DATE:
PLANTING SEEDS: (Truth)
Scripture Memorization : Hebrews 12:4-12 (NIV)
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
COFFEE CUP COUNSELING: (My Personal Perspective)
I have taken lots of those personality tests and I love them. Now I’m not so sure that they are my perspective, or how God made me, but I know that in scripture, we start out sinful and once we accept Christ, we should be moving more towards being Christ-like, so when I hear “I was born this way” when someone is trying to make an excuse for sin, I smile, because we all were, but we shouldn’t stay that way. Anyway, my current personality is Sanguine/Melancholy. So what that basically means is that I have a very high energy encourager side, and a very deep thought provoking not so encouraging warning side. Now I used to think I was bi-polar in emotions, but I’ve actually very much learned to use this to my advantage when studying the word with my family.
See for a couple years now, I’ve been on this “God Balance” kick. What I mean is, when hear someone preaching all grace and love and excluding correction and warnings, my red flags and bells and whistles start going off. It does the same thing when I hear someone who is all judgment and correction without compassion, mercy and love.
I read the Old Testament, which is law and some like to exclude it, because they say we are not under the law since Jesus came, and I read the New Testament, in which some believe there no longer is a law and we are “once saved always saved”, then I get into Revelation and again my bells and whistles go off. Jesus said clearly, in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. So as far as Salvation goes, it’s very clear that Jesus Christ is the hero of the day because Jesus answered, in 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There is no other way to be restored to God without Jesus. But if that was all that it took, the Bible would be 2 sentences and it’s not.
So here we are on earth to make a choice to eternity. We’ve accepted Jesus and now what? Well Jesus tells us, after he saved the day and then ascended to be seated on the right side of God to be our mediator to God, that he was going to send us a helper. And he did. Well, why would we need a helper then, if all we need to do is accept Christ and wait for heaven? We read it In John 16:7-11. So I understand it to say the Holy Spirit comes to help our Spirit discern between good and evil and that Satan has been condemned and we have been saved. Everyone of us has that choice to chose between good and evil. At anytime, until our last breath. But we don’t know when that is. God is long suffering so that none of us should have to parish. Unfortunately, we know some do not make that choice to live for Christ because the Bible says in Psalm 9:17 that The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.
Remember I said, we were were born this way? In other words in sin. Satan is waging war for us, because he is condemned, we are not. But without Satan, we can’t make a choice to live for God. There would be no choice.
Now, when we sin…what happens to the believer in Christ? We repent. We tell God what we’ve done is wrong, the Holy Spirit checks our heart and reports back to Christ and God looks though Christ and remembers that Jesus paid the price for our sins and that we accepted Him as our Savior. But what happens if we don’t repent? Remember I said that many people like to believe that once we have accepted Christ, we are always saved, no matter what we do? That’s not what I read in 2 Peter 2:20-22, which warns us that If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, (they don’t repent) they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
It’s also equally scary for people like me who have a passion to share the Gospel, because the Bible also clearly warns us that in Matthew 18:6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
You see, there is balance in God’s word. I read in Revelation 3:15-17 God warns the church: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. I read in James 2:14-26 that Faith without Deeds is dead. It says: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
So you see my friends, it is good to understand that God is good. That He is able to use all things for good to those that love and obey him and that God corrects and disciplines those he loves, so that they may join in His holiness. I know we like the message of encouragement, but we should also be equally encouraged by Gods correction. That is the balance you should seek and count it as all joy that you are his Child.
So get into the word, speak truth and set the captives free.
MEDITATION & DISCUSSION:
Take time to journal your thoughts on this scripture. You are more than welcomed to share your insight, testimony, thoughts, questions with me below, or keep it for your own personal journal.
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Scripture Memorization : Hebrews 12:4-12 (NIV)
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Thank you again for enjoying scripture with me! See you tomorrow!