What measure do you use when you’ve failed to live up to every one presented?  Are you forced to develop your own gradient, with some reasonable expectation of excusing yourself or justifying your particular behavior?  May you simply ignore the imploring voices of self, satan, the world and your once remembered shepherd to maintain your self-sustaining universe?  Are you convinced of the surety and safety of your position, beyond the advice and consent of those who knew better even when I didn’t, or are you saving up the remorse for an upcoming day of humility born of tragic episode?  Or have you regretfully, steeled your conscience to the Word of God such that it no longer tugs at your heart or inflames your sensibilities?  What’s to become of you, if this backslidden state is norm?

I am a failure to man.  I cannot explain it nor escape the impacts of my tenuous human position.  I have no rational explanation to give my friends, family or interviewers when asked for discussion regarding my circumstance, poverty or apparent propensity to supposed aimless wandering.  Yet, they avoid me not from poverty or frustration at inability to assist but to avoid the inexplicable joy present within my life in spite of situational implication.  How can they sustain their concrete understanding in light of factual in-congruence?  I am a winner by God’s guidelines and therefore must be castigated, excluded or condemned in order to protect man’s self-confidence.  I get it, I love them even more for they are truly in danger of eternal separation from the Lord.  They are piteous at best, yet they muse about their concern for my unfortunate predicament, excusing of course the facts of my utter peace, comfort and happiness.

How then shall I react each time they clamor for attention and sympathetic understanding for their regular, timely, worldly predicament?  Shall I, in response, ignore their cries for assistance, turn my ear away from the listening they would be accorded in love?  May I avoid their criticism as they feel indebted by my care to “help” me find my way from my apparent ignorance, to wake me from my Christian insanity.  I thank them and dry their tears, praying that God will intervene, sending his Holy Spirit to break the spell of their slumber.  So in effect we each believe ourselves the assisting party.  How then do we determine who is right and who wrong?

The joy of the Lord is my strength.  Their joy is found in the comfort of their things and security of money.  My hope is found in the work of Jesus Christ the King.  Their hope is faith in their ability to overcome the world around them.  I am living for my real life which begins when I pass the veil of this world.  They live to elongate or squeeze every ounce of return available in this life.  I surrender, they fight to conquer.  I love they barter for attention or improved position.  Is there a right position or a wrong position?  No there is only perspective and belief.  Ours are simply different, nonetheless one will prove a better choice in eternity.  The choice has always been yours.

What are your thoughts on Jesus?  In the Book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit through Paul acquaints us with the person, the majesty and the deity of Christ.  It begins;

God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds;

God spoke through the Son, the heir of all things by whom he made the worlds.  What a statement.  God made the worlds through his Son who is the heir of all things.  Then it goes on to say;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Remember this is talking about Jesus.  He is the brightness of God’s Glory the express image of God’s person upholding “all” things by his Word of Power.  So Jesus was a man, certainly but no ordinary carpenter is the express image of Father God and upholds “all” things through the power of the Word.  Jesus is clearly God and being God he is the only one capable of purging the sins of man and sitting in his rightful place in Majesty and Glory of God’s throne room.

Now remember the last two passages both end with semi colons indicating that the following verse is linked, dependent upon the previous passage for definition and comprehension.  It continues;

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.  

In this verse we see that he is the rightful heir of God’s Kingdom and higher than the angels.  So for those who would preach false religion by equating Jesus with arch angels or other wise are entirely mistaken having completely overlooked this passages clear declaration of his unique and express DEITY.

The Holy Spirit makes this argument for all to understand.  Even them who would try and design their own truth or deny the truth that Jesus is God.

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father and he shall be to me a Son?  And again, when he bringeth in he firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, And his minsters a flame of fire.  But unto the Son he saith, Thy Throne O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Okay, those who have been denying his deity, just stop.  Stop equating a Holy and Righteous God with the angels that he created.  God tells the angels to worship him, He refers to Jesus as God with a throne and sceptre that shall reign forever and ever.  If you read this in the Bible and continue with your prattle and false teaching, I will pray for you but you are serious danger of being judged by God.

God continues; Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.  And, thou, Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou are the same, and thy years shall not fail.  But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand ,until I make thine enemies thy footstool?  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to ministers for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

Had you any doubt of Jesus’ absolute Deity, it should be relinquished after this passage as the Holy Spirit clearly indicates that Jesus laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of his hands. This passage clearly states that Jesus shall never change even as the rest of the world grows old and is put away he remains.  Then the Holy Spirit makes the separation between Jesus and the angels crystal when he says that the angels are ministering messengers regarding the salvation that Jesus is bringing to humanity.

As we go into chapter 2 verse one we are cautioned by the Holy Spirit to reflect upon these things and give them “earnest” consideration lest they slip from our understanding.  It is no coincidence that the word “earnest” is only used several times in the Bible, one of them here and another to describe the Holy Spirit as the “earnest” of our salvation, the down payment, the seal of eternity.  Again this passage equates the Trinity.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit as being part of the Triune God.

Let us reflect upon these things that they don’t slip and we don’t err in our discernment and discipleship of the Holy Gospel.  Jesus is God there is no mistaking it, no avoiding it and no ignoring that fact.  Continue in Hebrews to understand man’s relationship to this Holy God and further understand God’s mercy and grace toward humanity.  Jesus be praised.