Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Sheridan Voizzi, and I've called our reading Friendly Ambition.

Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea were celebrated leaders in the 4th century church and also close friends.

They first met as philosophy students, and Gregory later said that they became like two bodies

with a single spirit.

With their career paths so similar, rivalry could have arisen between Gregory and Basil.

But Gregory explained that they avoided this temptation by making a life of faith,

hope and good deeds their single ambition, then spurring each other on to make the other

more successful in this goal than themselves individually. As a result, both grew in faith

and rose to high levels of leadership without rivalry.

The book of Hebrews is written to help us stay strong in faith,

encouraging us to focus on the hope we profess and to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

While this command is given in the context of a congregation,

by applying it to their friendship, Gregory and Basil showed how friends can encourage each other to grow and avoid any bitter root, such as rivalry,

that might grow between them. What if we made faith, hope and good deeds the ambition of

our own friendships, then encouraged our friends to become more successful in this

goal than ourselves individually.

The Holy Spirit is ready to help us do both.

The scripture reading I've selected for today is from Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 to 25.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, 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,

and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere

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