The Hebrews 4:12 Blog

Join us on Friday, December 2 as we uncover the theology, ethics, and ecclesiology within the Sermon on the Mount.  We will be looking inductivly at Matthew 5-7 to see some of the things our Lord, Jesus Christ, taught.

We hope this will be an enlightening study as we look deeply into a passage that many of us have heard before, but have not meditated or taken action on.

In an effort to expand Hebrews 4:12 beyond our radio program and website, we are introducing "Hebrews 4:12 Ministries".  This is a plan to not only have great programming on the radio and resources on our website, but also to effectively REACH into the darkness to the lost and dying, TRAIN them to be leaders in their community and church, and to SERVE the needy and helpless to further the Gospel of Christ.  Thus, our slogan is "REACH | TRAIN | SERVE".  

Although the details have not been fleshed out completely, our hope is to be proposing new ideas to you, our followers, and getting your feedback in the near future.  You will be seeing changes to our website over the next month as well as new things coming to our radio program.

If you have any ideas of how we can REACH | TRAIN | SERVE, please feel free to contact us.

Stay tuned in to our radio program and on our Facebook and Twitter pages to see new information about Hebrews 4:12 Ministries.

Thank you!

--Blake JC Fewell

Founder / Radio Host

On Friday, December 9, Hebrews 4:12 will have its final show for this season.  We'll be talking about new disciplines that you can implament into the New Year.  Many people try to start reading the Bible cover to cover on the New Year and never succeed.  We'll share with you some tips on how to complete your discipline for the year.

We will also be announcing some upcoming changes with Hebrews 4:12 as well as celebrating the season with all Christmas music!

I don’t know about you, but Christmas is one of the craziest seasons of the year for me: finishing up classes, music programs, and Christmas assistance programs.  It almost seems like Christmas is a time for busyness instead of a time to relax.  In fact, I am almost more excited about Christmas being over than the holiday itself.  The truth is, despite all the busyness of the season, I always know when it is getting close; I can always look and see how many days, weeks, or months it is until the stress of Christmas is past!

What if we were anticipating Christmas but didn’t know when it would happen?  That is the situation the ancient Jews were in over 2,000 years ago.  They were anticipating the birth of the Messiah, the Promised One, but they didn’t know when or how it would happen.  Some thought that an Imperial Emperor would rise up and be the Messiah, others thought a raging rebel would overthrow the Roman Empire.  They were waiting for what would happen.  Most expected it to be loud and apparent, but in reality, this great ‘Imperial Emperor’, this ‘raging rebel’, would come softly as a baby born in a stable in Bethlehem.  Was this really who they were waiting for?  This couldn’t be what they were expecting.

We see throughout the entire Bible that God uses abnormal people and abnormal situations to work out his will.  He used David, a shepherd boy, to be the greatest earthly king of Israel.  He used Joseph, the second youngest of his family, to help a nation through a famine and establish the people of Israel.  He used a little baby, born to a poor carpenter, to be the sacrifice for all mankind so that we may be called sons of God.

Here is the issue: we must get over our waiting.  We cannot wait forever.  We must also come to accept that our waiting is over when the One we are waiting for has arrived.  When you're having a friend over or company for a party, you don’t stare out the window waiting for someone when everyone has arrived.  But the Jewish people have done just that: the One they were waiting for, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, had come, and they failed to pull themselves away from the window and enjoy the party.

Some of you may still be waiting.  You’re looking out that window, waiting to see what life is about.  You’re waiting for that right opportunity or that right person to walk into your life to make it complete.  You know something is missing, but you are just waiting to see what it is.  You expect some major revelation to come to you and say, “This is it!  This is what you have been waiting for!”  But that’s not how it works.  You see, just like that first Christmas night, the thing that you are waiting for is quiet and gentle.  It is not the Imperial Emperor or the raging rebel, it is the Christ-child who was born over 2,000 years ago.  He is the One you have been waiting for.

“The message of Christianity is about leaving an illusion and joining a reality.”  This is the central theme of More Lost Than Found.  The Church has become a sanitized, sacred country club in which we can feel safe.  However, the reality is that the word ‘Christian’ has become an adjective about us instead of being a noun of who we are.

This book is an easy to read yet challenging piece.  It makes you think outside of the box (or fishbowl) about Christianity and the Church.  Jared Herd presents a unique, but not new, view of how we are to be Christ-followers.  He touches all topics that may seem to hinder a relationship with Jesus: from failure to doubt; from outer appearances to technology.  Despite where a person may be in their relationship with the Lord, Herd encourages giving faith another try.

Although there were only a few points in which I disagreed with the author, I found this book to be a very uplifting and encouraging read.  I would recommend this book to any teenager, college student, or youth worker.  This book has changed some of the ways I view my relationship with the Church body and my walk with Christ.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”