Hebrews 12

I am considering Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that I will not grow weary. I am remembering the man who endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. Seriously, I have not even resisted to the point of shedding my blood in my struggle against sin.

I have been called back to Hebrews 12 repeatedly over the past few months. It seems that so many of my personal struggles against sin and my desire to live a life of Joy are summed up and addressed in this chapter. All scripture is useful for teaching, correcting and guiding me, but the Lord keeps bringing me back to this section. I could chew on it all day. Maybe part of my problem is that in actuality I don't chew on this section all day and so easily forget all that it says as I go through certain days and certain situations. But, the Lord in His mercy keeps calling me back, keeps molding me and shaping me. Thank you Lord for not growing weary of me.

I think it is easy for me to discern incorrectly certain struggles in my life and think I am suffering for Christ when in fact, I am suffering because of pride and selfishness. That is not the kind of suffering that produces the joy set before me. My prayer is that those struggles would be crucified daily and taken captive and crushed into obedience to Christ. I pray that my suffering would be the struggles that result from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and being obedient to his call.

It is here where I must remind anyone that reads this that I am not a prolific writer or expounder of the Word. I simply know what the Spirit reveals to me, or I am taught by those who know it well. I do not claim to be a Bible scholar, just a lover of the Lord and His Word in my life.

I pray that each of us would chew on His Word, love God, love others and serve in obedience out of the love and grace that God has poured out onto us through His son Jesus Christ. This is my prayer; these are the cries of my heart. These are the things I pray for in my life and for you the one that reads this.

KOEHNE'S CORNER

I think that today is the day of me getting to share all the wonderful pieces that other people write that inspire me and hopefully will bless you too. Among one of them is my dear husband who simply writes a blurb each week at the High School he works at. I really enjoyed what he said this week, so I would like to share that with you....And as I say "you" I do wonder who "you"are, let me know. Regardless, be blessed this day as I have been.

Here it is. . . . . .

KOEHNE’S CORNER
Advent is here. A time of preparation, but what are we preparing for? A lot of our time is spent preparing for a concert, or a party, or buying gifts for friends and family. I wonder what Mary’s time of preparation was like? What we know is that Mary’s response to the angels was “I am the Lord’s servant.” (Luke 1:38) Will we have this same attitude as we prepare? Will we take the time to be the Lord’s servant when it feels like there is so much to be done? I hope this Advent is a time for all of us to be able to focus on the coming Christ and the opportunities that we have to be like Mary and say, I am the Lord’s servant. ~Bob Koehne

Some Food for your Life

I read my dear friends devotions each day that she sends them. Today spoke to me deeply as I was in the midst of doing my own Bible study dealing with loneliness and the Apostle Paul was one of the followers we learned from. I learned how Paul dealt with the possibility of loneliness, being imprisoned and isolated in that cold damp prison. He even wrote to Timothy wanting him to come and visit. Yet even in that loneliness Paul ran to His Father, He sought comfort and safety in His Lord, Jesus Christ.

That is really all I have to say, the rest I wanted to share with you through my friends blog. Enjoy. May theses words bless you today where ever you are at and remind you of what a great and faithful Lord we have.

http://robinsfoodforlife.blogspot.com/2010/12/despair-hope-and-prayer.html