Lest we drift away

 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1 ESV

Paying closer attention to what we have heard. How many times as a kid did you hear, “you need to pay closer attention”? I don't know about you, but I heard it frequently. Mainly because I was easily distracted. Is that a rabbit over there? Oh yes, back to the subject at hand. Paying closer attention. As Christians we need to pay very close attention to what we have heard concerning Jesus and His church. If we don't, we will begin to drift away.

When it comes to spiritual matters we don't want to find ourselves adrift in a dark world. How many of us would go drifting along in a canoe on a strange river in the dark. Not many of us. Most of us know that any river can be fraught with danger, especially for the unaware. Drifting in the darkness guarantees dangers. When we don't pay close attention to our walk with Jesus we are flirting with disaster. The writer of Hebrews understood that danger of drifting away. He knew it had already begun to happen in the church and the purpose of his letter is to remind Christians to wake up and pay attention.

The danger of drifting away for the truth of God's word is just as real today as it was for the church of the first century. There are so many distractions in life, family, friends, work, hobbies and so on. The best “hobby” any christian can have is reading their bible. When we are in the scriptures we are listening to what God is say ing to us. When we are listening, truly listening we will pay closer attention to our walk and where we stand spiritually.

So, today are you paying close attention to what you have heard, or are you adrift somewhere else? Some things I do know about the river of life is that there are rapids, whirlpools and falls that we need to be on the look out for. If we are not paying attention to what we have heard we face drowning in that river.

Spend time in the word today and every day. Listen and pay close attention, the word of God is your life-preserver.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman

The radiance and glory of God

 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3a ESV

Verse 3a of Hebrews chapter one testifies to the deity of Jesus. The writer is making his case for the deity of Christ in the first half of the verse. After making the statement earlier that Jesus is the Son of God and that God has communicated with us through Him, he now goes on to further explain the Son's deity.

Through Jesus all of God's splendor and praise-worthiness is made manifest. It shines through in the person of Jesus. When the world looks at Jesus, they are seeing God in all of His majesty. One of the purposes of Jesus coming to live among us was to give a face to the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)

He goes on to explain that Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature. In Jesus we see the vivid impression of God's essential qualities, the essence of God. All of Jesus personality traits, His compassion, love and concern are those of God. As we experience Jesus, we are truly experiencing God in the flesh. In Jesus, God exposes the essence of who he really is.

To further expound upon the “Godliness” of Jesus , the writer tells us that Jesus maintains the universe in which we live. When you look up at the stars and planets in the night sky, know that it is by the power of Jesus that they remain as they are. It is by His power and authority that the vastness of the universe is held in place. John 1:3 proclaims this as well. It speaks to the creative power of Jesus.

All of this information in just half a verse. The power of the WORD of God! The power to testify and witness to itself. Why would we ever question the all-sufficiency of scripture?

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman