What The Christian Life is Really About (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 13)

Welcome to week thirteen – the final week – of the Hebrews Bible Study on Scattered Journal Pages.

 

And wow, we’ve made it so far. I don’t have the time to bring up every lesson discussed in these thirteen weeks – so that’s what the previous post list is for, of course. This means now that if you want to access any study on any chapter in the entire Book of Hebrews, they’re all in the archives, open for the reading. I’m excited about that!

In our second-to-last week, we discovered three points:

 

*In fixing our eyes on Jesus, we can freely let go of sin – for He is so much greater.

*God’s discipline is not His condemnation, for in Christ, we are forgiven.

*We can’t miss grace.

 

And last week’s takeaway? Focusing on Christ is they key to the Christian life.

 

Previous Posts in This Study:

// Welcome to The Hebrews Bible Study!

// Who is Jesus to You? (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 2)

// How Simple Belief Rescues Our Souls (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 3)

// Why Grace Brings Us To True Rest (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 4)

// We Are Redeemed! (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 5)

// Our Only True Hope (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 6)

// Why Jesus Is Truly Enough (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 7)

// Where Do You Find Your Identity? (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 8)

// It is Forgiven. (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 9)

// Jesus Has Made You Enough (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 10)

// What Will You Do With Jesus? (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 11)

// The Key To The Christian Life (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 12)

Let’s Get Started!

 

By now, I assume you know the drill. Hebrews 13: go ahead and read it.

Number One:

 

God is always worthy of our trust. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

 

As humans, we often try to control of our lives. What we do. What we wear. How we think. How our lives will play out. And let me tell you, we can try to organize our little lives, try to make them so perfect, but ultimately, perfection can’t and won’t happen here on earth.

 

We can’t see the future.

 

We can’t plan out every moment.

 

We can’t trust ourselves to be strong in every situation.

 

We can’t anticipate pain, but when it comes, oh how it aches.

 

However, we’re not without hope – we have a God that promises to always be with us, to always help us. Especially when life’s hard, and messy, and far from perfect.

 

It’s so remarkable to be able to trust a God who’s always there, and always worthy of our trust.

Number Two:

 

Jesus doesn’t change – meaning, He’ll forever be our Savior, and One we can always look to for help. (Hebrews 13:8)

 

It’s a terrible thing – but so often, many of us will get bored by our Christian lives.

 

We often see it as this routine to be played over and over, week after week: go to church, try to be charitable and do nice things for people, read the Bible, pray at bedtime, go visit Grandma.

 

But ultimately, the Christian life is about so much more than that. It’s about grace. It’s about our Savior. It’s about being able to have a wonderful relationship with God through Him day by day. It’s about growing, and it’s about following the Holy Spirit.

 

The fact that Jesus doesn’t change is amazing, because it means that even today, on a dull, dry, grinding day, Jesus is still just as powerful as when we were first saved. Grace applies today just as it did when we received Him.

 

Jesus is just as life-changing now as He was then – because He will forever be our wonderful Savior.

Number Three:

 

It’s important to be strengthened by grace, not rituals. Works follow a life flooded in grace, and not the other way around. (Hebrews 13:9)

 

Grace isn’t earned; it’s a gift. An abundant blessing-gift, one that washes us and covers us and makes us truly whole. And in that beautiful reality of what grace is, good works will follow. We don’t do good things to earn grace, we do good things because grace is free and we’ve tasted that for ourselves.

 

 

We’ll often tell ourselves that we must be doing something great, that we must be making such progress in our Christian lives, triumphing over sin and all those things. Honestly, those are spectacular things, but until we let ourselves be strengthened by grace, we won’t have a very firm foundation to build off of.

 

Whose strength are we living in? Why are we living the way we are? Where does our motivation come from?

 

It’s crucial to ask ourselves these questions, because they radically impact the way we live our lives.

 

Will you live a grace-filled life, or one out of obligations and rituals?

Recap:

*God is always worthy of our trust.

*Jesus doesn’t change – meaning, He’ll forever be our Savior, and One we can always look to for help.

*It’s important to be strengthened by grace, not rituals. Works follow a life flooded in grace, and not the other way around.

 

In short? The Christian life isn’t about us, it’s about Jesus, it’s about grace, and ultimately, about authentic hope.

Questions of the Week:

 

1. What has been your favorite chapter of Hebrews this summer, as we’ve studied all of it?
2. When your Christian life seems to get “boring,” where do you usually turn?
3. How have you been able to trust God recently?

 

Wow, everyone. In thirteen weeks, we covered thirty-seven different points, and I can hardly believe it’s over. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me, friends. This study opened my blog up to new things, new readers, and gave it a newness it hadn’t had in a while.

 

So, two things. One, I’d really love to get your feedback on what you thought of the Bible Study, what kinds of posts you’d enjoy in the future, and any suggestions you’d have for the future of this blog, if you’re so inclined.

 

And two, I’m taking a blogging hiatus. I’ve been blogging for over a year and a half, and have only ever taken off two weeks over Christmas vacation last year. When I started blogging, I learned that consistency was key, but at the same time, became a slave to it as well. It’s helped me tremendously in building up my audience, but has hindered me at times from having the joy in writing.

 

So slowly, I’m trying to let go of perfectionism and be free to really live and not stress out over things in my control. For me currently, it means taking a blogging break for a few weeks, as I get back into classes, figure out my schedule, and reboot my writing brain. I look forward to coming back (really soon, I promise!) with fresh perspective and new things for this blog.

 

Thank you for reading, for supporting me, and allowing me to share my heart with all of you across the world. It’s been really amazing, I love you all, and I will return soon.