continually given

here's a question you will never be able to answer:

how many gifts are you given daily?

now don't we wish they were all something we desire, like money, a new car, free time for us to do what we want, or for some off us, new xbox 360 games! well unless you have a birthday everyday, that doesn't happen to you. the gifts i talk about are the things we take for granted.

today i was reminded how many of these i overlook. i always try to remind myself of
how much i rely on God's grace and goodness rather than how i provide for myself. today, i have little food in the house, but i have the luxury to go outside, fill my tank full of gas and go get me some lunch. i also had the chance to go apply for another position. i dislike the motional rollercoaster of "job hunting," but the fact is that the more i seem to wait, the more perfect the newer position seems to be fitting for me (at least in my eyes). well i pray God continues to provide amazing opportunities for me to serve in His kingdom on earth.

but many of these things i always overlook. i just always pull out the credit card throw it on the counter and come back to my comfortable home to live, play and eat. if i had no credit card, if i had no money for gas, if i had no car. . . . what would my life be like, would i praise God the same, would i thank Him the same?

my verse(s) for today come from Hebrews, an greatly challenging and comforting book. One of the greatest chapters to me is Hebrews 11. Faith in itself always perplexes me, but this chapter always challenges me to continually trust as those before me did. But that is not the section i want to focus on.

one of the most helpful verses come in the transition after chapter 11, in the first few verses of chapter 12. these verses call us to throw off the things that we can get trapped in, set our eyes upon the One who provides true life and learn from His example as it was on earth. Many, many, many preachers have used this before, but i have noticed something quite unique about this small passage.

this is a transition into a new thought, from learning about faith and seeing great examples of what true faith is. but what is the author now focusing to?

discipline.

as we see later on, that is the author's goal. such amazing challenge to persevere comes to those who are not perfect, those who are struggling with sin, it is mentioned for those who are in the midst of discipline. discipline is very unpleasant and can cause a lot of backlash and arguing and other negative emotions, even to the point of total seclusion. but we see God's reasoning for discipline for us:

"Our 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. No 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." (vs. 10-11)

discipline is always unwanted (especially by me), but God does it to bring is closer to Him, to purify us, to multiply our effectiveness, etc. we would better off after the fact. let us seek to be willingly disciplined to extreme measures as we focus on the Author, Perfecter, and Executor of our cocooning discipline process.