In contemplating this devotion I tried to think of
people who enjoyed being disciplined. I could not think of one person who would
say that they love and enjoy being disciplined. As a girl growing up in a small
town, I remember my mother disciplining me.
I was generally disciplined for getting out of line or doing something
that I wasn’t supposed to do.
When I think about the discipline that comes from
our Heavenly Father, I think about how God loves us. For some it may be
difficult to picture discipline and love in the same sentence. But on the
contrary, what parent does not discipline their child? If you love your child
then you must show that love by disciplining your child when he or she requires
it. The Scriptures tell us that our Heavenly Father disciplines us because He
loves us. Consider the following Bible passages:
Proverbs
3:12 – “For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in
whom he delighteth.”
Hebrews
12:5-6 – “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children, My son, despise not thou the castening of the Lord, nor faint when
thou are rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom He receiveth.” (Reference Hebrews 12:5-11)
Revelation
3:19 – “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and
repent.
Psalm
94:12 – “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out
of thy law.”
Consider the following as it relates to
the subject of discipline:
*Discipline is needed so that we are not carried
away with the world. (Reference 1 Corinthians 11:32)
*Discipline is needed so that we are not destroyed.
(Reference Proverbs 29:1)
*Discipline is needed so that we are formed into the
image of Christ. (Consider Romans 8:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18)
*Discipline shows the love of God toward His
children. (Consider Job 5:17-18; Revelation 3:19)
Should you find yourself under the chastening rod of
our Heavenly Father, then cry out to Him. The Psalmist writes the following:
O
LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are
vexed.” (Psalm 6:1-2)
Let us not forget that because of God’s love He
corrects us. Let us ever seek to live according to His Holy Word. While we are
being disciplined, let us cry out to the Lord that He may have mercy on us,
forgive us, and restore us. Let us ever seek to praise His Holy Name.
In Christ, our only hope:
Heavenly Father thank You for Your love that You show towards Your children
every day. Thank You for the discipline that we need to keep us separated and
cleansed from this wicked and dying world. Father God help us to shine the
Light of Your Son to a lost and dying generation. May we ever seek to please
You in everything that we do. Help us to be gentle, loving, caring, and kind
towards others. May You ever deal with us as with sons. We thank You for Your
goodness, Your discipline, and Your correction for we know that You are working
out Your perfect will in our lives. We thank You for Your mercy. In Jesus Name, Amen.
May the words of this song reach deep down into your
spirit.
Come
Thou Fount of every blessing
Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
*All Scriptures taken from the King James Version.*
