Why God?

A series on the book of Hebrews:
God disciplines His children
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 12:1-29 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then the day-to-day pressures of living can push out those feelings and dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

Have you ever cried out to God asking, “Why God?” One of the most painful times in my life occurred a few years after getting married. My wife was pregnant for our first child. We did everything we could to prepare for the new arrival.

 

We painted and wallpapered the nursery; bought a rocking chair for holding our baby while feeding; refinished the highchair I had used as a baby; assembled the crib; and had a baby shower. But then the unthinkable happened!

 

My wife went in for her regular prenatal checkup with our family doctor. When he wasn’t able to find a heartbeat, he immediately sent her to the hospital. They did an ultrasound, also not detecting a heartbeat. An OBGYN told us that our baby was still born! Why God! It wasn’t so much a question as it was a cry for help.

 

The Hebrews knew that feeling. They had given everything they had to follow Jesus. Made every sacrifice with the hope and expectation that he would return. They had suffered through persecution – but still nothing. It had gotten to the point where they were ready to reject Christ. “Why God”!

 

That’s when the anonymous writer of Hebrews stepped in. He wrote how Jesus was superior to their Jewish heritage, beliefs and traditions. In fact, he was the fulfillment of them. He reasoned with the Hebrews; he quoted Old Testament scripture; he warned them of consequences; he listed faithful followers.

 

Finally, in this chapter, he reminded them that God is like their earthly father who guided them through loving discipline. But, as their Heavenly Father, God’s goal was for them to draw closer to him and to grow in their faith.

 

¹⁰ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.      NLT

 

However, not only was the Lord’s discipline for them to become holy and righteous, but also it was proof of his love.

 

⁵ “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t give up when he corrects you.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”            NLT

 

God is not only a disciplining parent who loves us, but also a demanding coach who pushes us. He pushes us to go beyond what we think we’re capable of; to go beyond our self-imposed boundaries; to go beyond our own self-centered interests. Ultimately, he wants us to go beyond ourselves to help others.

 

The writer instructed the Hebrews to live lives that would share the ‘joy of redemption’ and ‘hope for restoration’ with those around them; to be an example for others to follow; to help others work through their own pain and suffering.

 

¹⁴ Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.       GNT

 

Sometimes there are no easy answers when we cry out to God. But no matter what, we can know for sure that he loves us, is always with us and understands our pain. After all, his own son whom he loved cried out with the same question. “Why God”!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
Revelation 3:20
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Revelation 3:14-22 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

“Spare the rod, spoil the child”. This is a familiar saying that originated with Proverbs 13:24. The message of this verse is that if you love your child, you will discipline them. Whether you use a rod or not, isn’t the point. 

 

Recently, my wife and I were enjoying a quiet brunch after church. Suddenly, from across the small restaurant, a child screamed at the top of his lungs. It was piercing! Then it was followed by another scream just as loud.

 

Conversations stopped, as heads turned throughout the restaurant to see what had prompted such an outburst. And, to see what the parents would do about it. However, they seemed unfazed, and didn’t say or do anything. Spare the rod, spoil the child… and our brunch.

The city of Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor. This was due in part because several trade routes intersected with it. Also, it was a commercial center for banking, clothing and carpet manufacturing, and they had a hospital that produced a special ointment to treat eye defects.

 

As a result, the citizens were extremely prosperous with all the modern conveniences of the day… except for one. They had no natural water supply! There were hot springs nearby, but the water wasn’t suitable. Also, you could see snow covered mountains, but it wasn’t accessible.

 

To address this problem, water was piped from two rivers that were about 5 miles south of the city through a sophisticated aqueduct system. But because of how long it took to transport the water, it was lukewarm at best when they drank it. Nasty!

 

Normally, the affluent citizens of Laodicea could have whatever they wanted. All they had to do was buy it. But there was no solution for the water. No doubt, this was a topic of daily complaints for the well-healed residents of Laodicea.

 

Unfortunately, this same attitude of entitlement and privilege was prevalent in the church and led to pride and complacency. When John received his vision of what to write on a scroll to the seven churches of Asia Minor, Laodicea was included. Here is what Jesus instructed him to write to the Laodicean believers.

 

¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold —I am about to spit you out of my mouth.                 NIV

 

The IVP Bible Background Commentary, paraphrases it like this:

Jesus said: “Were you hot [i.e. for bathing] or cold [i.e. for drinking], you would be useful; but as it is, I feel toward you the way you feel toward your water supply – you make me sick!”

 

But John’s message didn’t end with judgement and condemnation. Jesus had provided a means for restoration; a means of forgiveness.

 

¹⁹ I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. ²⁰ “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.        NLT

 

The church at Laodicea was being disciplined. Not for yelling in a restaurant, but for being lukewarm in their faith. If you’re not careful, life can do that. There are times when we’ve all been lukewarm in our faith.

 

Thankfully though, Jesus’ promise still stands. He is continually knocking at the door of our heart, waiting for us to open it and fellowship with him. Therefore, “be diligent and turn from your indifference”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

My Disciplinarian

A Series on the Psalms – a collection of prayers
Feeling like a disappointment
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 6 

[Life is full of emotions. The book of Psalms is a collection of prayers that express our emotions which are the cry of our soul for hope. In this series, we will be looking in the mirror of the Psalms, to learn more about ourselves and our Lord.]

 

Growing up, my Dad was my disciplinarian. This included spanking. The ironic thing is that as I got older it didn’t hurt when he spanked me. But I would still cry because I knew that I had disappointed him.

 

David wrote Psalm 6 as a prayer in response to the Lord’s discipline. It had affected his whole being… mind, body and soul.

 

² Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
    Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
³ I am sick at heart.
    How long, O Lord, until you restore me?       NLT

 

In his prayer, he appealed to the Lord’s unfailing love to show mercy.

 

⁴ Return, O Lord, and rescue me.
    Save me because of your unfailing love.        NLT

 

David was a mighty warrior; a man’s man. After all, he had defeated Goliath! And yet, in an unexpected confession, David disclosed not only how he reacted physically to the Lord’s discipline, but also just how emotional he was.

 

⁶ I am worn out from sobbing.
    All night I flood my bed with weeping,
    drenching it with my tears.      NLT

 

We don’t know the specifics of David’s situation; of what led the Lord to discipline him. The NIV study Bible suggests that the Lord was disciplining him by inflicting him with an illness for some sin that he had committed. Think of Bathsheba and her husband Uriah.

 

But what we do know is how he was feeling. We know how the discipline affected the condition of his mind, body and soul. We also know that he based his appeal on the Lord’s unfailing love.

 

You get the feeling that David needed the Lord’s love and acceptance more than anything else. Maybe even, like me, he felt bad because he had disappointed the Lord, his Heavenly Father.

 

We’ve all disappointed someone in our life at one time or another. It might have been a
parent or a spouse or even ourselves. For sure though, we’ve disappointed our Heavenly Father. The Good News is that He hears us when we pray.

 

⁹ The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord will answer my prayer.         NLT

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Eat Your Peas

Galatians 3:13-14

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%203%3A13-14&version=NIV;NLT

 

Do you remember the old metal kitchen table from the fifties with metal legs? Starting as a little girl, my wife would dump her peas inside one of the table legs when her Mom wasn’t looking. It wasn’t until they moved before her senior year of high school that her Dad found the cache of hardened peas.

 

My wife hates vegetables! And her parents were very strict about finishing her

vegetables before she could leave the table. The rest of the family would be done and gone for hours, while poor Little Debbie sat alone at the table playing with her cold, stale vegetables.

 

Into her punishment, walked Bubba, her Big Brother. Oftentimes, he would sneak into the kitchen, grab a handful of veggies off Debbie’s plate and quickly pitch them into the trash. On occasion, he would even force the cold stale food down his own throat. In a sense, taking her punishment on himself.

 

That’s what Jesus did for you and me. He took all of our sinful thoughts, words, actions and desires; all the things that would nail us to the cross. He took them as his own so that we wouldn’t have to suffer.

 

¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”        NLT

 

For my wife, as a little girl, Bubba took her punishment away allowing her to leave the dinner table. For us, Jesus is the only one who can take our punishment away. And what is the result of his sacrifice?

 

Paul wrote in Romans 8, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

 

The peas are gone in our life. There is no sin from the past, present or future counted against us. We are free to live without judgement; without condemnation; without shame. All of this because of Jesus.

 

(Here's a link for a You Tube video that I by chance came upon that fits this topic. You might enjoy it.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNkgTMa8Vis

 

 

 

 

 

You Are My Sunshine

Philippians 1:1-11;  Philippians 1:27-30

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A1-11%3B++Philippians+1%3A27-30&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Was it the unexpected loss of a loved one? The loss of your job or maybe even your career? The breakup of a relationship? For me, it was our first child who was still born.

 

We were young and excited to become parents. In preparation, we wallpapered the nursery; refinished the high chair that I had used as a baby; my wife’s sister gave us the crib her son had used; and we got lots of gifts at a baby shower. One of the gifts was from my Mom. It was a little stuffed wind-up sun that when you wound it up it played, “You Are My Sunshine”.

 

That night my wife stayed in the hospital and I came home to an empty house. It wasn’t a house filled with the joy of a newborn, but a house filled with emptiness. The high chair was in the kitchen never to hold our daughter. The nursery would never hear her cry or see her sleep. She would never hear “You Are My Sunshine”.

 

Paul knew what it was like to experience loss. In fact, he wrote to the Philippians while in prison; so he had lost his freedom to come and go as he pleased. One of the ramifications of that is he lost relationships because he couldn’t travel freely.

 

Paul also wrote about being a “slave to Christ” which means that he willingly gave up

certain rights and relationships that he might have enjoyed otherwise. For instance, he might have gotten married had he not been so driven in his commitment of following Christ. All this to say that Paul knew the pain of loss.

 

Most of us will never experience the pain and suffering that Paul did due to persecution. But in this world you either already have experienced loss, pain and suffering, or you will at some time. When that happens Paul’s words to the Philippian believers should encourage you.

 

⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.    NLT

 

It is Paul’s concern, goal and prayer for the Philippian church, as well as for you and me, that God’s good work is completed in us; that we keep our focus on our Lord. Maybe the writer of Hebrews said it best.

 

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.           Hebrews 12:1b-2a NIV

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

Lincoln Logs and Little Men

Hebrews 12:3-17

 

Growing up in the 50’s, my favorite past time was playing cowboys and Indians. I used to take all my “little men” and create a story around them including the Lincoln Log homes that I would build. The problem was, I would get so involved in my playing that I would rather play than obey.

 

On one occasion, my Mom called me to the dinner table several times, and although I heard her, I didn’t come. I was too busy playing with my “little men”. Finally, my Dad came out, and with one swift kick, completely wiped out my toys. I was crushed.

 

¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those

who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.          NASB

 

The “peaceful fruit of righteousness” sounds like such a pleasant, desirable thing, but apparently the process of acquiring such fruit can be painful at times.

 

For instance, Moses wandered in the desert as a fugitive for forty years. Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days while being severely tempted by Satan. Paul struggled with his “thorn in the flesh”, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.

 

God uses difficult experiences in our lives to mold and shape us; to make us into the men and women that we are meant to be. In a word, he disciplines us.

 

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.            MSG

 

When my Father disciplined me by destroying my Lincoln Log game, I was crushed. It felt more like he didn’t love me than he was trying to teach me a life lesson.

 

However, our Heavenly Father is always at work in our life with our best interests in

mind. Because of that, it’s important to identify how God is working and to not get in His way. By doing this, God will be the potter and you will be the clay.

 

Here are some questions that might help you to identify His discipline in your life.

• What experiences have you had that have shaped you to be more like Jesus?
• Who has God brought into your life to help you to be more godly?
• What gifts and opportunities has God given you to use?
• How is God disciplining you through your weakness?

 

Answering these questions will help you to answer the most important question:

 

 

Are you ready to grow the “peaceful fruit of righteousness”?