An Anchor for the Soul

A series on the book of Hebrews:
A call to maturity and hope
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 5:11-6:20 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then the day-to-day pressures of living can push out those feelings and dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

In 2016, I went deep sea fishing off the coast of North Carolina with some family members. We left the dock at sunrise. It was a calm, beautiful start to the day. Leaving the harbor, we headed out to sea – twenty-five miles out to sea!

 

The ocean became a series of nonstop rolling waves… one after the other. Riding the crest of one wave, our boat would go airborne and slam into the next one. The pounding of wave after wave was endless. My stomach began to churn. By the time we stopped, I was in no condition to go fishing.

 

So far, in our study of Hebrews, the writer has shown how Jesus is greater than the prophets, the angels and Moses. In chapter four he introduced the topic of Jesus as the perfect high priest, “in the order of Melchizedek”.

 

He wanted to write more in depth about this, but couldn’t. He couldn’t because he concluded that his readers wouldn’t understand. And they wouldn’t understand because they were spiritually immature. In fact, he compared them to a baby who drinks milk when they should be eating solid food.

 

At this point, he gave them a severe warning.

 

⁴ For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— ⁶ and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.     NLT

 

These were harsh, judgmental words. But there was hope! Not only for those Jewish Christians who were considering rejecting their faith, but also for us today. Maybe we don’t explicitly reject Christ; but implicitly, by our actions, we do. However, God is steadfast and faithful. And because of this, there is hope!

 

¹⁸ So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  NLT

 

Those who have taken hold of his hope “may be greatly encouraged”. In fact, Jesus offers us a new hope because he’s entered the very presence of the Living God; he’s entered the Holy of Holies. And he’s done this so that we also might follow him into the presence of our Heavenly Father.

¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.          NIV

 

I’m not sure that an anchor would have helped me to deal with those rolling waves off the coast of North Carolina. However, like an anchor, the hope we find in Jesus gives us stability during the turbulent waters of life.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

He Gets Us!

A series on the book of Hebrews:
Jesus as the great high priest
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 4:14-5:10 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then the day-to-day pressures of living can push out those feelings and dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

In 2022, an advertising campaign was launched titled, “He Gets Us”. According to Wikipedia, the purpose of the ads, are “to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible”. And to do this with “an emphasis on inclusion, compassion, and radical forgiveness".

 

This should raise a question for us. Who is this Jesus of the Bible?

 

At Mount Sinai, God directed Moses to set up a priestly sacrificial system that would model God’s holiness. With that in mind, the high priest was the only person who could enter the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle, and then only once a year.

 

The Most Holy Place was where the presence of the Holy God was. In a way, it was His home. The purpose of the high priest was to offer a sacrifice for his own sins, as well as the sins of Israel.

 

As the author of Hebrews points out, a high priest was chosen to represent the people of Israel to God. He was their mediator. Also, the high priest understood their weaknesses because he too was human and had the same weaknesses.

 

In these verses in Hebrews, you may be surprised to read that Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered. In other words, through his weakness of being human. Verse seven is a reference to Jesus pleading with God in the Garden of Gethsemane, to “take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done”.

 

⁷ While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

⁸ Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. ⁹ In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.        NLT

 

Because we have a high priest who is the Son of God, and because he is also fully human, he understands us. As the commercials state: “He gets us”.

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.                       NIV

 

For the Jewish Christians who received the letter to the Hebrews, the above verses brought out an important distinction for them to understand. They were considering rejecting their Christian faith to return to their Jewish roots. But Jesus was clearly the superior High Priest.

 

For us today, these verses teach us an important lesson. Unlike the Jews of that day, we don’t have to wait once a year for the Day of Atonement. And our sins have been wiped clean once and for all by Jesus. He now sits at the right of God the Father, and we can approach him anytime, anyplace.

 

He gets us!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

The Promise of Rest

A series on the book of Hebrews:
Christ is greater than Moses and leads to a better rest
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 3:1-4:13 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then life settles in and can push out those feelings. The day-to-day pressures of living can dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

In 2022, my wife and I went to Disney World with our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren – seven of us total. Because it was during Disney’s Halloween celebration, we dressed up as the “Seven Dwarfs”. I was “Sleepy”.

 

Someone in our family observed that each of the Seven Dwarf characters fit the person portraying them. Even though I’ve been known to fall asleep almost anywhere, I have no idea what they’re talking about.

 

Throughout Scripture, God has promised rest to his people. Moses led Israel out of slavery to the border of Canaan, the Promised Land of rest. But they were afraid to take possession because of the people already living there. They didn’t believe that the Lord could defeat them, so they rebelled.

 

As a result, they never entered God’s rest of the Promised Land.

 

¹⁸ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.     NIV

 

Just like the Israelites who didn’t enter God’s rest, the Jewish Christians that Hebrews was written to, were about to do the same thing. All they could see were the struggles they had to face and the problems that seemed insurmountable.

 

Therefore, the author reminded them that the Lord still offered his rest to those who have faith and believe. So, he called on them to do everything that they could to enter God’s rest. Then he admonished them to be careful and to help one another.

 

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.       NIV

 

Finally, he reminded them who God was; that God knew what was in their heart; that it was impossible for them to hide their thoughts or struggles. The same is true for us today.

 

¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.             NLT

 

We face the same pressures, temptations and decision today as the Jewish Christians did back then. Will we decide to enter into his rest? Will we keep our eyes on the prize? Will we finish well? Here is Jesus’ promise of rest for us.

 

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.              ESV    Matthew 11

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

The Final Word

A series on the book of Hebrews:
Christ is greater than the prophets and angels
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 1-2:18 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then life settles in and can push out those feelings. The day-to-day pressures of living can dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

Caitlin Clark has been in the news constantly during the current WNBA season. In case you’re unaware, she’s a 2^nd year phenom basketball player who seemingly is being targeted by other players for hard and flagrant fouls. What makes it worse is that the refs aren’t calling them.

 

The referees are the authority in every game. They have a whistle and a striped shirt. They have access to replay monitors. They’ve been trained and are certified by the WNBA. They have the final word on what gets called… or not called.

 

Jesus, the Son of God, was the final word from God. In the past, God spoke to the nation of Israel through the prophets and his nurturing angels. But now he spoke through his Son who has the authority that goes far beyond a striped shirt.

 

³ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.          NLT

 

The letter to the Hebrews was written during the first century to Jewish Christians who were struggling possibly because of being persecuted. They had come to a crossroads in their faith where they were considering whether it would be better to return to their old religion of Judaism, or continue to follow Christ.

 

¹ Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.           ESV

 

And what was it that they had heard? Based on the Law and the sacrificial system that God instructed Moses to set up, the High Priest was the only person who could enter into the presence of God in the Temple. He did so to offer sacrifices for the sins of Israel.

 

However, what they had heard was that Jesus changed everything. He was the fulfillment of that ritual. He was the High Priest in the New Covenant. He made the sacrifice for sins so that no further sacrifices were needed.

 

¹⁷ Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.           NLT

 

Jesus did this not just for the Jewish Christians in the first century, but for all of us. It was the only way to provide forgiveness of sins once and for all. Jesus had the final word.

 

¹⁴ Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. ¹⁵ Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.         NLT

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

Overachiever

 

A series on meeting God – Saul
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 9:1-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Growing up, my dad overcame many hurdles. Born in 1902, he grew up poor on a farm in Iowa. When he was eight his dad died suddenly. Since he was the oldest of four kids, he ran the farm. Because all four kids took turns attending college and working on the farm, he didn’t graduate until he was twenty-four

 

After getting his bachelor’s degree, he returned to grad school and went on to get his master’s and then his doctorate in chemistry. At his first job, he rose through the ranks and became the head of research and development. Dad was an overachiever.

 

So was Saul. Shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. It was at this time that the church began to grow by leaps and bounds. They met publicly in the temple to pray, and people came from all over to be healed by the apostles. The religious leaders were extremely jealous.

 

As a result, the apostles were persecuted, including thrown into jail. Then one day, Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin where they brought false witnesses against him. As mob rule took over, they stoned him to death with Saul’s approved.

 

But Saul wasn’t satisfied. His hatred for the followers of Jesus resulted in further persecution.

 

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.         NIV    Acts 8

 

He was like a shark that could smell blood in the water. After his conversion, he described his hatred like this.

 

^10b On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.            NIV    Acts 26

 

But on the way to Damascus, Saul was confronted by Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him and Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

Following this, Saul was blind for three days until Ananias, led by the Lord, opened his eyes. Jesus had greater plans for Saul… the overachiever.

 

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  NIV

 

The spirit led Paul on three missionary trips covering thousands of miles across the Roman Empire. Jews and Gentiles alike were converted to follow Jesus. Paul was an overachiever both before his conversion and after.

 

But it doesn’t matter if you’re an overachiever or an underachiever. Jesus meets us where we are at and will use our gifts for his plan. Even if it means getting knocked off our horse by a blinding flash of light, Jesus is always pursuing us to follow him.

 

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.                     NLT   1 Peter 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Hold on for Dear Life

A series on meeting God – Mary Magdalene
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 20:11-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Hollywood loves scary movies. According to my computer’s AI, it all started in the late 19^th century. Then the “Golden Age of Horror” followed in the 30’s. This included the iconic monsters of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy. In the 60’s, there was a shift to psychological thrillers like Psycho.

 

But in 1973, The Exorcist redefined the genre of horror movies. Based on a true event, it told the story about a young girl who was possessed by a demon and the two priests who attempted to save her by exorcising them. It was the first horror movie ever nominated for the Academy Award of Best Picture.

 

There are a number of stories in the Gospels about Jesus driving out demons. One of the most dramatic is about a demon possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. It reads like a Hollywood movie script.

 

The man was homeless and naked, living in burial caves. Even when the local people tried to bind him in chains and shackles, he simply broke them a part. Day and night he wandered in the caves howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

 

But when the man saw Jesus approaching, he ran up to him, fell to his knees and shrieked, “In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” There were many demons inside of him, so Jesus drove them out and into a nearby herd of pigs who promptly ran into the lake and drowned.

 

However, not all of Jesus’ exorcisms were this dramatic.

 

^1b Jesus took his twelve disciples with him, ² along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons…      NLT   Luke 8

 

The number ‘seven’ signifies completeness, so we can assume that Mary Magdalene was completely possessed and controlled by demons. Beyond that, we don’t have any details such as how the demons manifested themselves through her behavior, or how Jesus drove the demons out.

 

But we do know that she became a dedicated follower of Jesus. Not only was she traveling with Jesus, but she also financially supported his ministry. And when Jesus was crucified, she was there; when he was buried in a tomb, she was there; and the morning following his death, she was there and discovered that his body was gone.

 

She assumed that someone had taken it. As she stood by the opening of the tomb, crying in her grief, she saw who she thought was the gardener and asked if he knew where Jesus’ body was. To her surprise, it was Jesus himself. He was alive!

 

She must have spontaneously run to him and wrapped her arms around him so tight that Jesus said, “Do not cling to me”. He then told her to return to the other disciples and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 

Like Mary, there are times when we don’t realize that Jesus is at work in our lives. We don’t recognize him. But, also like Mary, we need to stay close to him and when we do see him… run to him and hold on for dear life.

 

⁴ You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!                 MSG   Deuteronomy 13

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

The Chosen

This fictional scene shows Jesus' healing of Mary Magdalene.

 

 

 

“Follow Me”

A series on meeting God – Matthew/Levi
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 5:27-32 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

 

In 1978, my wife and I went to San Francisco for a conference. While there, we got to see many of the iconic sights including the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf. But one of the most memorable sights was something we saw on Fisherman’s Wharf.

 

A street musician used a “decorated” cardboard box as his stage. Initially, he was hidden inside of the box. However, when someone dropped some money into the designated slot, the musician opened a flap and played a song on his trumpet. It was an ingenious form of marketing in a very busy, touristy area.

 

One day in Capernaum, Jesus went down to the lake where a large crowd gathered around him, so he began to teach them. As he was walking, he noticed Levi, later known as Matthew, who was sitting in his tax collector’s booth.

 

Capernaum was at the crossroads of a major international highway. Like the street musician, Levi’s booth was strategically located to maximize the collection of taxes from merchants who traveled through the city.

 

Tax collectors were unregulated and unethical yet operated with the authority of Rome. They were notorious for collecting not only the required taxes, but as much extra as they could extract for themselves.

 

Also, the taxes they collected supported the oppressive Roman government. As a result, they were outcasts and hated by most Jews so much so that they were expelled from the synagogue.

 

Despite this, or maybe because of it, Jesus said to Levi “Follow me”. “So, Levi got up, left everything, and followed him”. This was no small decision. If Levi ever changed his mind, it was highly unlikely that he’d be able to get his job back.

 

To honor Jesus, Levi hosted a great banquet at his house. And he invited all his friends who also happened to be tax collectors and other “sinners”. Needless to say, the Pharisees were not happy and questioned Jesus about this.

 

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. ³² I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”           NLT

 

Think about it, in the middle of teaching a crowd of people Jesus saw Levi, a despised tax collector and an outsider. There must have been something that prompted Jesus to say to him, “Follow me”. As a result, Levi’s life was changed forever.

 

From his encounter with Jesus, Levi went on to use the same God-given skills that he had used as a tax collector. That is, he made keen observations and kept detailed notes. Ultimately, this led to writing the Gospel of Matthew.

 

It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that Jesus had Levi in mind when he told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. This is where the Pharisee was self-righteous and the tax collector self-deprecating. Jesus concluded:

 

¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”        NLT   Luke 18

 

Like Levi, Jesus sees us and is calling us saying, “Follow me”?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com