New Testament · Letters

Hebrews chapter 12

So since we have this massive crowd of surrounding us, let’s throw off everything that weighs us down and the that clings so tightly, and let’s run with the laid out in front of us,keeping our eyes locked on Jesus, the one who . For the that was waiting for him on the other side, he endured the , treating its shame as nothing, and sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.Think carefully about him — the one who endured such hostility from — so that you don’t get and give up.You haven’t yet had to to the point of bleeding in your fight against .And you’ve completely forgotten the encouragement that speaks to you as children: “My child, don’t take it lightly when the you, and don’t give up when he calls you out,because the Lord those he loves, and every child he accepts.”Endure hardship as . God is treating you as his children. What child isn’t trained by their parent?If you’re not being trained — and every real child goes through this — then you’re not really his children at all.Besides, we’ve all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the and ?Our human fathers trained us for a short time and did what seemed best to them. But God trains us for our genuine benefit, so that we can share in his .No training feels enjoyable while it’s happening — it’s painful. But later on, for those who’ve been shaped by it, it produces a of and .So strengthen your ,and make for your feet, so that what’s injured isn’t made worse but instead gets healed.Chase after with everyone, and pursue the without which no one will see the Lord —watching carefully so that no one falls short of God’s , so that no grows up to cause trouble and corrupt many people,and so that no one becomes sexually immoral or , like Esau, who traded away his rights as the for a single meal.You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the , he was rejected. He , even though he begged for it with tears.You haven’t come to — a blazing fire, darkness, gloom, a violent storm,a , and a voice speaking words that made the listeners beg for it to stop.They couldn’t bear the command: “Even if an animal touches the mountain, it must be .”The sight was so that Moses said, “I’m .”But you have come to — to the city of the living God, the — and to countless thousands of angels in a ,and to the whose names are , and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of ,and to Jesus, the of a , and to that speaks a better message than .Make sure you don’t the one who is speaking. If those people didn’t escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who warns from heaven?His voice the earth back then, but now he has made a promise: “One more time I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”The phrase “one more time” makes it clear that everything that can be shaken — meaning created things — will be , so that what can’t be shaken will remain.So since we are receiving a that can’t be shaken, let’s be thankful and God in a way that honors him — with and ,because our God is a .