Today Our Daily Bread Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12: 1 - 29
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. F53 He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven. 3 Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don't become weary and give up.
4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said, "My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children." F54 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? 8 If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. 9 Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever F55 ? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. 12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong. 14 Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God. Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal. 17 And afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears.
18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God's command: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death." F56 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, "I am terrified and trembling." F57 22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly. 23 You have come to the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did. 25 See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible our danger if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also." F58 27 This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
FOOTNOTES:F53: Or Jesus, the Originator and Perfecter of our faith. F54: Prov 3:11-12. F55: Or really live. F56: Exod 19:13. F57: Deut 9:19. F58: Hag 2:6.
The New Living Translation

~ Lena's Journalin' ~
WOW, these first few verses say it all about walking out our faith. Who do we live our faith before? Most things we do, we do for someone, whether it be ourselves, others or God, or even some "higher" purpose, we live and die for something. Why would we continue on at a certain pace and not allow anything to slow us down or stop us? If we could see into the spirit as He sees and from the perspective He sees, we would know. Paul saw and is strongly praying for us to see as not only Paul saw, but to see as Jesus sees, from the heavenly, eternal, spirit realm. The scriptures say it over and over again, and so I also expound over and over again, why would Jesus die and endure the pain He did for us? Why would we endure any pain in life and not quit in our faith? TO SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST FROM THE ETERNAL FIRE OF HELL. TO know Him as he is more and more and to make Him known to the earth where we live right now in our day, to occupy till He comes. We waste time when we do not live this way daily, If we walk our faith out so that someday we’ll see a reward, one soul saved in our lifetime at the end of our lives, we have not yet seen how and what He sees. God so wants us to see, because He has called us to help His plan come to pass. He longs for His plan to come to pass. Why would we ever need or want correction? To get back on the most effective pathway. Seeing from one level one can manuever from that level to the ones at the other level. He is trying to tell us of danger or resistance, or temptation. If we’ve gone the wrong way or could go a better way, correction takes us there. The Correction God gives is as a true loving Father gives, for the betterment of who he’s created us to be, for beneficial change, to make me better and more effective, for my protection, NOT to show me how bad and dirty rotten I am and to leave me feeling like the dirt Adam was made from. His correction takes me right out of the enemy’s hand! If we see or take it anyway other than that, we are being trampled on by an enemy’s voice and we’ve been "had". Who’s child are we? Jesus told the religious self-centered leaders that they were living like their father the devil. Who’s Father are we? Do we receive correction from God our father or resist God’s correction and listen to stranger- enemy of God lies that lead us away from God? THAT tells who our father is.What’s another "reason" to be under the discipleship of the word, and of the Lord? (discipline = discipleship), Children. Do you have or have you ever wanted children? Have you ever cared for anyone else’s children? Is it an important task to raise or care for children? That is what God has given for us to do. He made parents first (made us all to be parents first, to be raised up by others or Him to become parents- spiritually and naturally, not to stay a parent or parented alone, but for the purpose of bearing or raising or caring for children) God wants children, more and more and more. He also wants legitimate children that someone will father. Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. This is the goal, how can God have children if the parents are not willing to have or raise or care for them? or to change to become one who will have, raise and care for children? Watch out that no bitter root of unbelief rises up among you, for whenever it springs up, many are corrupted by its poison. I love this word today, It is so specific, how could we miss it? It is telling us how our pathways are blocked, or our walk becomes weakened, and how we are kept from fathering and caring for children. We HAVE to resist the pull of another father and his tactics we must recognize them and completely forsake them. Strife- unbelief-these are enemies of our faith to purposely resist ON PURPOSE! Talk about purpose fulfilled. If we daily resist these we will come along way on the pathway to life. This is NOT a physical mountain to climb up, we’ve been deceived to think it is a physical mountain. Oh God let us see clearly! Strife and bitter discontent and anger and irritation are the MOUNTAINS. Why do we waste our time and energy ascending these mountains when we are being called to the mountain of the Lord? Why do we have no energy left for God? We’ve been living in the flesh and not God’s spirit! Did you hear a bit of discipling there? :-) I’m taking it personally. Why does the word continue to urge us as though there’s something urgent? We’ve always thought it was because we don’t know when we might die and if we’re not ready we may not "go to heaven". That is true and is quite important, but there is an urgent matter we may not have been thinking much about, that of image impartation, that of creative stewardship, that of nature change. When we do stand before God, thank God we will stand there, but why do we stand there? To account to God. What is He counting for the accounting? Is it how much we gave to the poor, or how many times we went to church? Not exactly, it is more about how many children did we raise and care for for Him and how much of Him we showed others without perversion. How many of our days He gave us did we use to do this work of making disciples of ourselves and all of our God-given sphere of influence. In God’s heart this is urgent, it is calling to each and every believer and it is of top priority. We must turn and allow God’s heart to redeem our wasted time. He is a consuming fire here and now, not only there and then. If he is in us, His spirit will consume our flesh nature and it’s pull here and now.