Do You Really Struggle with Sin?

Our reading today will focus on Hebrews 12:4-13, and we will discuss our reactions to God's discipline.

Do we sometimes use the excuse, "I really struggle with sin," simply to justify our sin rather than to get honest with ourselves about our stubbornness? When we say we struggle, do we mean sin is hard to resist, or do we mean we put on our spiritual armor every day and actually go to battle against temptation? The truth is spelled out for us in Hebrews 12:4, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Until we allow God to break our hearts over our sin, we will continue to wallow in it.

Don't we each react differently to God's discipline in our lives? I think about how my two children were different when it came to discipline. One of my children would burst into tears with a stern look from a parent. The other child thought being spanked with a wooden spoon was a game and would try to catch the spoon. While spankings didn't work for this child, being isolated did, because that was the worst punishment imaginable. Think about the ways God is trying to discipline you. Are you submitting to His guidance, or are you bowing your back and digging in your hills in defiance? The pastor we had while my husband was in seminary would talk about the "classroom of adversity." Do you find yourself repeatedly in adversity? Ask God what He wants you to learn, because you only want to go through that lesson once, my friend!

Let's not grumble against discipline. Let's see it as God's love for us. His desire is to conform you to the likeness of His Son. Stop resisting his correction. When the Spirit convicts you of sin, immediately agree with Him, and get back on track. Stop beating yourself up for it. That only delays the healing. One of my favorite books is about a girl named Much Afraid. She is crippled and lame, but she agrees to follow the Good Shepherd to the High Places. On the journey she finds healing when she obeys the voice of the One who loves her. And in the end, she receives a new name! That's what I want for you, my friend.

What Trips You Up?

Hebrews 12 is one of those chapters in the Bible that is chock full of such rich goodness. It kind of overwhelms me to post a blog about it. So, I am going to break it down and start slow. Let's look at the first three verses of Hebrews 12 and ask ourselves some questions.

Verse 1 refers back to the people of faith in Hebrews 11. Who is in your personal crowd of witnesses? Take a minute to make a list in your Bible or in your journal. Do you have family members who taught you about God? What about your friends? Church members? Who encourages you as you run this race of life?

Do you get tired of running this race? What weighs you down? What sin keeps tripping you up? Stop right now and have a little talk with Jesus. Tell him where you struggle. Ask Him to strengthen you when you are weak and weary. Confess your sin, and He will be faithful to clean you up.

Do you find it difficult to keep your eyes on Jesus? Is it hard to see Him in the midst of your chaos? Is it hard to hear His voice calling to you? Press the pause button on all the storm that rages around you, and get quiet with the LORD. He still loves you. He has a plan for your life. Ask Him to build your faith in His goodness.

Hebrews 12:2 in the NIV says, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross." Now that just makes no sense to me. How could the cross bring any kind of joy for Jesus? I like how the CEV describes it, "He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did." I'm sure glad He did! What tough thing are you facing? Does it scare you to death? Can you ask God to help you endure it so you can get through to the joy on the other side?

When we think of all the hostility Jesus endured for us, can that give us some courage to face our own struggles? Thank Jesus for His example of perseverance. Ask Him for the will not to become weary and not to give up. Find a running partner for this race of life. Let's keep pressing on, my friend! 

Do You Blame God?

"Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is so loving, why does he allow evil?"

I know it's not a new question, but I hear it much more often than I did when I was growing up. It appears that since the attack on September 11, 2001, we as Americans have been more bold in our accusations against God. Where did we get the idea that God should step in and protect us from the evil in this world? Maybe it comes from the words in the Lord's Prayer, "deliver us from the evil one?"

But think a minute with me about how a good parent does not step in to rescue a child who made a bad choice, but instead allows that child to suffer the consequences so he or she will think twice about making the same mistake again. This type of parenting is rare in the 21st century. Parents are far more likely to make excuses for their children to get them out of trouble with the neighbors, the school, or the police. Do we also expect God to be lenient and to make excuses for us when we break His laws?

We are treading on dangerous ground when blame God for our pain, our financial trouble, our divorce rate, our crime rates. I don't want to question God when bad things happen. I want to learn from Him. I want to please Him and ask Him to show me the lesson I am to learn. I want God to build my faith and my character through the difficult things in life. I want to be like Job who did not follow his wife's bad advice to, "Curse God and die!" I want to remain faithful and serve God humbly.

I want to be like the people of faith described in Hebrews 11. Not one of the people listed in this chapter had an easy road in life, but they were commended for their faith. Will you and I be commended for our righteousness? Will God speak well of our offerings? Does our faith please God? I believe that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him. What about you? Do you and I obey God even when we can't see where He is taking us? I'm looking forward to eternal life in a heavenly city, and I want you to join me there! Hebrews 11 says God is not ashamed to be called our God, and He has prepared a city for us, IF we demonstrate faith in Him.

Can you look at difficult things in your life and see how God has used them to build your faith and to bring you victory over evil? What is your statement of faith? Declare it here!

What's the New Plan?

Have you ever thought to yourself, "What I'm doing is definitely not working? There's got to be a better way." Maybe it was with your exercise plan, and you finally found a trainer who could hold you accountable for getting healthy. Maybe it was with your finances, and you finally decided to stick to a budget. Maybe it was with your marriage, and you and your spouse were able to come to an agreement and get on the same page to find peace in your home life. Maybe it was in disciplining your children, and you finally chose to be consistent and to discipline out of love instead of anger.

While God's ways are always perfect, He chose to change the rules for His chosen people. The old plan was the Law, which God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai. This plan required daily and annual blood sacrifices for sin. He allowed the people to follow this plan for some time, just long enough for them to understand that their sacrifices were never going to be enough to completely satisfy the payment for their sin. Though they offered these sacrifices year after year, the people felt dragged down by their sins, and they felt more guilty than before.

Hebrews 10 in the Message version is an interesting read. It reveals God's change of plans for His people.

Think of a time when you felt completely relieved of a burden. Maybe it was when you finally graduated from school or college, and you realized you would never have to take another final exam. Maybe it was when you sent in the final payment for your car or house, and you were finally debt free. Maybe it was when you finally swallowed your pride and apologized to your best friend, and your relationship suddenly was good again, without any sense of tension or guilt. Imagine the relief God wanted His children to find when they realized He was making the sacrifice on their behalf so they would be completely, fully, eternally forgiven of their burden of sin! He said, "I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins."

To sacrifice His one and only Son was actually God's plan from the very beginning. When He created mankind, God could see that they would choose evil. He knew they would be hopeless without Him.  But in His mercy, He allowed them to choose their own way. In His perfection and patience, He waited silently, longing to protect them from the pain of their choices, but knowing they were stubborn enough not to listen to His wisdom. They would only learn from their own mistakes.

Are you tired of your suffering? Are you sick to death of carrying your own load? Why not give in and let go of your stubborn pride? God is patiently waiting to let you in on His new plan for your life. It's actually been His plan for you all along. Don't face the Judgment Day all alone, my friend. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins. The Savior is waiting. . . .