S -
Hebrews 2:1-3 (NIV): "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to
what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by
angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just
punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This
salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those
who heard him."
O -
Drifting away … slipping … stray … the Greek is a compound word παραῤῥυέω: to be carried past, glide
past, a thing that escapes me or slips my mind. The point is that a tragic
conclusion does not always begin with something intentionally rebellious or
overtly dangerous. Distraction, the
failure to keep the main thing the main thing (note: the person of Jesus is the
main thing) became the inspiration for self-disqualification: a stubborn
refusal to believe, an insistence on doing things one's own way; a logic which
ends in accusing God and excusing self. The good news from heaven is a person
not information; a person not a promise; a person not a principle; a person not
a plan. Jesus, the person not the
concept, is the remedy to this ever-present danger and the help all humans
need.
A -
Jesus presents his followers with only five "be on your guard
against" statements. Be on your
guard against: the yeast of the Pharisees; all kinds of greed; false Christs
and false teachers; human beings and distraction. He wouldn't have warned his
closest friends and followers if there was no real danger. For these five, he is the remedy and the
preventative. He's not a vaccine … he's daily bread, a daily dose of life,
truth, hope, faith, forgiveness, light, power.
He does it this way because we weren't created to perform but to love; to be
in an ongoing relationship. He created
us for interdependence. We need him and
we need each other. This is the only
known way to prevent and/or recover from the deadly drift Scripture warns us
of. Today, I'll gladly live out the dose
of him who is life!
P - Lord
who is the message, who is salvation,
Thank you for wanting us to
live in you not just to you; for wanting us in authentic relationship and for
creating us for this very purpose. I admit this morning already found me
drifting a bit but your loving kindness, your presence, and your relentless
love has engaged me once again today while it is called today. I am grateful to be near you, following you,
back on course and focused. Since you
are giving me your irrepressible and vibrant life today let me, today while it’s
called today, be a reason someone else would believe.
I love you back,
Steve
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