Hebrews 10:19-20
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
That's why the curtain was ripped in two at the crucifixion.
Matthew 27:50-51 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 
 How did the priests react to this???

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
To spur is to pointedly direct someone so much so that it becomes almost an irritation, like one would do with spurs on a horse, or to use a goad on an animal to cause it to go in a certain direction. So if we spur one another, using truth as our goad, we will irritate a person with the truth in order to move that person into a different understanding or action.

Heb 10:26-27
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.Very potent words!
Psa 78:49
He sent on them the heat of His anger, wrath and fury and trouble, by sending evil angels.

Hebrews 10:38
But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
Shrink back implies a "falling away" or apostasy. It can also imply hiding, retreating, or being timid. So, if we shrink back, God isn't pleased with us. On the other hand if we take to heart the words in Hebrews concerning the ancients who lived by faith and live our lives by faith, He will be pleased with us and will not be ashamed to be called our God. In fact He has even prepared a city for us.

Heb 11:1-2
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.Remember the “shadow” from yesterday’s reading? The ancients believed that the “shadow” represented the real thing that they could not see. This was credited to them as righteousness. They believed in advance.
Matthew 13:17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Joh 1:45
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law and the Prophets, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Heb 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
This reward comes to those who “seek”. This is not just the reward of eternal life (though that would certainly be enough) but He rewards us now with the joy we have in reading and studying His word and being in a personal relationship with Him.

Heb 11:17
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,Wait a minute…didn’t Abraham have a son before Isaac? Ishmael? Why is Isaac called his only son? And interestingly, Abraham had other sons after the death of Sarah by his wife Keturah. Isaac, however, was the son of promise.

Heb 11:23
By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.In Chapter 106 of the book of Enoch, it gives great detail about the appearance of Moses when he was born. No question, according to Enoch that Moses was not “ordinary”!

Read Hebrews 11:32-38 again concerning the judges, kings, and prophets and the persecutions and sufferings they endured. And we think we're being persecuted because we can't say "Merry Christmas". By the way, the phrase "Merry Christmas" first started with the poem A visit From St. Nick, a very secular writing. So if we insist on saying "Merry Christmas", we are in effect giving the phrase a secular meaning. But more importantly, most of the references in the Bible using the word merry are associated with drunkenness and revelry, so maybe we shouldn't even be saying "Merry" Christmas. (see KJV Gen 43:34, Judges 9:27.16:25, 19:6, 19:9, 19:22, Ruth 3:7, 1 Sam 25:36, 2 Sam 13:28, 1 King 4:20, 2 Chron 7:10, Est 1:10)
For more information on celebrating the birth of Jesus, email us for a copy of A Biblical View of the Birth of Jesus.

Heb 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
We are in control of throwing off things that hinder us. We must get rid of the sin that captures and holds us hostage so that we may be unencumbered to “live a life worth of the calling we have received”.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”Run the race with the prize in mind.

Heb 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
The words punishment and discipline are both used here. Discipline is used as instruction to bring about a change. Punishment is a penalty for wrong doing that doesn't necessarily have a change of behavior as the ultimate outcome, it is just the consequence of doing wrong. Both hurt. Jesus took our punishment so that God would only discipline us from time to time.
Remember God is the perfect parent!