Oct 31 Don’t drift away

Father, Paul reminds the Hebrews of something I need to remember too:  “We must pay more attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

 “What we have heard” is the Bible.

Here’s one way to picture it:

Your Word is a dock, and I am a small boat. 

If I tie my rope to the dock, I will not drift, or be carried away by currents or by storms.  

To “pay attention”  I need to recognize where I can tie up, and then to “not drift away” I must actually tie there.  So I need to understand, and act on Your Word.

To understand I need to read slowly, carefully to see the characters, the action, the meaning; and also not take Your Word out of context. I need to see what the author is saying and to whom.

Next, I must act on what it says to me by asking questions as I read Your Word; such as: 

Is this giving me an example of what to do?  Of what not to do? 

Is it a warning to heed? 

Is it teaching me something about You I need to know?  Or About myself? 

Do my motives, attitudes, or relationships need changing?

Lord, help me pay better attention to Your Word.   

Show me how to apply it to my life. 

Teach me how to follow through on what You tell me. Amen

Hebrews 2:1-4

Oct 31 Don’t Drift Away

Father, Paul reminds the Hebrews of something I need to remember too:  “We must pay more attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

 

“What we have heard” is the message spoken by You through Your prophets and Your Word.

If I do not pay attention, I may misunderstand or misinterpret what You are saying to me.   If I do not study to understand the context of Your Word, I may miss the true meaning.

I have heard verses of scripture taken completely out of context to make a point.  But when placed back with the other verses around them, and looking at what the author was saying and to whom he was speaking, it can make an entirely different point!   So I must pay careful attention to understand Your Word correctly.

Besides merely understanding what is said, which is a big thing in itself, I must be sure I am not drifting away from what it means in my own life.

How many times have I read a scripture and missed seeing a personal application?

To make sure I “do not drift away”, I need to ask questions as I read Your Word; such as:

Is this giving me an example of what to do?  Of what not to do?

Is it a warning to heed?

Is it teaching me something about You I need to know?  About myself?

About my motives, attitudes, or relationships that need changing?

Here’s one way to picture it:

Your Word is a dock, and I am in a small boat.

If I tie my rope to the dock, I will not drift, or be carried away by currents or by storms.

But first I need to recognize where I can tie up, and then I must actually tie there.  So I need to understand, and act on Your Word.

Lord, help me pay better attention to Your Word.

Show me how to apply it to my life.

Teach me how to follow through on what You tell me. Amen

Hebrews 2:1-4

Oct 31 Don’t drift away

Father, Paul reminds the Hebrews of something I need to remember too:  “We must pay more attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

  “What we have heard” is the message spoken by You through Your prophets and Your Word.

If I do not pay attention, I may misunderstand or misinterpret what You are saying to me.   If I do not study to understand the context of Your Word, I may miss the true meaning.

I have heard verses of scripture taken completely out of context to make a point.  But when placed back with the other verses around them, and looking at what the author was saying and to whom he was speaking, it can make an entirely different point!   So I must pay careful attention to understand Your Word correctly.

Besides merely understanding what is said, which is a big thing in itself, I must be sure I am not drifting away from what it means in my own life.

How many times have I read a scripture and missed seeing a personal application?

To make sure I “do not drift away”, I need to ask questions as I read Your Word; such as:

Is this giving me an example of what to do?  Of what not to do?

Is it a warning to heed?

Is it teaching me something about You I need to know?  About myself?

About my motives, attitudes, or relationships that need changing?

Here’s one way to picture it:

Your Word is a dock, and I am in a small boat.

If I tie my rope to the dock, I will not drift, or be carried away by currents or by storms.

But first I need to recognize where I can tie up, and then I must actually tie up there.  So I need to understand, and act on Your Word.

Lord, help me pay better attention to Your Word.

Show me how to apply it to my life.

Teach me how to follow through on what You tell me. Amen

Hebrews 2:1-4

Oct 31 Don’t drift away

Father, Paul reminds the Hebrews of something I need to remember too: “We must pay more attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”  

“What we have heard” is the message spoken by You through Your prophets and Your Word.

If I do not pay attention, I may misunderstand or misinterpret what You are saying to me.  If I do not study to understand the context of Your Word, I may miss the true meaning. I have heard verses of scripture taken completely out of context to make a point. But when placed back with the other verses around them, and looking at what the author was saying and to whom he was speaking, it may make an entirely different point! So I must pay careful attention to understand Your Word correctly.

Besides merely understanding what is said, (which is a big thing in itself) I must be sure I am not drifting away from what it means in my own life. How many times have I read a scripture and missed seeing a personal application? To make sure I “do not drift away”, I need to ask questions as I read Your Word; such as: Is this giving me an example of what to do? Of what not to do? Is it a warning to heed? Is it teaching me something about You I need to know? About myself? About my motives, attitudes, or relationships that need changing?

One way I can grasp it – it’s as if Your Word is a dock, and I am in a small boat. If I tie my rope to the dock, I will not drift, or be carried away by currents or by storms.  But first I need to recognize where I can tie up, and then I must actually tie there. So I need to understand, and act on Your Word.

Lord, help me pay better attention to Your Word and how to apply it to my life. Show me how to follow through on what You tell me. Amen

Hebrews 2:1-4

Apr 29 Teach me from all Your Word

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” 

“Everything must be fulfilled about Me that is written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”

Father, explain to me and open my mind so I can understand the Scriptures! The Scriptures You referred to here are the books of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi. I was brought up referring to them as the Old Testament. Jews refer to these same books as The Tanakh. Made up of three parts: The Torah, the Neviim and the Ketuvim, the Torah is the first five books, Genesis through Deuteronomy.   The Neviim are the Prophets, so the twelve books of the minor prophets and nine written by major Prophets. The Ketuvim are the books of wisdom, scrolls and history.

You explained to the disciples that You are the Messiah promised in these Scriptures. You are the God in both Testaments! You are God of the whole Bible!

So I need to be familiar with all parts to understand You fully.  Lord teach me from both, and help me see the blessing in the connections. So much of the meaning in the Old Testament is lost to me unless I learn about the Hebrew customs and language. When I see what You said and did in the New Testament, I miss the depth of meaning without the context of what came before.

You are part of the Trinity in Genesis 1. When You said “Let Us make man in our image…” it was plural; in Hebrew ‘Elohim’.   When the prophet Isaiah spoke it was You he saw who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace! He described You in his words when he said ‘a man of sorrows, familiar with pain, despised and rejected’. Zechariah saw that You would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, that You would die a violent death for all mankind. There are 351 prophecies in this Scripture that You fulfill.   And more yet to be fulfilled! How much more marvelous to know You as the Promise Keeper, the Prophecy Fulfiller! You are the One who speaks of the future, and has the power to bring it to pass!

The more I understand of who You are and all that You have done, the better I can know You. The more I know You, the more fully I can love You.   And the more I understand about prophecies yet to be fulfilled, the better prepared I can be to face the future, trusting in You as my Savior.

Thank You for being true to Your Word. Thank You that as I read and study, You reveal more and more of Yourself to me: my God in whom I trust! Amen

Luke 24:13-53