one step: Hebrews 3.1

Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Are we servants or sons? Are we slaves or children?

The author of Hebrews makes it clear that while both Moses and Jesus were faithful, Jesus was over God’s house while Moses was a servant in it.* The author of Hebrews does not attempt to lower the view of Moses.* The Jews of the time of the letter to the Hebrews held Moses in great esteem; none compared to Moses who lead the people of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt.* The author seeks to recognize that the glory of Jesus is greater than the glory of Moses.*

Servants have an obligatory responsibility to be faithful to the house while sons have a faithfulness that comes from the status of family.*

Do we hold the servants of the house in higher esteem than Christ? When we look at a situation, do we look to a pastor, leader, speaker, or personality for direction? Or do we look to the author and builder of the house, Jesus Christ?

As those who serve God in His house, do we forget that the house is not ours? Do we forget that we are a part of the house, but we are not over it?

Do we forget that the house is a community not a building?

Do we forget that our faithfulness should not be an obligation but a response to His adoption of us as family?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember these things. Perhaps God wants us to allow the greatness of the sons and daughters who serve the Lord to shine while recognizing that Jesus shines brighter. Maybe today God wants you to release His people and give up your false sense of ownership. Perhaps today God wants you to receive your status as family (son or daughter).

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 3:1–6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 200–216). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 58–61). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 128). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: water break

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.

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Have you ever been disappointed? I know I have many times. Truthfully, as I write this, I feel the pangs of disappointment through my core. The unpleasant emotions of disappointment feel something like a combination of heaviness, sadness, pain, shame, and anger. Disappointment is quite the combination!

A more direct way to describe the emotions associated with disappointment may be discouragement and depression.* Said another way, disappointment is a sickness of the heart.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick…

When we hope for something, we desire to see an imagined reality come into alignment with our experienced reality; we look to the future of what could be and desire to live amongst it. When the imagined reality never comes to fruition, the disappointment we experience feels like sickness.

The stark contrast to this is when it does come together:

…but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

When what we hope for comes to pass, it’s as if we are plugged into a source of joy and energy that we were made for! Celebration follows, and fruit emerges! How beautiful it is when the imagined reality and the experienced reality align!

…

The author of Proverbs 13 does not tell us how to avoid deferred hope. He only makes the observation of its reality for us.*

By the time 2012 rolled around, I had spent years crying out to the Lord, “hope deferred makes the heart sick!” The hope I had for a future reality never came into present day. Disappointment and sadness had become unwelcome companions in my journey.

I don’t know if God was just waiting for the right time, or if I just finally came to a place where I was desperate enough to listen, but God finally asked me this simple question: “in what have you placed your hope?” I immediately knew the answer: I placed my hope in what may come from God’s hand rather than placing my hope in God. There is a difference.

It may be that the only way to guarantee that our hope will never be deferred and that our desires will be fulfilled is to put our hopes and desires in things eternal.* It may be that placing our hopes and desires in the person of God can only guarantee that we live as trees of life.

Today, I’m going to take all of my heart sickness and bring it to Him. I’m pretty sure that if I ask Him to trade my hopes for His, I will feel a lot better.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to ask the Holy Spirit where your hope is placed. Perhaps God wants you to put your hopes and desires in Him. Maybe God wants you to bring your heart sickness, disappointment, sadness, anger, shame, and heaviness to Him.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Ross, A. P. (2008). Proverbs. In T. Longman III, Garland David E. (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Proverbs–Isaiah (Revised Edition) (Vol. 6, p. 128). Zondervan.
Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (pp. 358–359). Zondervan.
Fausset, A. R. (n.d.). A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Job–Isaiah: Vol. III (pp. 456–457). William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited.

one step: Hebrews 2.4

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Why couldn’t someone else save us? Why can’t someone else find a way to take humanity from it’s broken and decaying state and bring it to perfection? It seems that so many cry out for perfection. We study and research to extend lifespan. We have surgeries to appear young for as along as possible. We grasp for fame to become immortalized in media. We look for the perfect combinations of vitamins and lifestyle to eradicate disease. Why don’t these things work? For one reason: only God can bring humanity to perfection. Why?

Romans 2:10 tells us that it was fitting for God to bring salvation because it was by Him and through Him that all things exist. Only God can bring humanity back to the original state of perfection that He made them to be before the fall.* Only the One who created humanity can return humanity to it’s created state. A broken human cannot achieve this feat, nor can any other created thing, for we cannot reach outside of ourselves to grasp and hold that which we cannot be on our own: perfect. Perfection, namely Christ, must take hold of us.

With this in mind, we also see that the intent of God in saving was to bring many people to glory. He did not come for a few, but for many. God desires that the grounds of His Kingdom be filled with sons and daughters. Many could reach out to Him, but their efforts would not close the distance between humanity and God. God had to reach out to the many.

Finally, we see that the founder of our salvation (Christ) was made perfect through suffering. Does this mean that at some point Christ was imperfect? No. It means that the work of Christ was made complete in His suffering.*

Why do I share all of this?

There is only one way to find the wholeness that you seek in your life. It cannot be found with your effort, tricks, gimmicks, or religious devoutness. It cannot be achieved through any human workings or thoughts. It cannot be achieved through success or finding your way to the top of the mountain of business, arts/entertainment, media, government, family, education, or religion.

The salvation that we need comes only through Jesus Christ. He descended from His holy mountain to meet with humanity so that many might be returned to the original design of perfection that the Father God intended. Christ completed this work through unthinkable suffering.

The writer of Hebrews uses the Greek word archēgo where we read “founder” in the verse above.* This word implies that He went first so as to lead the way for others into a place that they could not go on their own.*

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to follow Christ into the places that He went that you cannot go on your own. Perhaps today God wants you to remember that you cannot fix your life; only He can. Maybe today God wants you to think about the “many” in your life that He wants you to share Him with. Perhaps God wants you to rethink suffering.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 2:10–13). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 168–174). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 53–54). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 107–108). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 2.3

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Can we pause for a moment to recognize the achievement of the life of Jesus Christ?

Jesus, the son of God, humbled and lowered Himself to come to earth, live a sinless life even as a human, suffer death, taste death for all (meaning, a full experience of death),* and raise back to life. He did all of this in less than a normal lifespan: around thirty-three years!

These acts were not just stand alone acts counted by their number (it’s a lot of things to accomplish in a half-lifespan), but they are to be counted by weight. The things that Jesus accomplished in half a life-span impacted eternity (all time) for all of humanity! That’s weighty!

James 4:14b tells us,

…What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Life here on Earth is like a mist. Some interpretations of Scripture say “a vapor.” Life is short and fleeting. Jesus Christ changed eternity for all of mankind in less than a mist! He did it in less than a vapor! What is less than a mist? Surely it’s not even a sneeze. Maybe it’s a “sigh”?

Here I am in my life, worried about God’s ability to do something about my situation. Here I am, worried that God may not be able to change my financial, relational, or future situations for my good. Jesus changed the course of all of humanity for all of time in less than a mist of time… what insignificant effort must it take God to solve my small problems?!

As George Guthrie shares,

Jesus provides a reference point from which to assess the greater realities of any given situation.

Take heart, your situation isn’t too big, and God cares… look at Jesus… He was willing to humble Himself, live a perfect life even as a human, experience death, and come back from the grave for you. He cares.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to allow God to shift your perspective. Perhaps today God wants you to believe that He is for you. Maybe today God wants you to take a deep breath and remember: this isn’t too big for God.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 2:5–9). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 143–147). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 49–53). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 96–105). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 2.2

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

Why isn’t life easy? Our culture seems to have equated financial success with God’s favor and right-standing with Him. Undoubtably, God has given large resources to some to be used for His Kingdom and for enjoyment. But what favor is shown to those who suffer persecution and own nothing in the many countries where Christians are the persecuted minority? How are some Christians allowed to live in comfort while others live in desperate circumstances? How are some that we pray for healed while others are not? Why is some pain alleviated while other pain persists?

The writer of Hebrews gives us insight into this plight: “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”

These words come on the heels of a quote from Psalm 110:1 (in chapter 1) and Psalm 8:4-6 (here in chapter 2).* These passages seem to contradict one another.* Psalm 110:1 looks to the future reign of Christ while Psalm 8:6 speaks as though everything has already been made subject to Him.* So which is it? Both!

We live in the necessary tension of the “now” and the “not yet” of His established Kingdom.* This uncomfortable space between the lifting up of Christ above all and the finalized realization of that reality has a very important purpose: to allow the Church to proclaim forgiveness in Christ to this world in fulfillment of God’s mission of reconciliation.* It’s a holy calling that requires us to pray that God’s Kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven one person at a time, one moment at a time, today.

The difficulty of this space in which we live is that while the mission is necessary, the suffering that we experience in this life inspires us to cry out for the future fulfilled and realized reign of Jesus. We often ask, “why do bad things happen to good people?” or we ask, “why does God allow evil to be in this world if He has conquered it?”* The answer is that He is giving the world time to turn back to Him, and in the mean time, that means allowing evil to sit side-by-side with the opportunity for choice.*

Pray that the world chooses Him. Pray that your neighbor turns toward Christ. Ask God for the empowerment and opportunity to share with your neighbor about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The pain of this life is real. Suffering is present. But, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ in this present age, we can know that the finished work of Jesus Christ will be established in the age to come.* Take hope.

Ray Stedman offers this perspective:

Yet, says this writer in what must be the understatement of the ages, we do not see everything subject to him. No, there are many things fallen humans cannot control: the weather, the seasons, the instincts of animals, the tides, our own passions, international events, natural disasters, and on and on. The increasing pollution of the planet, the spread of famines and wars, the toll taken by drugs, accidents and disease, all tell the story of a lost destiny.

But almost with a shout the author cries, But we see Jesus! He is the last hope of a dying race. And that hope lies both in his deity and his humanity. He alone, as a human being, managed to fulfill what was intended for us from the beginning. When we read the Gospels, we are forced to ask, Who is this man who stills the winds and the waves with a single word; who multiplies food at will; who walks on the waves; who summons fish to bring up coins at his command; who dismisses disease with a touch; and calls the dead back to life? Who is he? He is the Last Adam, living and acting as God intended us to act when he made us in the beginning. It was the First Adam who plunged the race into bondage and limitation; it is the Last who sets us free in soul and spirit, so that we may now learn how to live in the ages to come when the resurrection gives us back a body fit for the conditions of that life.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to take hope. Perhaps God wants you to breathe in the reality of His Kingdom come. Maybe God wants you to pray for His Kingdom to come today. Perhaps God would have you share with your neighbor about His forgiveness. Maybe God wants you to know that He loves you even when life is hard.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 2:5–9). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 143–147). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 49–53). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 96–105). Zondervan Publishing House.