Week 14/ Day 1
Hebrews 11:40
“…since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Journaling Assignment #1
Write the verse and read it several times. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you His heart in this verse. Don’t forget to practice the first 40 verses together several times today. You just memorized a chapter of the Bible!!!!! WooHoo!!!!!! Way to go!!!!!!
Journaling Assignment #2
Spend today considering the following concept, not by looking anything up, but simply based on what comes to your mind. There is no right or wrong. This is just a jumping off point. Take the time to reflect; be honest and
open with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. We have nothing to do in the space except grow and learn! I will even provide my journal notes each day so that you can see the mess that the Lord is working with here!! The ancient faithful and “us”
Kinsee’s Stream of Consciousness Journal Notes
The list of amazing giants of our faith whom are included in this chapter of the Bible is overwhelming. They are almost superhuman in my mind. We read about them in the Scriptures, we sing about them when we worship, we tell our children about them in order to encourage them to be brave and strong. The ancient faithful were God’s vessels, His chosen Ones to point the world to Himself. They faced challenges and hindrances that are more than I can imagine. They led in powerful ways. They interacted with God in personal and tangible experiences. They are the ones that we cannot wait to sit and talk to when we get to Heaven. Then there is “us.” We are here on earth now, in this time of history. God seems to work in very different ways. We don’t often, or ever, hear God in burning bushes or see Him when we are thrown into a den of lions. The Lord has never asked me to part a sea or blow a horn in order to conquer a foreign land. I would not dare compare myself with Abraham or Moses or David or Daniel. I shrink into my chair at the thought. I could never be as bold, as brave, as faithful. And yet, God had something planned for the ancient faithful and us… together! We were all to be heirs of the same promises. Noah and me…linked together in the omniscience and grace of God. Do you feel it a little, the connection to the ancient faithful? I think I might and it is pretty incredible!! What a blessing to be a part of the family of God!!
Journaling Assignment #3
Jot down anything from this verse that jumps out at you. Include other scriptures that come to mind. Cross references add great insight into each verse. It is powerful to keep notes of what the Holy Spirit draws out of the verse in your heart and also to study Scripture in light of Scripture.
Week 14/Day 2
Hebrews 11:40
“…since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Let’s Dig into Some Truth:
The ancient faithful:
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses parents, Moses, the Israelites, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, David, Samuel, the Prophets…
By their faith they: pleased God, sacrificed to God, condemned the world, became heirs of righteousness, moved, obeyed, trusted God, hid, refused, chose, regarded riches as worthless, fled, passed through the sea, welcomed spies, conquered kingdoms, administered justice, became mighty and strong, received back their dead, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flame, escaped the edge of the sword, were tortured, faced jeers and flogging, went to prison in chains, were stoned to death, sawed in two and killed by the sword, were destitute, persecuted and mistreated, were commended…
All of this was “by faith.” They were confident in what they hoped for and assured about what they did not see.
Reality Check #1: I pray that as we finish this powerful chapter of the Bible we will have a deeper and more intimate knowledge of these giants of our faith. Hebrews 11 is an amazing list of faithful people who
struggled, celebrated, doubted, suffered and rejoiced as they journeyed with the Lord. These are not cartoon characters and this is not a superhero movie. This is the historical account of how God worked in the lives of those imperfect people who chose to have faith in Him. God worked through them despite their shortcomings and failures. God loved them despite their wayward and wandering hearts. God chose them and He was faithful to them. As we learn of their relationship with God, we learn more of the character of God. We can lean into these faith stories to be encouraged by our faithful God. “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all His holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” (Philemon 4-7).
Reality Check #2: “By faith WE understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Did you catch that? Even before God mentioned Abel, He mentioned us! We are in the “Hall of Faith!” And here is my favorite part: God wrote us into His story of faith before we even took our first breath. Our faith is not based on what we do, it is based in who God is. He is faithful and therefore He enables us to be faithful. He gives us His courage, His strength and His wisdom. It is God who defines us, just as He defined the ancient faithful referenced in this passage. Sweet friend, there is power in that! Don’t waste another minute feeling inferior or weak. You are called by God. You are chosen by God. You are a vessel for God. Through Him you can conquer kingdoms, administer justice and gain the things promised. Through Him you can shut the mouth of lions, quench the fury of the flames and escape the edge of the sword. Through Him you can persevere through persecution and threats of the enemy. He is our faith and by faith you can do all things that He calls you to do.
Journaling Assignment #4
Take time to record the “reality checks” that the Lord provided to you as you were digging into His truth today.
Week 14/ Day 3
Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”
Journaling Assignment #1
Write the verse and read it several times. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you His heart in this verse. Don’t
forget to practice the first 41 verses together several times today.
Journaling Assignment #2
Spend today defining the following words, not by looking them up, but simply based on what comes to your mind. There is no right or wrong. This is just a jumping off point. Take the time to reflect; be honest and open with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. We have nothing to do in the space except grow and learn! I will even provide my journal notes each day so that you can see the mess that the Lord is working with here!!
hinders/entangles
perseverance
marked out
Kinsee’s Stream of Consciousness Journal Notes
Hinders/entangles: I had a conversation today with my oldest son’s tennis coach about the difference between a “mental can’t” and a “physical can’t.” He explained to me that as a marine they spend 3-4 months bridging the gap between what the body can do and what the mind perceives that it can do. When the two limits are married, new possibilities are opened for advancement, achievement and success. The trick is that even if the limitation is mental, you still feel insecure as you learn to persevere through the perceived wall. There is a mental limit that, even though it is not physical, will hinder you from peak physical performance. I think that fear often times hinders us as well; fear of failure, fear of pain, fear of embarrassment… each a perceived limitation that is keeping us from attainable goals and progress. When we are entangled, there is an actual physical limitation. If my arms and legs are entangled in a rope, I cannot run and climb. If my heart and mind are entangled in the lies of Satan, I cannot run after the Lord.
Perseverance: Perseverance takes me back to the “mental can’t” that we just discussed. As a runner, I rely on perseverance everyday. I also rely on my ability to lie to myself each morning: “I will just run 2 miles today. It will be easy.” I think this each day as I head down to my treadmill, knowing full well that I am actually hoping for at least 6. It takes stepping onto the treadmill to do anything at all. I have to persevere through that first mile at which point I tell myself, “You can do one more”. After the second…may as well push through 3 and eventually an hour has passed, I am a sweaty mess ready to face the day knowing that I can persevere through whatever comes my way. I just proved it to myself. Here is the thing you should know, it never gets easy. Every step of every mile hurts in my legs and my lungs. It is perseverance, not ease that gets me through my morning runs and that is the actual message that I need for my day. When the trials come, I just have to persevere one step at a time, turning to one mile at a time, turning to a full run. All the while realizing that at the end of the trial I will be a sweaty mess, knowing that I can make it through, but it just will not be easy.
Marked out: I love a plan. I love a schedule. I love the idea that something is marked out. Just tell me what you want from me in exact detail and I will get it done. I like black and white, I get nervous in the gray. Forging new ground, uncharted territory (say like writing an online study of Hebrews 11) takes me way outside of my comfort zone! I cannot see the path marked out, I do not know exactly which way to go and I am 100% guaranteed to make mistakes. Being an “indian” is much easier for me than being a “chief.” I would rather follow your path than create my own. And yet, here we are! Thanks again for figuring out this new path with me!
Journaling Assignment #3
Jot down anything from this verse that jumps out at you. Include other scriptures that come to mind. Cross references add great insight into each verse. It is powerful to keep notes of what the Holy Spirit draws out of the verse in your heart and also to study Scripture in light of Scripture.
Week 14/Day 4
Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”
Let’s Dig into Some Truth
In Matthew Henry’s commentary on Hebrews 12, he breaks this verse down into 2 parts: preparation and action. I would like for us to do the same. The first part is laying aside the weights and sins that hold us back. My youngest uses a weight on his baseball bat when he is warming up. When he takes the weight off, the bat is 5 pounds lighter and much easier to swing. Imagine if he chose to play the game with the weight still on his bat, that would be crazy! However, many of us have forgotten to take the weights off as we prepare for our race. A great Biblical reference for the entanglement of sin is Jonah. He was literally entangled with the insides of a giant fish! It is pretty hard to run a race from there! Two things to notice in the story of Jonah. The first is that it was not only the body of the fish that was holding him back, it was his own sin of pride. Jonah refused to go to Nineveh because he did not want to see the evil civilization receive the grace of God. He was acting as judge and only God can do that. Second, just because Jonah was wrapped up in his sin, that does not meant that God was not present and active in his life. Jonah 2:1-2 says, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said, “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the deep realm of the dead I called for help and you listened to my cry.” God is faithful even when we are all tied up in ourselves and our sins.
Reality Check #1: The Holy Spirit will give us the power to throw off hindrances and He will free us from our entanglement. Unlike the miles logged on my treadmill each morning, I cannot fight the spiritual battles of hindrances and entanglements in my own strength. I first must be aware of the weights that I am carrying around. As a mom, we can relate to this from carrying our children. They are 7-8 pounds when they are born and by the time they are 2, they are closer to 25-30. If yours are like mine and walk later that means that you are carrying around 30 pounds all day every day. My kids are now 8 and 13 and if you asked me to carry around a 30 pound weight while I grocery shopped, cleaned my house and loaded a car, I simply could not do it. But 6 years ago I could. How? Because I became accustomed to the weight and did not realize how heavy it really was or the toll that it was taking on my body. The weights that we carry around life work the same way. People pleasing(thud), bitterness(thud), control(thud), anxiety(thud). Each is a weight added to our lives, holding us back from our race. The Holy Spirit can make us aware of these weights and then nudge us to put them down. When we are entangled and we choose to be honest, we probably know that we are in a mess. The sneaky thing here is that often times we don’t know how we got there. One example is when I find myself in a verbal debate over something that I don’t really care that much about…I feel my blood pressure rises, heart rate picks up and adrenaline spikes. Then I realize, um, I don’t care! How and why am I in this position? How did I allow myself to be entangled in this situation? Sin does the same thing to us. Some judging here, a whisper there, innocent flirting at work, a little less in the offering plate, a little more time at the bar. It all seems harmless in the moment and then you find yourself entangled and unable to free yourself from the clutches of Satan and his lies. You don’t have to! Cry out to God! He heard Jonah in the belly of the fish and He will hear you from wherever you are. Psalm 61:2 can be the promise that we cling to in our most humiliating failures, “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me tot he rock that is higher than I.” He will come to you. He will not judge you. He will love you. He will take the weights and free you from the sin so that you can run this race for Him!
Reality Check #2: We are now ready to run! In running a race, or starting any new venture, I find that the most challenging part is often between 1/2-3/4 of the way through. The newness and excitement has worn off while fatigue and doubt begin to set in. Satan begins to ask, “Are you sure you can do this?” “Do you think it is time to quit?” “Could someone else do this better than you?” “What will it really hurt if you walk away?” It is at this point that we must lay our weaknesses before the cross and allow Jesus to carry us to the finish line. He is our perseverance! In the strength of Jesus, we can respond to Satan, “No, I can’t do this, but Jesus can and He will.” “No, It is not time to quit until Jesus comes back or takes me home to Him.” “Yes, lots of people could do this better than me but that doesn’t matter because I am the one He has called and He will be faithful.” It will hurt the heart of my Savior if I walk away. Even armed with this truth, there are days when we simply cannot put one foot in front of the other. That is ok because we have this promise: “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). When you can’t persevere anymore, He will carry you until you regain enough strength to run again.
Reality Check #3: This is perhaps my favorite part of this verse. I love that there is a race marked out for each of God’s children. None of our races are the same. This eliminates the need for competition and comparison in the lives of Christians. This is the ultimate “stay in your lane” moment! God has a plan and a purpose marked out for you. While this may seem like a simple message that you have heard since childhood, please don’t rush over it. Take it in. It matters. Your life, your time on this earth is marked out by the God who created the universe. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” That means today, my friend! It is ordained and marked out by God. Now, I will say that the following verse in Psalm 139 echoes my thoughts on many days: “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast the sum of them.” There are often times that I consider the day ordained for me and wonder what God was thinking! I wish that He would show me the map of my life with the race marked out so that I could better understand why things happen the way that they do. That is what brings us back to faith: confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. God was faithful in the lives of each of the witnesses in Hebrews 11 as they ran their races and He will be faithful to each of us as we run the race marked out for us.
Journaling Assignment #4
Take time to record the “reality checks” that the Lord provided to you as you were digging into His truth today.
Week 14/ Day 5:
Hebrews 12:2
“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Journaling Assignment #1
Write the verse and read it several times. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you His heart in this verse. Don’t forget to practice the first 42 verses together several times today.
Who do we meet today?
Jesus: ”For to us a child is born! A son is given…! and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).This amazing gift, God in the flesh, was mentioned previously when we studied Moses, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value that the treasures of Egypt.” How is that possible? The ministry of Jesus on Earth was hundreds of years after Moses was buried by God. I believe that this affirms the reality of the Trinity. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit; three in one. They were all present from the beginning of time and will all be present for all of eternity. To know God is to know Jesus. Moses was walking with God, through the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore he innately knew of the existence of Jesus. We, however, are given the blessing of knowing the whole story of Jesus. We know, without a doubt, that He came to earth as a helpless baby. We know that He lived a perfect life and served everyone that He encountered. We know of the miracles, healings and teachings of the Son of God. We know that He was crucified for our sins in order that we might be reconciled with our Holy God. We know that death could not hold Him! We know that as He rose from the grave, He claimed victory over death and sin. We know that we are no longer bound to the grave because Jesus broke the chains. We know that we can run this race because God marked it out for us, Jesus made a way for us and the Holy Spirit empowers us. The perfect Trinity, three in One, forever faithful in our lives.
Journaling Assignment #2
Spend today defining the following words, not by looking them up, but simply based on what comes to your mind. There is no right or wrong. This is just a jumping off point. Take the time to reflect; be honest and open with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. We have nothing to do in the space except grow and learn! I will even provide my journal notes each day so that you can see the mess that the Lord is working with here!!
fixing
pioneer/perfecter
joy
Kinsee’s Stream of Consciousness Journal Notes
Fixing: To fix initially makes me think of something that is broken. A few years ago, we dealt with a broken bed frame due to several neighborhood boys using it as a WWE ring. It needed fixing! There could be no sleeping on the sideways bed until the issue was resolved. It became a priority. This leads me to another thought about fixing; when the bed became a priority, my attention became fixed on resolving the problem. I didn’t walk away or become distracted from the situation because it mattered to me. It was more important than the other things on my list that day. When our attention is fixed on something or someone, they matter to us.
Pioneer/Perfecter: A pioneer is someone who forges new ground. We think of the pioneers who settled our country. There are pioneers in the medical community discovering life saving practices and medicines. The pioneers of the technology industry are presenting us with new products and innovations hourly! Pioneers have visions and courage to lead us into the unknown. I do not necessarily link pioneers to perfecters. These seem like two very different personalities. Pioneers would be more big picture while the perfecters would focus on details. What a great team these minds can make together! One with the big ideas and one with the patience to iron out the wrinkles.
Joy: Joy is often associated with happiness. As Christians we are told that joy matters more than happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances and joy is based on our relationship with Christ. I am going to be honest and admit that while I academically understand the difference, I find it very hard to live it out. Finding joy in the midst of trials is not easy. Happiness when things are going my way…much more natural for me!
Journaling Assignment #3
Jot down anything from this verse that jumps out at you. Include other scriptures that come to mind. Cross references add great insight into each verse. It is powerful to keep notes of what the Holy Spirit draws out of the verse in your heart and also to study Scripture in light of Scripture
Week 14/Day 6
Hebrews 12:2
“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Let’s Dig into Some Truth
Reality Check #1: This is such a pivotal moment in our study. Fixing our eyes on Jesus is critical to our ability to run the race marked out for us. In Matthew 14:28-31, we read the story of Peter walking on the water. If you remember, Jesus was walking on the water and Peter asked to join Him. Jesus called Peter out of the boat and Peter obeyed this calling. “But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out ‘Lord, save me!” Have you been here? Are you here now? Jesus has called you and you have obeyed. That is no small feat and you can celebrate that! Yet now, as you are running the race, the wind and waves are bigger, louder and more impactful than you imagined. You are afraid. Turn your eyes from your circumstances to the Truth of Jesus. I do not want to leave this as a vague notion. Let’s get practical. When your mind is spinning in the anxiety of your current circumstances, force it to truth. Here are a few ideas: recite scripture, sing worship songs, pray out loud, copy scripture by hand. Engage your mind in Truth, allow the power of the Holy Spirit to change your gaze and to fix your eyes on Jesus. He will respond to you just as He responded to Peter in Matthew 14:31a, ”Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.”
Reality Check #2: We have already recognized that the Trinity exists and that to know God is to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Why then is Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith? I believe that it is because His ministry on Earth changed everything for the rest of eternity. Jesus was the perfect embodiment of what it looks like to live out our faith. He was the pioneer of our faith and He did it perfectly. Our faith was established when Jesus was resurrected from the grave and it will be perfected when He comes to rule on Earth again. Our faith exists through His sacrifice and is covered by His blood. Without Jesus our religion ceases to exist and even more so our relationship with God is impossible. “For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring’” (Acts 17:28). There is great freedom in the fact that we are not responsible for the beginning of our faith, nor are we responsible for the perfection of our faith. Jesus is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. We are only responsible for responding to His grace.
Reality Check #3: Jesus is our example in this verse of finding joy despite the situation, and His situation is one like we will never have to face. He took on the cross, He suffered separation from God, and now we will never have to endure such agony. The sequence of the words is important: joy…endured…sat down. Jesus knew the joy that was promised; therefore He endured the agony of the circumstance and then sat down in glory. We cannot endure the agonies of life unless we have confidence in the joy that awaits us in eternity. Joy is not happiness and it does not necessarily present itself in a smile or a light spirit. At times, joy is a deep seeded trust, down in the depths of our souls, that gives us strength to persevere for the glory that will come. It looks like grit, determination, desperate prayers, crying out to God and life spent on our knees. In reality, joy and happiness have nothing in common. Happiness is wonderful! It is also momentary, fickle and fleeting. Joy is eternal, and not of our own strength. Happiness feels good, it is an emotion. Joy is not an emotion at all. It is a confidence of things to come, it is faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Romans 8:18-24 provides a wonderful commentary on the confidence of future glory balanced with the reality of the struggles of this life. “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:23-24).
Journaling Assignment #4
Take time to record the “reality checks” that the Lord provided to you as you were digging into His truth today.
Week 14/Day 7
Reflection Day
1. Reflect on your notes from this week.
2. Practice the verses that you have memorized so far.
-Write them.
-Recite them to a friend or family member to check for accuracy.
-Use them as a prayer to the Lord.
3. Read Hebrews 11 in its entirety a couple of times.
4. Pray for endurance throughout this journey.
5. Remember…
“He who has called you is faithful and He will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God’s will, His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
Scripture Memory Strategies
1. Copy the Scripture several times. Then try to write it by memory.
2. Set an alarm on your phone for 4 times each day. Each time you hear the alarm, practice your scripture.
3. Showers! The shower is a perfect time to recite your scripture.
4. Traffic. As you sit, instead of getting frustrated, use the time to practice.
5. Accountability. Find a friend working on scripture memory as well. Recite your scripture to each other one day a week.
6. What else? List some ideas that might work for you!
