Crash Course to Appreciating Your First Love - Part 1

You guys are in trouble! I’ve been in Hebrews for my priority time and I’m just blown away. If you need a shot of adrenaline in your walk with the Lord and don’t have a plan in place yet, I highly recommend camping in the book of Hebrews this summer! It’s where the collision of the Old and New Testaments are explained. It’s where we get a behind-the-scenes look at how God desires us to move beyond the law into an abundant loving relationship with the Son of God.Start in chapter one and take just a few verses a day. Think on them. Pray over them. Ask questions of them. Then don’t forget the most life-changing part: apply what you’ve learned to your life and get ready to be blown away!I’m so passionate about you being in God’s Word and continuing to be fed this summer that I want to deviate from my normal blog format for my posts this week to remind you how to get the most out of your priority time (in case you’re a little rusty!). If you take me up on my suggestion, here’s just a taste of some of the truths that will fill you with hope in the weeks ahead. Here’s how you can spend time in God’s Word in a meaningful way.

1.  Focused Thinking

You want to take just a few verses and focus on them. Don’t just read them once, but read those few verses 5 or 10 times, looking at them from different angles. I’ll use Hebrews 1:1-3 as my passage for these 2 days.

 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”

After I’ve read through the passage several times, I start asking questions of the text. Think of the who, what, when, where, how, and why questions that the verses are answering. For example, I would start writing down a few questions in my journal and then answering them:

When is this verse referring to?•  Long ago

What happened long ago?•  God spoke to our fathers

How did He talk to our fathers?•  By the prophets

What’s different now?•  In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son

What do we learn about God’s Son?•  God appointed Him heir of all things•  God created the world through Him•  Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God•  Jesus is the exact imprint of His nature•  Jesus upholds the universe

How does Jesus uphold the universe?•  By the word of His power

As I’m writing the answers to these questions, here are some of my take-aways:

• Wow! The Word of God affirms all of the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews is verifying that God used to speak through the prophets but now speaks through His Son. (I like that affirmation. It makes me more confident in my faith.)

• Do I really grasp how amazing the Son of God is? Yes, I love Jesus and know that He’s my Savior. But this description reminds me how much more worship He deserves from me. He’s the radiance of God’s glory and made purification for my sins. He gets to sit next to God in heaven and still cares enough to love me and care about all my inconsequential requests. He’s the exact imprint of God’s nature. He’s full of love and power and justice… Why don’t I run to Him more?

Join me on Thursday as I continue walking through these 3 verses. Your priority time and mine won’t be exactly the same. I’ve simply scratched the surface of questions to ask and reflections you might have… and the best is still to come!