The Discipline of God!

“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.” – Hebrews 12:11 NIV

Most of us believe that moments of inspiration is the way how God motivates us to do His will, to listen to Him, and to follow His ways. When we do not have it, we just turn from Him and do our natural desires and passions. Moments of inspiration is amazing to receive within us because we are able to literally feel the presence of the Lord. Because of my first moment of inspiration, I got saved spiritually through faith in Jesus Christ. I strongly sensed that God was speaking to me through His Spirit that I have to know Jesus Christ more, due to the fact I was kind of religious side. I used to do all the church rituals but I did not know God at all. For instance, I became the greeter since I had came to the church early to volunteer in helping out to set the church up. I think the main reason that I became the greeter is to get approval from others and because I am a people-person.

Nevertheless, the main purpose that we receive moments of inspiration is that God wants to empower us to follow His ways through the Spirit, or He wants us to have visions of God that are telling us to live our lives properly that God wants us to. This does not mean that we should follow God only when the moments of inspiration is upon us. If we believe in Jesus Christ and surrender our lives to God, the Spirit of God automatically comes within us  and guide us to follow His ways until the end of the age (John 14:15-27).  Although the best method to follow the Spirit of God through our lives is to live our lives according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:27-28), the Spirit prompts us from time to time, in order to show what the will of God is and to make us to do certain things for the glory and the kingdom of God. After I became a true Christian in New York, I volunteered to be the greeter and usher. When I was greeting others in my home church, I felt that I was doing the greeting for the glory of God. When I was doing specific things for the ushering team and helping out with the offering, I also felt that I was building the kingdom of God through serving the congregation of my home-church. Although I was very exhausted on Sundays especially after I had meals in the restaurants with various church members, I do not regret any of the volunteering jobs that I did in my New York Church. Furthermore, I began to write devotionals for others around late 2013 as the Spirit of God has empowered me to write. When I write devotionals, I feel like I am doing the Great Commission through writing (Matthew 28:18-20), even though I do not  know how to evangelize others into Jesus in person properly.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6)

Furthermore, the method that God uses to discipline us through the Spirit is through various kinds of suffering (Hebrews 12:4-13). He allows them to come within us, in order to teach and change us into the way that He has designed us to be. Most of us do not like suffering. I do not like to have suffering either, to be honest. However, if suffering is for Jesus Christ, I am willing to suffer. James 1:2-4 declares, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Therefore, we have to persevere every kind of suffering for Jesus Christ, especially if we desperately want to have eternal life through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:36-39).  Although I may not be persecuted for writing devotionals, I suffer through fatigue and tiredness, especially after I wash my face or have eaten a meal. I once thought that I should not wash my face when I am writing devotionals but since my mum wants me to wash my face and shower before she comes home from work, I have to wash my face and persevere my tiredness. After I had a breakfast or brunch, I  used to go to bad and fall asleep when fatigue comes along, even though I have not finished writing devotionals. When I woke up from nap, I always felt guilty in not persevering. Hence, I have decided that I am willing to persevere my fatigue, especially when I am writing devotionals. At first, I was horrible in keeping my promises and I do not go to bed when it comes along nowadays, even though I may fall asleep for few minutes in the chair. Furthermore, I, sometimes, do not want to write devotionals at all so I have to endure in this as well, since writing devotionals is the will of God for me. Lastly, I felt completely boredom and felt that my head was going to explode, that I cannot concentrate at anything, because of the theological mind-set. I think God used these to discipline me to pray more. I love to pray for persecuted churches, even before God has disciplined me. Now, I think the Spirit is leading me to pray for my church more.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)