Greater than angels!

Today I started studying Hebrews 1:4-2:18. This morning I just focused on verses 4-14. This whole section shows the superiority of Christ to the angels. It's divided into 3 parts: affirmation, exhortation, and explanation. These verses show 7 quotations from the old testament proving that Christ is superior to the angels. 1. "He is the Son" (v4-5)-this name was uniquely given to Christ alone. 2. "He is the firstborn who receives worship" (v6) -this title is of rank and honor. the angels worshiped Him when He came into the world proving that He is God b/c the angels wouldn't worship just any old creature. 3."He is served by the angels"(v7) -angels are created spirits, they have no bodies (but, can assume human form when serving on earth). they serve both Him and us. 4. "He is God enthroned and anointed" (v8-9)-He is enthroned in glory and His throne is forever and ever. 5. "He is the eternal Creator"(v10-12)-one day He will do away with the old creation and bring in a new creation, but He will never change. 6. "Christ is the sovereign; angels are the servants"(v13-14)-Christ sits at the right hand of the Father (a place of honor).
I know what I read today may have already seemed obvious for those of us who have always grown up in church. I mean we all pretty much know that angels are spirits, Christ is Lord, the old is gonna pass away and He is gonna make a new creation, etc. But, it's always good to restudy these things and become aware of them again. B/c so many times we become wrapped up in other things that we don't take time to stop and realize that He IS real, He DOES reign forever, and He IS greater than all else!

My mind has been blown!

SO, whenever i decided to study through Hebrews, I really didn't know why the Lord had pushed me in that direction. I mean honestly I knew like one verse by heart out of Hebrews...maybe! i know a lot of verses, but Hebrews seemed like such a random book to study. But, I listened and here I am and my mind has been blown tonight. It's about my third day of studying Hebrews and I've really been focusing on chapters 1 and 2. Warren Wiersbe is an absolute genius and his commentary-like I've said in previous posts-is wonderful. Throughout the past spring semester at school I've had so much trouble staying consistent in my relationship with the Lord. Either school got in the way or work or just plain busy life and I was completely drifting away when I knew the Lord should be first EVERYDAY. So, as I was reading my commentary tonight Wiersbe pointed out several statements that convicted me and I just kept thinking, "oh my goodness, that's what I was going through. this is exactly what happened to me." and I just kept saying, "this makes so much sense now! thanks Lord. this is awesome. i get it." It wasn't until tonight that I truly understood why the Lord has me studying Hebrews. And there may be other reasons also, but I think a lot of it is to teach me. Warren Wiersbe mentions 5 exhortations in Hebrews and they are 1. drifting from the word. 2. doubting the word 3. dullness toward the word. 4. despising the word. 5. defying the word. ~all of these things completely meant for people who are truly born again, but if we get away from the word these are the effects. He also mentions that Hebrews is a book of Examination. We've got to make sure that we have our feet on a solid foundation of faith. One of the quotes that Wiersbe uses that he says he thinks is the key message of Hebrews is: "You can be secure while everything around you is falling apart." (b/c God's word is steadfast :] ) It's also a book of Expectation. He talks about living for the permanent and things that are eternal instead of living for the immediate and things that are going to pass away. He gives the example of Abraham and Lot. Lastly, he says it is a book of Exaltation. When you first start to read Hebrews it immediately describes Christ as high and holy and the entire book keeps this theme. This was to prove that He was higher than the prophets, which were the men that were held in highest ranking to the Jews (since this book was written to Jewish Christians). I like when Warren Wiersbe explains how Jesus Christ and God are one. He uses this illustration: Jesus Christ is to the Father what the rays of the sun are to the sun. He is the radiance of God's glory. You can't separate the sun's rays from the sun just like you can't separate Christ's glory from the nature of God.
All of the previous posts including this one have all stemmed from Hebrews 1:1-3. Yes, only three verses. If all of this came out of 3 verses, I'm extremely excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next few chapters. Starting tomorrow I'll be concentrating on Hebrews 1:4-2:18 :)

Saturday :)

Finally the weekend! I was so glad I finally got to sleep in this morning! I've been so lazy this morning, but have been reading in my new book, which by the way, I think everyone should buy b/c it's excellent! :) It's the one in the picture I posted today. It's the commentary I'm reading on Hebrews. Warren Wiersbe explains it really well. So, anyway before I continued studying Hebrews this morning, I did my daily devotional in my 'Experiencing God' book. Today was called 'A way that seems right.' The verse was out of Proverbs 16:25. It basically talked about how Satan can trick people into thinking that they are headed down the right path when really the path that they are taking is leading them to death. People seek God when the Spirit awakens our hearts and gives us a desire for Him and His word. We can't assume that every opportunity is from the Lord and we've gotta seek guidance in Him before making a decision. We need to trust Him as He leads us.
Next, I read about another characteristic of the Book of Hebrews. "it is a book of exhortation" exhortation can be translated as encouragement, comfort, or consolation. It talks about how this book is meant to encourage us. It opens up with "God...has spoken to us" and near the end closes with, "See to it that you don't refuse Him who is speaking." I like the way Warren Wiersbe put it-"God has spoken. We have His word. What are we doing about it?" This is a convicting statement as well b/c it makes you really think What AM I doing about it? In my daily life how am I showing people that I'm living daily in God's will?
Warren Wiersbe goes on to explain 5 "problem passages" or "warnings" in the book of Hebrews. I only read about the first today and it comes out of chapter 2:1-4. it's "drifting from the word" or neglect. If we don't really hear God's word then we drift from it. Neglect always leads to drifting-obviously. If you're not in God's word daily then you're neglecting it and will eventually drift away from Him and your walk won't be as strong.

Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever :)

So, since I started studying in Hebrews yesterday I wanted to go to Lifeway and get a commentary. I got one by Warren Wiersbe. It's been really helpful so far. I'm beginning to notice things I haven't noticed before when reading. Right now I'm just concentrating on the first 2 chapters, b/c I wanna make sure I can get everything out of it and learn all I can from it. Warren Wiersbe starts off by saying that there are 5 characteristics we need to realize in Hebrews. I read about the first today which were things like the fact that the word "better" is used 13 times in Hebrews to show the superiority of Christ, the original Greek word for "perfect" is repeated a lot too. It means a "perfect standing before God." Also, the word "eternal" was used frequently to show that Christ is the "author of eternal salvation."When you combine these 3 words, you come up with basically the theme so far in Hebrews, "Jesus Christ and the Christian life He gives us are better b/c these blessings are eternal and they give us a perfect standing before God." What I've gotten from these 2 chapters so far is that the Jewish people were being persecuted for their faith and could easily go back to the church under the Mosaic Law. They were being seduced by teachers of false doctrine and were in danger of forgetting the true Word. Really what the writer of Hebrews is saying is "Just take time to evaluate what you have in Jesus Christ. He is better than anything you ever had under the law." What I read this morning in my commentary ended with this statement and I love it, "When you realize all that you have in and through Him, you have no desire for anyone else or anything else."
So when I was at the checkout counter at Lifeway yesterday the cashier was telling me about all their special things going on and he said you can get this devotional for 5 dollars and then we'll send a Bible to a soldier on your behalf...and I couldn't pass that up. So, I got this little daily devotional called "Experiencing God." I started it this morning and today's devotion was called 'Abba, Father' and the verse came out of Galatians 4:6. It was basically talking about how the word "father" brings different meanings to different people whether you've had a good dad or a not-so-good dad. But, it says not to take your understanding of your Heavenly father from your experience. B/c no matter how great you think your dad may be ( and i think mine's pretty great) he is still imperfect. Don't understand the Bible based on your experience, but understand your experience in light of the Bible. Christ has adopted us and wants to love us in a way that we've never experienced!

"Christ is Better!"

So, I was doing my quiet time out of the book that I've been doing it out of, but it was literally only on ONE verse in Genesis and I just wasn't having to dig deep enough and wasn't feeling like I was learning anything. Today was talking about how Christ created us in His image and that we were to have dominion over everything on the Earth and Christ has dominion over us. It basically gave the example that if a guest comes over to your house they should leave things like they were when they came, if not better. The analogy is that we are guests on this planet and it's not our permanent home so we should take care of it. That was good and it reminded me that I'm just a guest here and that Heaven is my permanent home, but I needed more this morning. One verse wasn't cutting it. SO, anyway I've been feeling like reading through Hebrews lately. I don't know why this book came to mind, but maybe the Lord wants to teach me something through it. So, this morning I started reading it. I would have loved to finish all 13 chapters, unfortunately I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so I read the first 2. The literary language was kind of confusing, so I pulled up a commentary and it all started to make sense. The way this commentary summed it up, and I really like this, is "Christ is better!" It shows in chapter 1 that He is better than the angels who revealed the first covenant (1:1-2:18) and the list goes on and on throughout the rest of the book, but I haven't made it that far yet. The commentary also said that Hebrews is one of the most difficult books for modern people to understand, but will yield rich results to those who will study it patiently and carefully. So, that's what I'm going to be doing for the next week or so. Studying through Hebrews! :)

Half way through the week!!

So, it's finally Wednesday, which means it's halfway to the weekend. I feel like I still haven't caught up on rest since Fuge! SO, anyway, today in my quiet time it focused on Genesis 1:11-13 (Which is what that picture is supposed to be of). It talked about how God made even the little things amazing and how everything reproduces, from the plants to people to even spiritual reproduction. I had never thought about spiritual reproduction before, but I guess now that I think about it it makes sense? Then it asked the question, what about your life would make people

you come into contact with know that you are a christian? That got me thinking and honestly I really didn't know exactly what to write down! I don't know how lost people see saved people. So, as far as that question goes I would hope by my attitude and the overall nature of my personality that they would know that something was different about me. Something I was noticing yesterday when I was driving was that my road rage tends to get to me. Other drivers just really make me mad! But, then I realized I needed to calm down and that I was going to get to wherever I was going eventually...just not as fast as I'd apparently hoped. This is a part of my daily attitude that I need to work on. I pray that I standout from the crowd. Then it said to name 3 people that you're gonna come into contact with today that you know aren't saved, and then make a commitment to pray for them every day in the coming weeks. So, if you can, commit to do that!

Happy Tuesday!

So, I found this book in my room the other day and had started it a long time ago and decided I'd finish it along with starting back reading thru the bible. I've read through several books, but I've never read it straight through. My bible is chronological so it makes a little more sense to me. Anyway, so this book is centered around Old Testament people's encounters with God. The passage today's quiet time focused on was in Genesis 1:3-5 and how we are called to be a light in this spiritually dark world. We've all been through dark places in our lives, but have been able to come through it b/c we have the love of Christ in us. But, this passage made me think, what about the lost? When they go through a tough time, what keeps them going? I don't understand it. But, I do know that we are called to be witnesses and examples to unbelievers and I pray that He would give me the strength to do that even when I feel like it's an inconvenience or like I am unworthy. B/c the sad fact is I AM unworthy, we all are. But, I'm hoping to learn more throughout this quiet time book.
Today a friend had as his facebook status, "Jesus, help me to be more like you and less like me."~I think this is exactly what the theme of our life as followers of Christ should be. Less of me and more of Him.

Back to Reality!

So, I've been wanting to start a blog and have just figured out how to do it! Anyway, this is basically gonna be a way to keep myself accountable with what I'm studying during my quiet times, etc. I just got back from an awesome week at centrifuge saturday night and I definitely wasn't ready to leave. I always learn so much and grow so much closer with the Lord. I don't wanna leave that atmosphere. But, just like the preacher said We can worship Christ just as good at home as we do at Centrifuge. It's just way easier at Fuge, but the Lord never said being a follower of Him was gonna be easy. I don't want the "church camp" feeling to fade. I've found myself listening to the band that they had there and music that they played during worship over and over in my car. I've also realized that when I'm driving in my car at night-that's when I feel the closest to the Lord. I can sing to Him as loudly as I want and know that I'm doing for His glory and His alone. So, I'm at this stage where I'm trying to figure out what or where in the Bible to study. There are certain books I've read through several times, but I wanna try something new. Any suggestions?

By the way, this song has been stuck in my head all day. It's called "hungry (falling on my knees) by Vineyard UK.

"I'm falling on my knees, Offering ALL of me, Jesus you're all this heart is living for."
~It's a powerful song for sure!