Today’s passage is Hebrews 13:14-25. Apollo asks for their prayers so he can return to them. He says he has a clear conscience. He prays that Jesus will equip them with everything they need to do his will. He wants the accept his words of exhortation. He gives them news of Timothy’s release from jail and finishes with the greetings from the church in Italy.
Do you trust in the equipping God gives you?
How do you receive words of exhortation?
I hurt my back recently and am struggling to return to good health.
It always takes longer than I hope and expect.
I hurt my back when I was a boy and continued to hurt it throughout my life so that a section of my spine is not in good condition.
Old age takes its toll too.
My wife, a nurse who is well aware of these things, tells me take better care of myself.
She rightly says that a lot of my problem is my own fault because I push myself too hard.
She also adds that not caring for myself is a symptom of not caring enough for others.
I don’t like to hear this because it’s true and I want to think of myself differently.
My conscience isn't clear.
God gave me a good body that does equip me for his will.
He also gave me a good mind. But I abuse them out of pride.
When I was young, I was a champion swimmer.
Even though I am old, I think I should still swim at the level I once achieved and I foolishly push myself towards that ill conceived goal.
I tire myself needlessly and open myself to hurts.
I say I swim for fitness, but I have gone beyond that in my pride and I hurt myself, ruining God’s equipping of me.
God gave me a pretty good mind but, again, I tend to use it pridefully, not diligently seeking to use to for God’s will and therefore my true delight and joy.
Although I live in Korea, have a Korean wife and go to a Korean church, I still don’t speak any Korean.
Every year, Pastor Kim asks me why I haven’t learned Korean.
She did again last night.
Lots of people want to talk to me and hear from me but they can’t because I don’t speak Korean.
Do my circumstances not indicate that, aside from practicality, it just may be God’s will that I learn at least an intermediate level of Korean?
My misguided will gets in the way of God’s equipping.
Application: learn one new Korean word each day
Lord, let me seek and embrace your will in my life that I may truly live in your grace.
