Mankind is LOwer than Angels at this Time (Heb. 2:8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-25-02

 

My Worship Time                  Focus: Mankind lower than angels

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:8

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “’You have put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.”  (NKJV)  ‘“You gave him authority over all things.’ Now when it says ‘all things’ it means nothing is left out.  But we have not yet seen all of this happen.”  (NLT)

            Whenever I had read this passage I thought that the writer was speaking of Christ, but now it seems to make more sense to me that he is writing about mankind, and probably before the fall.  Because of the fall mankind is not capable of fulfilling the administration of the earth which God had ordained for him to do. 

 

2.  Spiritual Meaning for my life today:  Because of sin that entered the human race at the fall I do not realize how much it affects all aspects of my life.  If it were not for the grace of God through Jesus Christ then I would not even realize how much of a problem that sin is in my life.

 

The Word of God was both convicting and refreshing to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  By faith I want to trust the Lord to see me through the events of this day, because of the trouble that I do have many times with IBS.

 

Memory Verses for the week:  Romans 12:5; Philippians 2:5; 1Peter 4:10

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

 

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…

 

 

Jesus Made Lower than Angels (Heb. 2:6-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-24-02

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Jesus Made Lower than the Angels

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:6 &7

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him?  You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. (NKJV)  “For somewhere the Scriptures says, ‘What is man that you should think of him, and the son of man that you should care for him?’  For a little while you made him lower than the angels, and you crowned him with glory and honor.’” (NLT) 

            The writer asks the question in this verse why God ever bother with man.  He then quotes from Psalm 8:4-6 but does not identify where the quotation comes from, he even make it vague as to where the quote comes from as if it did not matter to much.  The theme of this section is still that Christ is superior to angels.  Verse says that man was made a little lower than angels and was crowned with glory and honor and then he was given responsibility to care for creation that God had made.  This verse is not speaking of Jesus Christ, but man.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To answer the question what is man that the writer brought up in this section gives meaning to my life for not only today but each and every day.  Man is so important to God that He became one to die on a cruel cross to take care of the sin problem for man and bring him back in fellowship with Himself.  God demonstrated His love for us through the cross of Jesus Christ.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to say that Sandy is going through a rough time, and as usual it spills over on to those around her, including me.  I did not understand that she is beginning to either go to far up or slipping down because of any number of things.  She is upset over Tracy’s divorce and over some things concerning Callie.  She also has some hard times around the fall of the year because of the gloomy days which lack sunshine.  I have a very difficult time dealing with these mood swings as the cause me to fear, fear what I am not quite sure, but fear something.  I want to step out on faith that the Lord will give both of us the grace to get through this difficult time and that we will both be better off and also bring glory to the Lord thought this experience.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Romans 12:5; Philippians 2:5; 1Peter 4:10

 …so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…

The Future World Will Not be controled by Angels (Heb. 2:5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-23-02

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Future world not controlled by angels

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:5

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “¶ For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.”  (NKJV)  “And furthermore, the future world we are talking about will not be controlled by angels.”

     There is some disagreement about this section that I am moving into in this chapter which goes from verse five to verse eighteen.  John Macarthur titles this section “The Son Made Lower than Angels,” while Warren Wiersbe titles this section “Explanation:  why Jesus Christ is not inferior because of His humanity.”  After reading the first part of Warren Wiersbe’s book on this section I must say that I agree with him that even though Jesus Christ was in the flesh He was superior to angels.  As far as verse five goes the “world to come” must be speaking not only of the Millennial kingdom that Christ will rule over, but also in eternity too.

 

            2.  Spiritual Meaning for my life today:  Even thought this world that I live in today is subject to angels, including the evil angels which are controlled by Satan, the Lord Jesus is on His throne and He is the One who is in full control of this world, all things must filter through His hands before they are done.  Because of this truth I can have confidence that, as the Scripture says in Romans 8:28, “God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to me today. 

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I trust the Lord to work IBS together for good in my life today.

 

Memory verse for the week:  1 Peter 4:10

 

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…

More on the Confirmation of the New Covenant (Heb. 2:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-20-02

 

My Worship Time                        Focus:  More on the confirmation of the New Covenant

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:4

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”  (NKJV)  “and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose to do so.”  (NLT)

             The writer continues to write about the confirmation of the New Covenant, and speaks in this verse that it was confirmed by 1) sings and wonders.  This speaks of the miracles that were preformed by the Lord Jesus Christ while on the earth and later by the apostles and some early members of the Church.  2) “Gifts of the Holy Spirit,” I believe that this could refer to the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to believers such as the ones mentioned in 1Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, and 1Timothy.  This is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the book of Hebrews.

           

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  At the end of the verse the words “according to His own will” are written and refer to the Holy Spirit work in giving gifts to members of the Church family.  I believe that the Holy Spirit has also chosen a work for me to do and also a gift to use for the good of the body of Christ.  I am willing to do what ever He has planned for me to do for the cause of Christ, for He will not only give me the work to do but also the desire and ability to do it.

 

The Word of God has challenged me as I read and studied it today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  This verse has challenged me to be available to the Holy Spirit to do the work that He has chosen for me to do.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Eph. 2:10; Mark 12:30; Romans 12:5; Phil. 2:5

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the other.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

 

 

Admonition: Heed the Word and Don't Drift PT-2 (Heb. 2:3)

Spiritual diary for 12-19-02

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Admonition:  Heed the Word and Don’t Drift PT-2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 2:3

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,”  (NKJV)  “What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus Himself?  It was passed on to us by those who heard Him speak,”  (NLT)

            All of these first four verses tie into each other and they do continue the theme that the writer had in the first chapter, that which of Christ being superior to angels.  As stated in verse two the angels were used by God to bring forth the Law in the OT.   "who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."  (Acts 7:53)  “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.”  (Gal. 3:19)  Now the Son of God who is superior to the angels mediated the New Covenant message of salvation.  The message and the messenger are superior to that of the OT Law.  The greater the privilege the greater the punishment for disobedience or neglect.  The last part of the verse refers to those who were alive and say the things that Jesus did and are now passing it on to the next generation so that they can know the truths of it.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I certainly believe that as a believer in the age of the New Covenant that I have a greater responsibility than those of the Old Covenant because I have more information on what has happened to the Lord Jesus Christ while He was upon the earth, and how He suffered and died for the sins of mankind to give eternal life to them.  I know that this is the most important message of all of the earth and that I should do a better job of telling others about this wonderful message.  I guess one of the reasons that I do not do this is because I care more about myself and my agenda than the agenda that the Lord has for me to do.

 

The Word of God brought conviction to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to be ready to explain to anyone that the Lord brings into my life today the hope that lies within me.

Memory verses for the week:  Eph.2: 10; Mark 12:30; Romans 12:5; Phil. 2:5

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

 

 

Heed the Word and Don't Drift (Heb. 2:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-18-02

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Heed the Word and Don't Drift

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:2

 

1.      Message of the verse:  “2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,”  (NKJV)  “The message God delivered through angels has always proved true, and the people were punished for every violation of the law and every act of disobedience.”  (NLT)  Verse one of this chapter spoke of drifting away from the truths of the gospel.  Now the writer continues this theme in this verse by speaking about the fact that the message of the OT was given by the help of angels and if it were disobeyed then God would bring forth His discipline to those who disobeyed it.  The words from the NKJV in verse two; transgression and disobedience speak of sins of commission and omission.  Both sins are willful, serious, and require just judgment.

 

2.      Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Just as the writer of the wonderful book of Hebrews describes in this chapter, I too need to take very seriously the warnings that he speaks about.  It is easy to drift away from doing the things that are described for me to do in the Bible and it is easy to have the wrong ideas about who God is and what He requires of His children.

 

The Word of God was convicting to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord to show me the things that I am doing that are not pleasing to Him and I want to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Ephesians 2:10; Mark 12:30; Romans 12:5; and Phil. 2:5

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good words, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

First Warning from Hebrews (Heb. 2:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-16-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  First warning

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hebrews 2:1

 

            Message of the verse:  “1 ¶ Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”  (NKJV)  “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.”   (NLT) 

            There are some things that I wish to point out from this verse.  First, the writer uses the word “we” which shows that he is speaking to believers and not unbelievers.  Second, “the things we have heard” I believe he is speaking about the important things that he has written about in the first chapter because he starts out with the word, “therefore.”  Third when he says, “lest we drift away,” he uses terms that were used about ships.  If a believers starts to drift away from his faith he is probably neglecting the reading of the Word of God, or neglecting his prayer life, or is neglecting gathering with those of like faith at the Church.  Drifting away from the truths of Scripture is a very dangerous thing for any believer to do.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The commentary on this verse and the three that follow by Dr. Warren Wiersbe tell of the importance of doing devotions each and every day so that I can learn from God’s Word to help me grow spiritually.  If I would quit eating for a long period of time then I would become sick and possibility die, and the same is true with neglecting the Bread of Life.

 

The Word of God challenged me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  It is always a step of faith to continue to do my devotions each day.  I am challenged by the book on anger that I am reading, and pray that the Lord will use this in a big way in my life as I continue to read it.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Ephesians 2:10; Mark 12:30; Romans 12:5; Philippians 2:5

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…