God,

We do not fear our lives, and

We do not fear our death

Because You are with us.

Hebrews 6

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

And this we will do, if God permits.

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU."

And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:11-14

Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

I often think about these verses. Honestly, I mostly think about them in relation to the church in America and how many of us are infants partaking of only milk. 

And I have many opinions about those who are on milk when they should be well past it and those who are on milk because they're afraid to step up to solid food and I even have opinions about those who continue to feed milk to those who should be more mature. I have a lot to say about those people.

But, what about me? Am I on solid food or am I on milk? I think it depends on the definition of the terms. I don't think solid food is more knowledge of God, I think it's experience with God and the doing of holy things, more than the thinking of holy things.

I like to think that I'm on solid food, most times, but sometimes, I think the truth may be that I'm jut not eating anything. That's the challenge of feeding yourself rather than being fed passively by a church - by a pastor or teacher or evangelist or tele-evangelist. If you have to feed yourself then you have to feed yourself.

Luckily, we have a God who cares for us. When I first came to Iraq, I really struggled to eat God, so to speak. Especially in corporate worship and prayer times. I hated it. We were all like college kids who only knew how to microwave things. Our times were bland and way overdone. 

We all yearned for something more and we eventually stormed our way to better food. Six months in and I'd say we were eating at least as well as newlyweds.

(I'll admit that I may have just way overused my analogy, but I think you get my point - eating solid food is harder than eating milk)

I don't think we should move past milk only to starve to death, but we should move past milk before it puts us to sleep.

That's the best way my wife and I have found to put the baby to sleep (or even just to get her to stop crying): feed her milk! She's almost always pacified and most of the time she sleeps when she's had enough.

But, I'd bet if you're reading this, you're beyond milk and need to be on solid food. If an infant typically starts adding solid food at 6 months, we should be eating the caviar of faith. Even beyond just the Happy Meals and pizzas!

This is my sincerest wish for believers - that they would be those who are mature, those who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

I pray it for myslef also.

Hebrews 5:1-10

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

^"YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU";

just as He says also in another passage,

^"YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK."

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Ah, the passages about Melchizedek. I had no idea who Melchizedek was before Wiley told me. 

And it's important. Jesus is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Genesis 14:18 says

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth."

So it all made sense to me. Communion made sense, Jesus' death made sense, atonement for sins made sense.

The idea that Jesus is a high priest of God, that He fulfilled and fulfills all the requirements of the law is crazy! It's great! 

In my daily life I need to remember that he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness.

Hebrews 4

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

"AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,"

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day:

"AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS"; and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST."

Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,

"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."

For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

All of this talk about God's rest, but what does it mean? How do we get there?

We who have believed enter that rest. Hmmmm. I don't know how to defend it theologically and I won't try, but I know that I long to enter that rest. I do think it's a future rest, not for the here and now, but I also think that a shadow of rest, if you will, can be had today.

The last portions of this chapter remind us that the word of God judges the hearts of men and that, because Jesus was man, we have a high priest who can sympathize with our struggles.

I don't know what else I want to say about it. There's a threat here exhorting us to continue in our faith lest we be denied God's rest as the Israelites were when they hardened their hearts against God in the desert.

Do I harden my heart like the Israelites in the desert? I think I do, but I also have forgiveness to fall back on as long as I accept it and seek it (hold fast to my confession).