The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place. Hebrews 7:17-19 (TM)

The law didn’t work. Rules don’t work. Trying to be obedient enough, good enough, giving enough, loving enough, right enough – d-o-e-s-n-‘-t w-o-r-k. Keeping a bunch of rules "brings nothing to maturity." The Jesus "way" is not about what we do or what we don’t do – it’s about what He did – paying the price for our sin – dying a death He didn’t deserve because it was the death we deserve. What works is a free gift of love, forgiveness, acceptance – LIFE that Jesus graciously offers to anyone who will receive it.

Technorati Tags: Hebrews, Chapter-a-Day, Bible, Legalism, Rules, Grace

So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Hebrews 6:1 (TM)

It’s so fun to watch people grow. In our Sunday night small group, I’ve watched people go from saying "I don’t have a creative bone in my body" to making incredible paintings, choreographing dances, and writing beautiful poetry. Yet, growth does not happen without struggle and pain. There were others in our original class (two years ago) who never got beyond the initial twelve weeks. Still others never made it past the first two weeks of class.  What a great metaphor. Did I drop out on Christ after two weeks of class? Did I go through the orientation and then give up on it? Or have I continued on growing, pushing, developing my relationship with Him?

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Hebrews, Spiritual Growth

artwork by Anita Kuiper

I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Hebrews 5:11-13 (TM)

I wonder what changes we’d see in our culture if we began to set the expectation that everyone must become a teacher. You know, kind of like countries do with mandatory military service. Everyone who sits in the pew must put in their time as a teacher. It wouldn’t have to be in a classroom, it could be mentoring someone, teaching someone their trade so they could earn a living. I don’t think, in our couch potato culture, that we communicate the expectation God clearly places on us. Pastors are afraid to ask too much and congregations bristle at being asked for any commitment.

Technorati Tags: Hebrews, Bible, Church, Chapter-a-Day

Flickr photo courtesy of Tim Ellis

Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it–no matter what. Hebrews 4:13 (TM)

I was sent a blog post yesterday from a friend. Is was a quote from George Orwell recounting his terrible experiences growing up in the old British private school system. Orwell was caned mercilessly for wetting his bed. His conclusion was very interesting because the text related clearly that he had stumbled onto the reality of his own sinfulness in a sinful world. That’s what I thought of when I read today’s verse. God’s Word and the spiritual realities of God are all around us. We can’t escape them no matter how we try to run or how much we do cosmetically or psychologically to deny it.

Technorati Tags: Hebrews, Sin, Orwell

Artwork: "God’s Word" by rehuxley