Learning Obedience through suffering

Learning Obedience through suffering

S-heb 5

7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.10 And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

O-  My first observation is just to be thankful that we have a high priest, Jesus, who understands what we go through yet,  perfectly represents and sacrifices on our behalf to the father.   The second revelation I had was relative to my own struggle with God,  and why he allowed for me to go through a season of suffering.   I now better understand his perspective,  because he even allowed his own son, who committed no sin, to suffer.  But in this suffering was perfecting obedience to God the father.  

A -  The application for me is the same.   Times of suffering will come and go, and the only question that remains is what is my response.   I need to be like Jesus,  cry to the father, plead with the father, share my suffering with Jesus,  but in the end "Thy will be done".   It is only through this obedience that I can truly follow God's great plan for my life.

P - Dea heavenly Father, thank you for revealing to me today what it means to grow in relationship with you through suffering.  I confess I have questioned you and if you are even neccesary in my life through times of suffering.  I now understand you are drawing me closer to you in these seasons, and while I don't enjoy them in the end I end up closer to you.

Plow the hardness of my heart, and plant seeds of righteousness

  S-Hosea 10:12
I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’

O -  Wow, this verse is for me today,  I have come through a long rough season in which the battle was internal and for my soul.    The battle was first physical - at work,  with dissappointing news about jobs and promotions,  then it was followed by   a internal spiritual battle which lasted long after the physical battle was done.   The results of this season is both a resolution of committment to the lord and my calling,  but along the way quite a bit of hardening of my heart has occurred.  Now is the time to plow up the hardness of my heart,  seek the Lord, and plant seeds of righteousness in for growth in this next season.

A - The application for me is to spend this time between CSP and Puget on vacation reflecting and planning for the seeds I will plant.   I need to reflect on what hard spots I have allowed to be planted in my heart: 
1.  The Lord -  The hard spots for me have been the questioning of why God let me go through this much mental pain,  and allowing the hardness of my heart to be believing that if I do nothing , nothing bad happens proving God is not relevant in my life.
2.  My wife - I have allowed her to become hard spots in my  heart with regard to the home and hording.  I have allowed the enemy to drive seperation in our relationship,  the hard spots causing me to see here as a problem and not God's gift to me. 
3.  My children -  I had allowed their shortfall in personality, or growing up to harden a  part of my heart because they were not making it easy for me.  I wanted the kids that just did well at school and were happy at home.   The hardness in my heart was my shying away from the participating in their development in school and extra curricular activities like volleyball, dance and singing.  
4.   My vocation -   the hardness in my heart here got down to believing what I actually do matters.  I began to stop tracking goals,  projects and tasks.

So what is my application -  I need to plow these areas to be sure the ground is not longer hard, and begin replanting seeds of righteousness in these areas.   I then need to seek the lord to know what to plant and allow him to grow it in me.

P -  Dear heavenly father, thank you for sticking with me, and holding me up through this past season,  I truly felt I wouldn't make it, and know I only did because of you.   I thank you for this refreshing and plowing season,  I pray you would help me be fruitful in this season.  I pray all this in Jesus name, amen. 

Restoring joy and peace

S 2 Tim 2
22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

O- Paul's guidance to Timothy was based on wisdom and the holy spirit, knowing what challenges we all face when it comes to following gods plan for our lives.  The things we chased as young men like wealth , popularity, recognition  all distract from focusing on what God has planned for us. 

A- the application for me is to recognize how susceptible I am still to wanting things of the world  instead of a righteous life.   I feel the relief of a burden lifted coming out of this season, knowing my focus has been restored, and the distractions of a wanting and comparing life are heavy.

P dear love
Rd thank you for sticking with me through this last season, I couldn't have made it through without your grace and mercy.   I thank you for what your spirit is doing in me to restore the joy and peace in my life.

Spirig of power, love, an self discipline

S - 2 Tim 1
6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

O-what great words of  encouragement from Paul to Timothy.   Timothy was left to support one of the churches that he and Paul had started,  and Paul understood the challenges and discouragement he would face but Paulsm reminder was a great reminder of what we all have in our relationship with God.  We have the holy spirit in us,  which is a spirit of power, love and self discipline,   not of fear and timidness.

A THE Application for me is to beginnwalking again in the spirit of godly power, love, and self discipline.   The season of be lead by fear and timidity  is over.

P dear heavenly father I pray your spirit in me take over and conquer the spirit of fear and timidity in me.  I confess I allowed these spirits to dwell in me,  and promise to be on guard and not let them take residence in my life again.

Store up the right treasure

S 1 Tim 6
17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

O - the potential of money is both for downfall of men and of great good.  When money leads to pride and a feeling of independence from dependence on God it leads to man's fall.  When trusting in God's provision  we are able to live a good and generous life.

A the application for me is to continue to shift my trust from myself to the Lord for provision.   I first need to trust financially the present situation as we move to Bremerton,  and work my way back to the abundant and generous lifestyle that please see the Lord and brings joy to our lives.

P  Lord I pray that your holy spirit guide me to putting my trust financially in your hand.  I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

receiving the fullness of Gods love

S-1Tim 1

5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6

O- Paul lays out for Timothy the purpose of hearing the gospel and studying God's word.  So that we might be filled with God's love.     In order to make room fully for God's love in our life our heart, mind and soul  need to be clear and pure.  Over time in this life we become weighted down and calcified by sin and our experiences that our wounds and scars begin pushig out  room for the fullness of God's love.  But we see that in Christ we are made new,  able to break the bondages of the past and live in the freedom and fullness of a future with the fullness of God.

A -  The application for me is to reach back for the fullness of God that I have once had, but even more importantly reach forward to to the fullness of God's love that He has waiting for me.   I can relate very much to the character Mackenzie from the Shack who had many past scars and hurts that were preventing him from  receiving and understanding God's love.  But love always finds a way and never gives up.   Today I am choosing to forgive God for allowing my past hurts to occur, and reaching out a hand to receive the fullness of His love... because He is a good good father, that's who He is.

P - Dear Papa, thank you for breaking through to a scarred and wounded sinner like me and saving me from myself and my sin.   I confess the season of struggle and sadness has surrounded me for far to long and have been mad at you for allowing me to go through it.   I trust in and love you Lord, and ask your forgiveness for my past sins, and that you would show me the fullness of your love.  In Jesus name, Amen.     Love Joe

Triple braided cord

S - Ecclesiastes 2
7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

O - I  am so thankful God has gifted me with wife and kids.  Solomon points out this blessing here in ecclesiastes which at  times can be a little negative but he really points out to me that life is meanigless without anyone to share your life with and without people to live for.  Secondly he points out that the strength of having someone who has your back and is standing for  you is so much better than being alone;  even more so is three braided cord for it is not easily broken.

A -  For Abby and I this is the image we have of our marriage, a triple braided cord in which Christ is the third cord that helps strengthen us.    This truth is proven over and over and of recent when I felt like a weak strand,  and the strength of Christ helped hold us together,  and Abby strength to back me up and wait patiently on me and Lord has helped us through a valley season.   My heart has had trouble seeing the positive in cirumstances of late, and this scripture helps me understand that God is with me, I am blessed to have Abby by my side, and that I should hang on to this important triple braided relationship.  

P - Dear heavenly Father, please help me see things through your eyes,  my heart and mind are not seeing clearly in many circumstances and i so desire to see things your ways, so I may rejoice in what you are doing, instead of disparing over what is not happening.   Plant this wisdom in my heart, and change my mind, so that I might embrace and celebrate the triple braided cord.