Heb. 2:1 "So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it."
- This verse means a lot to me. It's so easy for people to be raised up all around the Scriptures, and then walk away, to seek other views and beliefs. I've done this before, and so far, it has always led me back home. But that's mostly because of certain reasons:
1. People praying for me
2. I've grasped what Jesus REALLY means to me. Until you do this, I believe there is little to no hope. That understanding of what Jesus REALLY means to me is like a constant reminder, and the loudest sound my conscience makes to me.
3. Hitting rock bottom, or God. Sometimes, I believe God sort of pulls the plug when we have done enough damage to our heart and soul. Touched By An Angel doesn't believe we hit rock bottom. We hit God. At the bottom of the pit we fall into, God is there, ready to lift us out. It's not that we left Him and He "showed up." The Christy Miller and Katie Weldon book series points out that He's been with us the whole time. God is the Alpha and Omega. He was, and is, and is to come.
Heb. 2:9 "What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position "a little lower than the angels; and because He suffered death for us, he is now "crowned with glory and honor." Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone."
I love that last part... "... Jesus tasted death for everyone." Think about that.
The Life Application Study Bible points out that "God's grace to us led Christ to his death."
Through Christ's suffering, He fully understands what we go through when we suffer.
Heb. 2:14, 15 "Because God's children are human beings - made of flesh and blood- the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying."
- Because of this, the LASB says that we shouldn't fear death anymore because death is the doorway into eternal life. My fear may not be completely missing in action, but it's not a huge and great fear. If anything, it offers me hope. I have a strong belief in Heaven. I don't care about golden streets, pearly gates or living in a mansion. I just want to go to a place with no more pain, suffering, hurting, hate or broken hearts.
Heb. 2:17, 18 "Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested."
- This passage brings a sigh of relief. In a way, it's saying that we don't have to go through hardship, pain and suffering on our own. Jesus knows and He understands FULLY.
- We always say that when we go through hard times like divorce, cancer and the loss of a loved one, we can help others who go through similar situations and hard times, due to our experience.
- Jesus can do that for us, and He is the ULTIMATE counselor. All we have to do is call upon Him, and see (or read) how he handled His hard times. Then, take what we learn, and really apply everything to our own lives.
- I believe Jesus came to be human and suffer and die for us. He didn't come for power and to be just a high authority.
The LASB points out that He was interested in participation, not power; service, not domination; Giving, not getting.
Jesus came to serve, and that He did, in the greatest and best ways possible.
Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for all that you've done for us. Thank you for teaching us so much in this second chapter. I pray that we would take what we've learned, and apply it to our lives, so that it would be harder for us to drift away from the truth. But when we do, thanks for not giving up on us, and for dying on the cross, forgiving our sins, and bringing us back to solid ground. Thank you for creating a way for us to go to Heaven, and for making our fear of death a lot lesser. And thank you for helping us through our hard times and reminding us that you can fully relate to what we go through. That's assuring, Jesus. Thanks.
In Your Name,
Let it be so
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