Hoping for Something Better: November 2007 Archives

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007).

New journal entries will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks. If you missed any so far, stay subscribed to this feed and you can begin when it starts over. Be sure to start your own journal within your Beliefnet profile or in a notebook to respond to Nancy's prompts.

Day 6

There is something better than the sentimentality of angel worship or praying to angels. It is trusting the One who sends the angels to serve.

Read Hebrews 1:6-14.

The Hebrews who originally received this letter saw angels as the ones who delivered the Ten Commandments, so they recognized that angels have power and authority. But some of these early believers were confused about where Jesus fit in with the angels. They wanted to see an organizational chart so they could understand the chain of command.

What is the common concept of angels today? Compare that view with what the writer says about the duties and position of angels in 1:4-7, 14.

What does each of the following passages add to your understanding of the role of angels?

1 Kings 19:5-7
Psalm 34:7
Luke 1:13, 30
Acts 10:3-5
Acts 12:23
Revelation 5:11-12

As you follow the line of argument in 1:5-14, what does the writer intend to prove about Jesus Christ’s position in relation to angels?

--Nancy Guthrie

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007).

New journal entries will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks. If you missed any so far, stay subscribed to this feed and you can begin when it starts over. Be sure to start your own journal within your Beliefnet profile or in a notebook to respond to Nancy's prompts.

Day 5

There is something better than settling for a vague, diminished, distant understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done and why it matters. It is seeing him more clearly and following him more closely.

Read Hebrews 1:1-5.

From the first words of his sermon-letter, the writer to the Hebrews began making his case for helping these Jewish believers to see that the very purpose of everything in the Old Testament and their Temple traditions was to prepare them for the definitive revelation of who God is in the person of Christ.

In Jesus, God is saying, “I want to show you who I am.” We would never know God if He did not speak to us. And he wants us to know him for who he really is, not for who we want to make him to be.

List at least six things we are told about Jesus in verses 1-4.

Which one of these aspects of who Jesus is do you find especially meaningful, and why?

Some say that Hebrews 1:1-4 expresses the most important idea of history. How would you express this idea in your own words?

--Nancy Guthrie

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007).

New journal entries will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks. If you missed any so far, stay subscribed to this feed and you can begin when it starts over. Be sure to start your own journal within your Beliefnet profile or in a notebook to respond to Nancy's prompts.

Day 4

There is something better than turning back when the way of faith in Jesus gets hard. It is persevering toward him in spite of heartache and hardship.

The writer of Hebrews knew he was talking to people who were already suffering and he knew that their suffering for the cause of Christ was only going to increase in the days ahead. So he gave them the same encouragement that we need when difficulty sweeps into our lives: “Hold on. Don’t give up. Keep a firm grasp on Jesus, no matter what comes.”

• keep up our courage (3:6)
• keep on loving others (6:11)
• hold on to the security of God’s promises (6:18)
• draw near to God (7:19)
• don’t waver in unbelief (10:23)

Don’t we all need that kind of encouragement from the sidelines when life gets hard?

Where do you see yourself pulling back because obedience to Christ has become difficult or standing up for Christ has become costly?

How do these encouragements to persevere in Hebrews help you?

--Nancy Guthrie

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007).

New journal entries will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks. If you missed any so far, stay subscribed to this feed and you can begin when it starts over. Be sure to start your own journal within your Beliefnet profile or in a notebook to respond to Nancy's prompts.

Day 3

There is something better than staying on the fringes of relationship with God. It is the intimacy and authenticity you have been longing for.

The great theological teachings in Hebrews are not just supposed to increase our theological knowledge; they are intended to serve as the basis for action. And the action the writer of Hebrews wants for his readers is to keep moving forward with God, toward God. He uses a combination of encouragement, instruction, and warning to prod us forward.

Throughout Hebrews, the writer encourages and instructs us with statements that begin with “Let us . . .”

Encouragement

• be diligent to enter God’s rest (4:11)
• cling to him and never stop trusting him (4:14, NLT)
• draw near to the throne of grace with confidence (4:16)
• press on to maturity (6:1)
• draw near to God (10:22)
• hold fast the confession of our hope (10:23)

Instruction

• stimulate one another to love and good deeds (10:24)
• lay aside sin and legalism (12:1)
• run the race of faith (12:1)
• show gratitude to God (12:28)
• identify ourselves with the rejected Jesus (13:13)
• continually offer a sacrifice of praise (13:15)

Using phrases such as “do not” or “see to it that,” he warns us against anything that will keep us from drawing near to God:

Warning

• pay more attention so you don’t drift away (2:1)
• don’t neglect your salvation (2:3)
• don’t harden your heart (3:8)
• see to it that none of you have an unbelieving heart (3:12)
• see to it that no one misses the grace of God (12:15)
• see that no one is sexually immoral or godless (12:16)
• don’t refuse to listen to God speaking through Jesus (12:25)

Which of these encouragements speak particularly to you?

Which of these warnings do you need to heed more diligently?

Which of them do you look forward to studying more closely so you can deepen your understanding and apply them to your own life?

--Nancy Guthrie

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007).

New journal entries will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks. If you missed any so far, stay subscribed to this feed and you can begin when it starts over. Be sure to start your own journal within your Beliefnet profile or in a notebook to respond to Nancy's prompts.

Day 2

There is something better than undervaluing Jesus. It is embracing his uniqueness and significance.

Some of us have never really given that much thought to Jesus. We’ve never really invested energy and attention to examining who he is, what he said, and what he did.

Others of us are so familiar with Jesus that we take who he is and what he has done for granted. We’ve settled into a comfortable understanding of who he is, settling for seeing him as less than he is.

Throughout the book of Hebrews, we are told of the multitude of ways Jesus is better:

• better than the angels (1:4)
• better than Moses (3:3)
• offers a better way of living out authentic faith (6:9)
• a better hope (7:19)
• a better covenant (7:22)
• a better mediator (8:6)
• better promises (8:6)
• a better sacrifice (9:23)
• offers better and lasting possessions (10:34)
• offers a better country—a heavenly one (11:16)
• a better reward (11:26)
• a better resurrection (11:35)

Look up several verses from this list to explore the context for what makes Jesus better. Which ones mean the most to you?

Which ones seem confusing or perhaps not particularly valuable to you based on your current understanding?

--Nancy Guthrie

Welcome to Nancy Guthrie's guided journal "Hoping for Something Better," which she based on her book of the same title (Tyndale 2007). The journal has 26 entries, which will appear in your profile Monday-Saturday. If you missed any so far,...