Morning, Zane.
I made it out for a little jog with the dogs. Becki wasn’t feeling very great so she stayed behind. Before leaving the driveway, I gathered a few apples from our tree to take along in case a couple horses were close to the fence on Short Fellows Road. Sure enough—they were there. I think I lit up their morning. And now at 11am, I’m still in my jog togs. Lots of stuff calling for my attention. I need to keep plowing.
Have a great day. Love and prayers. Tua (Ray)
Jesus is presented here as being on a much higher plane than was Moses. But in comparison, we run the risk of being no higher in our following of Jesus than most of the Israelites were in their following of Moses. Be reminded and warned that nearly all the people of Israel who left Egypt never made it into the Promised Land. That is a fact worth pondering—a warning worth heeding.
I think you will agree that following through with my personal responsibilities before God is far more important than keeping on my shelf a nice book of ideas about God—and maybe reading from it once in a while—and maybe joining with a group that talks about it once in a while. In this regard, let me compose two declarations that stand out to me loud and clear in this passage relative to my personal responsibilities:
Firstly, I AM PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE TO MAINTAIN A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS— THE ESSENTIAL FOCUS OF MY THE ESSENTIAL FOCUS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE AND FAITH FAITH. “Therefore, holy brothers, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess” (3:1). I can’t seem to avoid the repetition of equating this basic responsibility as one and the same with maintaining a HEART AFTER GOD.
Secondly, I AM PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE TO LOOK AFTER AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE FAITH HEALTH OF THOSE IN MY COMPANY. “See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (3:12-14).
Listen to this same passage in the Message translation: “So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.”