Psalms 37:34 “Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.” I’m the type of person who is all or nothing. I’m either completely motivated or I’m not. Excited and filled with anticipation…
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32, NKJV) Self-control. Discipline. Willpower. The King James Version of the Bible calls it temperance. Whatever word we use, self-indulgence is easier than self-control. Ask anyone…
Focus Verse: “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14:1 KJV). Busy hands and a caring heart are a description of how most women live their daily lives. Some hands are busy caring for children. Other hands are busy caring for…
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives” (Romans 12:6, Christian Standard Bible). It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning, and a friend and I were on vacation at a beautiful spot near the shore. What better way to start our morning than to…
I heard of a man who became incredibly strong not by lifting weights or exercising, but by standing still. I thought that sounded impossible, but my classmates who met him during a research project assured me that he was real. He practiced a unique form of a martial art, with…
We are all at different stages in our walk with God. We are at different levels of maturity regarding our understanding of God’s Word and His purpose for our lives. Some have made a greater commitment to allow God to use them to further His kingdom. We are running this race together,…
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17 In the margin of my Bible, the phrase “he is a new creature” is interpreted as “let him be a new creature.” How great…
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him.” (Hebrews 12:5 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible)
There is an area of parenting that I do not enjoy and that is disciplining my children. My ten-year-old can be especially difficult to punish because he is old enough now to justify, rationalize, and even minimize whatever he is guilty of. As a parent, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but through trial and error I’ve learned that there is such a thing as too much mercy. If I refuse to discipline, I have noticed that my son’s attitude borders on disrespectful, disobedient and stubborn. And have you noticed that punishment generally has consequences for the parent too? If I tell my son he can’t play with his friends for the rest of the day, I end up contending with a disgruntled, bored little boy who won’t give me a moment’s peace! Punishment effects whomever is involved.
The Bible teaches that disciplining our children shows them that we love them. And God takes our discipline very seriously too. He does not want us to regard it lightly. Refusing to surrender to God’s discipline will delay His blessing in our life. Just as a parent does not enjoy disciplining their children, it is God’s desire to bless us, not to hurt us. We need discipline to handle the blessings. Our character needs to be developed so we can receive more from the Lord without it destroying our integrity. Without discipline we would become spoiled and useless to the Kingdom of God.
Prayer: Lord, I am feeling the growing pains of reaching a new level of commitment in my Christian journey. I understand that this is a season of testing in my life. Please help me respond correctly to discipline and open my heart to the lessons You are teaching me. Amen.
Devotion by Julie Long
While flying a plane in thick fog, the pilot cannot be sure of his direction unless he gives full attention to his instruments. In a thunderstorm, the turbulence can toss the plane about; the darkness within the clouds may cause disorientation. Sometimes the pilot will feel as though he is going up or down or turning around. But he cannot depend on his feelings. Only the gyros can be trusted, so the pilot must hang on to the controls in the turbulence, and discipline his mind to concentrate on the instruments-not on the storm.
There is a parallel spiritual truth for the believer in troubled times.
Undisciplined feelings will cause disorientation-even a crash- unless we keep ourselves stabilized by the facts of God’s Word.