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Monday November 11 - Jesus is our coach ...Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith... Hebrews 12:2
Imagine a coach training a runner in a race. Imagine the commitment, focus and care that the coach lavishes on the runner. From before the runner starts the race, all throughout the race, and in the celebratory moment as the runner crosses over the finishing line, the coach has 100% dedication to enabling that athlete to finish as well as possible! Both runner and coach are equally jubilant as the former crosses the line!
Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our coach. He is the pioneer (i.e. he was there at the beginning of our race) and he is the perfecter (i.e. he will be there at the end). His commitment to us is just as deep as the coach’s commitment to the runner. He is there by our side, cheering us on; guiding, training, redirecting us; dedicated to our every step so that we make it to the finish line.
You may ask, why does Jesus care so much? Hebrews tells us that it was because of ‘the joy set before him’ (12:2) – to greet us as we cross the finish line! He considered it such a joy to spend eternity with us that he endured the cross in order to get us through the race. Did you know Jesus’ commitment to you was so deep?
Lord Jesus, I invite you to take the place of coach in my life and ask you to continue to guide and train me until the day I cross the finish line. Amen.
Tuesday Nov 12 - Our heavenly father’s discipline
...we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected
them for it. Hebrews 12:9
You may have had a father whose love, care and discipline you respected. In that case you were blessed to be brought up in a way that mirrored something of your heavenly Father’s care for you. There will be many aspects of your relationship with your human father that will help you to understand your relationship with your Father God.
Sadly, however, many people have not had a human father who cared for them in a godly way. Human fathers can be aggressive, threatening, harsh, distant, cold or absent. In such cases it may be very hard to read verse 9 and agree that you respected your father. This may in turn make it very difficult to sense the tenderness, wisdom and security of the love of Father God as his discipline is described.
Whatever your relationship with your earthly father was like, when you choose to follow Jesus you come into a close encounter with God’s discipline for you. It is important to disentangle the past experiences of our human father’s discipline from the present reality of our loving heavenly father’s discipline. God’s fatherhood and his discipline of you is healthy, loving, clear, intimate and brings freedom and life.
Father God, please heal any areas of my life where I have suffered from inadequate human discipline that did not reflect your love, and show me your father’s heart for me. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY