Francisco gave us three Scripture verses and three questions.  The Scriptures were:
Matthew 26:39
John 5:30
Hebrews 5:7-8

Take a moment and read each one.  My favorite of those is Hebrews 5:7-8, “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry, to the one who could rescue him from death.  And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.  Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”

Incredible, isn’t it?  Even though God heard Jesus’ prayers and knew the deep reverence He had for God, God allowed Jesus to suffer. Why?  Because Jesus, in the form of a man, learned obedience from His suffering.  Knowing this helps in meditating on the questions Francisco had for us.  After all, we seem to be more willing to be obedient, and more willing to give God the steering wheel to our lives when pain and suffering come. 

The questions Francisco had for us are the kind that I cannot answer for you; they are ones that you should answer and record in your journal.  The questions were:

Have you experienced pain and suffering without the help of the Lord?
What is the difference in having those same feelings but having the Lord by your side?
How has the greatness of God’s love affected your life to this day?

For those of you that heard my testimony, you know what happened when I told God, “That’s okay, I want to control my own life; just stay out of it and let me be.  I know what is best for me.”  
Some comments about the second and third questions were:
God gives us a peace in knowing He is with us in every situation;
Even though we may have seen our share of difficulties in this life, having a relationship with God gives us hope;
God is the only One that can do the things He’s done in our lives.

I have asked on occasion that you write me with some of your answers and comments.  I am not going to do that today.  I am going to ask that you go to Drew’s website, www.uberlumen.comand send Drew what God is saying to you about pain and suffering; how He is helping you through today’s problems.  Drew would welcome your comments.

Have a great week; remember, no meeting at the clubhouse this week.  We are supporting Bruce and the rest of the men who put together the All Pro Dads program at Hicks Canyon Elementary by meeting there at 6:30 a.m and putting Servant Leadership into effect.  I hope God has it on your heart to come help.  Who knows, you may even get to eat a few pancakes.

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