Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Hebrews 2:1-4 - Drifting Away

 

Hebrews 2:1-4 - Drifting Away

If we look back to Hebrews 1, yesterday's reading, we reflect on Jesus being the greatest, above angles. Remember, my dad can beat up your dad...right?  Jesus is the greatest above all, and with that in mind, let's look at the opening here in chapter 2. 

“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This “therefore” is referencing back to what we learned in chapter 1, Jesus is greater than angels. And since Jesus is greater than angels, we must remember this, and act on this. If Jesus is above all, greater than angels, then we should listen to the words of Jesus, model our lives after Jesus, do as Jesus did, right? Pretty simple. 

The author of Hebrews then gave us the reason why we need to model our lives after Jesus, because as Christians if we don’t, we will drift away. This is such a critical point, we will NEVER on accident drift towards Jesus, that is not in our sinful nature. We will always drift away from the things of God, so we must take earnest heed another translation says. 

“For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What is going on in this text; For since the message spoken through angels was binding. This is referencing and a way of describing the Mosaic Law, which was received by the direction of angels and delivered to Moses. Remember, this content in Hebrews was written to Christians, as an encouragement and to motivate those who were not walking with Jesus. 

This is an encouraging and motivating letter to us right now. Check out the next few words, “so great a salvation.” As a Christ-follower and believer, do I understand how great a gift I have received? Do I live my life, and are my actions each and everyday reflective of such greatness? This is an area I have written about in the past, but I am reminded of living a life of generosity. Knowing how great a gift I have received, something I could never buy, something I do not deserve, and understanding how great the gift it, it’s in that mindset and understanding that flows a heart of generosity. It’s when we appreciate how great Jesus is and how great salvation is when we can begin to live a transformed life. 

Let’s close by reading this full section in the Message translation. 

“It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while, God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit.” - ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2:1-4‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Every moment of the day, we have an opportunity to drift away from God, and this is a natural occurrence. Just like a boat with no anchor, it will drift away from its location by the waves, tide, or wind. Jesus is our anchor; Jesus is our centering that we must stay focused on and keep a firm grip, so we don’t drift away. It’s my prayer today that Jesus is front and center in my every moment, so when I am faced with a drifting, I am anchored by Him. Lord God may I be centered on you today, keep me anchored by your Son Jesus. Father may I regularly recall the greatest gift ever, the salvation you provided through the death of Jesus, and may this abundant gift drive me to live a life that is generous and continuously grateful. Amen. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch