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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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

Nov 18 Quick to listen, slow to speak

Father, James continues in giving good advice for righteous living. I ask You to help me to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. I can remember being told that ‘children should be seen and not heard’.   And ‘think before you speak – after all, you have two ears and only one mouth’; the message being that you should only speak half as much as you listen.   And ‘count to ten’ when you feel yourself getting angry so as to allow time to cool down and think before acting on your anger. I was taught these things as positive ways to get along with people. I did not know then they had Biblical roots for godly behavior!

 

So, help me truly listen to others with my mind and heart; not just count off time till it’s my turn to say something. Help me focus on the person speaking and what they are trying to convey. Then let me measure out my words carefully and respond, not just react. And if what I am hearing is not to my liking, and I have a strong emotional response, guard my tongue so I do not create conflict. But help me be a peacemaker.

Father, I am trying to follow James’ suggestion. He says “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. So help me listen more intently and pay attention to what You have to say to me in Your Word. Do not let me miss anything You have to show me or teach me or say to me as an encouragement. Father, I want the blessing in doing this: Listen more and speak less. Teach me how to keep “a tight rein on [my] tongue”.

Father, You made my ears and my tongue. Help me use them to bring You honor and glory. Holy are You, Lord! Hebrew translation: Hallelu Yah! Amen

James 1:19-26

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