"Slip, Sliding Away" November 10 Readings: Ezekiel 27-28, Hebrews 1–2, Psalm 119:161–168, Proverbs 27:17–18

  

Reading the Bible in 2025

Each day this year, we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and a part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. 

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings:  Ezekiel 27-28, Hebrews 1–2, Psalm 119:161–168, Proverbs 27:17–18

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: Slip, Sliding Away

I used to love body surfing, back in my Florida days. I'd go out into the Atlantic when the waves were right, dive and catch the wave at just the right time, and see how far I could ride it up the beach. Out and back. Time and again. But I had to be careful. Most of the time, at the beaches I frequented, there is a side current that will cause you to drift up or down the beach. If you didn't pay attention, you could find yourself a long way from where you were supposed to be.

The writer of Hebrews (I think it might have been Apollos, though no one really knows) was concerned about something similar. He observed people who came to faith in Christ but were drifting back into legalistic Judaism. In Hebrews 2:1, he said,

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  

As I had to pay attention to the beach so as not to drift away, Christians must be careful that we do not drift away from our walk of faith in Christ. I would find a point on the beach, usually a tall building, that served as my reference. I looked often at it to make sure that I wasn't being pulled up or down the beach. We must keep our eyes on Christ to make sure we do not drift.

Fortunately, our salvation is kept by Christ and is secure. I cannot lose my salvation because Christ holds it for me. But I can drift away from my walk of holiness back into the ways of the world. I can drift from a walk of faith back into living by sight, to depending on myself and my own righteousness. My passion can wane, and I can drift back into the love of the world and that which is in it. I can drift from Christ's call to die to self back into a life of self-centeredness and indulgence.

Henry Blackaby said that we have a natural (sinful) tendency to drift away from God. Hebrews is written to warn us not to allow that to happen. We must continue to focus unwaveringly on Christ, walk in obedience, and live in the power of the Spirit God has given us. We must daily fan the flames of passion for Christ through the Word and prayer.

Our nature is to drift, but the solution, found in Hebrews 1 and the rest of the book, is to exalt Jesus Christ. The more we exalt him in our lives, the more he is the center, the focus, the passion of our lives, and the greater our resistance to our tendency to drift away.

Father, fill my heart with a zeal for Christ that my zeal for him might never wane and that I will never drift away. 

Consider God's Word:

Which of these four passages spoke most clearly to you today? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there something in your life that needs to change?

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Are you being careful to maintain your zeal and passion for Christ?

Do you fix your eyes on Christ to prevent drifting?