Do Not Depart

Hebrews 2:1 - Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

I feel I've been gone forever. I must admit there were days I strayed from the Word. I relaxed, as it were. My head felt tired and distracted. I lost my focus.

It's always good to be able to get into a routine again. Oh, so good. As I read the above scripture I decided to confess losing focus and also determine to refocus. There isn't any one chapter in the Bible that doesn't have a word for each one of us. I'm so thankful for that.

This particular scripture was written following others that once again proclaim that God is the One who laid the foundation of the earth and created the heavens, reaffirming that this earth will perish but our God will remain (Hebrews 1:10-12).  

We grumble and to some extend silently fear the state of our nation, the leadership and what appears to be a monumental change--one that does not look good. Even in years head the damage done today will be hard to recover from. Everything seems to be upside down with good becoming evil and evil turning to good. I was reading about President Obama's lack of emotion and his ability to talk about himself and wondered, again, how soon before this country implodes. 

But God--He is always the same; He never changes. His Word is the only truth worth hanging on to. He watches over His people. His people are those He's chosen and called to become His children and who have opted to follow Him. Not everyone can call themselves children of God. Just because one is raised in the church and goes to church on Sundays and/or is of the Christian religion, not Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or whatever other religion, does not make them God's child. That may sound harsh, but it's true. Even if one has verbally accepted Jesus, if it's not from the heart, only the mouth, and no change has taken place in their life, there's a question whether adoption into the family of God really has taken place. I wonder myself sometimes, like today.

If I was able to relax a bit on vacation when I had the time to spend with God but chose not to (which I wish I didn't have to write), where do I fit? However, if one chooses never to hear God speak through His word, where are they?

There is more talk in pulpits today that we are in the last days. I exercise with some ladies from a local Catholic church who agree. We are just not hearing this enough. Many will still argue that we've heard this before and what makes now any different than in the past? We need to realize this also is true. There is an enemy at work in the spiritual realm that we do not see whose whole purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. As our Associate Pastor, Cliff Cameron, said yesterday, and I'm paraphrasing, "Satan may not do total damage to us but just enough to stir things up."  

My "relaxing" may seem like a small thing, but it's just the time the enemy would see a weakness and stir things up...like thoughts or feelings. There is never a time to relax when it comes to the Lord. He is there for our protection. The enemy is His footstool (Hebrews 1:13). We need to keep His strength by our side always.

So if these are the last days we need to pay heed to God, be strengthened daily in Him through His Word. It needs to be before us and in our hearts and minds. A day could come when church may only be within our hearts because it is considered so offensive as to be banned. Without the Word planted in our hearts we are nothing but lost, our strength gone, our hope vanished. We should be learning from the Word Himself and not relying on our pastor to interpret everything. 

Playing church is not good. Going just for the sake of going offers no eternal reward. We must take Christianity and our true salvation through Jesus Christ seriously. We must plant God's Word in our hearts daily and think on these words, know the truths and rejoice in the promises. We must not allow ourselves to stray. Weakening, relaxing, as I see it, can be disobedient. God help me and those who rest for a time in the world, not the Word. I may not have an evil heart and my belief in God has not departed but I don't want to become so lax that the enemy has enough of a foothold that I weaken and allow the enemy's lies to enter and take hold.

Hebrews 3:12-13 - Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.