sarah in the promise He made, mentioning that she, herself, would have the son of the promise.  When Sarah does have h

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:8-10 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Today, we jump into the story of Abraham, which starts at Genesis 11. This section of verses focuses on Genesis 12, where Abraham strikes out from home because God asks him to. He willingly leaves everything he has ever known to follow these instructions: "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." So, Abraham doesn't even know the name of the place he's heading to. He just has to go and find out at some point. He lives in tents to be able to m

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:7 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? If you haven't noticed, we are working our way chronologically through Genesis. So far, we did Genesis 4 with Abel and Genesis 5 with Enoch. Now, we're in Genesis 6-9 which is the story of Noah. Specifically, the ark is in chapters 6-7 . What we see in those chapters is that the world is so  wicked and evil that God can't stand it anymore. It breaks His heart to see the sheer evil, so he decides to get rid of everyone. Just imagine all the atrocious things that happen right now and God lets it happen. So, whatever was going on then was even worse, which is hard to imagine.  But, Noah stood out among everyone. The very fact that there was  someone capable of loving God condemned everyone else around him. Loving God wasn&#

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 11:5-6 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? If you read all about Genesis 4 yesterday, then you probably think you know the Enoch we're talking about. But, PSYCH! There are multiple Enochs in the Bible. The Enoch in Genesis 4 is Cain's son; the Enoch in Genesis 5 is a guy named Jared's son and is a few generations removed from Cain. In verse five above, it quotes from Genesis 5 . Here is the full quote: "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, E

R EAD THIS: Hebrews 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This is the first of a long series of ancient Biblical figures who lived out faith in different ways. This chapter is often called "The Hall of Faith." Buckle in and prepare yourself for awesome stories.  Let's do a quick recap of Cain and Abel. Cain was the older brother who was kind of like a farmer and brought some fruit to God as an offering. Abel was the younger brother who was kind of like a rancher and brought the very best of his flock to God as an offering. God preferred Abel's offering, and Cain was so mad about it that he killed Abel, thereby becoming the first murderer.  So...what does that have to do with faith? Well, Abel brought the firstborn of his flock to God. He wasn't worried about having enough for himself