Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 6

January 6;      Hebrews 12:14;       215/260(III);        ‘Peace and Holiness’

Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

This verse teaches about the chastening of the Lord.  Because the Lord loves us so, He will correct us and chasten us.  His discipline is good, because it teaches us to avoid sin.  Sin is what causes misery and suffering.  The Lord chastens us with His Word.  We see in the Word things that the Lord does not want us to do, which we do.  He does not want us to do those things because there are negative consequences if we do them.  The ‘suffering’ comes when we discipline our body that is used to doing things that it should not do.  We pursue peace with all people by walking in love with those we do not like in the natural.  We forgive those who have wronged us because the Bible tells us that the Lord has forgiven all of us.  We speak kindly to those we would like to tell off.  Doing these things causes our flesh and mind to suffer, since it wants to treat others the way the world does.  The Lord wants us to treat them biblically because He knows the misery and heartache that occurs if we do not.  He also wants us to live holy lives.  This too, especially when you first become a Christian or if you have been a Christian for a while and have never done this causes our flesh to suffer.  Denying what we used to partake of is not easy, but this too prevents the consequences sin brings.  If we do not discipline ourselves and ‘suffer’ by curtailing our ‘unsaved actions’ we will never ‘see the Lord.’  His blessings and favor will not be part of our life until we change.