"Give Earnest Heed"

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.... for 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, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?  Hebrews 2:1-4

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:9-12

Have you ever really thought about just how important the word is in your life? Have you determined to make sure that it has the place in your life that it deserves? Hebrews 2 tells us to give the most earnest heed to the things we have heard and Psalm 119 start to finish is all about, the importance of the word and the place it needs to have in our lives so that we serve Him and obey Him in all that we do.

Hebrews 11:1 says, 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' In Hebrews 11:31 we see an example of someone in the list of those who heeded the word of God and are considered the 'great men and women of faith.'  ...By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace... Rahab didn't perish because she heeded the things she had heard.

In Joshua 2:9-13 she said to the men, " I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you, For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordon, Sihon, and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we  heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." Rahab, a harlot, is listed in Hebrews 11 because she heeded the things she had heard. She helped the spies because she had heard all about them and decided to take heed and to align herself with God.

The spies responded to her request to save her and her family members. They told her..."unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home. so shall it be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. Rahab heeded! Her response... "According to your words, so be it." She followed the instructions. She put the cord in the window and kept her family in her house with her.  And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. Joshua 6:25 Salvation came to the house of Rahab because she took heed to the word. How about you and I; Will we heed and obey or will we stray outside and be lost?

Rahab, a hero of faith Faith, because she took heed to the word.  Afterall, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17