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DAN PARR

Sometime around 70 A.D. the New Testament book of Hebrews was written. It was before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and its audience were Jews who professed their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. 

There is a bit of mystery as to the author of Hebrews. Many scholars attribute it to the Apostle Paul due some phrasing and the mention of Timothy in the last chapter. But Martin Luther believed Apollos was the author because of its strong use of the Old Testament and because Apollos was mentioned as an eloquent speaker in Acts. Regardless of authorship, the inspiration for it came from God and as part of Scripture it has helped to teach and encourage Christians for over 2000 years. 

The purpose of the book is to show the preeminence of Jesus in all things. As you listen notice all the times the author shows how Jesus is superior to Judaism. It’s clear the intent is to show that with Jesus the end had to come to Old Testament Judaism.

Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God’s conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

When we need wisdom, insight, guidance, how do we hear what God is saying to us? God has given us the Bible. It’s a powerful and intimate way to listen to Him and it is the primary way God tells us about Himself. In Jesus is Calling You one or more books of the Bible is presented with steps to hearing from God, the plan of salvation and growing in faith. It is my prayer Jesus uses each of these book to help you hear Him.

Dan Parr

Jesus is Calling You

Hearing God Through Hebrews: God is Calling You

Immediately following the four Gospels in the New Testament is the book of Acts, also known as Acts of the Apostles and Acts of the Holy Spirit. At one point The Gospel of Luke and Acts were joined as one book in 2 volumes. Ancient books were often written on papyrus scrolls. The length of a scroll would be up to 35 feet long. Any longer than this and it would become difficult to transport. So, it is thought that Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts on two separate scrolls. 

Where the Gospels end with the life and works of Jesus, Acts extends by showing His works continue through His followers by way of the Holy Spirit. Over 50 times in the book you will hear about being baptized, filled or led by the Holy Spirit. By this frequency we can see that Luke wants his audience to understand how crucial the Holy Spirit is to successfully living the Christian life.

The book also allows to peek into the formation of the early church and the Apostle Paul’s transformation. From Paul’s experience we see that even those who despise Jesus the most, and forcefully oppose Him, can be overcome and saved by His love. It shows the power of the Gospel to transform people, communities and even countries. For even though the teachings of Jesus came to ordinary, unimpressive people, without any money or earthly power to further its cause, it took root, grew and continues to do so even today over 2000 years later.

Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God’s conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

Hearing God Through Acts of the Apostles: Jesus is Calling You

This first book in the New Testament was written by Matthew, also called Levi, who was a tax collector for the Roman government. As you can imagine in this position he was not well received by his Jewish community. It was likely written around 50 A.D. which, from a historical perspective, is almost immediately after Jesus’ resurrection. 

Of the New Testament books, Matthew is the only one to use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven.” As his record of Jesus was written originally in Greek, his target audience must have been to Jewish believers in Christ. As such he gives a full accounting of Jesus’ life providing his complete genealogy back to Abraham. His readers likely wanted reassurance that Jesus truly was a King with a Kingdom from the lineage of David.

The Gospel of Matthew perfectly represents the “upside down Kingdom”. One need look no further than Chapter 5 with the Beatitudes. Here we see how God’s view is often diametrically opposite to how we perceive things. Not many of us, in the natural, would feel blessed by persecution for being righteous. 

Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God’s conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

When we need wisdom, insight, guidance, how do we hear what God is saying to us? God has given us the Bible. It’s a powerful & intimate way to listen to Him and it is the primary way God tells us about Himself.