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September 12 Daily Devotional

Pay Attention

Peter G. Feenstra

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

Bible Reading

Hebrews 2:1–4

Devotional

Are you paying close attention to God’s work of salvation in Jesus Christ? The author of Hebrews has a passionate love for the people of God. At several intervals he stops to interject an appeal, exhorting the church to respond to what he has been saying. The proclamation of God’s saving acts needs to be accompanied by a call to faith in Christ, and on occasion this needs to be done in the form of a warning.

There are multiple warnings throughout Scripture that exhort us to pay attention to what we have heard. These warnings are God’s tools to guard His people against the danger of drifting away. The Lord warns us to pay attention to what we have heard because of our tendency to ignore such great salvation (2:3). Neglect could stem from spiritual laziness or irregular church attendance (10:15). It does not take much to start drifting away. Most of the church’s spiritual problems of apathy and lethargy stem from neglect. We aren’t using the very means the Lord has given us to keep our hearts passionate toward Him. The author of Hebrews counsels us to look to Jesus, to engage our minds in thinking on Him and on His great work of salvation. That will put a fire in our hearts! God must find in us an intense attention for salvation in Jesus Christ.

We are admonished to give earnest heed so that we do not drift away. The author of Hebrews uses nautical terms—having to do with ships and sailing. The word he uses for “giving earnest heed” is the same as “staying on course”. The picture is of a ship that has broken away from its mooring and is slowly, unnoticeably drifting into the open sea. We need to stay alert and stay on course, paying more careful attention to the things we have been taught, so that our ship of life does not drift past the harbour of salvation.

The Holy Spirit says to you: be alert and watch that you are not drifting past the harbour of salvation. Don’t let your life be broken apart on the rocks of laxity, self-righteousness or liberalism. God has spoken to you by His Son. He is the Light of your salvation, the lighthouse which beckons. Jesus, the Light of the world, keeps you on course while you are out on the high seas. That’s where you have to go! Christ is your safety. Let nothing, and no one, cause you to drift off course.

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