Winter Break can be one of the biggest times that students struggle with their spiritual life. Here are some quiet times and thoughts from students in the campus ministry.

 

Salt of the Earth – Matthew 5:13

Nick Galang

There is so much in this little parable, but the main point here is distinctiveness. Salt is distinctively different from the thing upon which it is put. By nature and by purpose it is different. So are true disciples of Jesus Christ. They are distinctively different by nature and by purpose. By nature disciples are a new creation, born of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:23); by purpose disciples are to penetrate and change the very taste of the earth. They are like salt.

• The following is a list of what salt is. Though not exhaustive, it will hopefully help provide a better understanding of what salt means for our lives as disciples as we grow.
• take each aspect of salt and apply it your own life, challenge yourself in the ways in which you lack saltiness.

1.  Salt is striking. It is totally different from the food or object upon which it is put. The power of salt lies in this difference. Believers, just as salt, are to be different from the world. The power of their lives and their testimony lies in their being different and distinctive. They are to be “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2).

2.  Salt always preserves. It keeps things from going bad and decaying. It cleanses and disinfects. Disciples, just as salt, are to cleanse and preserve the world. We are to disinfect the world and keep the germs of the world from causing things to go bad. We are to save the world from corruption.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,”All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

3.  Salt gives life. It inserts a new quality, substance, and life. It changes that upon which it is put. Disciples of Jesus Christ are likewise to penetrate the world and insert a new life into it.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

4.  Salt takes over. Its flavor spreads all around. A sprinkle of salt has a widespread effect. A true disciple’s salt spreads far and wide.

“For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20).

“I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.

(Colossians 4:13).

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)

5.  Salt is unyielding. Once applied, it cannot be stopped. A believer’s salt, his testimony, is irrepressible; it cannot be stopped.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Salt has these features:

1. Striking
2. Always preserves
3. Life
4. Takes Over
5. unYielding

SALTY

Are you salty? How do you feel like you’re being salty as a disciple?

The disciples’ place of ministry is the earth. The world is the place where believers are to move about and salt (live and minister). Why? Because the world is (1) bland and tasteless, (2) decaying and rotting, (3) corrupting and foul.

Note that two things are necessary before a person can salt the earth.

1.  Disciples must have salt in themselves.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50)

2.  Disciples must spread out into the world. But one thing must be known when a disciple scatters into the world: his salt is necessary and useful. There is no salt other than the disciple’s salt. There is nothing else that can salt the earth, nothing whatsoever. The task is the disciple’s and his alone. The success of the mission rests upon the disciple and him alone.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col. 4:6).

How do you feel knowing that God’s expectation is for us to be salty, and if we are not, he will cast us out?

What can you do to be more salty?

 

Gratitude Not Attitude

Ivan Herrera

Genesis 37:1-11

-From the begging Joseph stood up for what was right and was looked down upon by his brothers. (vs 2)

Can you relate to having your family members or friends looking down on you or thinking weirdly of you because of your convictions?

What are areas in which you need your conviction to grow in order to make it clear to those around you that you are a disciple of Jesus?

37:28,36

-Joseph begins to see his life filled with misfortunes. You would expect that after living righteously his life would be “awesome”

-Josephs heart is probably somewhat devastated and broken

What would your heart be feeling after having been betrayed by the people that are supposed to be the closest to you? After feeling this would your response be one of still wanting to be loyal to God? Or would you attempt to take matters into your hands and go after what you “deserve” for the suffering that you have endured?

-The story could end here with Joseph giving up hope and pursuing his own desires.

39:1-9

-The sun seems to come out and things seem to go well for Joseph being put in leadership under Potiphar.

-Satan immediately goes after him.

-His response in verse 9 is outstanding.

-Joseph’s heart is so connected to what God has planned and is doing in his life that the only thing in his mind is to never fail him. He was so connected with God, treasured that connection, and was so grateful for it that he dreaded ever losing it.

-Is this the way you fight for God and view your relationship with him? What do you have to change in order to value God the way He deserves?

-Pray for your heart to be broken about not valuing God enough.

39:10 Satan attacked Joseph every day. But Joseph would not be shaken even a little bit.

The reason for this must be his consistency in his relationship with God. Do you have a game-plan this break to stay consistent with God?  If NOT come up with one.

39:11-23

-More injustice comes Josephs way but in this times  more than ever God is with Joseph and Joseph acknowledges that (v 21).

41:1 Joseph spends 2 FULL years of his life in prison. Would you have remained faithful after 2 years of imprisonment and no near sign of anything changing? Where are you at in your Faith believing that even though it appears to be dark God is there with you?

Pray to have absolute Faith in God.

41:16 After 2 years in prison the first time Joseph is put to the test he takes it back to God.

Joseph’s heart shows humility knowing that on his own he cannot do anything. God is the reason for the good in his life and he decides to give him all the credit.

Gratitude is the best way to describe Joseph’s heart for God.

-After being sold to slavery. Being falsely accused and spending 2 years in prison. (If you read on the 2 friends he made in prison end up forgetting about him). He is still loyal to God.

-This loyalty comes out of Gratitude for Jesus always showing up and blessing Josephs effort

-Are you focusing on your misfortunes rather than seeing the bigger plan that God has in mind in your life right now?

2 Chronicles 16:9

-Joseph was able to remain strong with God because of how connected he was to Him. God blessed this wholehearted devotion and Joseph was extremely grateful for it.

Mastering the Basics

Roddy Gonzalez

Read Scriptures: Colossians 3-4

Colossians, chapters three and four, talks about the basic aspect of the Christian life. In the earlier chapters, Satan has been distracting the Colossian Christians with false philosophies and in the same way we can get distracted with everything around us; whether it may be old and new sins, school, work, and even families and friends. Paul wanted to refocus the disciples and just bring them back to the basics of their faith. Mastering the fundamentals brings back our strength, faith, conviction, joy, and the reason why we first Loved God. These 6 Practicals through the scriptures will bring us back to a happy and effective relationship with Jesus.

1. GET YOUR HEART AND MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE (COLOSSIANS 3: 1-4)- Paul addresses us that we know the basic knowledge through Christ and that we have the power to get our minds and hearts on what is right. We must reject temptation and to even think sinfully and SET our hearts and minds on things above
2. STOP SINNING (COLOSSIANS 3:5-10)- If your wondering what to do in regards to sin….EASY…Just don’t do it!!! Paul instructs us to kill sin “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature”. We can get caught up in thinking to much about the details of our sin rather than identifying and stopping it. We need to take a simple approach and just stop doing it.
3. REPLACE SIN WITH GOOD (COLOSSIANS 3:12-17)- If we take something out there needs to be another thing that replaces it or we will have an empty void. We have to replace our sinful nature with righteousness. We have the bible as our standard to live up to and better our relationship with him which ultimately brings joy and fulfillment.
4. STRONG RELATIONSHIPS (COLOSSIANS 3:18 – 4:1)- Strong Christians have the strongest relationships because there is constant sharpening (Prov. 27:17). In the same way we need to be right with our brothers, sisters, children, parents, and bosses. In all our relationships “It is the Lord God you are serving”. (Colossians 3:24)
5. DEVOTE YOURSELF TO PRAYER (COLOSSIANS 4:2-4)- In the long run, just doing what is good is not enough. God wants a close intimate relationship with us. Paul calls us to pray in the sense of being committed to prayer “being watchful and thankful (Col. 4:2). We need to have the same concern of Epaphras (Col 4:12) and be grateful of everything that has happened already
6. SHARE YOUR FAITH!! (COLOSSIANS 4:5-6)-  The Bible calls us to fulfill the purpose of seeking and saving the lost. Paul wrote to “make the most of every opportunity”. We can make excuses of why we do not share our faith but if we seize every opportunity who knows where God can move and achieve. We need to share our faith everywhere we go especially our family and friends.

PRAYER FOCUS- To master the basics of our Christian walk and the message of God through his words and our lives to open doors for people.

 

The Attitude of Jesus Christ

Chris Price

 

Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: [6] Who,

being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something

to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of

a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in

appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross! [9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest

place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the

name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under

the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to

the glory of God the Father.

V.5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

Literally: “have understanding, think”

Transliteration: phroneó

Phonetic Spelling: (fron-eh’-o)

Short Definition: I think, judge, observe

Definition: (a) I think, (b) I think, judge, (c) I direct the mind to,

seek for, (d) I observe, (e) I care for.

Regulate (moderate) from within, as inner-perspective (insight)

shows itself in corresponding, outward behavior.

John 4:34, John 6:38

Adam Clark Commentary on Phil 2:5:

Christ labored to promote no separate interest; as man he studied to

promote the glory of God, and the welfare and salvation of the human

race. See then that ye have the same disposition that was in Jesus: he

was ever humble, loving, patient, and laborious; his meat and drink

was to do the will of his Father, and to finish his work.

V.7-”servant”

Literally: “bondservant, slave”

Transliteration: doulos

Phonetic Spelling: (doo’-los)

Short Definition: a male slave

Definition: (a) (as adj.) enslaved, (b) (as noun) a (male) slave.

Someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership

rights of their own. Ironically, 1401 /doúlos (“bond-slave”) is used

with the highest dignity in the NT – namely, of believers who

willingly live under Christ’s authority as His devoted followers.

Matthew 20:26-28, Matthew 23:11-12

Adam Clarke Commentary on Phil 2:7:

He emptied himself-did not appear in his glory, for he assumed the

form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man. And his being

made in the likeness of man, and assuming the form of a servant, was a

proof that he had emptied himself-laid aside the effulgence of his

glory.

V.8- “humbled”

Transliteration: tapeinoó

Phonetic Spelling: (tap-i-no’-o)

Short Definition: I humble, humiliate

Definition: I make or bring low, humble, humiliate; pass: I am humbled.

Make (become) low, to humble. With the believer tapeinó? (“show

humility, true lowliness”) happens by being fully dependent on the

Lord – dismissing reliance upon self (self-government) and emptying

carnal ego. This exalts the Lord as our all-in-all and prompts the

gift of His fullness in us.

 

Matthew 29:11, Matthew 18:1-4

Q: What can typically dictate your attitude?

Q: What keeps you from having the attitude of Jesus?

Q: How can having Jesus humble attitude fulfill our lives?

Q: What is one area of your life where you need imitate Jesus more?

Prayer:

Ask for God to soften your heart so that you can have the attitude of

Jesus and be fulfilled!

 

Satan’s Lie: “I can make it without consistent time in the word and prayer.”

Shelley Leveque & Rachel Brito

 

Have you ever believed this lie?

How easy is it for Satan to make you believe this lie during break?

Do you put up a fight at all?

Especially during times like winter break when schedules change and we are away from the body, it is important to remember that we need God every day to survive the war that wages over our souls.  Winter break is a great time to refresh, to spend with family and friends and to enjoy in the holiday fun.  However, we should not forget so quickly that it is also a time to continue to grow as a disciple and to have an attitude like David who sought after God’s own heart and inquired of the Lord.

Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Know Your Enemy:

Satan doesn’t care if we fill our schedules with “spiritual activities”, pray before each meal, have a solid d-time or hang out with other disciples all day during the break.  As long as he can get us to run on our own strength, rather than living in conscious dependence on God, he has us right where he wants us.  He wants us to act like we’re living the “Christian lifestyle” without building an intimate relationship with God in our quiet times.  If he can get us to do “great things for God” without going to God through the word or in prayer, we won’t do Satan’s kingdom any real damage.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Choosing to be alert and not naïve of the devil’s schemes is up to you.  Continue in your relationship with God daily, especially during this extended time of relaxation when the temptation is to take a break from God as well.  However, Satan never takes a break from the spiritual battle, so neither should you. So be on your guard.

James 4:7 “…resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

The Lie: I Don’t have to Inquire of the Lord

When we choose to skip our times with God and would rather spend our days on Facebook, focusing on intersession classes, spending time with friends, watching hours of TV, watching back to back movies, or wasting time on iwastesomuchtime.com, we are saying (though we’d never say it out loud) is that we can handle Satan’s lies without God’s truth.  Here’s an example of consequences that happen when we try to live independently from God:

1 Chronicles 10:1-14

• Verse 13-14: Even though Saul started out as a great King, he became proud and independent and did not consult God for a period of time.
• You can choose to let this break be a period of time that you don’t go to God’s word and don’t consult God like Saul did or a period of time where you draw closer to God with the extra time you have.
• Respond: What will happen to you during this period of time if you do not keep God’s word?

The Truth: I Need God’s Word & Constant Connection in Prayer

The truth is that apart from God we cannot do anything of spiritual or eternal value.  So when our days do not involve God, we pretty much waste time that God could have made valuable.  Picking it back up in 1 Chronicles, Saul is dead because of his unfaithfulness and we see the contrasting relationship that David had with God.

1 Chronicles 11:1-9

• Verse 9: “And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD Almighty was with him.”
• David became greater when he was with God.
• Respond: In what ways have you been greater when you started your day with God?

• When you forget how much stronger you are with God, it’s because Satan has lied to you into thinking that you don’t need to be that way every day, only once in a while.  So remember what you wrote down as a motivation to be greater with God everyday.

Journal Time:

1. Identifying the lie: How has believing this lie manifested itself in the way you live your life?

2. Acting on the Truth: How will you choose to daily “inquire of the Lord” this winter break? Some examples: Have the quality of times with God you may have felt you weren’t able to have during the school year. (Read a spiritual book this break, take prayer walks with others, quiet times at the beach or have more extensive times with God.)

3. Scriptures to encourage you to be victorious against the enemy:

Proverbs 20:13

Romans 6:11-14

Romans 16:20

Hebrews 10:35-39

1. Prayer Focus:  Inquire of God in your prayer times.  Pray through how you have believed this lie and how you want to be like David and not like Saul. Ask God to help you distinguish His truth from Satan’s lies each day.  Ask God to make this winter break a valuable period of time of growing, learning and falling deep in love with Him.

 

Be Imitators: God’s Love

Aubrey Edwards & Shawn Haggerty

 

Imitate: copy, mimic, follow as closely as possible.

[Matthew 9:35-36]

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

• How did Jesus respond to the large, noisy crowds? Was he irritated and annoyed? No, he was filled with compassion.
• Think about what compassion means. Does this describe your heart towards those around you? Why or why not?

[Ephesians 5:1]

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and suffering to God.”

• Who’s example does God point us to when teaching us how to love? Jesus. Why? Because His love was sacrificial and pure.
• What is God’s expectation for each of us? To imitate the love that we see in Jesus, remembering that this kind of love is a fragrant offering to God.
• How can you be more sacrificial and genuine in your love for your family?

[Colossians 3:12-14]

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Coffman Bible commentary:

“The thought here appears to be not that of adding love as an additional Christian grace, but rather that of making love the cement that holds everything else in place, [Greek: agape: divine love].”

• Everyday, decide to “clothe yourself” with Christ’s love towards others.
• Persevere and embrace your family, even when it’s challenging.
• Have a compassion like Jesus and pray for opportunities to reach out to your family.

Focused Prayer:

• Ask God to renew your love towards your family. Pray about all that you have to be grateful for towards your family and God. Ask God for strength and perseverance to rise above any challenges that arise.

 

Memory Scripture:

[2 Corinthians 5:14]

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

 

Serving: Live to Give.

Kaitlyn Adame & Nirvana Mireles

 

Winter break is a great opportunity to be proactive in serving our friends and family.  Initiating service and finding the needs around us are vital in demonstrating God’s love to others.

First Point: Finding the Needs

[Philippians 2:3-7]

Q: In what ways can selfish ambition or vain conceit manifest in your home life?

Coming out of a quarter/semester at school, we can go home with the mindset that “This is my time to be served after all the work I’ve just done.”  But, instead, we need to shift our mindset to the example Christ set through not just focusing ourselves, but on others.  Our reward is pleasing God through our service to our families.

Vs. 4:  We need to remember that one of the purposes of a disciple is learning: live to give.  As we’re home, our purpose isn’t to gratify our own desires, but to help to meet the needs of others.

Q: What are the unique roles you can play to fulfill the needs in your home?

A need can be something as obvious as doing household chores or as simple as a good conversation with a sibling or parent.

Vs: 5-7: Just as no one asked God to send his only son to live, serve, and die for you, you should learn to serve without being asked.  Look for needs.

Second Point: Service with a Smile

[Colossians 3:23]

Let’s be real, you can tell the difference in a person’s attitude when they WANT to do something for you versus when they HAVE to. Which do you prefer? When we willingly serve for the Lord and not for people, God fills our hearts with joy.

[Luke 12:48b]

God is much more pleased when you serve him with a pure heart.  In reflecting from this past year, think about all the ways that God has provided for you and blessed you.  Think about the new friendships you built, the new opportunities you have been given, and if you were baptized this year, think about the priceless gift of salvation you received. Out of a heart of gratitude, you’re serving God and not people.  No matter how trivial you think the task is, God sees your heart. As you go home, God expects you to give since you have been given much.

Further Readings:

Philippians 2:14-18, Proverbs 3:27-28, John 12:26, John 3:34-35, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Matthew 20:26-28, Luke 17:7-10

 

 

 

Laziness

Nick Neel

 

“As a door swings back and forth on it hinges,

so the lazy person turns over in bed.”

Proverbs 26:14 (NLT)

I find it funny that the more time I have to get things done, the less I get accomplished.  It seems as though I need some external driving force to help me achieve things.  For me, this external force is school, and without school I find myself extremely unmotivated and lazy. I think a mistake that many of us can make is that we can justify ourselves in taking time to relax and take a break.  I mean, we did work so hard for the past three months in school. Right?   And don’t get me wrong, I definitely agree that everyone needs a little down time to recuperate and get ready for the next semester/quarter, but to the extent that we “relax” needs to be taken into consideration.  We need to take a break from school, but in no way can we take a break or “relax” with our relationship with God, especially during the winter break.

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.

Learn from their ways and become wise.

Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,

they labor hard all summer,

gathering food for the winter?

But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?

When will you wake up?

A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest–

Proverbs 6:6-10 (NLT)

One of the main things that I want to do during Christmas break is catch up on some much needed sleep that I lost over the past three months.  However, this Scripture seems to say otherwise.  We all need to get  sleep, but we cannot let this sleep interfere with us  spending adequate times with God. I know that if I don’t wake up and make time for God, then more than likely I will not spend a sufficient amount of time and energy with God.  I know that waking up may be hard during the school year, but I think it is even harder, and possibly more important during the break.  We are given 3-5 weeks of free time where we have little responsibility and almost all of our normal distractions are gone.  It doesn’t matter how great you are during the school year, now is the true test of your faith.  I have to face the fact that if I am lazy during this break, than I am a lazy person by nature, because this is the real testing time of what my relationship with God is really made of.  It’s a hard realization to come to, but  admitting that we have a problem is the first step to help.  Although, it’s one thing to recognize that you’re lazy, it’s another thing to deal with it.  It seems as though people can acknowledge that they are lazy, but it can be almost a “tolerable” sin or something that everyone deals with that isn’t that “bad.”  However, Scripture tells us otherwise:

“A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.”

Proverbs 18:9

“The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.”
Proverbs 26:16 (NIV)

From these two Scriptures we see how evil laziness is, not only are they considered as bad as someone who destroys things, but laziness also make us think we’re wiser than everyone else and hardens our hearts towards advice.  Laziness is not only sinful in itself, but I believe, and can attest from personal experience that laziness doesn’t just stop at laziness.  When I am lazy, during the winter break especially, my quiet times begin to suffer.  When this happens I lose a deep and solid connection with God and my convictions begin to slip.  I put myself in situations that I shouldn’t be in and I tolerate “little” sins in my life.  However, we cannot let this happen.  1 Peter 5:8 says,

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

1 Peter 5:8

We need to recognize that Satan will do anything to keep us from being successful as Christians.  And there is no way that he is going to take a break from doing that just because it is Christmas break, if anything he will try even harder because our defenses will be down.  And I know from personal experience that he will use laziness to do just that.  We need to be aware of his schemes and be self-controlled and alert in order to prevent him from keeping us close to God.  And we can be successful in overcoming the devil if we cling to God.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18

 

Overwhelming Challenges

Kaiel Jackson

 

There are many times where I have felt overwhelmed with challenges. Whether it be school, work, family, friends, and obviously sin, we have all felt at some point in time, maybe even today or right now, that there is just way too much to handle. We could definitely feel crowded and overwhelmed with challenges.

Read

• Joshua 11:1-5, reflect
• Joshua 11:6-23, reflect
• Joshua 10:1-15, reflect

I encourage you to pray about

• How you can feel when all these challenges come your way
• What you might usually do in a negative response to seeing these challenges
• What Joshua might have been feeling
• How you are going to handle the monster-like problems

More readings if you want to grow

• Psalm 55
• Psalm 64
• Proverbs 10:29
• Proverbs 14:26
• 2 Corinthias 12:8-10

Things to think about throughout the day

• What are some practicals that you can do to let God work in you in this weekness?
• Who can help you or keep you accountable in building up your courage and boldness for God?
• What can you, or need to repent of when it comes to your boldness, and courageness for God?

 

Hardships and Sufferings

Matt Alonzo

 

Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Additional Scriptures: Hebrews 5:8-9; James 1:2-3; Acts 14:22

Everyone stuggles. The word struggle itself is defined as, “To make (one’s way) with violent or resolute effort; a war, fight, conflict, or contrast of any kind.” Here in this passage, in verse 1 it tells us to “Throw off” everything that we struggle with, that hinders us or that entangles us. That sounds like an easy task to do when it is envisioned like that! But the author here is actually sympathazing with his audience by simply saying, “What hinders you and entangles us… I struggle with too!” But he goes on to say that we must throw it off together, “Let US fix OUR eyes on Jesus…” This author knew the limitless and perfect power of Jesus Christ. “…But we have one [Jesus] who has been tempted in everyway, JUST AS WE ARE- yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15b)” Everyone struggles, but when our eyes are focused on Jesus, not everyone sins. Jesus is the perfect role-model for our lives and if we look at his lifestyle (prayer, convictions, relationships, compassion, ect…) this alone, should be what the foundation of our life is based on. Verse 7 describes how we ought to deal with hard-times, “Endure hardships as discipline; God is treating you as sons.” Consider it an absolute privilege that God chose you and wants you to be a part of his family, instead of, when times get hard, that is so hard to be considered a member of his family by living up to it’s standards. God knows you down to your core and he chose you to be His sons and daughters so that we too may also share in the “Harvest of Righteousness” and to experience “Peace for those who have been trained by it. (V.11)” Enjoy hardships and sufferings by trusting in God and imitating Jesus, so that He may, “Equip you with every good thing for doing his will, and may he work in US what is pleasing to HIm, through Christ Jesus. (Hebrews 13:21)”

Focus for prayer:

Think about all the hardships you are currently enduring. Also, consider all the “hard times” you have had this year and how much God has allowed you to grow because of them. Try and connect with God through every one of the things you are currently perservering through. God only lets you go through hard things to help you grow deeper in your personal relationship with him. Pray that God allows you to continue to grow in your patience and to fill your spirit with a Christ-like heart.