Come with me to these final verses in this amazing letter to the Hebrews. I have been studying it recently and find it to be a rich vein of scripture and very relevant and practical for the days in which we live. These believers in Jesus Christ were encouraged to submit to their leaders, those above them.
It is not enough to look at Jesus, but also at those to whom Jesus has delegated authority. This can have problems and can be misused and abused.
Leaders must remember that they are accountable to Almighty God. One day we will all have to give an account.
The sheep will be better disciples by submitting to the shepherds. The leader has gotten into this and watches.
When a sheep gets into trouble, the shepherd is sad. He makes his work a joy, not a burden. That is what the writer encourages these disciples of Jesus Christ to do. These early Church leaders experienced joy and grievance!
They were also required to offer a sacrifice of praise. Praise is so vitally important. There are many people who never really praise Almighty God or give thanks to Jesus Christ.
As you praise, you may find that burdens become lighter and frustrations evaporate.
Any feeling of guilt can disappear when we come before Almighty God in the name of Jesus Christ and praise His holy Name. When we praise God, we become less critical and less judgmental. That must be a good thing!
When we praise God, we stop complaining about our own hurts. As we focus on Almighty God and the needs of others in the world, we are reminded that our calling in Christ is to serve.
Compliments can relieve stress in a remarkable way, and anger and bitterness should also go away.
Praise can deal with various weaknesses in our lives as we overcome in Christ, and doubts and uncertainty also disappear when we praise.
We don’t need to understand everything when we praise Almighty God, because we will trust Him to supply what we need. We must know that God is in control. He praises the living God and experience it for yourself.
Worship is never about me or us. It is about Almighty God. That perspective addresses many emotional needs.
So, the writer asks for prayer. It is never a weakness to ask for prayer. Pray for us, that we may live a consistent life, and the writer wanted to be restored to these disciples quickly.
Verses 20 and 21 of the 13th chapter of Hebrews are very moving. We are taught that it has to be God working in you. Let Him do things in you and through you. Trust Him to do it. He wants to equip us so that we can do His Will. Let Jesus do good through you. God never calls us without equipping us for the task.
We are called to repair what is broken, to supply what is missing and to harmonize what is not in harmony.
It is the God of peace who does this. There is so much to do and the writer is virtually saying, “Jesus, you do it through us.”
There are personal greetings at the end and some news. It refers to the short letter from him. Well, it is. It can be read in an hour. Take the time to read it. There is always a very real blessing for those who read and study the Word of God.
Timothy has been released. We do not know the details of this mention but it is significant.
greet people Greeting people can be part of sharing God’s grace. It seems as if the writer was in Rome, but wherever he was he wanted the grace of Jesus to be with them all. He wanted the grace of the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ to be with all those believers.
sand shaw