Waiting with Hope

It all began with Mary, a young teen who was engaged to be married. As with many soon-to-be-married girls, her whole life lay out before her, only she didn't understand how exciting it would be. 

I won't presume to describe her emotions after the angel Gabriel told her, "The Lord is with you...You will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus." How did this young girl respond? "I am the Lord's servant, may your word to me be fulfilled." (Luke 1:28,31,38) This blind faith was stunning, and from one so young.

Now, the waiting began. How many times have we faced unexpected changes to our plans? Like the letter from the bank demanding we pay up now, or that threatening note from the IRS stating they want to talk. How about the diagnosis, the pink-slip...and on? What were our reactions? God knew these things were coming, just like He knew Mary's future. Do we react at all like Mary did? Do we acknowledge He is in control, do we believe in a Jesus, a Hope we can cling to? 

As we continue waiting during Advent, let’s examine our lives. Instead of deciding which New Year's resolution to embrace for a few days, let's pray about one word for 2020 to remind us of Jesus. Let's use our one word to grow us spiritually closer to God by searching for it each time we read from our Bibles. Dig deep into that special Word and let it speak to our waiting hearts.

My Word for 2020 is Trust and Proverbs 3:5-6 and the scriptures God will begin using to instill this discipline into my heart.

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Romans 12:9-16

Can suffering feel good?

There is suffering in this fallen world.  It is a given. Not only does mankind contribute to suffering, BUT where man's suffering might be put to an end, power and money seem to rule. We can't ask why God allows such suffering. But, as followers of Jesus, we can ask God how we need to respond.

God is always looking for ways to discipline us, to mold and shape us into Christlike children. He can use suffering as opportunity for us to learn from Him and to lean on Him. We can trust Him with the same confidence we have for the parent who properly disciplines their child. We should accept God’s discipline as a vital part of His love.  Think of what happens when a child is not disciplined, or better yet, imagine my dogs who take me on a walk instead of me leading them. I am to blame for my lack of training them.

Hebrews 12:4-11

Believe me, it’s no fun to be the one responsible for disciplining.  Witnessing a child suffer is painful. It's so unpleasant that we become "helicopter" or "bulldozer" parents protecting children from hardship to the point that our kids become fragile.

written by Nancy Gleeson

We need to see God's discipline as resulting in a harvest of righteousness and peace. When we are suffering, we must stop turning to false idols that can't bring us comfort and restoration. Knowing God's plan is to transform us through suffering, submit to Him, and endure suffering as His loving discipline.

My One Word

I spend a lot of time worrying about tomorrow.  Will I have enough money? Will there be enough time to do the things I dream of doing? This sermon series has me thinking a little different. I am starting to feel the only thing I need is to get over myself. I am working toward that end.

The word, discipline, has been in my face a lot lately. Each year around this same time, I begin praying about or for, the word God wants to use to speak to me. The words God has used in the past always seemed to coincide with something I need to learn. A behavior I needed to improve or eliminate. He even uses words as an acknowledgement of a season of life I am stepping out of or into.

For example, one year, faith was my word. God wrapped it in scripture verses for an appointed day in my devotional; or plopped it right in the devotion for that day. That year I began to intentionally build my faith, spending an twelve months seeking God's direction and blessing the area of faith.

The year following my husband's death, my word of perseverance. That year I felt God's hand on my life and my hart as I practiced perseverance in spite of the difficulties and obstacles. Today, I find myself praying for my word for 2018. God keeps bringing me to the word discipline. Oh, oh. What is this about?

I recognize that God has been preparing me for this. I know how much I need discipline in many areas of my life. He is preparing me for tomorrow. He is showing me where I need to improve. He is revealing how my focus needs to be pulled away from all those things I want...and they need to be on all those things I have.

I love these words from Proverbs 3:11-12 (MSG)

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; 

don’t sulk under his loving correction.

It’s the child he loves that God corrects;

a father’s delight is behind all this.

I am still in the process of discerning what discipline will mean for me moving forward, but I am sure it will be just what I need.

1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Lincoln Logs and Little Men

 (“The fruit of righteousness”)

Hebrews 12:3-17

 

Growing up in the 50’s, my favorite past time was playing cowboys and Indians. I used to take all my “little men” and create a story around them including the Lincoln Log homes that I would build. The problem was, I would get so involved in my playing that I would rather play than obey.

 

On one occasion, my Mom called me to the dinner table several times, and although I heard her, I didn’t come. I was too busy playing with my “little men”. Finally, my Dad came out, and with one swift kick, completely wiped out my toys. I was crushed.

 

¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.          NASB

 

The “peaceful fruit of righteousness” sounds like such a pleasant, desirable thing, but apparently the process of acquiring such fruit can be painful at times.

 

For instance, Moses wandered in the desert as a fugitive for forty years. Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days while being severely tempted by Satan. Paul struggled with his “thorn in the flesh”, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.

 

God uses difficult experiences in our lives to mold and shape us; to make us into the men and women that we are meant to be. In a word, he disciplines us.

 

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.            MSG

 

When my Father disciplined me by destroying my Lincoln Log game, I was crushed. It felt more like he didn’t love me than he was trying to teach me a life lesson.

 

However, our Heavenly Father is always at work in our life with our best interests in mind. Because of that, it’s important to identify how God is working and to not get in His way. By doing this, God will be the potter and you will be the clay.

 

Here are some questions that might help you to identify His discipline in your life.

• What experiences have you had that have shaped you to be more like Jesus?
• Who has God brought into your life to help you to be more godly?
• What gifts and opportunities has God given you to use?
• How is God disciplining you through your weakness?

 

Answering these questions will help you to answer the most important question: Are you ready to grow the “peaceful fruit of righteousness”?

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012%3A3-17&version=NIV;MSG
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Heb.12.3-Heb.12.17

 

Disciples are Disciplined

I played a lot of baseball while growing up.
 

One of my summer league coaches was Mr. Austin. We were drilled on what he called “situational baseball.” All 9 defenders were on the field and there would be people on base. Mr. Austin would hit the ball at someone. He was less concerned about whether the ball was caught, but more concerned about what was done with the ball after it was caught. He wanted to make sure his defense was playing properly.

Can Anyone Name this Stadium?

 

His son, Tim, asked him why we did this drill. (Batting practice was much more fun!). Mr. Austin replied, “We are going to have a disciplined team that knows how to play the game.”

 

Today’s reading is Hebrews 12:3-11, and it is about discipline. God disciplines his Sons; he disciplines those he loves.

 

When I think of discipline, I sometimes think of punishment. When my dad said I was being disciplined to a friend that wanted me to come out and play, that meant I was being punished and was not allowed out of my room for a while.

 

In these cases, my dad used the term discipline to imply I had done something wrong. Mr. Austin used the term because he had high expectations of his players.

When God disciplines us, today’s verses tell us it may not be pleasant for us. Nonetheless, we should accept discipline and learn from it.

 

Why does God discipline us? We are all capable of doing the wrong things. God disciplines, that is punishes us, when we do the wrong things. After all, there are consequences for our sin.

 

God also has high expectations of us, extremely high expectations. His discipline may not be because we did something wrong, but rather because He desires us to get better at what we are doing, much like the desires of Mr. Austin.

 

When you are disciplined by God, use it as a learning experience. Either  correct what you are doing wrong, or do a better job of what you are doing.

 

All of Jesus’ disciples will be disciplined!

Lots of Grace and a Little Snuggle

Psalm 94:12 How blessed the man you train, God, the woman you instruct in your word, providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil..."

There are times when we are caught up in sin and experience the pain of this world so very deeply. Through this trauma we are exposed to a loving God, a God who exposes himself to us at just the right time. Perhaps the prayer of a believer touched our ears and penetrated our hearts. We became willing to not only to listen, but to hear.

"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." Isaiah 48:10

God not only makes affliction the occasion of converting sinners at first, but increases that good work of grace. When grace is accepted lives change. To be disciplined by God is to be loved by God. Just as a parent corrects us to teach and to insure our safety, so God disciplines us to bring us closer to him.

Picture this, a child, having been made aware of his wrong-doing, being drawn into the loving arms of his parent. There is no animosity, only tender love express in the embracing arms.

Psalm 94:8-15

We Discipline Those We Love

About a month ago my father passed away. He and my mom were living in a different state, and my mom is unable to drive. My brother and I made the four hour drive, taking turns getting my mom to the hospital to visit. Of course, we were blessed by visiting dad frequently in his last days.

 

Dad’s mind was starting to go, yet he knew he was dying. He did not want to be in the hospital any longer. A couple of days before he passed, he removed his intra-venous tubes and told me to take him home. When I told him I could not do that, he raised his voice and told me again. It was a tone of voice I had not heard since I was a teenager

 

That tone was of a loving father who was correcting his son who had done something stupid.

 

Today’s reading, 2 Corinthians 7:2-16, is about discipline and restoration. Previously, Paul had reprimanded the congregation in Corinth. They were tolerating a fellow Christian who was living worse than a pagan (1 Corinthians 5). Paul told the congregation they had to deal with this problem and how to deal with it.  

 

Paul is now commending the congregation for effectively dealing with the problem. He is also teaching the congregation how to restore this fallen Christian who had learned his lesson.

 

Paul loved the Corinthians and he proved it by not only disciplining them, but teaching them how to discipline and restore fallen members.

 

God loves us and sent Jesus who restores us.

 

God disciplines us too. Sometimes bad things happen to us simply because we live in a sinful world. Other times God is trying to tell us something. When something goes wrong, it can be difficult to differentiate between the two. Yet, that is what we should do.

 

We should look for “kairos” moments, where God is trying to get our attention. He loves us and wants us to follow his will.

 

Three things I know for certain. My dad loved me. God loves me. And only Jesus can take us home.

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Do you like to run? People who are avid runners get to a point in their regime when they acquire a natural high. These athletes push themselves until they reach this stage and endorphins take over and the run becomes energizing, fun even. I am not speaking from experience, I have been told this by those who use this discipline to accomplish a level of physical fitness I could only dream of attaining.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

Discipline is a key word in today's scriptures.  Discipline is also a word that is a struggle for me.  I would love to be disciplined in my eating habits, in my journal entries, my Bible reading and in my life in general.  Paul is trying to teach the people of Corinth to exercise discipline in everyday living.  He uses the familiar example of runners to make his point.  

The goal is to win, to win the prize and not be disqualified in the process.  We must train and strain to attain the reward.  When we cross the finish line and break through the tape stretched across our path, the prize is life with Jesus.

Read the 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 text here.  Listen to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 here.

Are You Listening? -- John 16:5-16

Have you ever had a newscaster start to tell a story of interest, then stop, and not continue the story until after many commercial breaks? They can't tell the story now, but they have gotten your attention and curiosity. You have to wait. If you have experienced this small frustration, imagine the frustration the disciples might have felt at verse 12 where Jesus says: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear."

Jesus had the disciples' attention. I'm sure they must have been filled with anticipation. What more was Jesus going to tell them? Their curiosity was provoked. It seems Jesus did this as He wanted them to wait eagerly, ready to listen intently when the Holy Spirit came.

Time for listening is difficult amidst the demands and noisiness of daily life. I have found in my faith life that finding time for listening is essential. The Spirit of God will come alongside me and guide me through life. If I'm not listening I will miss what is good for me to hear.

Prayer: Lord God, I'm listening. I want to take time to hear You. Help me quiet my heart, sit back, close my mouth and open my ears so I might hear what you want me to know.

We would like to hear your thoughts. Click on Comments below.

Read today's text on Biblegateway, John 16:5-16

Spiritual Flabbiness -- 1 Timothy 4:1-11

"Exercise daily in God--no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart." 1 Timothy 4:8 MSG

Where do you like to meet God each day? I love to go on walks and talk with God along the way. Spring is my favorite time of year. I can breathe in fresh air, enjoy the beautiful flowers, hear birds singing, and see squirrels scurrying up trees. I feel close to God on these walks. Sometimes I listen to Bible readings or a downloaded sermon while walking outside or on the treadmill. This is my daily exercise time with God.

A disciplined daily study in God's Word is more difficult for me to maintain. I am not successful planning my day to avoid little distractions that crowd out my quiet time. A specific purpose for study helps me with discipline. I concentrate and dig deeper in Scripture when I put myself into situations that require making time for God's Word in my day. Writing devotions is my latest adventure for meeting God in His Word every day. I've also enjoyed daily reading Bibles, group Bible studies, and other writing projects.

I hope you are finding a way that works for you to read and study God's Word daily.

I hear Paul saying, "Know the Truth about God, strengthen your relationship with Him, power up in His Word; do this daily so you will be prepared to tell others."

We would like to hear your thoughts. Click on Comments below.

Read today's text on Biblegateway, 1 Timothy 4:1-11