Dust

"I ask one thing of Jehovah God, my pursuit: to live in the Lord's house all the days of my life, to see the Lord's beauty, to reflect in his temple," Psalm 27:4.

Lord God, you are my light. You are the one who saves me. So, I will fear nothing. You're my refuge. No one can frighten me. When bad stuff arises it will fall. My heart will not fear. No fear of struggles. No fear of death. You, O God, keep me safe in your campground. You put me up high out of evil's reach. I will see you, O God, in the land of the living. Yes! I will sing to you! How I long for that land! I wait for you, even from the dust of the earth, I will wait for you.

With a brother or sister today, we support each other with words of hope in the God who loves beyond understanding. And, together, we give thanks for the sure day when he brings us all home. Sky kingdom.

Homeland

"Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations; its designer and builder, God," Hebrews 11:10.

By faith. Faith, indeed. Abraham and Sarah. The both of them, by faith, wandering this planet, strangers and exiles to it. Sarah believed God would be faithful to his promise. So she received power to conceive well past the age. By faith Abraham, so old as to be dead, fathered nations. They looked for a better land: a heavenly homeland. But they didn't get it. Not yet. And God. God. God is not ashamed to be their God. God has gotten a city ready for them. Ready for all people, who with them, look by faith for a homeland in the sky.

With a brother or sister today, we acknowledge to be strangers, foreigners, exiles to this world. Confident in our God, we look forward to our real homeland built by Christ. And, together, even through tears, we give joyful thanks.

Heard

"Faith is the conviction of things not seen," Hebrews 1:1.

Not intending to get stupid here, but intending to sharpen thought. So. How do you know what you don't see? Faith. How do you know matter is made up of atoms? Faith. How do you know the cosmos comes from stuff you can't see? Faith. How do you know the American colonies rebelled against Britain? Faith. How do you know God is there? Faith. (Or, how do you know God is not there? Faith.) Don't say you read about these things in a book. Don't say you heard these things from somebody. You weren't there. You don't see those things. The trust you place in a book or in a person who told you these things, or in your ability to think/feel, convicts you.

We encourage a brother or sister today in full assurance of faith. And, together, we give thanks to the invisible God who rewards those seeking him.

Repay

"Continuing in sin, of our own free will, after receiving knowledge of the truth, a sacrifice for sins no longer remains," Hebrews 10:26.

Whoa, Nellie! Where'd this sobering line come from? (From the Bible, of course.) Here's the thing: When we have learned all that Jesus went through for us in his sacrifice, but we finally decide that we'd rather just go on with our sinning lives ... well ... what's left? Here's what that decision does: Tramples on the Son of God. Makes filthy the blood of the covenant. Insults the Spirit of grace. So, again, what's left? Says the living God: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. God's grace is a precious, precious gift coming freely to us at unimaginable cost to Him.

With a brother or sister today, we humbly declare faith in God who paid so much to bring us home to himself. And, together, in complete assurance of hope, we praise his glorious grace.

Boldly

"We are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus," Hebrews 10:19.

That's where God's presence, his glory, lives: the Most Holy Place. And why may we enter boldly into God's presence? Because Jesus' crucified body opened up the massive curtain that locked us outside. Jesus' blood, sprinkled on our hearts, cleansed evil consciences. He washed our bodies in pure water. And now we, sanctified by Jesus, have the right to stand in the glory of God! We, all of us priests, surround the sky throne. Feet on earth, hearts in heaven. Stirring up one another to love and good deeds, fellowshipping together: This is priestly service! God's sky temple opens wide to transform this world.

We see the last Day coming closer, so today, with a brother or sister, we give heart to one another and realize service in God's temple. And, together, we give humble, joyful thanks that God makes us his temple, his home.

Jerusalem

"Christ entered into heaven itself, not into man-made copies, but where the real things are, in the presence of God," Hebrews 9:24.

Let's be clear. When Scripture talks about a hand-made holy place, it refers to the physical, material temple in Jerusalem we read about in the Bible. This stunning temple, first built by Solomon and then rebuilt under Ezra (and even Herod), is a much enlarged copy of an earlier big tent built by Moses. Scripture talks about these man-made holy places as mere shadow of the real thing. So where's the real thing? It's God's real temple in heaven. God had showed Moses the real sky temple, then told him to build a copy of it on earth. All the bloody sacrifices and rules of the Law dealt with - not the real deal - but with the hand-made, shadow copy. Jesus bypassed the shadow and took his blood into the real heavenly deal. No more shadow, man-made temples in Jerusalem. Jesus' sacrifice, once for all time. Sky kingdom!

Jesus, our eternal high priest, made us priests. We serve, with a brother or sister, right now, in God's real, sky temple. And, together, out loud, we offer to God the praise sacrifice that confesses his Name!

Unhearable

"There is no speech nor language; their voice is not heard," Psalms 19:3.

And yet. This lack of speech, this absence of language, this unhearable voice screams throughout the cosmos: God did it! Dear God: your creation, from sky to sky, from night to day, roars out your handiwork directly into the ears of our minds. Your unhearable words speak clear, like the sunrise. Like the young groom's joy after nuptials. And, your perfect law, O Jehovah God, revives my flagging soul. Your sure testimony changes my simple thinking into your wisdom. Your righteous precepts gladden my sad heart. Your pure commandment gives sight to my blindness. You, O God, are my Rock. My Redeemer.

Touching base with a brother or sister today, we listen to God's life-giving voice. And, together, we give thanks that he protects us from sin.

Temple

"He offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God," Hebrews 9:14.

Who did? Jesus did. What did he do? He offered his very self, perfected, as a sacrifice for sin. (Where? In the real sky temple. Not in the earthly copy, the Jerusalem model.) Jesus, our high priest, entered the Most Holy places with his own blood, not with blood of animal sacrifices. (Remember, the Jerusalem temple held all sorts of daily, animal sacrifice, a bloody slaughter.) And what did Jesus accomplish by this perfect sacrifice? Through the Spirit, he secured an eternal redemption. He mediates a new covenant. Our eternal high priest. At the very throne of God. Right now, on our behalf. No more Jerusalem temples, shadows. Us: redeemed, forgiven! Sky kingdom!

With a brother or sister today, we joy in the work of Christ! We revel in the redemption Jesus paid for us. And, together, we give thanks to dwell with Christ in God's Most Holy place. His congregation.

Priesting

"He's a minister in the real tent secured by the Lord, not by man," Hebrews 8:2.

Who? High priest Jesus. Where? Right at God's throne. In the skies. What's he doing? He's priesting in the real, Holy sky place. (God's real throne room, of course.) Moses had built a model of it, copy of its shadow, on earth in the Sinai desert. Every exhausting detail of the model's structure, all intricate rules about priests, Levites, bloody sacrifices, even pitching of tribal tents - and so much more - dealt with the facsimile, not the original in the sky. Jesus deals with the original right now: not a human built model, not its shadow temple in Jerusalem. The real deal. The model is so over. Interceding for you (and me, us all) to God. He's saying things like, Father, forgive them. And God listens.

We collect with a brother or sister today, and give thanks to God (blessed be he for ever!) for hearing us through his Son, our minister, our High Priest.

Guarantees

"You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek," Hebrews 7:17.

What on earth is this talking about? We've got real messes that need fixing here: family, job, pandemic. What, pray tell, does this have to do with spiritual maturity? Do we have to know this stuff? Is this going to be on the test? Melchizedek gets an offhand mention in the Old Testament, and now he's got center stage? Yeah. Well, God's been fixing the mess we're in, while waiting for you to show up. Done stuff we don't even dream about. God made Jesus a forever priest. Jesus guarantees God's fixing our mess. That's what the Melchizedek thing's about: Mysterious work to fix our mess. And now that you (and I) are here, God's calling you (and me) to work with him on it. Reaching on to maturity. Sky kingdom.

We give (virtual) hugs to a brother or sister today, looking to Jesus, priest forever, beyond the skies. And, together, we give thanks that God opens up the mystery of his work in Jesus.

Reaching

"So, leaving foundational first principles of Christ, let's reach on to maturity," Hebrews 6:1.

Whoa! What are these first principles? Repentance, faith, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection, eternal judgment. (Wow! seem like big stuff!) But what means leave these elementary doctrines? First, it does not mean discard or treat with disdain. Second, rather, these foundational teachings are already in place - a firm foundation does not need to be poured again, right? Ok ... so what matures us, grows us up? How to avoid slug-gishness? Imitate faithful, persevering brothers or sisters who actually inherit God's sure promises. God's oath. His refuge. His strong encouragement. His hope. Anchor of the soul. Drawing us right into the Holy of Holies behind the curtain after Jesus.

With a brother or sister today, we encourage one another to reach higher in hope of presence in the throne room of God. And, together, we give thanks to God for Jesus who takes reaching hands to pull us home.

Slugs

"Mature people are those who have had their powers of discernment trained by practice to distinguish good from evil," Hebrews 5:14.

Thought lately about which super power you'd like to have? Go faster than a speeding bullet? Leap higher than tall buildings? Turn green with rage? Well, seldom do people choose the power of discernment. First, because it's not exactly a magical power: you actually have to work at it, like in a gym. Exertion, sweat, and all that. (Spiritually speaking.) Second, what, exactly, can you do with it when you've got it? Nothing all that exciting. Nothing blows up. Planets usually stay in orbit. But it gives power to recognize when you are being led by the nose by evil. You get power to keep on keeping on in serving Jesus' holy people. To the end. Stamina.

With a brother or sister today we encourage each other to train in faith and patience. Not to become slugs. And, together, in full assurance of hope, we lift thanks to God for his coming inheritance.

Lifeline

"My heart is happy because you saved me," Psalm 13:5.

But I did wonder whether you were forgetting me for ever. I thought you had hidden your face from me. Sadness overwhelmed my heart. Hardships seemed to have gotten the better hand over me. It felt like I was going to die. But I went to you. I asked you to light up my eyes. I took counsel in my soul to trust in your steady love. I chose to put my joy in your lifeline. And now I sing to you, Jehovah God!, because you took care of me! Yes, you did! Thank you.

We touch bases with a brother or sister today, and hear out each other's troubles. And we remind each other of our God's faithfulness. And, together, we give thanks for his enduring love.

Floored

"Jesus became perfect," Hebrews 5:9.

Well. Now. How did Jesus get perfect? By learning obedience. (Learning obedience??). So how did he learn obedience? Through his suffering. His passion. The Passion of Christ. That kind of thing. Through emptying his dignity. Through taking on humiliation. Through becoming a man. Through humbling himself. Through obeying to death. Through dying on a cross. That kind of thing. Jesus got perfect like that. And what did getting perfect do for him? Not much. (Except having learned obedience.) What did it do for us? His perfecting became our source of forever salvation. For all. For everyone obeying him.

With a brother or sister today, we remember Jesus' cries and tears to God as he learned obedience. In deep reverence we renew obedience to him. And, together, quietly floored, we give thanks to God. In Jesus' name.

Protectively

"Christ did not choose himself to be high priest," Hebrews 5:5.

Right. What's a priest, anyway? A go-between. A mediator. Somebody who explains protectively to somebody else what's going on with someone else yet. And a high priest? The main one. The chief go-between. The one who does the main work to explain to everybody what's going on. Without whom nothing gets done. Get this: You don't get to go into God's throne room on your own. You're not worthy. (Nor I). But. Out of the vast span of humanity, God called a man, Jesus, to be our high priest. God said: You are my son, today I have begotten you. And here's the incredible thing: When Jesus talked about us, God listened. And Jesus showed us worthy.

Contacting a brother or sister today, we affirm once again Jesus as our high priest. We hear each other's confession of faith. And, together, we give thanks to God. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Soften

"Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts," Hebrews 4:7.

When? Today. Whose voice? God's. Don't do what? Harden hearts. How to turn a heart to stone? Hmmm. That's a hard one. Let's ask it this way: How not to harden it? How to keep it moldable? Malleable? OK. Here's how. Choose to believe what God says. Choose to join in with the others who have listened to God. Choose to obey what God says. Choose to hold fast our confession. Choose to settle your heart down into God's rest. Spare no effort to settle down in God's word. After all, the word opens us up to God. But mainly, (choose to) recognize that Jesus understands our weaknesses to the nth degree. And, mercy!, he ushers us into God's throne room to find grace in our need.

Today, we join with a brother or sister to hear God's word of grace and mercy. We soften our hearts to listen. And, together, we give God thanks for our High Priest, Jesus. He's our confession.

Keep

"Uplift one another every day," Hebrews 3:13.

Encourage who? One another. How often? Every day. For how long? As long as the day is called today. And to what end? To keep one another malleable to God's call. To keep one another from turning to stone by sin's lies. Why? Because right now we share in Christ! (Sky kingdom!) And we don't want to lose our first confidence. We want to keep on sharing in Christ clear to the end. We don't ever want fraud to bend one another's minds to think that God isn't good enough. (Where else to go?!)

Today we visit with a brother or sister to hear, and to speak, words of God and his Christ. Uplifting. Encouraging one another to press on to communion with Christ. And, together, we give thanks for deep fellowship in the kingdom of God.

Explore

"Jesus can help people in trials since he himself has agonized with trial," Hebrews 2:18.

Trial? Yes, tried. Tempted. Tested. Once, some time ago, was a man who, truly, was a man. He stood against the test. He advanced in the face of suffering. He forged through trial to the end. To despicable death. They interred his corpse. Into a tomb. Yes. Here was a man. A real man. And now resurrected! Thus he has the living power to render aid to people in the thick of it. So we explore Jesus, envoy of our confession. Our chief mediator before God. King of the skies! We discover his faithfulness. And we gain great courage to press on with him.

Touching base with a brother or sister today, we confess Jesus' power and work in our lives. And, together, we give thanks to God who receives his very own son as one of us. Sky kingdom.

Base

"The Lord Jehovah is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven," Psalms 11:4.

Lord God, I take refuge in you! People tell me to run somewhere else for safety because mortal dangers lurk here. But if you will not be home base, where else to go? No, dear God! You're in your place! You're in the holy temple! You're on your sky throne! You do see everything we humans do. No evil action escapes your notice. You'll stop evil dead. And you'll bring home all who strive for the good. Home to you. You are a good God! You love doing good! You are the shelter! You are our sanctuary. Our safety.

With a brother or sister today, we tell of God's wonderful goodness. Of his safe haven. And, together, we give thanks for his refuge in the stormy blast.

Undid

"Jesus released people from the slavery of lifelong fear of death," Hebrews 2:15.

Most folks will plainly say we're afraid of death (maybe for the kids or loved ones, at least). A few of us will deny God's even there, and will say boldly to have no fear to die. These few of us might even shake puny fists into an immense, uncaring cosmos to declare intrepidly our stupid valor, to the gods that aren't there. Yet, our little fists betray the fear's bondage. It's our tell. But Jesus made the devil nothing (the devil had the power of death). And how did Jesus do this? By his own death. His sacrifice expiated our sins. His death delivered us from it and undid the devil, both.

With a brother or sister, today, we claim freedom from death's oppression. We stand in awe of our High Priest's sacrificial work. And, together, we give thanks for his deliverance.

Lot

"Both the sanctifier and the sanctified are all from One," Hebrews 2:11.

Who's the sanctifier? Jesus. Who're the sanctified? Christians. Who's the One? God. So, both Jesus and his church spring from the same source: God. And that's why Jesus proudly calls us brothers (just the guys? No! like, duh!). Jesus has no shame when he stands in the company of his brothers and sisters, his congregation, to tell about God's deeds. And he sings God's praises. With us. Not ashamed to call us family, not ashamed to sing God's praises right smack dab in the middle of us lot. And he (the sanctifier) tells us (the sanctified) about faith in God. That we, together with him himself, are God's children.

With a brother or sister today, we stand in awe that Jesus casts his lot so manifestly with us. And shows our singular Source. And, together, brothers and sisters in his congregation, we sing God's praise!

Founder

"He had to make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering," Hebrews 2:10.

Right. Who gave Jesus the right to rule in the sky kingdom? God. And how did Jesus get that right? He got perfect. And what did Jesus do to get perfect? He suffered. Right, what, exactly, did he suffer? Death. What else? Being born. Did that have to be? Yes. What had to be? That he live out his life, a man. What's so tough about that? Jesus suffered when he was tempted. Yeah, well, who hasn't? Jesus didn't yield. No? No. But he yielded faithfully to God. And so? God made him high priest. And so? He gives mercy. How? He became the sacrifice for sin. Whose sin? Yours. Mine. Ours. Perfect.

Connecting with a brother or sister today, we reflect the generosity of our God. We recognize Jesus' trial to become perfected, founder of our faith. And, together, we thank God deeply and agree wholly to Jesus' right to reign.

Plenty

"You crowned him with glory and honor, you put everything under his control," Hebrews 2:7,8.

OK. In that line, who's You? God. And who's him? Man. Human beings. So. God gave humans glory, honor, control. Hmm. Interesting. So. We look around, watch the news. We reflect. Polluted earth. Polluted spirits. Warring nations. Racial strife. Selfish selves. Injustice. Family stress. Personal struggle. Doesn't look much like glory, honor, etc., does it? But wait! We see one guy, Jesus, though dead and buried, resurrected to life, to glory, honor, and everything under his feet, ruling the sky kingdom from God's right hand! He's getting all things ready for his kingdom people to join him in the sky. Plenty of glory there for all.

Today, we extend honor to a brother or sister (though they may annoy us) and see in them what God sees in us. We acknowledge the light of Christ in them. And, together, we give praise for God's grace.

Designed

"Why is man important to you?" Hebrews 2:6.

Who's he talking to? To God, our Father, Creator of the cosmos and all in it. Who's talking to God? A man. What's the conversation about? It's about the absurdity that God should care about humans. That God has designed salvation around human benefit. That God developed the sky kingdom for people. Not for angelic beings, impressive as they are to us. (In fact, all those armies of angels just do God's bidding to serve people.) But people are so small in an unimaginably huge universe. What about all those alien life-forms out there? (While we're making things up: UFO's; extraterrestrial monsters; friendly or scary big-brained aliens?) No matter. God's work and interest: people. Jesus became one of us. To show God's love. To us.

With a brother or sister today, we marvel that God, Creator of worlds, esteems humans so. And, together, we give thanks to our Father in the sky.