070425

 
Adoration guilt
But Jesus KEEPS SAYING to stay indoors, my mind is too vulnerable today


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Continuing paráklēsis =

Hebrews describes itself as a whole as "a word of exhortation”... Referring to the arguments and counsels in this whole Epistle, which is in fact a practical exhortation to perseverance in adhering to the Christian religion amidst all the temptations which existed to apostasy... even the children of God are sometimes heavy and sluggish, and need stirring up; and that there are some things often in exhortations and reproofs which are not so agreeable to the flesh, and yet ought to be taken kindly, and patiently endured
...the whole of this epistle is also of a consolatory nature: this may suggest that these Hebrews were under afflictions, and needed comfort; and yet through unbelief might be tempted to refuse the comfort administered to them; which is too often the case with God's people.
"bear with the word of the exhortation, grant it entrance with you, close not your hearts against it."
‼️The writer adds, in closing, a request that the Hebrews would take in good part his “word of exhortation”—a request which implies that they were in an irritable state of mind, if not against the writer, then because their own conscience was uneasy.

⭐⭐⭐‼️The writer cites Proverbs: “You have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons”!
"My child, don’t reject or despise the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset or weary when he reproves & corrects you. For the LORD corrects & reproves those he loves, just as a father disciplines a child in whom he delights."
⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️❤❤ "But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
...So do not disrespect the loving discipline of the Almighty in subjecting you to trial and suffering when you sin... Consider yourself fortunate if God All-Powerful chooses to correct you!... Look, how happy and blessed is the man whom God corrects! Therefore do not resent or refuse the chastening of God!"

‼️‼️‼️In this cowardly avoidance of trouble and persecution they have been shrinking from that chastening which every son receives from the Lord.
⭐‼️‼️‼️Do not despise.—Better, do not think not lightly of. In the next clause the Hebrew (“and loathe not His correction”) denotes rather a spirit that rejects and chafes under divine discipline. As the words are found here, they point to losing heart and hope when chastised.
⭐This is the only place in Job in which the word here used for happy—which is the very first word of the Psalms— is found.

⭐⭐‼️‼️The reason for this joy is plain: because afflictions are pledges of God’s love, which no man can buy too dear; and are necessary to purge out sin, and thereby to prevent infinite and eternal miseries. Without respect to this, the proposition could not be true... such joyful response rests on the belief and hope of everlasting blessedness as the true aim & end of all such Godsent rebukes. 
‼️Do not abhor it as a thing pernicious (harmful, injurious, destructive); the distressing reality of corrective pain does NOT equal a wicked motivation for it! God's aim is never to merely hurt you, or to give you pain for pain's own sake, let alone just to "see you suffer!" God NEVER acts on cruel or violent impulses; He is INCAPABLE of such! God DOES NOT seek your ruin, but only your restoration! Therefore, Do not seek the false "comfort" of painless repose when you have sinned– NEVER seek to quiet your conscience! Your conscience SHOULD be in agony and anguish! Your heart SHOULD be weeping in righteous contrite rage against evil! These things HURT TERRIBLY but they do the OPPOSITE of "destroy"; they are SIGNS OF GRACE and they will help BURN AWAY THE SIN that IS seeking your hurt, and IS destroying you– but that lies through its bloody teeth and PRETENDS to be comforting and fun and safe and free. No. TRUE consolation is PARAKLESIS– it IS GOD'S REPROOF!! There is no joy in being "allowed" to lazily rot away in the sensual bed of sin! (Thank God that He's loving enough TO quickly let the brilliant sunlight into the dark and rip the heavy covers off; you're getting bedsores, your muscles are wasting, and you're in desperate need of living water)
‼️Do not refuse it as a thing useless. Suffering makes sin tangibly detestable. If you weren't suffering from doing it, your flesh would probably keep doing it, and then you would die from it– if not now, then in eternity. That is TOO HIGH A PRICE!! So there is INHERENT & INVALUABLE USE in your being corrected by God via suffering!
On that note: In God’s Good Plan there is no such thing as useless pain or meaningless suffering. When God gives it, accept it willingly and with gratitude. It too is a gift, because it has PURPOSE for GOOD— your sanctification. ALL SUFFERING IS INFINITELY USEFUL WHEN UNITED TO THE CROSS, and the suffering of chastisement is uniquely fitting to the context. Consider the placard above your own head, and suffer the nails in meek and willing resignation, recognizing that since now you're ON the cross shared with God's Son, you are positioned for salvation– when you recognize you are a sinner, and accept that sentence, BUT WITHOUT DESPAIR, because you realize that God put you there WITH HIS SON, and so you have HOPE for the resurrection– then the ultimate "usefulness" of your pain becomes very clear.
‼️Do not slight it as an unnecessary thing. You NEED this punishment like a terminal cancer patient needs chemo, effectively. Without the sharp & clear & direct & immediate attention of God's correction, however painful, your sins will quickly take root & fester & multiply & eat you alive.
⭐But virtue is not negative; an even greater positive response is required of a reproved child, which you are: Reverence the chastening of the Lord! Have a humble, awe-ful regard to his correcting Hand, which struck you in merciful justice, and in that submissive, chastened heart-posture of humbled, reverent, grateful & joyful fear of the all-holy God, study zealously & sincerely to ANSWER the design of His discipline. PRAY FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT TO SHOW YOU. He WILL; just TRUST Him without reserve, with your mind & heart surrendered & laid bare & open to Him, and be vigilantly patient— for He works on His Own time and in His Own ways, which are always the best for you, and fully reliable.

⭐⭐‼️❤❤The Almighty God, Your Father, is ALWAYS ABLE AND WILLING to support and comfort you IN the very troubles your sins have justly brought down upon your head– yes, even by His Own Hand! The punishment must be endured, yes, as it has its vital function; but without God's compassion tangible even within it, we are prone to despair and doubt. When you admit your sin and accept the rebuke meekly and humbly, trusting and submissive, with the filial love of a child who really does want to be a better child, and thereby cooperating entirely... well, then your Father will inevitably be your comfort on your pain, because His correction is meant ONLY to SERVE your joy by HELPING you be better BY attacking the sin at its head! But even MORE amazingly is that God, your always-loving Father– when He sees your contrite, repentant, humbled heart, which genuinely seeks to learn its lesson and do better from here on out by grace– is ALSO able and willing to DELIVER YOU OUT OF YOUR TROUBLES. That's ASTONISHING. But it's MERCY that HARMONIZES with JUSTICE! Remember, His chastisement HAS A PURPOSE, and if that purpose starts to bear fruit quickly, in your readily willing acceptance of it and honest active repentance in response, then God can indeed shorten its duration, even if the sin itself does deserve a much greater & harsher punishment.
God doesn't want to grind you to dust. Only the devil does. God wants you to grow & flourish & bloom & thrive & live, and ALL His pruning & fertilizing & snipping & tying & reshaping & redirecting is explicitly meant TO PROMOTE & PROTECT & PRESERVE THAT LIFE IN YOU!

‼️‼️‼️BUT God can and will add more calamities to your life, if you are obstinate and incorrigible and unyielding, until you break open under their weight enough to finally receive the lifesaving correction they were sent to you for.
To continually refuse this, to harden your heart and persist in sin, is to damn yourself. God won't give up on you, but the further away you run, and the more you plug your ears and blind yourself to Him, the more hopeless your situation is... you're not only refusing the medicine, you're throwing the bottles away. You're not answering your calls. You're too busy having "fun" and sleeping through the storms, even as they build unseen into hurricanes. Is that what it'll take to shake you out of lethal complacency, to wash away your blatant wickedness? Does God need to uproot you entirely, to bring you to your knees? Is your self-love so fluffed up with numbing pride, so addicted to pleasure & fun and keenly averse to the slightest discomfort, that it needs to be utterly submerged in suffering before it can see straight?


⭐⭐‼️‼️💜💜"Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition.  A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor his title to heaven; nay, he is happy because he is afflicted. Correction mortifies his corruptions, weans his heart from the world, draws him nearer to God, brings him to his Bible, brings him to his knees. Though God wounds, yet he supports his people under afflictions, and in due time delivers them. Making a wound is sometimes part of a cure. 

⭐⭐‼️‼️💜💜Eliphaz gives Job precious promises of what God would do for him, if he humbled himself. Whatever troubles good men may be in, they shall do them no real harm. Being kept from SIN, they are kept from the EVIL of trouble. And (by this principle, then) if the servants of Christ are not delivered from outward troubles, they are delivered by them, and while overcome (in the world) by one (outward) trouble, they conquer all (in spirit and in principle, through the crucified victory of Christ). Whatever is maliciously said against them shall not hurt them. They shall have wisdom and grace (through the Holy Spirit) to manage their concerns (according to God's will, however manifold they may be). The greatest blessing, both in our employments and in our enjoyments, is to be kept from sin. They shall finish their course with joy and honour. That man lives "long enough" who has done his work (for God), and is fit for another world. It is a mercy to die seasonably, as the corn is cut and housed when fully ripe; not till then, but then not suffered to stand any longer (having completed our course). Our times are in God's hands; it is well they are so.

⭐⭐‼️‼️💜💜Believers are not to expect great wealth, long life, or to be free from trials. But all will be ordered for the best. And remark from Job's history, that steadiness of mind and heart under trial, is one of the highest attainments of faith. There is little exercise for faith when all things go well. But if God raises a storm, permits the enemy to send wave after wave, and seemingly stands aloof from our prayers, then, still to hang on and trust God, when we cannot trace him, THIS is the patience of the saints. Blessed Saviour! how sweet it is to look unto Thee (on the Cross with us), the Author and Finisher of faith (steadfast even in the direst extremes), in such moments!"

...afflictions are followed by so important advantages as to make it proper that we should submit to them without a complaint... God confers a favor on us when he recalls us from our sins by the corrections of his paternal hand - as a father confers a favor on a child whom he restrains from sin by suitable correction.

The word rendered "correcteth" means to argue (against our flesh, in God's favor, for justice, to) convince (us of moral truth & thus of our guilt), reprove (disapproving and condemning our sin), punish (justly & fittingly), and to judge (God is righteous and we have not been). It here refers to any of the modes by which God calls people from their sins, and leads them to walk in the paths of virtue. The word "happy" here, means that the condition of such an one is blessed– not that there is happiness in the suffering. The sense is, that it is a favor when God recalls his friends from their wanderings, and from the error of their ways, (even through suffering,) rather than to suffer them to go on to ruin (pun intended). He does me a kindness who shows me a precipice down which I am in danger of falling; he lays me under obligation to him who even with violence saves me from flames which would devour me... I am guilty of great transgression, and God has taken this (severe) method to recall me from the error of my ways. I have sinned, and these calamities have come as a consequence... yet I trust that this affliction was meant in kindness, and that there are truly important benefits to be derived from this affliction, which should make me willing to receive it in a proper manner, by bearing it willingly & enduring all God lays upon me without complaining.

‼️‼️‼️ "Do not regret" the means which God is using to admonish you." = Do not have a disposition to reject the lessons which afflictions were designed to teach you, and to spurn the admonitions of the Almighty.

"happy"—not that the actual suffering is joyous; but the consideration of the righteousness of Him who sends it, and the end for which it is sent, make it a cause for thankfulness, not for complaints!... the end of this particular suffering is to call me back from the particular sin of which i am guilty... i must fully dwell upon the truth, that affliction is mercy and justice in disguise, for the good of the sufferer.

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⭐In Hebrews 6:17-18, “strong encouragement” (consolation) is grounded in God’s solemn promises AND unchanging oath to His People— encouragement is COVENANTAL, unfailing and sure, to be relied on! This fact urges steadfast & faithful perseverance amid persecution= standing on this bedrock of eternal hope given by God Himself, believers are strengthened to "follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance." = "This hope (in our afterlife of salvation, assured by God's gracious promise, despite all earthly tribulation,) is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us." 
⭐‼️‼️"...the hope of the Christian enters into heaven itself; it takes hold on the Throne of God; it is made firm by being fastened there. It is not the hope of future riches, honors, or pleasures in this life– [not even a hope of future comfort & deliverance & safety in this world—] for such a hope would not keep the soul steady [under fire and sword and mortal perils]; it is the hope of immortal blessedness and purity in the world beyond."
⭐"“God brought in Himself as surety on His promise; through making an oath by Himself, He Himself (AS JESUS?) mediated between men and Himself"... God “intervened with an oath,” i.e. made His oath (Christ as the "YES"?) intermediate between Himself and Abraham (as an extra proof of authenticity, mercifully condescending to human weakness to assure us beyond doubt)... whereas our word is accredited because of an oath, God’s oath derives its credit simply because He is God."
⭐ "God has given us both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable & immutable, because it is impossible for God to lie... God cannot lie when He takes an oath or makes a promise... So we who have fled to Him for refuge and found safety with Him are greatly encouraged to seize this hope He has placed right before us, and to confidently hold fast to it, firmly & tightly."

⭐Prophetic exhortation calls sin to account (COURTROOM TERM; JUSTICE STILL STANDS; NO EXCUSES) while offering Gospel hope. (JUST-MERCY OF THE CROSS = OUR DEATH SENTENCE PAID IN FULL, ONCE WE OWN IT AS DESERVED, AND THEN TOTALLY SURRENDER OUR FATE IN FAITH TO JESUS, IN HIS INFINITE SALVIFIC MERIT AS THE GOD-MAN, WHICH HE HAS APPLIED TO US WHO TRUST HIM IN HIS PURE LOVE FOR US!!)

⭐⭐ALL Encouragement flows from union with Christ—and from the indwelling Spirit, who is elsewhere called the Paraklētos. The overlap of vocabulary in Scripture signals that what the Spirit IS in His Person, believers (in whom He dwells!) are to practice in community: compassionate presence, truth-telling, sustaining hope.
Christ's Church on earth, in both institution and individual, comforts the afflicted and relieves their suffering in the same ways He did— by word, presence, and material aid.
We speak the universally applicable peace of Scripture, as well as personally empathetic words of consolation rooted in those of Christ. We bring Christ’s Presence to them, not only in the Sacraments, but even as we offer our very selves, even just through heartfelt nearness. We sacrificially share our personal resources with the needy, and offer even more through our parishes. These works of mercy and compassion flow directly from the Spirit, Who is the spring of Christ's Living Water within us, of pure grace from God's Heart. By these good works wrought through sanctification we testify to the Truth= of the Gospel, of the Trinity, of righteousness, of human dignity and purpose, and of the reality of hope. By our cooperation and unification with God's great pity and tenderness for mankind, we "come alongside" the needy who cry out for help, as we console & comfort & encourage & exhort those in distress and despair, working on their behalf, standing up for their rights, defending them when they are downtrodden and abused, lifting them up from their misery and neglect... altogether loving them as ourselves. We are patient with their aching anger, gentle with their pain, full of respect towards the most degraded, and perseveringly kind especially to those who bite at our helping hands. We laugh and cry with them, we listen to their stories, we share our own hearts in sympathy and with a real desire to build connections. We meet them all soul to soul, as people made in God's very image, however bruised and broken it may have temporally become by the assaults of sin and the horrors of this fallen world. We draw each precious child of God closer to Christ, the One Lord and Savior and Friend of us all, with every act of love we do in His Name and by His grace, even as we humbly serve Him in them, with honor, recognizing His Face in theirs, His beloved little ones.

⭐Church orders placed the reading of Scripture and the “exhortation” as fixed elements of worship. (ALL Scripture is meant for teaching and consolation, and it is vital to our souls; we cannot get it anywhere else.) In evangelistic activity, we must root all our preaching & proclamation in Scripture, not popular opinion or our own ideas— we are aiming not merely to inform others of religious & moral Truth, but also to comfort them with the Gospel knowledge of God's true nature (holiness, justice, mercy, love, goodness) and unchanging Covenant promises meant for our salvation— both exemplified & fulfilled in Jesus Christ– and stir them to action THROUGH that same joyful hope and rejuvenation (or realization) of the purpose, meaning, worth, and dignity of life— specifically and particularly of each and every human being.

"For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, to teach us, so that through steadfast patient endurance and in the consolation & encouragement the Scriptures provide (in their comforting & strengthening promises), we might have hope (as we endure our trials & look forward to both eternal life & Christ's return in glory)."

⭐‼️Monastic communities codified mutual consolation as a daily duty. (This hits heavy and sweet. We are not to go a day without corporate paraklesis. The Spirit’s grace must FLOW through us in the Church AS a BODY! If we don't communicate His love to each other, we cut off our circulation, and our soul will wither and die. "If we are comforted, IT IS FOR YOU." No grace is ever received for oneself alone: the very nature of Christ’s life in us is RELATIONAL, for it is LOVE.)
"Encourage gifts of exhortation in one another" = IT IS A GRACE!!

⭐⭐‼️❓In counseling those in need, we must model the divine (Incarnational) pattern— we personally & intentionally enter into another’s trouble (psychologically, emotionally and/or physically; "meet them where they're truly at"), we share Christ’s sufficiency in that exact space, and then we walk together, in step with them, WITH Christ, guiding them in Him wherever they may go, however slow and faltering the journey, until their hope in God returns.

⭐ Send letters, go on visits, and give resources to the suffering Church that embody “the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.”

⭐⭐⭐The ministry of paraklesis is not an optional accessory. Through it God fulfills ancient promise, nurtures resilient faith, and propels His mission until the final “consolation of Israel” is consummated in Christ’s return.

‼️‼️‼️"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort; you already have your consolation... you have your only happiness now– You have already had your easy life! You reap now of your riches all the convenience and blessing you seek, and so are ever likely to have; therefore you have no other reward to look for... you are satisfied in your desires for worldly things, and fittingly have that as your reward, instead of receiving the consolation which you would receive by possession of the Messiah’s kingdom."


⭐⭐ paraklesis = Literally, a calling to one's side to help; and therefore an entreaty... coming round to mean that consolation/ consolatory exhortation which one is summoned to give to a suppliant. Thus it embodies both the call for help, and the response to the call. 

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️💜💜💜 It should be noted, however, that the word "comfort" goes deeper than its popular conception of soothing. It is from the later Latin confortare, to make strong. (Luke 22:43= "there appeared an angel from heaven comforting/ strengthening him".) The comfort which Christ gives is not always soothing. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is to convince of sin and of judgment. Underlying the word is the sense of a wise counsel or admonition which rouses and braces the moral nature and encourages and strengthens it to do and to endure. When, therefore, Christ says "they that mourn shall be comforted," he speaks in recognition of the fact that all sorrow is the outcome of sin, and that true comfort is given, not only in pardon for the past, but in present strength to fight and resist and overcome sin. The atmosphere of the word, in short, is not the atmosphere of the sick-chamber, but the tonic breath of the open world, of moral struggle and victory; the atmosphere for him that climbs and toils and fights.

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ḥanan expresses the free, heartfelt inclination of a superior to show favor, compassion, or generosity to one in need. The emphasis lies on unearned mercy, not contractual obligation. Whenever the verb appears, the recipient stands in dependence; the giver, most frequently the Lord, acts out of His own character.

The Lord is the Primary Giver of Grace... God's forgiving nature is anchored in His gracious initiative... our future hinges on divine ḥanan, not our merit.

⭐‼️In prophetic warning, the Lord still invites repentance: “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion” (Isaiah 30:18). Divine justice and grace operate harmoniously, upholding covenant faithfulness.

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