Sprinkled

"We may come near with a true heart in faith's full assurance," Hebrews 10:22.

Come to what? To the holy places. To where God dwells. How so? by Jesus' sacrifice - that's how. by the new way. by the living way. by the way Jesus opened up for us through his own body's death. that's how. in full assurance of faith. true heart. purified heart. sprinkled-by-his-blood heart. bodies washed. bathed in clean water. And in this place, this holy place, we stir up one another to love and good works. because the Day of his second appearing comes soon.

Visiting with a brother or sister today, we challenge each other to love, to do good, like Jesus. And together we give thanks for complete access to the mercy seat of God.

Once

"We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all," Hebrews 10:10.

The new covenant Jesus mediated for us with God established our holiness. The former covenant could not do this. All the sacrifices of the old testament had no power to take away sins. All these sacrifices could do is remind worshipers they needed sins remitted. But Jesus has perfected for all time the people being made holy. Forgiveness is real. No more offerings are needed. Ever.

We meet with a brother or sister today mindful of having become saints by the offering of Christ. And together we praise God in grateful service to his call.

Negotiated

"Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant," Hebrews 9:15.

Yes! Christ offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. Therefore. Therefore! A death has taken place that redeems humans from the wrongdoings identified by the former covenant. Christ showed up once for all time to bear the sins of many. And he will appear once again. Not to deal with sin (that's done!). He will show up once more to save the people waiting for him. The people he called. Called to receive a forever inheritance! New covenant. Negotiated by Christ.

Having heard his call, we meet with a brother or sister today in anticipation of his second appearance. And together we give heartfelt thanks to God for his secured promises.

Blood

"Christ entered once for all into the holy places," Hebrews 9:12.

Our high priest, Jesus, entered into the real temple in the sky, the real holy place. Not into its copy, its model, the created one belonging to this earth. No. He went into the real deal. And he didn't enter into the sky temple with goat blood. No. Not at all. He entered with his own blood. He offered himself through the eternal Spirit to God. And in this, he purified our consciences. Yes. Purified from dead works. Yes. Purified us worthy to serve the living God!

So we meet today with a brother or sister and rejoice in the cleansing Jesus brought us. And together we give thanks to God for accepting our service through him.

Know

"I will establish a new covenant, not like the one I made with their fathers," Hebrews 8:8, 9.

God promised a new covenant. A new agreement. Why a new one? because the obsolete one is not faultless. because through it God finds fault among the people. because when Israel failed that covenant, God then didn't care for them any more. (The desert wandering for forty years, slowly dying off, remember?) But God's new covenant has a perfect Son as high priest. Offers one perfect sacrifice for all time. Has forgiveness built right into it. And. Especially. Draws God's people into himself. Into eternal relationship together with.

We affirm that relationship today as we meet with a brother or sister. And together we give thanks that we all, least to greatest, may know God.

Backer

"By so much more Jesus becomes the backer of a better covenant," Hebrews 7:22.

Yes. The guarantee. Surety. Benefactor. Underwriter. Sponsor. Jesus is all that. Jesus has got our back in this new and better covenant. And what makes it better? We draw near to God in it! For real. Jesus is able. Able to save to the uttermost! Jesus himself, our high priest, goes into God's presence, between God and us and introduces us to God. Perfect.

We visit with a brother or sister today in anticipation of God's reception. And together we give humble thanks that God receives even us wholly backed through Jesus' blood in this new covenant.

Indestructible

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

The Lord God made that announcement directly to Christ, testified by King David's witness: the Lord said to my Lord. About a thousand years before Christ was born. Order of Melchizedek: First, implies setting aside the Levitical Law due to its weakness and uselessness to perfect anybody. Implies a new covenant. Second, establishes its high priest on the basis of an indestructible life. Third, high priest with an oath by God. Therefore: Jesus! Holy. Innocent. Unstained. Separated from sinners. Perfected. One sacrifice (his own, once for all time). Raised from the dead. Exalted. At God's right hand. Indestructible. Better hope. Draws us near to God.

We meet with a brother or sister today and say, Wow! What God has worked! Thank you, Lord! You are an awesome God! There's none like you!

Hope

"Yet another priest after the order of Aaron?" Hebrews 7:11.

Goodness! Now what? (He warned us, didn't he, about maturing beyond the basics?) Well, he seems to tell about two orders of priests: Aaron's and Melchizedek's. Aaron's order from the Israelite tribe of Levi (called the Levitical priesthood), gave the Law of Moses to Israel. Aaron's order required legal genealogical birth into the tribe of Levi for its priesthood. Two big problems. Main problem: Levitical priesthood perfected nothing. Second: high priests kept getting old and dying. So. In answer to the question above, No. No more Levitical priesthood per Aaron's order! Humans (including Israel) need something better than the Law to draw us near to God.

We visit a brother or sister today confident in the new agreement with God through our high priest, Jesus. And together we give thanks to God for a better hope!

Order

"Jesus became a high priest in the order of Melchizedek," Hebrews 6:20.

Again with this Melchizedek - who is this? Contemporary of Abraham (about 2000 years before Jesus was born). King of Salem (a town that became famous as Jerusalem by King David, but not yet for another 1000 years). Priest of the Most High God (about 500 years before Moses met God as Jehovah, and delivered the Law's Levitical priesthood). His name means King of Righteousness. His town's name relates to King of Peace. Since no human knows his parentage or the records of his birth or death, he's kind of like the Son of God. His priesthood is kind of like forever. And Abraham paid tithes to him. In short, no human knows what makes this great man greater than Abraham. (Never mind greater than Levi and his priesthood!) And Jesus belongs to his mysterious order of priests.

We meet with a brother or sister today reflecting on God's inscrutable plans to bring us life. And together we praise God for working his deep plan for our salvation.

Unchangeable

"God swore by himself," Hebrews 6:13.

(?? - first, not talking about cuss words, dude, get a grip!) God promised, made an oath. When humans promise a thing, we call on a higher authority to back it up, right? Like on a court of law to uphold the terms. But when God swears, what does he say, like, I swear on a stack of Bibles? Or, on my mother's tomb? Or, cross my heart hope to die? Absurd! So. When God promised his good purpose to bless, his own word stands as the guarantee. Yet, he also made an oath by his own name. Two unchangeable things: Word and Oath, both of which give us hope, the anchor Jesus took into the throne room of God and set it there.

We meet today with a brother or sister anchored firmly by Christ in the heart of God. And together we give thanks for the calm assurance hope in him brings us.

Elementary

"We move on to perfection," Hebrews 6:1.

Move on from what? From first principles. From grade school teachings. It's like middle school students focusing on elementary 1+1=2, mastered a long time ago, instead of going deeper into, say, how to balance home budgets. OK. So what are examples of elementary teaching of Christ? Repentance from dead works to faith in God. Baptism. Touching people in prayer or blessing. Resurrection. Eternal judgment. Warnings about falling away. (wow!). So what's the stuff of perfection? Serving. Serving God's people. Serving the saints. Imitating the heirs of God's promises. All the way to the end. Kind of like the things that perfected Jesus: obedience even in suffering.

We meet a brother or sister today to serve each other. And together we give God thanks that Jesus still serves us to the end of the world.

Nowhere

"God made Jesus a high priest after the order of Melchizedek," Hebrews 5:10.

Order of Melchi-who? What's he talking about? Well, here's my problem: my hearing's dull, I need someone to start me over from the beginning, not ready for solid food, am unskilled in God's righteous word, am like a child when I should be a teacher, am unpracticed in sorting out good from evil. Yeah. So. Melchizedek. A priest out of the blue. Long before the Law of Moses. Long before the Levitical priesthood. In the middle of nowhere we'd ever heard about till then. Melchizedek shows up, priest of God, blesses Abraham. And then goes away never to be heard from again. What's his genealogy? Where'd he go? Nobody knows. (God knows - but he's not telling.) But God's working hard.

We visit with a brother or sister today hearts re-tuned to God's righteous word. And together we praise God for working for us even in our cluelessness.

Source

"No one takes this honor for himself," Hebrews 5:4.

What honor? The honor of high priest. God gives that honor to whom he chooses for whatever reason he chooses. And God chose Jesus. God appointed Christ. God called Christ his son. God made Christ priest forever. And for this honor, Jesus learned obedience. Jesus learned obedience meant suffering. God made Jesus get perfected through suffering. Jesus, perfected, became the source of salvation for all who obey him. God designated Jesus high priest.

Visiting with a brother or sister today, we offer our obedience to Christ. And together, we give thanks that God made Jesus the source of our salvation.

Valiantly

"May we approach the throne boldly," Hebrews 4:16.

What throne? The throne of God. How to come up to it? Intrepid. Confident. Wait a minute! Wasn't it just warning us against disobedience and the big reckoning to God and failure to enter God's rest? Yep. It was. Big deal stuff. So how do get from fearing a great and holy doomsday God to walking up to God valiantly? Just so: we have a high priest, a human, the son of God, without sin, Jesus, who mediates God's throne into the throne of grace for us.

We visit with a brother or sister today to pray through our high priest to receive timely help. And together we give thanks boldly even for what we have not yet received confident in the efficacy of Jesus' priesthood.

Reverberates

"Living is the word of God, and active," Hebrews 4:12.

God spoke. And worlds came into being. God's living Voice went out into the cosmos. And his Voice still reverberates throughout creation. Echo builds echo. Ages ago God said: Today - Today when you hear his voice - When you hear God's voice do not - do not harden your hearts. That Word resounds in our own ears. Today. And it exposes our hearts completely to his eyes. Yes. So, eager, we move into God's calm. Confident in the mercy we find in our high priest. Jesus. Today.

Meeting a brother or sister today, we receive grace to help with each other's need. And together we give thanks that God's word activates our hearts to faith in Christ.

Voice

"They were unable to enter because of unbelief," Hebrews 3:19.

(This, a severe warning lest we get complacent about the wonder God's working in Jesus... ) So. Who couldn't enter what? People that had heard couldn't enter the promised land. More to the point: couldn't enter God's rest. What had these folks heard? God's voice. OK. But then what? But didn't listen. But then hardened their hearts. These same folk rebelled. These whom God had set free from slavery. Whose bodies then died in the wilderness. Why? because they disobeyed. because they did not believe the Voice they had heard.

Sobered, we meet with a brother or sister today to hear again God's voice. And we give thanks together that God has spoken his mercy clearly in his son, Jesus!

Undergirding

"Take care," Hebrews 3:12.

Warning. Careful. See to it. Make sure. Beware. Some persons may develop an unbelieving heart. A heart swayed by evil. Pulled away from the living God. A heart deceived. Deceived by sin. But no! We shall not become hardened! As long as. As long as we fix tightly to the undergirding that birthed us, we share in Christ!

When we meet a brother or sister today, we encourage each other to hold tight to the faith of Christ. And together we hold firm to the end thankful to God.

Heartful

"We are his house," Hebrews 3:6.

What house? A dynasty, you know. The house. Like the royals have a family that goes on for generations. The original king or queen of that house is the one that started it all. Their house. All the people that belong to that family. OK. So whose house is it talking about here? God's. God's house. His house: all the people that belong to God's dynasty. Starting with his son. Jesus. Head over all that dynasty. OK. Who comprises God's house? That's us! We are his house! (Providing: We take bold possession of our hope, if we hold on proud of our hope in Christ.)

We meet with a brother or sister today to share boldly in our common hope as the house of God. And together, taking pride in our eldest brother, Jesus (!), we give heartful thanks to God.

Afloat

"Moses was faithful in all God's house," Hebrews 3:2.

That little slave baby set afloat in a reed basket in a faraway river in a long ago time, God secured for him a princely place in the royal house of that land. This baby, now grown old, God made him leader of his heritage fellow slaves and brought them to freedom. Moses received God's law and ensured its faithful deliverance to the people. He disciplined the people and pled for their protection before God. He and God conversed together. Moses, faithful manager in God's house (ancient Israel), prepared for future events. But Christ. Christ, faithful son over God's house (that's us), receives more glory and honor.

We visit with a brother or sister today remembering whose we are. And together we give thanks that Jesus has built us into God's home.

Partners

"Holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling," Hebrews 3:1.

Whoa! Who's he talking to? Talking to people sanctified by Jesus who had become just like one of them. People for whom Jesus had atoned for their sins. People now brothers and sisters with Christ, their brother. Now partners. Now sharers. Now participants. Yes. Fellowshippers in what? In the invitation from the skies. In God's call. The call to an unearthly life. A holy life. And what's he saying to us? This: You! You must think deep about Jesus.

And so as we meet with a brother or sister today, we contemplate Christ. And together we give thanks to God for receiving him as the apostle and high priest of our confession.

Suffered

"He had suffered when he had been tempted," Hebrews 2:18.

Who? Jesus. Tempted to what? To not participate in human things. To not be made like us just so. To not die. To not destroy the devil. To not deliver lifelong slaves. To not become a high priest on our behalf to God. To not atone for our sins. To not undergo the physical trauma of the cross. To not subject himself to human ridicule and shame. Yep. He suffered all that. And became all that. To do all that. To help us in our temptation.

As we visit a brother or sister today, we marvel at Jesus' commitment to God, and to us. And together we praise God that our high priest suffered temptation even more than we suffer it.

Suitable

"It was fitting," Hebrews 2:10.

What was fitting? That God matured Jesus through suffering. That was what was fitting. Suitable. Right. Proper. Jesus, for whom and by whom everything exists, got matured by God. How? by becoming one of us. A human. A man. Who experienced our stuff like we experience it. Death and dying. And becoming perfected, Jesus became the basis for our salvation. Having matured like that, he led lots of sons and daughters into the glory God gave him. Yeah. Jesus makes us holy. We are sanctified. And he and we with him, have the same origin: God. So with pride, Jesus calls us brothers as he presents us to God.

When we meet a brother or sister today, we stand on the foundation that Christ is. And together we praise God for identifying Jesus with us.