Hebrews 2:1-4 "Pay Attention"

Read Hebrews 2:1-4.

"We must pay more careful attention...." NIV

Distractions abound - TV, music, games, outdoor sports, indoor sports, work, chores, food, relationships, travel - and I'm only getting started. Staying focused on anything is so difficult today because we have so many things wanting to pull us away to give them attention. And then everything must be instantaneous. With cell phones, IM, Twitter, email we have demanded responses immediately. I don't know how many times I've heard my cell phone ringing and couldn't get to it. Then my house phone rings and when I finally answer, the caller is saying, "Where were you? I've been trying to get a hold of you!"
"I was in the bathroom; is that okay?"

We are becoming more and more demanding of other's attention, but are we paying attention ourselves? Do we take the time to really listen to another person? Do we stop long enough to reflect on what we've done, what we are doing, and what we need to do next and why? Do we ever stop long enough to change our perspective from myopic to a bird's eye view that will give us a better perspective on situations, relationships, and just the whole scope of life?

Recently, my husband and I had the privilege of having our Sunday morning worship sitting above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe in California. So far, this is my most favorite place in the whole world. With the waterfall to my right, the bay below me, and the lake to my left, I feel like in that moment all is right with the world. The beauty of that place warms my soul, and God is so near I can touch Him. That is one of the places I can go where life stops, and I truly pay attention.

As the writer of Hebrews points out, it is so easy to let your faith drift away. Call it a spiritual ADHD, but with far greater consequences than missing an answer on a test or not hearing the boss' instructions on a project. When we allow our minds, hearts, and attention to wander from the Truth, the enemy has an opportunity to fill our minds with alternatives. But there is no substitute for the salvation that Christ gave.

* the angels gave the message
* Christ first announced the salvation
* confirmed by witnesses
* God reinforces the message with "signs, wonders, and various miracles"
* we are blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit to speak the Truth within us

If we just pay attention, the Truth is shining loud and clear. Our focus must remain on Him and Him alone. Only then will the purpose of our existence and the plans for our life make sense.... And continue to make sense.

Pay attention. It's all true. Every word of it.

Further Thoughts:

1. When do you most find the doubts about what you believe begin to creep in? When you are too busy for reflection? When you stop having time alone with God and in the Word? When you stop meeting with other believers? Other times?
   
2. What are ways we can pay attention better? How do we keep our salvation always in the forefront of our thinking?
3. Make a list of your priorities. Does this shed any light on your "attention" level?
4. Rearrange your priorities today so that your focus remains on Christ and what He has done for you.

Matthew 27:11-26

Read Matthew 27:11-26.

"'I am innocent of this man's blood,' he said. 'It is your responsibility!'" NIV

The religious leaders and the people they sway to their way of thinking seem to be a theme that has been running for several chapters now. Once again, I am struck with the contrast between the religious leaders and the non-believers, in this case, Pilate, the Roman governor, and his wife. Here they turn over Jesus to the civil authorities stating a charge of treason since blasphemy would not have a stand in the civil courts. They could use treason because Jesus had claimed to be "king" of the Jews. Therefore, they were trying to show that Jesus was usurping the Roman authority. But Pilate, this non-believer, sees right through the ruse. Look at verse 18 again, "For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." He knew that he was receiving an innocent man to be put to death because of the Jewish leaders' arrogance. Isn't that amazing....and tragic? Even Pilate's wife pays attention to a dream she has and tells Pilate in verse 19, "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man...." Two people, not a part of The Way, probably worshippers of mythological beings, sees the Truth clearer than the ones claiming to be upholding it.

And the responsibility for this tragedy doesn't all fall on the religious leaders' shoulders. The people allowed themselves to be swayed by the chief priests and elders and would rather have a known criminal freed and an innocent healer crucified. The blindness is so complete. The enemy had a stronghold that day -- only because God allowed it to fulfill His purposes. But still, the ability to move that many people away from the Truth. We so underestimate his powers. Granted, we have a greater power over the enemy, but only if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and not moved to Satan's lies.

In the end, the only person who saw the truth was Pilate. He didn't have the fortitude to stand up to the crowd and fight for Jesus' innocence; instead he washed his hands of the responsibility. The people had spoken, and he would honor their request. But he made it publicly known that he didn't agree with the verdict.

So how does the non-believer see clearer than the supposed believer? What is happening in the believer's life to hinder them from seeing Truth as truth? As I look over the last 15-20 years, I know I have grown so much closer to the Lord. I credit consistency to my time in the Word, surrender to His Lordship, and a constant working on my personality to reach out to others rather than just taking care of myself. And as I grow closer to Him, the sin around me becomes more obvious. Inconsistencies are glaring, the world seems to become blacker and Christ's truths, whiter. And my sin appears more wretched than it ever was because I see the perfection of God magnified.

So I guess that boils down to four things: (not necessarily the only things....)

• surrender to His Lordship
• consistently studying the Word to know Him better - this is hearing His voice
• taking steps to be more like Christ
• when I sin, recognize it and immediately confess it

The religious leaders were not doing any of these. Well, obviously they new the Word, but only the law, not the heart. And they obviously did not learn very much about the character of God because their lives did not exemplify Him at all.

This is a clear warning for us all. A life that loses focus on the right priorities, misses seeing the Truth. And that is an eternal tragedy.

Further Thoughts:

1. How are you doing on the "four things?" Are there other areas you think are important that the religious leaders were missing?
2. Compare and contrast the religious leaders of that time to judgemental Christians today. What happens to turn us into judgemental Christians? How is the opposite lived out?

Matthew 26:57-68 "Seeing the Truth"

Read Matthew 26:57-68.

"The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.'" NIV

Okay, first I have to laugh at his question. He wants Jesus to answer the question under oath to the "living God." The living God is standing right in front of him. So Jesus needs to answer under oath to Himself. What irony.

So I was wondering what I would be thinking if I was the high priest. Would I have been one of the leaders trying to find a way to kill Jesus? Would I have put Him on trial? Now these Jewish leaders had been raised studying the prophesies about the coming Messiah. They knew what was going to happen. So why when the Truth is standing in front of them, the fulfillment of all the prophesies they have learned, can they not see Him? What hinders us from seeing Jesus for who He is and believing?

Well, Jesus has already shown in previous chapters that the religious leaders had allowed sin into their lives through greed and corruption of power. They loved being in charge more than they loved the God they were supposed to be serving. When we displace the object of our love, we miss seeing the truth. We're back to focus and priorities again. In whom will we place our faith? The religious leaders had transferred their faith from the One True God and His Word to their man-made laws and selfish ambition . It didn't matter that Jesus was fulfilling the very prophesies they had heard all their lives. They couldn't see the Truth.

When we displace our love and can't see the Truth standing right in front of us, it can disorient us when circumstances become difficult. The Jews were very oppressed during this time by the Roman rule. Here they were in their promised land that God had vowed to them so many years before, but they were living under the iron fist of the Romans. They expected a Messiah to come riding in on a white horse ready to rally an army that could defeat the Romans. Instead they get a 33-year-old carpenter's son riding on a borrowed donkey. Not exactly the valiant warrior they were looking for. But because the focus of their love had been diverted, they couldn't see that Jesus could be the Messiah. Their vision was clouded by misdirection and circumstances.

If we keep our eyes focused on the Truth, surrendered to His ways, and not allow the circumstances around us to intercept His leading, we will stay on course.

Further Thoughts:

1. Is your love focused on Jesus Christ or do you focus on self first?
2. Have you surrendered your life to His lordship?
3. Are circumstances distracting you from from God's plan? Remember, He is an out-of-the-box thinker. Don't try to place Him in a box. The "logical" answer according to our human paradigm may not be the right answer. Be open to whatever and wherever He leads.

Matthew 16:5-12 "Eliminate the ME"

I have skipped over Matthew 16:1-4 because the exact same subject was covered in Matthew 12:38-45. Click on link for that post.

Read Matthew 16:5-12.

"They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." NIV

I think quite often God is talking to us about one thing, and we "hear" another. Why is that? In this case the disciples' misunderstanding was because of insecurity, maybe guilt feelings. They felt bad because they had forgotten the bread and thought Jesus was rebuking them by bringing up the yeast.

But if they'd taken their eyes off of themselves for just a minute they would have seen two things:

1. Jesus couldn't be talking about needing bread because He can perform miracles to feed anyone. We've seen it done twice now.
2. He's warning us of the religious leaders' teachings.

Quite simple really, but because they couldn't take themselves out of the equation, Jesus' meaning was completely clouded.

How often am I missing what He is saying to me because I don't take the "me" out of the picture? I'm worried about how it affects ME; what He is upset with ME about; what does He want ME to do. I'm really starting to hate that word, "me." It's really getting in the way of seeing Christ clearly. That's one of the reasons He said to, "die to self." Everything that darkens my life seems to begin with my selfishness and "me" focus. If I remove the ME, I just see Christ, His compassion and grace, and His desire that I reach out to others first. Period.

Lord, I don't want ME in the equation any more. Keep my focus only on You and Your desires. ME just gets in the way of seeing and hearing You.

Further Thoughts:

1. When you hear a teaching, is your first reaction to focus on ME? If sin is involved, we do need to confess that and repent. But maybe He is trying to get you to focus on Him and others and move on past those temptations to sin.
2. If we stop focusing so much on ourselves, will we stop the cycle of sin in our lives? Support your answer with Scripture.
3. Look at the story of Saul and David. Saul was Me focused and David was God focused. In what ways is that true and how did that affect the outcome?
4. Read Galatians 5:16-26. Compare and contrast the acts of the sinful nature with the fruit of the Spirit. Which ones are ME focused and which are outward focused? What does that tell you about life by the Spirit?