to drift away

i love the book of hebrews. when i flip through my Bible, so many verses in this book are highlighted or underlined!
i like it because it is filled with exhortations, and it challenges me to  be an exhorter.

the title of chapter 2 in my Bible says Hearers Warned. the very first verse is,
We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. "let them slip" can be defined as "to drift away"
that reminds me of lazy days in the summer where i will be out on the lake on a float. i just close my eyes and before long, i realize that i have drifted really far from where i started! it implies something that just happens slowly, without any real purpose or mind to move.
this is ok for the lake.
this is NOT ok for my life. i have grown up hearing the Word a lot. i mean, a lot.
i could probably count on one hand the amount of sundays that i have not been in church. i do not say that boastfully, just factually.
my parents made the decision that we would be in church every sunday.
adam and i both decided when we got married that we would be in church every sunday.
so i have heard a lot of sermons!

i was homeschooled, went to christian school, and went to a christian university (the world's most exciting one, by the way)

i have heard a lot. that doesn't mean a thing. not a single thing...unless i give heed to those things.

chapter 3 verse 13 says "Exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you should be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin".

this is a command, not a recommendation. i am being told to exhort other people daily.
why?
because sin is deceitful.
it can harden people.
not just other people.
it has the potential to harden ME!
i have seen it happen more times than i can count. people who accept Jesus as their Savior by
Admitting they are sinners
Believing that God sent Jesus to pay the price of my sin.
Calling to invite Jesus to save me from my sins and give me eternal life.

then. slowly...they start drifting.
it starts with hurt feelings, or a misunderstanding, or something small.
then sin starts to deceive them. they start feeling like they have every right to treat someone badly because of how that person treated them.
before they even realize it, they have drifted so far away, they don't even know how to get back to shore!

THAT is why we... you... ME, need to have encouraging, exhorting words DAILY!!

the last verses are in chapter 10 verse 23 and 25.
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching"

that's it. right there.
when we stop spending time with people that are encouraging us in our faith, we start to waver.
we start to drift.
that's why it is so important to...not just attend church as if that's the be all and end all of life. because even though i love my church, i don't think that it is the answer to life's problems.
i believe that JESUS is the answer to life's problems, and when i commit to go to church every week,
i am just choosing to spend my time with people who are encouraging me to hold on to my faith, to not waver, to stop thinking so much about myself and all my own problems!!

so my thoughts for tonight are just this.
don't let yourself drift away.

don't let ME drift away!

i feel like time that i am not spending serving God...is it all just a waste?
i don't want to let myself enjoy the things that are taking up my time so much, that i start drifting away.
can you be that kind of friend to the people around you?

when you see someone holding on a little too tightly to things on the earth...can you warn them that it is not what will make them happy?

when you see someone giving up on their marriage, can you remind them that marriage is for life?
i hope that i am that kind of friend.

please be that kind of friend to me!

make it your challenge to be exhorting and encouraging your friends daily!!