Posts that reference the book of Hebrews

Running with Endurance

Last Monday, I ran farther than I had ever run before – nearly 7 miles. I left the house a little after 5 and got home around 6:15. I ran the whole time. 72 minutes. (Yeah, I'm pretty slow.) Not only that, but it was my third straight "longest ever." I'm not doing anything different than what I did last summer when I couldn't break 5.5 miles. Well, maybe there's one thing different – I'm learning the mental side to running. I'm learning my body can do more than I realized if I don't give in to its whining. I'm also learning to listen to my internal "coach" and not the "critic." Who knows, I may be running a half marathon before the season is out.

Of course, all this has a spiritual application. We can do far more for the cause of Christ than we realize ("all things," the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13). However, it is all too easy to listen to that voice inside. You know, the one that says, "That will never work." Or, "You're not qualified." Or, "You're just one person. You'll never make a difference."

How would things change if we listened to our Holy Spirit "coach" instead? What would our families and churches and neighborhoods be like if we grabbed hold of, "You have everything you need. You've got this." Or, "That discomfort is because you're doing something. Keep going!" Or "Look how far you've gone!"

When God called us, He equipped us. We can do the ministry He's given us to do. We can. He has infused us with the Holy Spirit. But we have to make the effort and we have to endure.

(A side note: Endure doesn't mean "exhaust yourself." Sometimes we have to make sure we are running the race God has laid out and not running extra miles someone else piles on us.)

Bottom line- Don't quit. Hang on and push through, and you'll start to see amazing things happen.

"…[L]et us run with endurance the race that is set before us" Hebrews 12:1

(PS- I'm shooting for 8 miles by the end of the month!)

Mercy. Grace. Help.

By Paula Wiseman

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

Hebrews is my favorite book. It details the tremendous things we have, how much better it is with Christ.

A High Priest. Access. Mercy. Grace. Help.

Jesus Christ ushers us before the throne of God and makes sure we are treated with kindness (undeserved, but poured on us anyway).

And we can enter boldly and ask, confident that we will receive.

Mercy. Grace. Help.

My Brother Youcef

By Paula Wiseman

Have you been following the story of Youcef Nadarkhani? He's my brother.

He's a pastor in Iran, with a wife and two little boys. He's been in prison since 2009. He's under a death penalty that can be carried out at any time because he refuses to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. As of Monday this week he was still alive, his case awaiting further review.

171,000 believers are martyred every year.

Still. Not in Roman times, but in 2011, and 2010, and 2009…

In the time it takes us to sit through a worship service, 20 men, women and children die because of their unyielding commitment to Christ.

I think of them when our Bible study group meets in comfort and safety. I think of them when I look at my shelves with multiple copies of the Bible that I can legally own.

I don't know why God requires so much of my brothers and sisters. Maybe He knows my limits. I have trouble when my husband goes on a trip- my brain would snap if he were imprisoned and sentenced to death. Maybe He knows fighting to keep my testimony in a culture of lazy materialism is all the challenge I can handle. That shames me. At the same time, I'm too comfortable, too afraid to desire a greater challenge.

Hebrews 13:3 says "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also."

Remember with me. Pray with me. For Youcef and for the millions like him and his family across the world. God has not forgotten them. He is keeping a record.

For more information, check Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors USA

Attacked While Running

By Paula Wiseman

I’m typically cautious when I run. I don’t use headphones so I can hear everything around me. I make sure I’m visible. (My favorite black shirt is retired for the season because it’s so dark in the mornings now.) I carry my cell phone, and I really watch the pavement for uneven spots. I was not prepared to be attacked.

Yesterday, I headed out, ready to conquer my ‘southern’ route. Early out the road dips down toward a creek between the grade school and a wooded park. (It’s nice to get that hill out of the way.) I had run the downhill side and was just about to start up when I got hit on the top of my head! My first thought was that it was a bat – a fat, clumsy bat, maybe. I didn’t see anything though. I hoped it wasn’t somebody in the woods throwing rocks at me. Finally, I decided it was something from the trees, a piece of bark or something that seemed bigger than it was because it surprised me. Okay. Whew.

Then it happened again!

And this time I saw it. An owl. A good-sized owl had thumped me. (I say ‘thumped,’ because there were no talons involved. Thankfully!)

After a little investigation, we found out she’s a barn owl, and a regular ‘thump-er.’ At least three other runners have encountered her. The Department of Natural Resources tells us that in a few weeks – maybe when her babies are bigger or gone – she won’t be as aggressive. Even so, this morning… I changed my route. Just to be safe.

So, what’s the lesson?

Even if you think you’re cautious and well-prepared, attacks can come from the most unexpected places and using the most unexpected means. I’ve seen plenty of deer, dogs and even one skunk on my morning runs, but it was the owl that got me. We can be prayed up, studied up, tight with God and that doesn’t exempt us. Don’t be surprised or dismayed. Which brings me to my next lesson…

Keep running. Granted, I checked more than once to make sure I was just sweating and not bleeding, and I was really jumpy for the rest of the run. but I kept going. I ended up making both my marks for distance. I didn’t let the attack prevent me from reaching my goal.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Study Tip: Learning about Ourselves

By Paula Wiseman

Last week's study tip encouraged us to consider what a verse or passage teaches us about God. This week, we'll look at the flip side and look at what Scripture teaches us about ourselves. I've heard it said that God's word is a mirror that reveals our true selves. In Hebrews 4:12, it says that God's word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts.

Let's just use those verses in Hebrews 4:12-13 for our examples.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (13) And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Here are some of the things we can learn-

1. We are made up of the physical and spiritual.

2. We have hidden motives

3. No one is able to hide himself or his motives from God.

4. We must give account to God.

Take it a step further and make it personal rather than general-

1. I am made up of the physical and spiritual.

2. I have hidden motives

3. I am not able to hide myself or my motives from God.

4. I must give account to God.

(This is an encore post.)

Bored?

By Paula Wiseman

One evening not too long ago, my son announced he was bored. You remember what that was like, to be ten and have nothing to do. It wasn't that there was 'nothing' to do, he just didn't want to do any of the 'somethings' that were available. He wasn't being adequately entertained. When we pressed him though, the truth came out. His sisters were busy. He had no audience. He wasn't the center of attention.

As adults, we still get bored, but many times we come up with better names for it- We're dissatisfied. Unsettled. Restless.

And the root causes are often the same. We aren't being entertained or we aren't getting enough attention.

So Jon and I and the two older kids talked about how to combat boredom. What could we replace it with? Here's what we came up with-

Diligence – "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…" Ecclesiastes 9:10
Humility – "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20
Gratefulness – Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:8
Contentment – "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have." Hebrews 13:5
Perspective – "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

How do you fight off boredom?