Hebrews 6

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

This is a funny concept to me.  
We always use something to swear by, to show how serious we are.  But, if you're God......you can't/shouldn't need to/won't do that.  You control everything.  If you say it, then people MUST believe you.  Therefore all the promises he makes to his people, and to us.....we MUST believe in.

Interesting concept that I've never thought of before.

tp

Hebrews 5

14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

I have times when I feel good about my relationship with God, and other times that I feel distant and disconnected.  I think we all that way from time to time.  But, this daily read is one of the best ways of making sure I'm feasting on the "solid food" of his word, to start every day.  It has become a habit that isn't easy for me to break.  If I don't do the read....I think about how I missed it.  Something seems to be missing from my morning.  

Thanks for the partnership in this one!

tp

Hebrews 4

10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Boy, I'm terrible at this one.  There's always more to do....and I have a wife who doesn't EVER stop.....so most Sundays I'm working around the house.  I do feel the impacts of it in a negative way.  I can recognize that I need to rest.  Reading the portion that talks about never receiving God's rest, because of not observing a day of rest...that one hits home to me.  I'm a person that is ALWAYS tired.  To think that I might never be granted rest in God, because I'm not taking time to rest in him here....that's a scary thought.

tp

Hebrews 3

4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

I'm gonna take this one off into crazy land.  
We have our graduation open house for Max coming up in a few weeks.  If you remember, we did a massive home renovation project last summer, and I'm working on a hundred things to finish up all the projects.  This spring has been new lawn, landscaping, painting the new part of the house, blah, blah, blah.  We also got new furniture on the inside and lots of other stuff.  It looks great.  All with the deadline of the open house.  
So, I'm sitting in church yesterday, and the series is called defining moments.  The pastor was talking about how you need to have God in the celebration as well as the hurt.  (you and I have talked about that one too)  All of the sudden this thought pops into my head.....I don't mind that you have a nice looking, newly reno'd house.....but who gets the glory for that, you or me?  Whoa!  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  Then I started thinking about all the people that will be in our house for the first time.  We have a chance to make an impression on them.  We have a chance to show them where our priority is.  

Question for myself.  If you walked through our house, would you know Christ is the cornerstone of everything we do?  If not, how do I convey that one.

Sorry, for the long one.  Strange how what I'm feeling worked into the chapter for the day.  My house is most certainly built by God!

tp

Hebrews 2

 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Sometimes, I lose sight of what a big deal it was that Jesus became fully human.  The personal sacrifice.  The lowering of himself, for the sake of others.  It's hard to believe.  I see people do things.....small things.....strictly for those around them, and I think, "wow, that's really great.  They must be a quality person."  This is a COMPLETELY different level.  I'm not even talking about the self control he exhibited when he was on earth.  Not to lay waste to everything that opposed him.....incredible. 
This was a good reminder for me, of what Christ did, and to think about how I would likely have reacted if I was asked to do the same thing.

tp

Hebrews 1

 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 

This chapter seems like basic teaching of who Jesus is, so its hard to take any new insight because it matches what I have learned my entire life.  Check out Wiki on Hebrews, it says it was written for Jews who may have been waffling or going back to Judiasm to avoid being persecuted for believing and following Jesus.

Reading that made this chapter come more to life for me.  It is written well highlighting statements to help you think yeah Jesus is the Son of God he's not just some prophet, he is higher than the Angels.

knut

Philemon 1

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Phlm/Philemons-Relationship

this is a useful resource/commentary to this letter.  It helped me round out what was happening and the possible motivation for Paul sending Onesimus back to Philemon.

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.

I try to live/work by this mindset.  People are much more likely to go the extra mile for you if you build a personal relationship with them, than if you dictate orders to them based on your rank or level.

tp

Titus 3

9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Boy, this perfectly describes our society, doesn't it?  We seem to place a high value on people that can make an argument about politics or be critical of things that others see as good.  This clearly states that those 2 things are divisive and should be avoided.  
I was laughing just last night, while watching The Voice.  A person was singing, and I said, "Jeez, they stink!"  Really?  First off, who am I to judge.  Second, that's such a negative thing to say.  That's a small example of what Paul is talking about, but still negative in nature.

tp

Titus 2

2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 

These are good tactical chapters, for how to live life.  The reason is multi-faceted.  Live you life in such a way to put yourself in the best possible situation with God, but also to show others around you the right way to live.  Don't be a bad example.  The thing that's funny to me is that I'm now looking at the instructions for "older men"....and not the "younger men" tasks.  What happened to us?  We used to be young!

tp

Titus 1

12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”[c] 13 This saying is true.

I've got a couple of verses today.  The first is this one.  It seems like its painting with a broad brush, doesn't it?  Seems like pretty straight forward stereotyping.


15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.

This is my second take.  Have you ever noticed that a positive person and a negative person can look at the same situation and see it completely different?  A positive person will always see the good, the potential, or downplay the potential impact.  The negative person always looks at the situation as the start of something catastrophic.  
I see something very similar in this verse.  To those that are pure...they tend to see pure.  People that are corrupted tend to see the negativity in everything.

have a great weekend!

tp

2 Timothy 4

 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Wouldn't it be fantastic to be at the end of life, and be able to say this?  There is a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction and anticipation about that one line.  Paul appears to be close to to the end and is requesting some people come visit him before he goes.  He also gives a little warning to watch out for the Alexander along the way.....interesting.

tp