one step: Hebrews 13.5

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have…

These simple words shroud great difficulty in our culture. They are easier to say than do, and once done, they are even harder to keep doing.

The Stoics of ancient Greece and Rome sought to be content with what they had, but their aim was far different from what God asks of each of us: the Stoics sought to free themselves of the desire of anything external and to live satisfied with one’s natural potential so that they could be self-sufficient.*

So much of the love of money is wrapped up in a desire to be self-sufficient. Past situations that required us to depend upon others in uncomfortable ways or in ways that left us hurting propel us to seek money wholeheartedly. A love of money may be wrapped up in a desire to seek control. There is one glaring problem with the view of the Stoic: it fails to deal with the heart issue of self-sufficiency. God asks us to depend upon someone else: Him.

The letters of Paul refer to the love of money as idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5).* Why? Because we are plugging into something other than God as our Source. In looking to something else as our Source of security, we are setting that something (the love of money) up as our god.

Stedman shares,

The point of danger is the love of money which cancels out the sense of God’s love and promised supply, and launches the believer into worldly schemes for financial security that belie all trust in God.

The financial mechanisms of this world are unreliable at best. Failure can pounce at any moment like a wild cat set on death. The short history of our country demonstrates the fragility of our economy. It is a kingdom that can easily be shaken.

Freedom from the love of money is another expression of the unshakeable Kingdom of Heaven.* The one who finds freedom from the love of money does so by relying on God and His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. This is the way of the Kingdom. Do you believe Him?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to believe that He will never leave you or forsake you. Perhaps today God wants you to trust Him as your source. Maybe today God wants you to abandon your love of money. Perhaps today God wants you to repent and change the way you live your life toward 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.

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

*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 668–669). 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, pp. 184). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 437). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 13.4

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Talk of honoring marriage and keeping the marriage bed pure may sound like a throwback to former days of old-fashioned thinking. Truly, this conversation dates back thousands of years. At the time that the book of Hebrews came about, the Greco-Roman culture of the time held marriage in low esteem.* Marital affairs were considered to be acceptable.* Some parts of the Greco-Roman culture expected that men would have mistresses as confidants and sexual partners.* The feeling of some was that chastity in marriage was unreasonable.* Sound familiar?

In our society today, marriage has been demoted to an optional contract between whomever chooses to assign whatever value they please to it. Marriages, if they happen at all, end at an alarming rate due to a myriad of reasons, the least of which is not unfaithfulness. Sexual promiscuity and multiple sexual partners is more and more prevalent. Marital affairs are wrongly glorified in movies and television as exciting expressions of passion.

God is clear through the writer of Hebrews that this sort of behavior will bring judgment.* Unfaithfulness in marriage and sexual immorality result in the inescapable natural consequences of pain, hurt, and guilt.* More than these terrible consequences, however, the adulterer and the sexually immoral person will be judged for these actions (as we all will for our actions in this life).* The weightiness of the sin mirrors the weightiness of the value of marriage.

The sexual immorality of the Greco-Roman culture mirrors that of our own culture today. Spanning thousands of years, the issues of humanity appear timeless. As such, the conversation of marriage is timeless. Far from archaic or old-fashioned, faithfulness in marriage is paramount to our survival today. The family is the basic unit of society, and its breakdown impacts all.*

Much is at stake for our society, but the weightiness of the issue spans this natural earth. The characteristics of a God-centered marriage display the qualities of God’s unshakable Kingdom.* To keep the marriage bed pure and to hold marriage in honor (of precious value) is to spread the Kingdom of Heaven. Failing to do so fails to welcome in His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

The Greek word used for “honor” in describing how we should view marriage is the same word used to describe valuable material possessions (1 Corinthians 3:12), a respected teacher (Acts 5:34), the promises of God (2 Peter 1:4), and even the blood of Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:19).*

There is forgiveness for all who seek it, and the one who offers forgiveness values marriage.

Marriage is a big deal. Today.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to rid your life of anything impure. Perhaps today God wants you to begin a journey of freedom from all that would defile your marriage bed (past, present, or future). Maybe today God wants you to repent (change your entire outlook) about marriage. Perhaps today God wants you feel His love. Maybe today God wants you to accept His forgiveness so that you can live another way.

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 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 666–667). 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, pp. 184). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 436-437). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 13.3

 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

It’s not always easy to empathize with someone. To do so requires a willingness to feel difficult things by choice. How many times in life do we feel pain, heartache, sorrow, and loss because of things that we experience? Here in Hebrews 13, the author is asking us to purposefully engage in feeling difficult things that someone else is experiencing! Why would we sign up for that? Isn’t there enough heartache in our own life? Why sign up for more?

Because Jesus did.

Jesus was living His best life in heaven, but He came down to be tested in every way so that He could empathize with us (Hebrews 4:15).* Jesus didn’t just feel with us, though. He actually took our place.*

The empathy that God calls us to through Hebrews 13 does not just feel; it does something.* In the first century, prisoners were not treated well.* Often basic needs were completely unmet unless friends or family took it upon themselves to provide those needs themselves.* As the family of God, we must remember those suffering and in prison in practical ways. The word used in the Greek for “remember” indicates that we are to keep our imprisoned friends in mind constantly as if we are looking at them right in front of us.*

1 Corinthians 12:26 tell us,

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

There are many today in prison, but there are even more in prisons without walls. Imprisoned by fear, trauma, anger, jealousy, lust, or loneliness, we as believers must reach out to them with an empathy that looks like action.

Stedman shares,

We must feel with the prisoner or the mistreated, the shame, hurt and hopelessness they often experience, and minister to them out of an awareness that we too could have been where they are, had our circumstances been the same as theirs. Even those imprisoned justly merit Christian help, since Jesus ministered to the guilty and the condemned simply because they were human beings, who were victims of self-deceit or ignorance.

Jesus ministered to you and me at our worst points of life, empathizing and helping.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to visit someone you know in prison. Perhaps today God wants you to open your heart to the pain and suffering of others. Maybe today God wants you to remember all that Jesus has done for you. Perhaps today God wants you to be Jesus to someone walking around at your job, school, or neighborhood looking free but living imprisoned.

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 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 665–666). 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, pp. 184). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 436). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 13.2

 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

There is nothing nicer than staying in a nice hotel where they turn down your sheets at night, make your bed in the morning, give you wake up calls, offer fancy towels folded like swans, and throw in complementary meals. The hospitality industry has made a business out of caring well for people they don’t even know and making them to feel special.

Hotels vary in prices, and you can even rent someone’s home for a decent rate at times, especially if rented with friends. In the ancient world, overnight stays at inns were expensive and kind of… well… they had a bad reputation.* What were people to do when staying in town for business or while passing through?

The broader Greco-Roman culture as well as the culture of pious Jews and Christians involved giving people a place to stay for an evening.* Can you imagine? I can’t! I can’t imagine coming into town, looking around, and hoping that someone offers to allow me and my family to stay the night with them. That’s wild!

I’ve stayed in people’s homes that I don’t know, but it was definitely someone’s home that knew someone that I knew. Putting up strangers… that’s something all together different!

This kind of hospitality is a hospitality recognized in heaven.*

Hospitality is an amazing gift. My wife has this gift, and she exercises it generously! Everyone who knows her has felt the warmth of her hospitality in a way that teases of heaven. When friends or family come over, they are shown a love through carefully thought-out planning, action, and service that out-performs the best hotel (sure, I’m her husband, so i’m biased… but seriously… she’s gifted)!

God invites all of us is to show the same kind of thought-out planning, action, and service to people we don’t know. Abraham (Genesis 16), Gideon (Judges 6), and Manoah (Judges 13) all provided strangers with hospitality, and in their cases, they entertained angels!

We live in a different time and culture than the author of Hebrews which might make providing this same expression of hospitality feel dangerous. But it’s worth asking: how many times have you shown love to a stranger? When have you shown hospitality to someone that you do not know?

Jesus said, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

When we show hospitality to a stranger, we may or may not be entertaining an angel, but we are for sure serving Jesus.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to do something to intentionally care for someone you don’t even know. Perhaps today God wants you to let a friend-of-a-friend stay on your couch or in an extra room for a night. Maybe today there is a stranger in need of a friend.

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 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 664–665). 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, pp. 183–184). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 435–436). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Hebrews 13.1

Let brotherly love continue.

I once spent a summer in South Africa to share the Gospel. I left that special country with many memories that shaped my faith-walk with Jesus. One such story happened early on our trip (it might have been a day or two). While we were loading up our van to leave where we were staying, one of the locals asked our leader through an interpreter who we were and what we were about. This conversation opened the door for our leader to introduce this person to Jesus. It was incredible to see our trip start in such a way! What happened? What sparked this conversation?

Our leader told us that the man who inquired said that he couldn’t believe how we treated one another. He had never seen such love in a team, so he had to know why.

This moment changed my perspective on the importance of showing love to one another. I had been hurt many, many times by those that God calls my sisters and brothers. These hurts caused me to hate people. Though, through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, I no longer hated people, I held back my love. Maybe I feared getting hurt again, or maybe I still held onto some bitterness. Maybe it was both. Whatever the case, this moment changed everything for me.

Jesus says in John 13:35,

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

The love that Jesus wants us to have and show one another does not fit in a box of emotion.* The love is based upon connection: all Christians must love one another because they all share a connection to Christ.* The Greek philosopher Plutarch (born A.D. 46) described brotherly love as similar to the partnership of fingers that are joined together by a hand.* Separation of those joined by brotherly love (philadelphia) are not easily separated.

God chose to place the Greek word philadelphia rather than agapē for the word “love” in this passage.* This communicates a familial responsibility that indicates (with the surrounding context) that the love that the members of God’s family must include meeting practical needs in addition to sharing affection. Love as God intended it amongst the members of God’s family requires expression.

This is not a novel concept to the believers reading the book of Hebrews. The author of Hebrews acknowledges that brotherly love that exists in the readers of his letter, but he invites us all to continue in this love.* How many of us have been hurt, misunderstood, or felt that our love was a one way street without reciprocation? I imagine that all of us have felt these things from those that God calls our sisters and brothers. Experiences such as these can cause us not to continue showing love. The reasons we must risk showing love again are many, but in South Africa, for one man, it meant meeting Jesus.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to be brave and love again. Perhaps today God wants you to reengage with His family. Maybe today God wants you to show love in a practical way. Perhaps today God wants you to tell those about Him that you have been showing Him to in the way you love others.

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 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 663–664). 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, pp. 183). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 435). Zondervan Publishing House.