Reading through this section of Scripture can invoke a few different reactions. Admittedly, early on in my faith when I first read the book of Hebrews, this section would often be one I would skim over. To me, it looked like a long list of proof texts that showed how much better Jesus is than the angels. And indeed, it is partially that, but there is so much more for us to look at through this sec...

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:    “You are My Son,    Today I have begotten You”?And again:    “I will be to Him a Father,    And He shall be to Me a Son”?6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:    “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”7 And of the angels He says:    “Who makes His angels spirits    And His ministers a flame of fire.”8 But to the Son He s...

Nothing screams submission to authority more than the simple act of worship. We have so many resources at our disposal for being able to turn on some worship music and give praise to the Lord. Pick a few songs and sing them out loud to the Lord. Don't worry about any one hearing you. This kind of worship is for the audience of One. And His standards are a joyful noise. Honor Jesus as King. Worship...

I left off the last devotion with a simple, but profound question. Does my life reflect that I believe in the authority of Jesus? I am under the persuasion that what we believe can be found by the evidences of the manifestations of our lives. We should expect to see it in our actions, influencing our decisions, guiding our responses, and directing our steps. Should we not believe something, that t...

The effort that the writer of Hebrews is going through is to establish the authority of Christ in such a way that the reader would believe. Within this present section, the method by which this is being done is through the authority of the Son of God. When I contemplate that authority, I ask what that should invoke in me. Certainly it should invoke a degree of confidence if I am in Him, and fear i...

Comparison, as well as contrasts, can tell a story. Picture a sheep in the middle of a field. The grass is a brilliant green, perhaps there is a gravely gray mountain range in the distance. A few luscious trees border a nearby brook. At the center of this scene is a white sheep. In contrast to all these colors, the whiteness of the sheep stands out greatly. It can be picked from afar. In fact, man...

As we consider the depth at which these statements are found, the points of connection grow continuously. These first four verses in the book of Hebrews will leave us with an ocean of cross-references that deeply pertain to what is being spoken about. At the onset, we are met with God. A good Bible student may contemplate the question, "Who is God?" This of course will lead them straight back to t...

Unlike most books we see in the Scriptures, we remain uninformed of who wrote the book of Hebrews. Many speculations have been thrown out of who may have authored it. While that may be an important conversation in terms of the defense of the Scriptures, it is not directly pertinent to what we are doing here. In any case, I would like to provide some historical context behind the book of Hebrews. H...

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat d...

It can sometimes be a really interesting experience as I look at the various things I do and how they all work together. The sermons and teachings I am prepping, along with the conversations I am having, and the devotions I am partaking in, all share similar themes. One of the major themes that has been consistent is true repentance. I have been reading through many sermons from Charles H. Spurgeo...

I see a message of repentance and restoration in these texts that are captivating my heart. At the death of Jesus, Peter, having denied Jesus, goes back to being a fisher of fish. For those of you that remember, Peter was called to be a fisher of men. He lost his identity in Christ. He denied Christ, and as a result, denied who Christ called him to be. He had one place to go back to. Back he went....

John spends a great amount of effort at the end here affirming Peter's redemption. I think the purpose is multi-faceted. It shows the attitude of Jesus toward the disciple that denied Him thrice and offers redemption that even for those that had denied Jesus in times past that there would be the possibility of restoration. I, however, want to zero in on a theme that has existed all throughout the ...

There are some very clear parallels to when Jesus first called the disciples. If you recall, Jesus had performed this exact miracle with Peter at the start. Let's look at the passage.4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless ...

Following His resurrection, Jesus continues appearing to His disciples. In this particularpassage, we see that many of the disciples were still together. Peter heads off to go fishingand the rest end up joining him. They find their way back into old patterns, but there is aninteresting twist to the way history repeats itself.Jesus stood on the shore and called out to them asking if they have gotte...

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the b...