Hebrews 12:5-8, 11-13 A Devotion

5 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,

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. [NIV]

This devotion continues the thought from yesterday’s devotion. Yesterday the author of Hebrews encouraged Christians not to grow weary when faced with trials and suffering because we are not suffering anything the saints who went before us did not suffer. They continued running their race in the midst of persecution and trials and remained faithful. In addition, Jesus endured persecution and suffering but did not waver in but kept running the race so that ever person of the world could be saved from sin and death. We must continue to run the race because we are like them and they continued their race. That was point one.

Point two was that the great crowd of witnesses watching us from heaven as we live our lives in the trials and persecutions (in addition to the times of joy and exhilaration) cheer us on to remain faithful and endure to the end. We have a cheering section at the stadium who encourage us to keep running, not to give up.

In today’s passage, we hear the writer’s words in our minds and recognize God’s voice telling us our times of trial are permitted to affect us so that we can be disciplined. Any athlete who is good or wants to be good at his sport disciplines his or her body so that the muscles work like a well-oiled machine. The muscles are trained by the determination of the person’s mind.

That is what our trials are like. They are discipline. Discipline is not punishment or chastisement, but a way to develop the body or person. God allows trials to come to develop and grow us to be more like Him, to be more righteous and holy. The writer said this in the verse seven when he said, “Endure hardship like discipline.” Discipline is not punishment, but training. It is a growing experience to mature our minds, hearts, and bodies.

The writer of Hebrews used the analogy of a father disciplining his child. When the child is more mature, he or she sees what the father did as a positive thing, a way to mature the child so that he or she would be a properly functioning adult and member of society. That father is compared to Father God. God allows trials to grow His children to be mature in their faith as well as righteous and holy – like Himself.

That is the first point – we are to look at trials as discipline, an opportunity to grow. So look at it in that way when you face a difficult time. How can you grow from that difficult time? What does God want you to learn from that experience?

The second point of this passage is that we each have to determine for ourselves to strengthen our mind, heart, and body for the task of growing through the trial. We must decide in our minds that we will get through it, realize it is an opportunity to be used for Father God (heart), and then focus ourselves and our bodies to be strong and endure. By doing this, our faith grows and our bodies are more prepared to live the Christian life on earth as a more pure, righteous, and holy child of God. That is strengthening our feeble arms and legs and making paths straight.

Choose to be trained by trials and suffering. Choose to stand strong in your faith so that God can make you more like Christ – holy and righteous. Being a child of God requires the head, heart, and body – mind, soul, and body. Choose to be disciplined and grow more like Christ. When we go through trials and grow stronger in our faith, we can then say as Paul did in Romans 5:3-5,

"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." [NIV]

Here is Your Race; Be strong to the End

                                                          2 Timothy 4:1-6


            Paul writes his final letter and chooses to write to his "son" in Christ, Timothy. He has been with Timothy since Timothy was a teen, most likely. Paul has seen the foundation Timothy's faith is built upon, the lessons his grandmother and mother taught him. He, himself, has laid his hands upon Timothy in commissioning him to the ministry. Paul takes Timothy alongside him as he travels from one town and city to another. He teaches Timothy while he preaches and teaches along his own life journey. As Timothy’s mentor, Paul encourages him to stay behind and train up new churches. He sends him letters of encouragement, love, and prayer for Timothy. Paul encourages Timothy in his calling to the evangelistic and teaching ministry. Timothy became the person who watered the seeds, which Paul sowed. Timothy became the mouth for Christ when Paul was not there. Paul trained him to become the minister in his stead.  

What did Paul tell Timothy in this final letter? Paul spoke of three main things. He said, Timothy, keep doing these. Keep preaching the word. Be always ready to speak for the Word. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, and teach with patience. What is Paul telling Timothy here? Paul is telling Timothy to never stop proclaiming God's message of grace; be ready all the time to teach and preach it.   

Paul also says to be ready to bring a word of conviction to people and to censure them and beseech them. Do not be lukewarm. Stand firm for the strong message of God. God does not want believers who say one day they are His children and then look the other way the next day. Be a strong minister of the Lord with a deep love for the people. Beg them, as a parent does, to turn back to the Light. This is beseeching. Notice Paul does not say to just chastise or correct them; He says to correct, rebuke, exhort, and patiently teach them. We are not to say, do not do this or that and then not encourage them or tell them how to walk; that is not love. Ours is not a faith without guidance that instills fear. Ours is a faith of mercy and love that wants and requires a relationship with the Father, as He wants a relationship with every person.   

After Paul talks with Timothy regarding other people and his ministry with them, he takes Timothy aside and tells him how he should be. Notice verse two uses action verbs. Verse five uses verbs of being. Paul tells Timothy to be sober-minded, endure suffering, and then to work, be an evangelist and fulfill your ministry. Paul tells Timothy how to be before he can do the work to which he has been called. Being sober-minded is not something we say or hear anymore. Being sober-minded means to be calm and collected in the midst of life. Paul is telling him to be calm and outlast hardships; these will not be the end of him, will not bring his death.  

Paul then tells Timothy, while you are being calm and persevering through hardships, evangelize and teach. Is this not what Paul did? How many letters did Paul write while he was imprisoned? Paul is telling Timothy, remember what you have seen and heard and apply it to your life. In this life, hardship will occur, but in the midst of hardships  is calm, which comes from God. Knowing this, keep at the work to which God has called you. 

Paul's final word to Timothy, in verse six, is he, himself, does not yet stop working for God; even now, he is an offering for God. The big surprise for Timothy in this letter is Paul's next statement, "and the time for my departure has come" (NASB). I am sure that is not what Timothy wanted to read. Notice, though, Paul did not start his letter to Timothy with this revelation, his imminent departure, but with his encouraging and teaching Timothy. To the end, Paul continued to teach Timothy and he wanted Timothy to see this most. Paul gave himself as a sacrifice for God's work throughout his life on earth; even when he was going through difficulties Paul worked. He had run the race put before him. Paul, even at point of death, was still running the race. He was still mentoring, teaching, and encouraging. Paul was still being an offering of sacrifice to God. He is saying to Timothy what is meant by running the race is being in a love relationship with God no matter what happens. Do not give up or lose heart with yourself, others, or situations. Be calm and strong in the Lord. Run the race set before you until your earthly body dies and you are in heaven.   

At the end of his own race, this was Paul’s final word to Timothy. He is speaking to his son in Christ, giving his last admonition and reminder. These could also be Paul’s final admonitions to us, as well. We should continue to run the race with perseverance, love, peace, and calm making sure to teach and evangelize as we live in this body knowing our reward is in heaven with God, where Paul precedes us. Paul was ever Timothy’s mentor, in life, in ministry, and in how to finish the race.  

The question comes back to us, how well are we running the race that is before us? Are you running this race as an offering poured out to God for His glory and to the benefit of other peoples’ lives? Think about it; are you an offering, a sweet aroma, to God today?

 

Provision and Suffering

                                     1 Peter 4:12-14, Luke 12:15, and James 4

            What thoughts do we give to our needs? We need clothes. We need food. We need a place to lay our heads. What more do we need? Moreover, what do we make of the misdeeds and ills that come to us? Do we blame God, the One who has provided everything we need? Out of our mouths come thanks and complaint. How can that be? Have we not seen God’s graciousness and provision from Abraham to now? Has He not always loved us and wanted us to turn our hearts to Him? We should turn and look at ourselves instead of turning on God. Look to yourself: can you add one more day to your life or another hair to your head? Can you make the day turn to night or the fire turn to rain? How can we assume, when complaining, we know better than God does and we can do better than He could?
            We should instead think to ourselves, God provides for the abundance of my life, for my learning, and for my growth. Do we just grow through abundance? Can you say you have not grown by watching others go through trials and by going through trials yourself? Peter, the other apostles, and Paul do not consider trials and persecutions as God’s rejection of them. Instead, they understand it as sharing in Christ’s suffering. The apostles see trials and persecutions as a chance to be fashioned by God’s hands for His work. This trial may not be for our gain, but for us to understand and help someone else. Does this mean I must run out and purposely put myself in harm’s way? That is not so. God’s intent is not to harm you, as you see it, but to lead you in growth. Consider 1 Peter 4:12, Peter said,

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. [NASB]  

Is this your first reaction, not to question a trial? James said in James 1:2 “consider it all joy, my brothers, when you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort” (NASB). He even goes on to say these trials will grow our endurance and patience.

Undoubtedly, I know we may not want to go through trials just to grow in patience and endurance for God’s use in His service to others. However, can you tell me you will grow in patience without having your patience tried? No. How else, though, will we grow in patience and endurance? Does a runner just walk up to the starting line of a 52km marathon and run the entire race without gasping and passing out from exhaustion? No, the runner must train his body for that endurance race. In like manner, should we not train ourselves or allow God to train us, without grumbling and complaining? Consider it all joy. Going through troubling times is hard, but think of the alternative. We could be weak believers who, when Satan throws his attacks against us, falter and fail. Paul meant this when he spoke of running the race. The writer of Hebrew 12:1-3 said,

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. [NASB]

Do not forget, we are not going through trials Christ did not face while on earth. We long ago conquered this trial because Christ was victor over it first. If Christ is the victor, then we only must endure and grow stronger with each trial. We must share in Christ’s sufferings and grow more Christlike. As we grow stronger in our faith, the Holy Spirit in us, as believers, grows so that His presence in us increases and our own sinful nature decreases.

           Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings then? Are we going through trials because we are followers and because God is growing us to be in His service? We must go through trials for God to transform us and use us for His service. We choose whether to grow from trials or be bitter from them. We must decide how we will let trials affect us, with growth or with grumbling. Consider what Peter said above in 1 Peter 4:12. We each must decide if we will allow fiery trials to make us bitter or to make us better equipped for Christ’s work on earth. We never realize at the time God is growing us. We often go through trials without understanding. Later in life we come to the “ah ha” moment where we realize how God used that experience from our past. Then we shake our heads in acknowledgement that God knew from the beginning. We realize God has strengthened us every step along this way.

“If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” 1 Peter 4:14 [NASB]