In this episode of Add Bible, we explore the final chapter of the Book of Hebrews. Speaker Alan J. Huth and guest Roy Hanske dive into Hebrews chapter 13, offering profound insights and practical instructions for living a life of faith. Discover how timeless teachings on love, hospitality, marriage, and leadership remain relevant in our daily lives.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we’ve done it. We’ve reached the final chapter of Hebrews chapter 13. We’ll listen to our guest reader, Roy Hanske, read the final chapter of this wonderful book, and we’ll learn a few more instructions about how to live a life of faith. Let’s listen in to Hebrews chapter 13.
SPEAKER 02 :
hebrews thirteen let brotherly love continue do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them and those who are mistreated since you also are in the body let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for god will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have for he has said i will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the lord is my helper i will not fear what can man do to me remember your leaders those who spoke to you the word of god consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith jesus christ is the same yesterday and to-day and for ever do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them we have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat for the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp so jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured for here we have no lasting city but we seek the city that is to come through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to god that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to god obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you pray for us for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all things i urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that i may be restored to you the sooner now may the god of peace who brought again from the dead our lord jesus the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with everything good that you may do his will working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through jesus christ to whom be glory for ever and ever amen I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let’s take one more look at my personal Bible reading journals concerning Hebrews, this time chapter 13. In 1993, at 38 years old, I wrote, “‘Let love of the brethren continue. The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me? Remember those who lead you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.’ Then I wrote, this is the kind of person I would like to work for. I finished with, obey your leaders and submit to them. Twelve years later, in 2005, at 50 years old, when I read Hebrews chapter 13, I wrote in my personal Bible reading journal, in the middle of defending Christ over everything else, the writer takes a commercial break to remind us marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled. And make sure your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. These two issues are major aspects of our Christian testimony, how we treat marriage and money. I finished with, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips that give thanks to his name. Eight years later, at 58 years old in 2013, as I finished a book of Hebrews in chapter 13, I wrote, God instituted marriage. He expects us to honor it. I do. Then I continued to write a faith builder, and I quoted this verse. The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? I continued to write, be an example of Christianity to others. And then I referred to verse 8. Jesus never changes. And verse 15. Through Jesus continually praise God. Do good and share. And then I wrote verse 18. A good verse for leaders. And finished with benediction. Verses 20 through 21. Thus ends my journal entries on Hebrews 13, so let’s review this chapter. There are so many quick instructions, little one-liners that will do us all good. Beginning in verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. Remember those who are in prison, those who are mistreated. And then this verse on marriage. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. At the time of this recording, Terry and I have been married over 43 years. We have held our marriage in honor. Whether you are married or not married, I pray that you would honor the institution of marriage. It is a biblical institution ordained by God. The instructions continue in verse 5. Keep your life free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. How are you doing on that one? I’m sure we would all say we don’t love money. We don’t have a love of money. But how are you doing with being content with what you have? Terry and I, as I mentioned, have been married over 43 years. We raised three children. We’ve lived in five houses in two different states. We have been in ministry most of our lives. We are probably an average middle-class family. We don’t have a lot, but we have been content with what God has given us. Often, he has blessed us exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can even think or imagine. So I encourage you to apply these verses to your life. Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have. In my journal, I referred to verse 6 as a faith verse. The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me? Imagine if we can apply that verse to our lives, what our lives would truly be like. And then we come to verse 8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hallelujah. What an assurance. Because he is, it says, do not be led astray by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. We thank him that his grace is sufficient yesterday, today, and forever. And the chapter finishes with one of these great benedictions. You’ve probably heard it said in your church services from time to time. It starts with verse 20. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with every good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. What a great verse to finish the wonderful book of Hebrews. So may it be for us. May we experience the God of peace. May we experience him equipping us with every good thing. May he be working in us, and may we be pleasing in his sight. As we finish up Hebrews, let’s go back to the beginning in our introduction of this book. I said then, the theme of Hebrews is Christ is greater than angels, priests, or old covenant traditions. I also mentioned the book of Hebrews will also teach us a profound truth. Our faith rests in the righteous character of God, not in the things that happen to us. The message of this book encourages us to endure and persevere in our faith in Jesus Christ. It’s called Hebrews for a reason because there are over 80 citations or allusions to the Old Testament passages. And we have certainly learned that Jesus is greater than prophets, angels, Moses, Aaron, the priesthood, and the tabernacle. We have learned that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. We’ve learned to run with endurance the race that is set before us. We’ve learned that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. and we’ve taken a stroll through the hall of faith. Most of all, I hope our journey through the book of Hebrews has strengthened your faith in Jesus. As we wrap up the book of Hebrews, let’s pray. Father, we thank you for the lessons learned in the book of Hebrews. We thank you for now drilling them down into our hearts and into our lives. We pray that as we face the trials and temptations of this life, that we can be reminded to dig deep into our faith in you, and that through those trials and tribulations, you are disciplining us so that our faith even grows deeper. May you find us running a race of endurance, not growing weary, and being pleasing in your sight. Thank you for lessons learned in the book of Hebrews. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. 2025 is an amazing year on AdBible as we cover 44 books of the Bible. That’s two-thirds of the 66 books of the Bible in just one year. If you’ve never read all the books of the Bible, 2025 is an exciting year for you. We are covering Old and New Testament books going back and forth throughout the year. On January 1, we started with the writings of the Old Testament historical books. And we started in the book of Job in January. Then we are going on to Ruth. Then we will look at the journey through 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and conclude with 1 and 2 Chronicles. You won’t want to miss any of these dramatic historical writings in the first quarter of 2025. In the second quarter of 2025, we jump into the New Testament with the writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. This summer, we go back to the Old Testament, diving into the writings of all 13 of the minor prophets, like Daniel, Hosea, Joel, and some of the most obscure minor prophets, like Obadiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah. It will be easy to keep up with these short, powerful books in the busy summer months. In the fall and winter, we will cover all the New Testament writings of Paul, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and his personal letters to Timothy and Titus. You will get all of Paul at the end of 2025. 44 books on AdBible in 2025. To order the day-by-day through the Bible books we are using in 2025, visit azraproject.net and find the 2025 plan. All four books are sold separately would come up to about $85, but the set is on sale for only $59. That’s a savings of 30% plus free shipping. Go to EzraProject.net today and order your set so you can get more out of your Bible reading in 2025. You have probably noticed I refer to my personal Bible reading journals in AdBible. I took an honors English class in high school and learned about journaling. I kept a journal in high school probably related to that class, and then I quit. For some reason, I started journaling my Bible reading about 10 years later. I don’t know why I decided to journal my Bible reading, but my first journal is dated 1983. Back then, I bought spiral-bound notebooks from a retail store. Nothing fancy. But when I started the Ezra Project, I decided to publish Bible reading journals. You can find two of them on our website at ezraproject.net. Why journal? It will change the way you read the Bible. If you struggle with your daily quiet time, try it. If you know you’re going to write something down after you read, you will pay more attention to what you’re reading. It can be as simple as your favorite verse in the passage or the major point you got out of the passage. You decide. It’s your journal. And it’s not a personal journal. It’s a Bible reading journal. So you shouldn’t have to worry about someone finding it and reading it. I wanted to print a bumper sticker once called Real Men Journal. I figured it would look good on the back of the pickup trucks. Well, you know, I never printed it because I knew it wouldn’t sell. But get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal at EzraProject.net. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
