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Prepare: ‘Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the same yesterday and today and for ever.’
Closed up
I’m sure you have seen underwater wildlife documentaries where, as a diver approaches, marine life flees and the seabed closes up, sensing a predator nearby. I wonder if that’s a good picture of what’s happened in the life of the church here.
As they’ve felt a growing threat from the Roman authorities, the Hebrews have closed up, turned inwards. Consequently they are drifting away from the things that made early Christians so distinctive to outsiders.
Risky hospitality
For example, hospitality (v 2). An open and generous home is a great witness to an open and generous God. We shouldn’t be afraid of strangers – we should welcome them.
The encouragement to visit people in prison (v 3) could well have referred to other Christians who had been put there because of their faith. This isn’t just an act of mercy then, but an act of identification – and actually something of a risk.
We need each other
The struggle to stay pure sexually and with regard to money (vs 4,5) are consequences of more isolated and fragmented lives. Fragmented churches consisting of isolated individuals are a hotbed for disloyalty to leaders (v 7) and strange and diverse teachings (v 9).
The truth is, we need each other more than we know. So we mustn’t back off from loving each other as we know we should.
Respond: When you’re under the cosh, it’s particularly easy to turn inwards and concentrate on ‘looking after number one’. Ask God to deal with any hints of this in your attitude today.
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-08-25
Closed up
I’m sure you have seen underwater wildlife documentaries where, as a diver approaches, marine life flees and the seabed closes up, sensing a predator nearby. I wonder if that’s a good picture of what’s happened in the life of the church here.
As they’ve felt a growing threat from the Roman authorities, the Hebrews have closed up, turned inwards. Consequently they are drifting away from the things that made early Christians so distinctive to outsiders.
Risky hospitality
For example, hospitality (v 2). An open and generous home is a great witness to an open and generous God. We shouldn’t be afraid of strangers – we should welcome them.
The encouragement to visit people in prison (v 3) could well have referred to other Christians who had been put there because of their faith. This isn’t just an act of mercy then, but an act of identification – and actually something of a risk.
We need each other
The struggle to stay pure sexually and with regard to money (vs 4,5) are consequences of more isolated and fragmented lives. Fragmented churches consisting of isolated individuals are a hotbed for disloyalty to leaders (v 7) and strange and diverse teachings (v 9).
The truth is, we need each other more than we know. So we mustn’t back off from loving each other as we know we should.
Respond: When you’re under the cosh, it’s particularly easy to turn inwards and concentrate on ‘looking after number one’. Ask God to deal with any hints of this in your attitude today.
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-08-25
Scripture
About this Plan
WordLive provides a daily slice of Bible reading and commentary that, over four years, covers most of the Bible. The commentary encourages the reader to engage with the Bible passage in order to deepen their relationship with God, through reflection and practical application. The WordLive website offers further multimedia content and group Bible study, while registration offers a daily email, journal and bookmarking, and community tools.
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