Engage God Daily

Sworn In Scripture: Hebrews 7:11–22 | Runtime: 9 min If God established Israel's priesthood through Aaron, why appoint a different kind of priest? Had God changed His mind? Lisa follows Hebrews' answer and returns to the oath that started the week. In this episode: What "perfection" means in Hebrews: not flawless behavior, but arriving at the goal of bringing people into God's presence Why priests...

A Priest Before the Priests Scripture: Hebrews 7:4–10 | Runtime: 9 min Two small details from Genesis 14: a tenth given and a blessing received. The author of Hebrews builds his whole case on them, and every point he scores for Melchizedek, he scores for Jesus. In this episode: Why Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek, with no law commanding it, matters "The lesser is blessed by the greater" and what it...

A Priest Out of Nowhere Scripture: Genesis 14:17–20; Hebrews 7:1–3 | Runtime: 8 min Four verses in Genesis. A king who is also a priest, who brings out bread and wine, blesses Abraham, and vanishes from the story. Lisa finally unpacks the name Hebrews keeps dropping: Melchizedek. In this episode: The backstory: Abraham's rescue of Lot and the two kings who met him on the way home What Melchizedek'...

The God Who Cannot Lie Scripture: Hebrews 6:13–20 | Runtime: 11 min "Do you swear to tell the truth?" We make oaths when a promise alone doesn't feel like enough. So why would God ever need to swear one? Lisa opens Week 6 with Abraham's long wait and the God who bound Himself to His own word. In this episode: The week ahead: Abraham, Melchizedek, and an argument about priests, promises, and oaths...

Convinced of Better Things Scripture: Hebrews 6:9–12 | Runtime: 6 min After a sharp correction and a serious warning, the author's very next words are "dear friends." It's the only time in the whole sermon he addresses his listeners that way. Lisa closes the week with a pastor's reassurance. In this episode: Why the author is convinced of better things for this church, and the evidence he sees in...

The Same Rain Scripture: Hebrews 6:4–8 | Runtime: 9 min These are some of the strongest and most feared words in Hebrews. Lisa slows down to show what the warning describes, who it's meant to protect, and why the rain was never the problem. In this episode: Everything these people had received before the warning: enlightenment, the heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit, the goodness of God's Word How gif...

Trained by Practice Scripture: Hebrews 5:11–6:3 | Runtime: 8 min Picture a preacher who stops mid-sermon, taps the mic, and asks whether anyone is still with him. The author of Hebrews interrupts himself to confront believers who should be teachers by now but still need milk. In this episode: The real complaint: time has passed, but these believers haven't grown Milk and solid food as ancient imag...

The Priest Who Prayed With Tears Scripture: Hebrews 5:1–10 | Runtime: 9 min Jesus is our great High Priest, but what qualifies Him for the role? Lisa walks through what a high priest was in the ancient world. Then she turns to one of the most striking pictures of Jesus in Hebrews: the Son praying with fervent cries and tears. In this episode: The job description of a high priest, and why nobody co...

Hold On and Come Close Scripture: Hebrews 4:14–16 | Runtime: 9 min A dry North Texas September teaches you not to take rain for granted, and when rain finally comes, it falls on every lawn on the street. Lisa opens Week 5 at the center of the whole letter: God's gift of Jesus, our great High Priest, and the two invitations that come with Him. In this episode: How the "therefore" points back to las...

Day 5: The Word That Still Speaks Scripture: Hebrews 4:12–13 | Runtime: 6 min One of the most quoted lines in Hebrews lands differently after a week spent walking toward it. Lisa closes the week with the second resource God gives His people against a hardening heart: His living, active Word. In this episode: Author David DeSilva on the two resources Hebrews offers a struggling church: community an...

Day 4: A Rest That Still Remains Scripture: Hebrews 4:1–11 | Runtime: 8 min What sounded like a verdict in Psalm 95 turns into an invitation. Lisa traces three different "rests" through Scripture — Genesis, Joshua, and David's psalm — to show that God's rest is still open today. In this episode: The three rests in play: God's rest at creation, the rest Joshua gave Israel, and the "today" rest stil...

Day 3: Someone to Wake You Scripture: Hebrews 3:12–19 | Runtime: 7 min After yesterday's warning, we might expect a call to try harder. Instead, the author offers something else: each other. Lisa unpacks why "encourage one another daily" is God's protection against a hardening heart. In this episode: Why the remedy for spiritual drift isn't self-improvement but daily community Tom Wright's image o...

Day 2: The Spirit Still Speaks Scripture: Hebrews 3:7–12 | Runtime: 8 min For the first time in this series, it's the Holy Spirit's turn to speak — quoting an ancient psalm about a generation that saw God's faithfulness firsthand and still hardened their hearts at the edge of the Promised Land. In this episode: Why "So as the Holy Spirit says" is one of only two places in the New Testament where S...

Day 1: Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus Scripture: Hebrews 3:1–6 | Runtime: 9 min Ever ignored a tornado siren because you'd heard one too many false alarms? This week in Jesus is Better , host Lisa Scheffler shows why the warning in Hebrews 3–4 deserves our full attention — starting with the reminder that Jesus is even greater than Moses. In this episode: How Hebrews builds its case that Jesus is super...

Day 5 — He Takes Hold of Us Scripture: Hebrews 2:16–18 Runtime: ~7 min We close out chapter two with the fullest picture yet of why the eternal Son became one of us — and it opens a theme that will shape much of the rest of the letter. In this episode: The stronger meaning behind "helps" in verse 16 — more literally, Jesus "takes hold of" Abraham's descendants, like a hand reaching down and closin...

Day 4 — A Defeated Enemy Scripture: Hebrews 2:14–15 Runtime: ~6 min Death may be humanity's greatest enemy — the one problem no strength or success has ever solved. Today we see how Jesus broke its power, not from a distance, but by entering the very thing we fear. In this episode: Why the incarnation is essential to redemption — Jesus had to share our flesh and blood to be able to die The distinc...

Day 3 — Not Ashamed Scripture: Hebrews 2:10–13 Runtime: ~7 min Jesus went low, suffered death, and is now crowned with glory — but He didn't do it alone. Today Hebrews shows us that Jesus is a pioneer who goes first, then turns back to bring others with Him. In this episode: What it means that God is bringing "many sons and daughters" to glory — the first time in the letter anyone besides Jesus is...

Day 2 — Seeing Jesus Scripture: Hebrews 2:7–9 Runtime: ~6 min Yesterday the author left us in an uncomfortable place — we don't yet see humanity ruling the world as God intended. Today he tells us where to look instead, and for the first time in the letter, he uses Jesus' name. In this episode: Why naming Jesus marks a turning point — everything true of the eternal Son is true of a first-century c...

Day 1 — What Isn't But Should Have Been Scripture: Hebrews 2:5–8 Runtime: ~8 min For two weeks Hebrews has held us at a scenic overlook, showing us the eternal Son, seated far above the angels — a view too vast to fully take in. This week the author brings that view down to ground level, and everything he's shown us turns out to be true of a particular man who lived and died in a particular place...

Day 5 — Why We Drift Scripture: Hebrews 2:1–4 Runtime: ~9 min All week, the author has built his case from scripture: the Son stands far above the angels. Today we find out why — with the first of several warnings he stops to give the people he loves. In this episode: Why the author spends a whole chapter proving something his readers likely already believed — because under pressure, we can questi...

Day 4 — Living in the Until Scripture: Hebrews 1:13–14 Runtime: ~6 min The author closes out chapter one with the same question he opened it with — and the answer is still none of them. After seven quotations proving the Son stands far above the angels, Hebrews finally tells us what angels are actually doing right now. In this episode: How Psalm 110's "sit at my right hand until I make your enemie...

Day 3 — What Actually Lasts Scripture: Hebrews 1:10–12 Runtime: ~6 min The comparison widens today — from the Son and the angels to the Son and creation itself. Quoting Psalm 102, a prayer written from the middle of deep distress, the author shows the Father speaking words originally addressed to God and applying them straight to the Son. In this episode: Why the heavens and earth — the most perma...

Day 2 — Seated on a Throne Scripture: Hebrews 1:7–9 Runtime: ~6 min Yesterday we heard God say to the Son what He never said to any angel. Today the contrast sharpens even further, as the author sets what's said about angels directly beside what's said to the Son. In this episode: How Psalm 104's picture of angels as "spirits" and "flames of fire" reveals them as glorious — but made and commanded...

Day 1 — What God Never Said to an Angel Scripture: Hebrews 1:5–6 Runtime: ~8 min Imagine getting a letter from someone you deeply admire — you'd treasure every word. Now imagine that person shows up at your door wanting to have dinner with you. That's the leap Hebrews wants us to feel this week. Last week we heard that God has spoken to us in His Son; this week the author proves it, stacking seven...

How Jesus Became What He Always Was Scripture: Hebrews 1:4 Runtime: ~8 min We reach the final line of this remarkable sentence — the one that completes the portrait of Jesus and points toward where Hebrews goes next. Lisa shares a personal story about her father, who spent the final months of his life memorizing these same four verses, as a picture of why these truths matter far beyond the page. I...