SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 07-03-06
My
Worship Time Focus: The discipline of the
Lord
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Hebrews 12:5-6
1. Message of the verse: “5 And you have forgotten the exhortation
which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the
LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves
He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’” (NKJV)
“And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you,
his children? He said, ‘My child, don’t
ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he
corrects you. For the Lord disciplines
those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.’”
This is
the beginning of a new section in the outline given by Warren Wiersbe in his
book on Hebrews, “Be Confident.” He
entitles this section “The assurance of the love of God,” and tit goes from
12:5-12:13. There are three subsections
in this section and the first one is verses five and six where he says that the
love of God is confirmed by the Scriptures, for in this subsection the writer
quotes from the book of Proverbs chapter three and verses eleven and
twelve. It is interesting that this is
said to be and exhortation, which means an encouragement, and that may seem
strange considering the subject that he is about to get into, the subject of
discipline and punishment, or scourging.
What the writer is saying in these two verses is that if you belong to
the Lord there is going to be a time when the Lord will use some tough love to
move you into the right direction, the direction that He wants you to be
going. The writer says that we are not
to despise this chastening of the Lord and we are not to be discouraged by it
either, for whom the Lord loves he disciplines.
He even scourges those who are his own, and Dr. Wiersbe says that this
could be seen as physical illnesses.
2. Spiritual meaning for my life today: I would have to say that the problem that I
am going through with my investments could be seen as a discipline from the
Lord, a way that the Lord is refining me more into the image of His Son. I can say that in many ways that I do not
like it, however I do realize that this is proof that I do belong to the Lord,
and that the Lord loves me too much to have me remain as I was. My prayer through all of this is that I would
learn and put into practice the things that the Lord is teaching me, and that
if it is in His will for my life that I would recover my investment in a timely
matter, the Lords timing.
The Word of God was
certainly challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.
My
Steps of Faith Today: To
trust the Lord, that He will be true to His Word, and that I would also be true
to His Word, as I go through this discipline concerning my investments.
Memory verses for the week:
Psalm 121:1,2
1.
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall
my help come from?
2.
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
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