In Hebrews 2:1 Paul warned of the danger of drifting away from the "things which we have heard.” This is a warning still needed in our day. We are human, living in a world of temp­tation and not in a land-locked spiri­tual harbor where no evil ever comes. It is a world of change where old customs and habits of morality are rapidly changing. Many of the Ori­ental nations are bound by love for the past; ancestor worship, while we in America are in danger of deciding that anything new is better, and so we must have change!

But drifting; going along with the change, is easy. It requires no effort to go downstream. But in such a world; to live a clean life in an un­clean world - that is another story. It takes strong courage to be a Daniel in Babylon; to be brotherly in an un­brotherly world; to feel like one of a minority and yet stand on convictions. Someone has said we like to wear our dainty little cross around our necks, but don't want to bear the cross of Je­sus as a daily burden on our backs.

Drifting is dangerous because it al­ways means going down. People never drift upward - never in the di­rection of God, the church of heaven. If we gain these things it is through effort and work. If we are drifting, it is in the direction of the world, wrong, and finally into hell itself.

Drifting is dangerous because it is gradual. It probably is even an un­conscious process. Few folks "go wrong" overnight. Usually it begins with a weakening of the moral fiber. When we first begin to drift, the conscience will suf­fer. But soon we don't feel the pangs of conscience. Where we once felt badly for missing a worship service; a class, pretty soon it does not bother us. We pass it off with an "oh, well, I'll try to do better next time." If it does not bother your conscience as much as it did one, two, three years ago to fail in service to God, you are drifting!

Drifting is dangerous because when persisted in, it will end in your ruin. The greatest ocean liner, if allowed to drift will soon end up on the rocks or in Davey Jones's locker! No matter how big or small; that which drifts will ultimately end in ruin.

Drifting is dangerous because it also ruins those with whom the drifter comes into contact. Look at the havoc wrought on those in the drifting ship! Every Christian who drifts away from the Lord will likely take some­one with him when he goes.

But - there is a cure for this' drifting process. Paul said it is in "giving the more earnest heed ..." (Heb. 1:1). Oh, that all our attitudes would be that of "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah." That we would ever sing "Savior, Me Lest I Stray." Let us learn to "take heed;" to listen to what God has to say to us, and apply his principles to our lives every day. God made man for a nobler and loftier world than this. Why will we ding to the world and drift along until it is too late? Are you drifting? If so, set your anchor in Christ, and your hope in him. - Bill Moseley

 

 

 

Emerson once said, “A man is what he things about all day long.” The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius put in this way: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”

All well and good – but a long time before these ever had the thought, Solomon said, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Pro. 23:7).

What do you think about? Thoughts always precede actions. What caused man’s wickedness early on? Moses wrote of the wickedness of man before the flood (Gen. 6:5). Why this wickedness? The verse goes on to say, “every imagination of the thoughts of his (man’s) heart was only evil continually.”

There are a lot of good things to think about (Phil. 4:8), and in spite of this men let their minds dwell on the refuse and garbage of the world in which they live. They think about such things continually, as seen in movies, stories, etc. No wonder then that these thoughts are soon translated into action. - Bill Moseley

 

 

 

It was in a parking lot of an eating es­tablishment in Pampa, Texas where I was holding a meeting a few years ago. My friend and I had just walked out and found a little old lady, some­where in her 80's, in an obviously be­wildered situation. She wasn't "liber­ated," for when we asked if we could help her she said, "Yes, I've lost my car; its white, and in this parking lot somewhere." After much searching, eureka! - we found it - a gray car in a parking lot across the street!

Sure, she was old, but so were all the others we had been invited to eat with - a "senior citizens group." The old gentleman ("Rex" was his name) across the table from us had only a few teeth, and yes, another one had missed a couple spots in shaving. They talked of bygone people and years - but I didn't hear a one of them regret the stage of life they were in!

One cannot help but think, "in a few short years, there I am!" Will I han­dle it as graciously and happily as most of them did? I enjoyed eating with the "old folks" - we can learn a lot from them if we will take the time to listen to them and not ignore them like we usually do!
- Bill Moseley