Tag: hebrews-21-4

Hebrews 2:1-4 Common English Bible

Listen to the Son’s message

2 This is why it’s necessary for us to pay more attention to what we have heard, or else we may drift away from it. ² If the message that was spoken by angels was reliable, and every offense and act of disobedience received an appropriate consequence, ³ how will we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? It was first announced through the Lord, and then it was confirmed by those who heard him.  ⁴ God also vouched for their message with signs, amazing things, various miracles, and gifts from the Holy Spirit, which were handed out the way he wanted.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Do We Have Any Strength for Today- “Are We Drifting?”

To drift means to be easily carried slowly away by a current of air or water.

The danger of drifting is not limited to the physical realm, because:  

·       Emotionally and

·       Spiritually,

 There’s always a danger of being carried away by the undercurrent, when evil becomes your pattern.  

Hebrews 2:1 says, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”  

Sadly, today, it’s not uncommon for Christians to drift toward destruction, simply because they aren’t spiritually anchored.

That’s why we are told, “We ought to give the more earnest heed…” – He 2:1.

Drifting is an unconscious process. 

In the boat of life, the undercurrents of evil often goes unnoticeable in the physical realm, because the gravitational force that’s driving you away from the shore of righteousness is demonically intended.

And for that cause:  

·       Many Christians have slowly drifted away, and

·       Many churches have gradually drifted into false doctrine,

 Finding themselves far removed from the scriptures.

However, faithfulness to God is like roaring upstream.

But to roar upstream:

·       You must constantly be “adding to your faith…” – 2 Peter 1:5, and

·       You must continue to grow in grace – 2 Peter 3:18.

Because the moment you stop growing, you start going downwards, and the dangers increase with the speed and weight of the drift.  

When you’re drifting, and you can hear the noise of the waterfall, it’s already too late.

In other words, it’s difficult to discern that you’re drifting, when you’ve moved far from God.

And for those who drift spiritually through their own neglect, there shall be no escape from a just punishment – Hebrews 2:1-3. The common signs of drifting are:

·       Prayerlessness,  

·       Not wanting to be with God’s people,

·       A diminishing desire to study. God’s Word, and

·       Not attending praise and worship, and

·       No desire to edify one another – Romans 14:19.

When Christians prefers the companionship of people of the world, rather than fellow Christians, they’re drifting toward the rocks of spiritual destruction! 

Crisis Faith

Psalm 62:1-8 The Message

62 ^1-2 God, the one and only—
    I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
    so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
    breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
    I’m set for life.

^3-4 How long will you gang up on me?
    How long will you run with the bullies?
There’s nothing to you, any of you—
    rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters,
Anthills plotting to bring down mountains,
    far gone in make-believe.
You talk a good line,
    but every “blessing” breathes a curse.

^5-6 God, the one and only—
    I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I hope for comes from him,
    so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
    breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
    I’m set for life.

^7-8 My help and glory are in God
    —granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
    lay your lives on the line for him.
    God is a safe place to be.

Faith can seem vague and theoretical—until a crisis hits.

Then, like the spare tire in your trunk when you have a flat, your faith suddenly becomes very important – up to the point of choosing between life and death.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 English Standard Version

¹² Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For to this day,  when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶ But when one^[a] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord^[b] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is  freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,^[c] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.^[d]  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

In fact, it may be the only way out of the mess you’re in.

In the middle of a crisis of faith, all we usually hope for is some way to get the situation straightened out so that we can move on. No one likes to need faith.

As with the little spare tire that comes with most cars today (you know, the little “donut” spare that’s designed to go just a few miles), most of us are willing to rely on our faith for a little while, only as long as we have need of it.

But just as you’ll want to get a real tire back on your car as soon as you can, so most of us want to move past our personal faith reliance and find a real reason for confidence.

At least that’s how it can seem.

No one likes crises, but it’s not hard to see how God can use our crises to reach into our emergency reserves in ways that he might not reach us otherwise.

Most of us pray differently—more earnestly—in times of crisis.

Our fear can prod us to squint for God through the fog of our uncertainty.

And the more we squint, the more we begin to see the features of God’s face.

How has God used crises in your life to deepen your awareness of His presence?

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit …

Praying ….

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
²     sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
⁴ All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

⁵ Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
⁷     who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

⁸ Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept our soul among the living
    and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
¹² you let men ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will perform my vows to you,
¹⁴ that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on^[a] my tongue.^[b]
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Hebrews 2:1-4 Christian Standard Bible

Warning against Neglect

2 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. ² For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding^[a] and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, ³ how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. ⁴ At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Hebrews 2:1 New Living Translation

A Warning against Drifting Away

2 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

What is Spiritual Drift

Everyone grows out of, or slowly moves away from, interests, habits, and hobbies in their lives over time.

An eight-year-old who loves playing with building blocks, Lego’s or dolls will eventually trade in their stuffed giraffes for make-up or a game console by the time they are twelve.

The star high-school athlete will eventually trade their sports ambitions in for a business endeavor.

People will always change, their interests change, they will always drift in and out of various likes, dislikes, and pastimes.

What once was, may no longer be in three of four years.

Is this a bad quality?

In relation to pastimes and trivial matters, I would say no.

But in relation to the Gospel and the Christian faith, I would say absolutely.

In fact, I would argue that every Christian has or will experience spiritual drift at some point in their Christian lives.

Interestingly, the believers to whom the letter of Hebrews is addressed were apparently were at risk of the very same danger!

In Hebrews 2:1 the author of Hebrews warns his audience against drifting away from the Gospel.

For them, this message was not only timely but necessary to protect them from a terrible fate.

You see, the audience of this letter was under immense persecution from the Roman government, as the letter was likely written during the reign of Nero.

Due to this persecution, these believers were tempted, threated, not only to drift away from the Gospel and all they had been taught, but were tempted to abandon the faith and apostatize!

Consequently, the author of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes these storm-tossed believers a timely warning against spiritual drifting.

Unintentional Drifting

Look with me at verse one of chapter two.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of this verse is its use of nautical terms.

The idea given here is that of a neglected boat that has slowly drifted out to sea.

A boat that someone failed to tie to the dock, and consequently has been pulled out to sea by the undercurrent or the tide.

Imagine if you would, a young couple or family on a beach vacation.

The wife perhaps decides she wants to catch some rays and a nap, while her husband is lounging on a yellow inner tube a few yards from the shore.

They both quickly and comfortably fall asleep under the suns warm light.

An hour later the wife wakes up and drowsily looks about for her husband and is unable to find him.

She becomes frantic and begins to search harder, and eventually notices a yellow speck on the horizon.

Her unconscious husband has drifted out to sea as a result of his negligence.

This is perhaps what is most startling about drifting.

It is often unintentional.

Few believers deliberately untie themselves from the heavenly harbor of the Gospel, rather they unintentionally and slowly drift away from it as a result of spiritual apathy and negligence.

This is a very real danger that you and I face every day.

It comes in the form of being too busy for Bible study, prayer, or poor Church attendance.

Missing these important aspects of the Christian life are usually not deliberate acts, rather they are simply the result of negligence, that results in a slow yet steady drift away from the Gospel and the things of God.

The Antidote to Drifting

For the believers addressed in the book of Hebrews, it was likely their hardships and persecutions that led to them neglecting the Gospel.

This is ironic as the Gospel and the teaching they had heard was the very cure they needed in their situation!

Not in the sense that the Gospel would remove the persecution, but in that the Gospel was the anchor they needed to weather the storm they were in.

Likewise, we may too drift away when storms, trials, and persecutions assail us.

Even though the very thing we are drifting away from is what we most desperately need in life’s hardest situations!

This is precisely why the author of Hebrews exhorts his listeners to pay attention to what they have heard!

And what is it that these believers have heard? 

The Gospel! 

The antidote to drifting and negligence in the Christian Life is Gospel alertness and intentionality. When troubles come, and they will, the answer is not to lift our eyes off the Gospel. Instead, we are to place our gaze directly on the cross!

To further the nautical picture painted by this verse, when storms assail, we must tie ourselves to the Gospel like a boat to a dock so we do not drift away.

By doing so we can avoid spiritual drift no matter what we face in the stormy seas of life.

Take heart friends, pay carful attention to the Gospel, and tie yourself to it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Praying …

Psalm 119:1-16 The Message

119 ^1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

* * *

^9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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