Dog Dad Devotions on Leadership, Loyalty and Love

A Brighter Future: A 5-Day Devotional

When God Says No!

Pawprints & Prayers: Devotions for Dog Lovers

See God’s Peace: 3 Days of Visio Divina

Living With a Strong-Willed Child

Acts Reading Plan

The Journey of Yes

The Last Half Hour: When Waiting Becomes Glory

God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="label">10</div><div class="s1">Christ&#8217;s Sacrifice Once for All</div><div class="p"> 1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming&#8212;not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.</div><div class="p"> 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,</div><div class="q2">but a body you prepared for me;</div><div class="q1"> 6with burnt offerings and sin offerings</div><div class="q2">you were not pleased.</div><div class="q1"> 7Then I said, &#8216;Here I am&#8212;it is written about me in the scroll&#8212;</div><div class="q2">I have come to do your will, my God.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#10:7 Psalm 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="m"> 8First he said, &#8220;Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them&#8221;&#8212;though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9Then he said, &#8220;Here I am, I have come to do your will.&#8221; He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.</div><div class="p"> 11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.</div><div class="p"> 15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:</div><div class="q1"> 16&#8220;This is the covenant I will make with them</div><div class="q2">after that time, says the Lord.</div><div class="q1">I will put my laws in their hearts,</div><div class="q2">and I will write them on their minds.&#8221;#10:16 Jer. 31:33</div><div class="m"> 17Then he adds:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Their sins and lawless acts</div><div class="q2">I will remember no more.&#8221;#10:17 Jer. 31:34</div><div class="m"> 18And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.</div><div class="s1">A Call to Persevere in Faith</div><div class="p"> 19Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another&#8212;and all the more as you see the Day approaching.</div><div class="p"> 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, &#8220;It is mine to avenge; I will repay,&#8221;#10:30 Deut. 32:35 and again, &#8220;The Lord will judge his people.&#8221;#10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.</div><div class="p"> 32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.</div><div class="p"> 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;In just a little while,</div><div class="q2">he who is coming will come</div><div class="q2">and will not delay.&#8221;#10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3</div><div class="m"> 38And,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;But my righteous#10:38 Some manuscripts But the righteous one will live by faith.</div><div class="q2">And I take no pleasure</div><div class="q2">in the one who shrinks back.&#8221;#10:38 Hab. 2:4 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="m"> 39But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.</div>
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 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">Faith in Action</div><div class="p"> 1Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.</div><div class="p"> 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God&#8217;s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.</div><div class="p"> 4By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.</div><div class="p"> 5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: &#8220;He could not be found, because God had taken him away.&#8221;#11:5 Gen. 5:24 For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.</div><div class="p"> 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.</div><div class="p"> 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she#11:11 Or By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children&#8212;and Sarah herself was not able to conceive&#8212;was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.</div><div class="p"> 13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country&#8212;a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.</div><div class="p"> 17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, &#8220;It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.&#8221;#11:18 Gen. 21:12 19Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.</div><div class="p"> 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.</div><div class="p"> 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph&#8217;s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.</div><div class="p"> 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.</div><div class="p"> 23By faith Moses&#8217; parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king&#8217;s edict.</div><div class="p"> 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh&#8217;s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king&#8217;s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.</div><div class="p"> 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.</div><div class="p"> 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.#11:31 Or unbelieving</div><div class="p"> 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were put to death by stoning;#11:37 Some early manuscripts stoning; they were put to the test; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated&#8212; 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.</div><div class="p"> 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="HEB.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="p"> 1Therefore, 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, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of 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. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.</div><div class="s1">God Disciplines His Children</div><div class="p"> 4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;My son, do not make light of the Lord&#8217;s discipline,</div><div class="q2">and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,</div><div class="q1"> 6because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,</div><div class="q2">and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.&#8221;#12:5,6 Prov. 3:11,12 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p"> 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8If you are not disciplined&#8212;and everyone undergoes discipline&#8212;then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.</div><div class="p"> 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13&#8220;Make level paths for your feet,&#8221;#12:13 Prov. 4:26 so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.</div><div class="s1">Warning and Encouragement</div><div class="p"> 14Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.</div><div class="s1">The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy</div><div class="p"> 18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: &#8220;If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.&#8221;#12:20 Exodus 19:12,13 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, &#8220;I am trembling with fear.&#8221;#12:21 See Deut. 9:19.</div><div class="p"> 22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.</div><div class="p"> 25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, &#8220;Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.&#8221;#12:26 Haggai 2:6 27The words &#8220;once more&#8221; indicate the removing of what can be shaken&#8212;that is, created things&#8212;so that what cannot be shaken may remain.</div><div class="p"> 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our &#8220;God is a consuming fire.&#8221;#12:29 Deut. 4:24</div>
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 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Concluding Exhortations</div><div class="p"> 1Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.</div><div class="p"> 4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Never will I leave you;</div><div class="q2">never will I forsake you.&#8221;#13:5 Deut. 31:6</div><div class="m"> 6So we say with confidence,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.</div><div class="q2">What can mere mortals do to me?&#8221;#13:6 Psalm 118:6,7</div><div class="p"> 7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.</div><div class="p"> 9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.</div><div class="p"> 11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.</div><div class="p"> 15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise&#8212;the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.</div><div class="p"> 17Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.</div><div class="p"> 18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.</div><div class="s1">Benediction and Final Greetings</div><div class="p"> 20Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 22Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.</div><div class="p"> 23I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.</div><div class="p"> 24Greet all your leaders and all the Lord&#8217;s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.</div><div class="p"> 25Grace be with you all.</div>
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