EXPAND TO READ: HEBREWS 10 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 32-36): When I first truly came to faith, I was eager to make changes, eager to learn, and embraced many of the changes, hardships, and struggles I had to go through for my faith, Father. I wasn’t even remotely close to perfect in my faith, but I had quite a bit more excitement and devotion to my faith early on than I have for many years since then (up until recently). Please forgive me for that struggle, Father. Forgive me for kind of a “loss of excitement” in my faith for so many years. With this newly restored motivation of mine in my faith, please help me to build up endurance, so that I can continue to strive towards Your will and not my own. Help me to also endure far better than I did in the past, the changes that will come and the negative responses some of those around me may or may not have as a result. Please remind me constantly that my relationship with You and Your will for my life is far more important than anything in this life can say or do to me, Father.
PROMISE (verse 36): This one verse has such a strong open promise to Your followers, Father. You essentially tell us that anyone who lives with endurance for doing Your will in our lives will receive all that is promised to us. Help me to be strong enough to claim these promises, Father. I have been weak in my faith and remaining in Your will for my life for so long, that I feel these promises are so far away from my grasp, yet You place them right in front of me piece by piece and I just need to continue on the path that You’ve laid out for me to claim them. Help me to stay on Your path and will for my life, Father. Help me to accept all the changes You want me to make as a blessing and not a struggle, for the rewards You promise us are greater than anything this life has to offer.
ATTITUDE (verse 23): In this verse, You speak of us holding onto our confession in hope without wavering, because He is faithful to His promises. Help me to maintain an attitude of unwavering hope in my faith and towards Jesus, Father. Help me to not lose hope in my faith journey in this life ever again, so that I can remain strong in my faith towards the One that has always been faithful to me. Continue to mold me, Father, so that my attitudes align more and more with Your will for me and my hope in You becomes unwavering as my faith grows stronger.
COMMAND (verses 24-25): This pair of verses is something that I struggle with quite often in my faith journey, Father, yet You command us to hold onto them dearly. You tell us to be concerned about one another, promoting love and good works. You tell us to ensure we are not avoiding worship meetings, rather encouraging all to attend frequently. Help me to be better at promoting love and good works, Father. Help me to be better at not avoiding things within Your will for me out of complacency, laziness, selfishness, or just flat-out rebellion. Pouring out Your love and good works into this life is so important for us to be able to properly glorify Your kingdom and express Your amazingness to the world, yet I have failed at following this command many times since coming to faith. Help me be better; help me do better. Continue to mentor, counsel, and mold me into the righteous man You expect of me, Father.
EXAMPLE (verses 38-39): In the final two verses of this chapter, You give us an example to live by in our faith journey. You tell us that Your followers are not ones to draw back in our pursuit of Your will for our lives. Your righteous believers are ones who continuously pursue a life of living by faith, so that we may obtain eternal life and glorify You. Help me to live a more righteous life, Father, so that I no longer “draw back” in my faith journey ever again. Help me to endure the trials and struggles this life brings to me, so that I may grow a stronger faith and am not destroyed. You have always been faithful to me, even in those times I have drawn back in my faith. Help me to rekindle my faithfulness towards You so that I can repay the undeserving faithfulness that You have always provided to me. Thank You so much for truly being an amazing, faithful, and understanding God.
*DAILY NOTE: You spoke deeply to my consistency in my faith today, Father. Why do I struggle so much with consistency in general, but especially towards Your will for my life? You are always consistent, yet for some reason I regress quite often or even try to completely changes paths here-and-there. Help me with my consistency, Father. Give me reminders when I am failing to uphold my end of our relationship. Continue to nudge me along on Your path for my life, even if at times I may be too stubborn or lazy to want to move in the direction You want me to move. I know from experience that I am a better man overall when I live consistently in my faith, so please help me to be better with this.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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