“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)
The holiday season is upon us…Thanksgiving and Christmas…are you ready for it? Probably not. This passage from Hebrews keeps haunting (no Christmas Carol pun intended!) my thoughts. Read that again and then take a few minutes to consider the truths of this text as we head into one of the “busiest” times of the year. (I’ll wait)
Now when we come to the end of our day totally flustered…open your Bibles and read the letter to the Hebrews…or the Gospel of John…or something from the Psalter…even from the Proverbs. (Just what is your practice when a day has been particularly frustrating? Before you take it out on loved ones go to the One who loves you best.) Read and take in the life giving and sin purging word of the Lord Jesus Christ who is Himself the LAST WORD of God to us who are His…who is reigning now and loves us more than anyone could ever love us after all He sent the Holy Spirit to reside within us, didn’t He… because He didn’t want us ever to be alone. By paying closer attention to these truths… God’s truths…we won’t be tempted beyond what we can bear… we won’t completely drift away.
People say all the time that doctrine…theology…is of no real use…but without these, (which are from the Word of God)…we have no anchor…no place to go for strength…no refuge to run to when we mess up…no way to even begin to makes sense of things…in other words nothing to hang on to when we are on the edge in this life that seeks to push us over.
Also, the above passage says, “…we must pay much closer attention…” Another divine directive “we must”. It is not an option…but we also must want to pay much closer attention and once again that is where the Spirit comes into play…He moves our spirit to desire the life-giving word of God to be implemented into our lives so we can fulfill our purpose with regularity.
So we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard (read, “heard and read” in the Word of God) so that as our lives get flustered (and they will) by careening into this time of year…we will actually be able to take our foot off the accelerator and by God’s grace control the speed to which we are moving and the voices that are vying for our attention so that we can live the life that glorifies our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because our gracious heavenly Father will always “provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (I Corinthians 10:13)
God bless y’all.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
