Deuteronomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

I was torn in reading this, whether to write on verse 3, that Jesus quoted to the devil when He was tempted to misplaced priorities, or on this one, but I settled on this one because of our current theme of Discipleship Training. As I mentioned back on the 2^nd, Japanese doesn’t have a good direct translation for “discipline,” as it is used here, and so says “train.” This verse is quoted in Hebrews 12, which has long been a favorite chapter of mine. God’s discipline/training is life-long, because we don’t reach perfection on this earth, and are remarkably foolish. God allows all sorts of things to come into our lives to teach us that we’ve got to depend on Him, because we can’t go it alone. To go back to verse 3, we don’t live because of the material, which we ourselves can manage to some degree, but by what God says. After all, He spoke the universe into being, as it says in Genesis 1. To live successfully, we have to listen obediently to God, relating to the material as He directs and not just listen to our physical appetites. We don’t do that very well, so God has to remind us of the consequences of ignoring Him. That’s all a part of the “trouble” Jesus mentioned that we would have in this world. (John 16:33) We need to keep our eyes fixed on Him and remember that He doesn’t allow anything in our lives that He can’t use for our good, if we will submit it, and ourselves, to Him. (Romans 8:28)

This is, interestingly enough, something I’m experiencing right now. God is allowing the devil to attack me and this church right now, and several of us are feeling down or even depressed. I personally feel tired of the hassle, but I know that God has wonderful things still in store. As Paul said so memorably, “For our light and monetary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) I am tired of my own mistakes that hurt others and tear them down. I am tired of dealing with the immaturities and foibles of those around me. However, God is working on us all, training and disciplining us as we need it, and I need to be grateful. Gratitude will carry me through a lot! In my autobiography I’ve gotten to the time when I was going through military training. Just as that wasn’t always fun, but it still produced a good result in me, I need to thank God for what He’s putting me through right now, anticipating the glory that is to come.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that You still have work for me to do. Thank You that a Korean Christian TV station wants me to record three more messages for them next week. I ask for clear guidance as to which messages You want me to share. Thank You for the things You have for me to do today. Help me recognize Your schedule and follow it, so that Your will may be done as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!