Hebrews 13:5-17

Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never run away from you.” So we can feel sure and say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. People can do nothing to me.” Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don’t let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Depend only on God’s grace for spiritual strength, not on rules about foods. Obeying those rules doesn’t help anyone. We have a sacrifice. And those priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from the sacrifice we have. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place and offers that blood for sins. But the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the city. He died to make his people holy with his own blood. So we should go to Jesus outside the camp and accept the same shame that he had. Here on earth we don’t have a city that lasts forever. But we are waiting for the city that we will have in the future. So through Jesus we should never stop offering our sacrifice to God. That sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with others, because sacrifices like these are very pleasing to God. Obey your leaders. Be willing to do what they say. They are responsible for your spiritual welfare, so they are always watching to protect you. Obey them so that their work will give them joy, not grief. It won’t help you to make it hard for them.