deTheos

Hebrews 13:1-6

May 20th, 2008 Jeff

1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

[Hebrews 13:1-6 ]

In the last chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews we see the power of the Messiah’s love at work in the life of His church. These Jewish Christians were enduring much hardship for their faith, and were called to persevere through seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Yet they will be asked to endure hardship that Jesus Himself endured as well (see Hebrews 12:1-6 ). God suffers with them (and us) in love.

Perseverance through discipline and hardship requires certain measures of sacrifice . Not all will be easy and well in this life. The author turns his attention to a list of specific sacrifices that please God. The whole letter is a "word of exhortation (13:22), and here are a few important ones in this section:

  • Brotherly love shall always abound (v. 1)
  • Hospitality to strangers (v. 2)
  • Praying and caring for the persecuted and imprisoned (v. 3)
  • Faithfulness in the marriage covenant (v. 4)
  • Being content, free from the love of money (v. 5)
    • Knowing that God Himself is our portion, Who will never leave us nor forsake us (vv. 5-6)

That’s enough to work on for today.

Posted in Blog, Teaching | No Comments »

The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ

April 4th, 2008 Jeff

“The sad fact is that many of us are simply not biblical in the way we use the Bible! Being biblical does not mean merely quoting words from within its pages. Being truly biblical means that my counsel reflects what the entire Bible is about. The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ.”
–Paul David Tripp, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands, p. 27 (emphasis added)

Posted in Blog, Jesus, Quotes, Reading | No Comments »

Perhaps the most important paragraph in the Bible

March 22nd, 2008 Jeff

 How great the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure. His love and just wrath mingled in the greatest event in history, the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

This is what God did in Christ:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
[Romans 3:21-26]

Posted in Blog, Gospel, Holidays, Jesus, Justification, Theology | No Comments »

In the shadow of the Almighty

November 13th, 2007 Jeff

In the shadow of the Almighty

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

Posted in Adventures, Blog, Pics | No Comments »

Feeling God’s Words

December 31st, 1969 Jeff

The ever-challenging Jared Wilson wrote a recent piece on "Five Ways to Feel Scripture ."

A little clip:

"We like to keep Scripture short and manageable, and that’s understandable. It’s certainly more convenient that way. But we will not be mastered by Scripture if we don’t occasionally allow it to overwhelm us, intimidate us, and force us to wrestle with it."

Read the whole thing …

Posted in Blog, God-centered, Reading, Theology | No Comments »

  • Our random images
  • This Week Last Year

    • Facebook
    • Knowledge of the Holy One
    • The Road to Santa Clara
    • What is it that develops character and Christlikeness?
  • Featured

    • What is the Gospel?
    • Have you embraced Religion or the Gospel?
    • Happy Tensions
    • Can I say these are my resolutions?
    • Helps for Enjoying the Bible for All Its Worth
  • Recent Posts

    • GTS: Graders are people too
    • Currently reading
    • Good critique of the prosperity “gospel”
    • Happy 305th, J.E.
    • Tested … afflicted … satisfied
    • GTS: Profs are people too
    • There is no reason to ever be Bored
    • Silly Jackalopes
    • Show me your songs and I’ll show you your theology
    • Faithful = Fruitful?
    • Instant, constant, global + permanent
    • Qualified leaders
    • Happy tension: Indigenous Pilgrims
    • 20 from James
    • Words + Wonder
  • Pages

    • About
    • Dutch
    • Theology
      • GOD
      • Jesus
    • Contact
    • Kari’s Writings
      • The Road to Santa Clara
    • FHO2
    • Links
    • Guestbook
  • RSS Kari's latest

    • LiveDifferent Challenge (28): Pen, Paper, and 42-cents
    • The Disappointment Cycle
    • Others May, You Cannot
    • On Our Knees
    • LiveDifferent Challenge (27): More on Others, Less on Me
    • When God Lets Us Choose
    • A White Towel
  • RSS Patterson Family

    • Waterboy
    • Heidi’s first move
    • Vroom, vroom reading boy
    • When Daddy Day = Mommy Day
    • Wear some orange
  • RSS Margin

    • God promises the power and strength to endure any crisis
    • What are you doing while another is talking?
    • Swim up stream
  • Around the Web
  • What is deTheos?

    The two Greek words de ("but") and Theos ("God") are the first two words of Ephesians 2:4: "But God, who is rich in mercy..." Because of God's great love and grace extending to us in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed and able to know, love + enjoy God more fully, ever-increasing and forever.
    This site contains the thoughts and conclusions and journeys of the Patterson family -- Jeff, Kari and Dutch -- who have experienced the front-end of God's amazing grace, and continue to delight in His unfailing love.
    Read more about us, and what we hold most precious.
  • a few links

    Subscribe in a reader
    Subscribe by Email My Amazon.com Wish List ESV Bible LinkedIn Site Meter Hosted by Kattare Add to Technorati Favorites
    Learn more about the ESV Study Bible
  • Categories

  • Tags

    affections best Books doctrine Dutch Ekklesia enjoy Family GOD God-centered GOD is the Gospel godly trajectory Going to Seminary Gospel Gospel-centered Grace Happy Tensions humility humor Jesus John Piper Jonathan Edwards Joy Justification Kari Milestones missional Pics Piper prayer Quotes Reading Sanctification Scripture seminary shallow half-gospel Sports Stories suffering Theodicy Theology Tozer trials union Video

deTheos is proudly powered by WordPress | Bob

Podcast Powered by podPress (v8.8)