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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, April 09, 2017
Today's Passage : Subject:Life's Hardships Bible Verse:Hebrews 12:5-7,11-14 "You have forgotten the exhortation, addressed to you as God's children: 'My child, do not regard the Lord's discipline lightly, or lose heart when you are punished; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.' Endure life's trials for the sake of discipline. God treats you as his child; for what child does a loving father not discipline? It always seems painful rather than pleasant; but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, lift your drooping hands, and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not become crippled, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Job 5:17-20 (ASV) Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven, evil will not touch you. In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. " Message:
One thing that characterizes a responsible adult is the willingness and confidence to discipline others in his charge. Another is the ability to accept discipline. We see the opposite every day; in fact, our human instinct is to deny we have done anything wrong and evade responsibility and punishment.
But accepting responsibility, understanding that our own actions can be wrong, and even realizing that the discipline we receive might make us better, is part of what many people call "character". To accept discipline requires humility. We have to accept, first off, that we are not perfect, that what we do and say and think is not necessarily correct just because it is we who have done or said or thought it.
Even worse, we attach ourselves to public figures or causes or groups, and then rationalize their conduct, as fiercely as we might rationalize our own if we had no character at all. The media circus will crank up every few months with the latest scandal; a recent example is Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, and a number of officials at Penn State University.
But the media simply do not grasp one aspect of these cases. They never seem concerned with the harm that people who have committed a hidden wrong have done to themselves.
What harm was done to, say, a person like Jerry Sandusky by evading the proper discipline for his action? What could Roman Polanski, who has successfully evaded punishment for statutory rape of a 13-year-old for decades, what could his relationship with God be like? Discipline is an act of love; humiliating to be punished by another and painful by definition, but still, often the only way to truly change the heart of someone gone astray.
"It is always painful rather than pleasant; but later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." We are fortunate that God loves us enough to punish us for our sins while we are alive on earth. It is one of the ways by which He "delivers us from evil."
Meditation : Prayer : May God Almighty send me his light and truth, to keep this day and all the days of my life. And may His mighty hand protect me, and all my brothers and sisters who have joined me in prayer this day, blessing our homes and our lives.. Amen |
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