Bible Reading Plan – Day 344

₁In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, ₂but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. ₃He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for human sins, he sat down in heaven at the right-hand side of God, the Supreme Power.

₄The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs. ₅For God never said to any of his angels:

₁₄What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.

₁That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. ₂The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and all who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. ₃How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true. ₄At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

₅God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come — the world of which we speak. ₆Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures:

₁₁He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family. ₁₂He says to God:

₁₄Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, ₁₅and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. ₁₆For it is clear that it is not the angels that he helps. Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham. ₁₇This means that he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in his service to God, so that the people's sins would be forgiven. ₁₈And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself was tempted and suffered.

₁My Christian brothers and sisters, who also have been called by God! Think of Jesus, whom God sent to be the High Priest of the faith we profess. ₂He was faithful to God, who chose him to do this work, just as Moses was faithful in his work in God's house. ₃A man who builds a house receives more honour than the house itself. In the same way Jesus is worthy of much greater honour than Moses. ₄Every house, of course, is built by someone — and God is the one who has built all things. ₅Moses was faithful in God's house as a servant, and he spoke of the things that God would say in the future. ₆But Christ is faithful as the Son in charge of God's house. We are his house if we keep up our courage and our confidence in what we hope for.

₇So then, as the Holy Spirit says:

₁₂My fellow-believers, be careful that no one among you has a heart so evil and unbelieving as to turn away from the living God. ₁₃Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word “Today” in the scripture applies to us. ₁₄For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.

₁₅This is what the scripture says:

₁₆Who were the people who heard God's voice and rebelled against him? All those who were led out of Egypt by Moses. ₁₇With whom was God angry for forty years? With the people who sinned, who fell down dead in the desert. ₁₈When God made his solemn promise, “They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest” — of whom was he speaking? Of those who rebelled. ₁₉We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land, because they did not believe.

₁Now, God has offered us the promise that we may receive that rest he spoke about. Let us take care, then, that none of you will be found to have failed to receive that promised rest. ₂For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith. ₃We who believe, then, do receive that rest which God promised. It is just as he said:

₈If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day. ₉As it is, however, there still remains for God's people a rest like God's resting on the seventh day. ₁₀For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from his. ₁₁Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith.

₁₂The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. ₁₃There is nothing that can be hidden from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.

₁₄Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God — Jesus, the Son of God. ₁₅Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. ₁₆Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.