God will often use people to offer a verbal rebuke through prophecy or admonishment before disciplining us. Instead of letting our pride get offended, we should be willing to accept and give such rebukes within the body of Christ so that we can avoid sterner discipline of the rod. The Lord uses discipline as a last resort. If all God needed to justify mankind to himself was a bigger cattle-prod, then Christ died for nothing!
No, God’s plan for the earth is love first, discipline last. To get us to listen and repent, he will use deep conviction, the rebuke of friends, coincident sermons, the quickening of Scripture, and every other means before disciplining us. But if we resist God’s Spirit of light and mercy, we are promised the rod of correction. When God disciplines, the punishment fits the crime. Time and again, we realize that we cannot get away with unrepentant sin. God is sculpting us into holy vessels, and the process can be painful.
Hebrews 12: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
May God bless you this morning and renew your strength with His purpose and not your own. For there great joy when we learn from our past to improve something in the future. Here is an awesome song and 9/11 Tribute sung by Casting Crowns that I pray touches you as it will always touch me And Now My Life Song Sings (9/11 Tribute)
James A. Harrison
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