Be Still and Know - "Listen Very Carefully To The Truth We Have Heard"

(from www.premierchristianradio.com)

1. Hebrews 2:1 NLT
   
   
   So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.
   
   
   
   We can be sure that this letter was written to Christians from a Jewish background and that it was written to a particular church. Later in the letter we learn that the believers had suffered for their faith soon after they came to faith in Christ, but now they had become complacent and lazy. There was a real danger that they would drift away from the truth. The expression “drift away” is one that is well known in Greek literature and it is used to refer to a ring slipping off the finger, or some food slipping down the wrong way or a ship carelessly slipping past a harbour because the person at the wheel wasn’t paying attention. The writer wants the congregation to realise that in just the same way it is possible to drift away in 
   their faith. 
   
   
   In my experience when people stop attending church it is rarely because they have come to a conviction that Christianity is wrong. What has happened is that they have simply drifted away. Perhaps they were busy at work, the children had other activities on a Sunday morning, somebody in the family was ill or they moved home. There was no deliberate intention to reject the Christian faith, merely a slow, gradual, but in the end irreversible, drifting away.
   
   
   The words of Hebrews are just as relevant today as they were to the writer’s situation 2,000 years ago. And the answer is that we all need to make sure that we are listening carefully to the truth, and that will be achieved most easily by each of us having good rhythms in our Christian lives. Reading from the Bible and praying every day, meeting with other Christians and joining together in worship are all valuable ways of ensuring that we don’t drift away. There are no laws about these things any more than there are laws which we need to have in place to maintain 
   strong personal relationships. But if we are to keep strong in faith, we need to 
   look carefully at our personal rhythms to ensure that there is no possibility of 
   us drifting away. 
   
   
   Question: What do you need to do to strengthen your personal rhythms of Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and worship?
   
   
   Prayer: Lord God, help us to receive the strength and inspiration that you are constantly seeking to give to us. Amen