Hebrews ch12v7-11

well...this bit of Hebrews was an eye-opener...and a day late...that's a bad habit that i don't need at the beginnings of a blog...i need to get back up to date ASAP before i end up behind the times on news posts instead of tiny insights into Scripture...

anyway, we find here the admonition to the Hebrews (and therefore, to us):

v7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? v8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

what an interesting thing to say (on the surface), especially verse 8...if you've been cruising by in your spiritual life under the impression that all was right between you and God, yet you were never convicted by the Holy Spirit for any reason...or maybe if you've felt yourself put under increasing trials and stress seemingly out of nowhere, did it ever once occur to you that maybe things aren't right after all?...that maybe God isn't giving you the Spirit-filled paddle because you're not one of His kids, and therefore, you're just one of the lost crowd that won't have a home when all is said and done?...chew on that...

we continue:

v9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

v10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

for those of us who don't really have to deal with that v7-8 issue (but maybe you are currently dealing with it...if so, click here...no strings, no donations, no demanding a decision now...just information and Truth), have you found that the older you get, the smarter your dad got?...i did, and it was kinda scary and a little sad...but it's true...

as i find myself in certain situations, i rely more upon the things i learned from my dad, and maybe some of the stuff that seemed so inane and stupid and unfair and un-necessary really turned out to be sound advice...how much more so will our Heavenly Father reveal to us later the wisdom of doing as he commanded when we rely on Him and his teachings...

v11No 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.

(unless you've been trained without discipline)...

here we're focusing on those that get their spiritual rears kicked on occasion...if you do get whipped conviction-style (like I am right now concerning my finances, my prayer life, my life as an example of Christian living), do you work it out to figure out what God want for you?...do you pray and ask others of stronger and more mature faith to help you with that?...or do you stand there and wail and bawl with your fingers in your mouth like a toddler?...sometimes i find myself in that latter group, but lately i've been trying mightily to discern God's will and purpose for me in these times of diffculty...

prayers will not go un-appreciated...