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