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. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
This is the last post of a series that I did not mean to be a series, but that God made by His own will. It has been about the cycles of sin, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and us and our actions. Now here are the final words of this series. May God bless them and teach us, just as He always has.
First, we must pay attention to what we have heard. God has been the one speaking on these occasions and He is the source of all that is good. Anything good we have ever learned or done was from Him. What is good though? Good, is what is righteous. What is righteous? It is what Jesus epitomized and lived out. Therefore, whenever we do good, we are living like Jesus Christ in the name of God. When He speaks to us, His words are always good and what we need to hear. Only fools ignore His words when He speaks. This is something I have to be true for me: I have been and still am a fool! I regret thinking about all the time wasted when I could have been hearing His words and paying attention to Him. Something we should all regret. It is when I was not listening that I felt furthest away from God. But what kept me from listening? The times where I thought I knew what I was doing and had pride in my ways. They were the times that I talked and talked and did not let God get a word in. These times felt the loneliest of this life. I got in the way. I wasn't the first to let myself get in the way though.
When angels came to the Israelites and people of the past in the Bible, they would bring them word and warnings. Many listened to the angels, but so many also did not. There were so many not written about, for the Bible even says that all should invite strangers in for they might tend to an angel without knowing. But these angels were servants of God bringing warning about the things of this world that God wanted done. Every time the angels were ignored, the people receive their punishments. Now Jesus has come Himself. The One who the angels praise died on the cross to bring salvation to all those who are willing to hear and believe. With complete salvation by faith in His Name alone, what excuse does anyone have? How could anyone run away? Romans says it, "...that no man be without excuse." How will we escape if we ignore the words of God? All of His words are true and binding. That is frightening, and rightly so. For God is to be feared for His power and ability to forgive. And that is why it is also our greatest Joy; because He has used His word to promise us salvation. We are free from our sins. But this world and our sinful nature try their best to make us forget. They bring us footholds that break us down and lead us into sin away from God and His words. They make us drift away. But because God knew these things would happen, He gave us proof of His words and salvation to remind us.
Salvation through Jesus Christ was confirmed by the disciples who wrote the words of God in the Bible we now use. He followed by proving it further through His signs, wonders, and miracles that have always been done. They may be done differently now but do they not still happen? Do people survive car crashes every day? Are new lives brought into the world every hour? Are there not people who find Jesus in the last months of their lives? Yes! But in case these were not enough, God gave us a witness to prove His Love to us. He gave us the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus and worked through Him on earth now dwells in us. He is constantly changing us and bringing us to God. His words and works are constant reminders that God is with us. For as long as we can feel the Holy Spirit and hear His voice, we can know that we are saved.
In Kings it is written that
God was in the small wind/whisper that came over the mountain Elijah was
on. I have found it to be true, that God is in the wind and His voice
is a whisper. But the thing about wind, is that even at its gentlest, it
can sound like thunder when my ear is turned toward it. So if we listen to the Holy Spirit, to God's words and promises, not only do we know that we are saved from the fact that we can hear Him, but we gain the blessings of the words themselves. God's words have brought me nothing but blessings in this life. As I continue my walk with Him, I look forward to the new words He will speak to me. The peace they will bring, and the Love they will be filled with. All the words until the day when I see Him face to face and be free from a sinful nature so I can truly say, "I Love You, because You Loved me first."
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment