Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”
Our Bible verse for today: “My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or faint when you are reproved by Him, for the Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He receives.” Hebrews 12:5-6 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God disciplines you because He loves you.”
Yesterday’s devotional message was a little hard to write and it was probably a little hard to read. Nobody likes to consider God’s discipline and punishment. We want to focus instead on His blessings and mercies. But as we learned yesterday, God has many ways of dealing with His people, and the way He deals with us at any given moment depends on what is most appropriate to the situation based upon our behavior.
Yesterday we read of two times in the history of the Jews when they were so far away from God, that He had to withdraw His hand of protection and blessing from them and let them experience life fully exposed and totally unprotected from their enemies. And we also learned that sometimes individual Christians force God’s hand in a similar manner with our own behavior.
Now the question before us today is “why” would God deal with His people in that manner? Why would He let them (and us) suffer like that? And the answer is, “Because He loves us.” God loves us too much to leave us in our sins. He loves us too much to simply look the other way as we engage in conduct that is going to hurt us and those around us. So He will bring increasing levels of discipline into our lives as necessary to get our attention and bring us back into obedience.
Any good human parent would do the same for their children, so we should expect nothing less when God in dealing with us. His discipline is an act of love designed to bring us back to the behavior and conduct that He knows is in our own best interest, and which will honor Him.
In the Bible study “Fresh Encounter” Henry and Richard Blackaby explain it like this:
“Though difficult to endure, undergoing God’s discipline is a sure sign that we are in a relationship with Him. When we are corrected by God, it is a sure sign that he is watching our lives and desires to direct our steps.”
When we recognize and respond to God’s correction in our lives that is a fresh encounter with Him and it does bring us back into a full and healthy relationship with Him. It also places us back within the boundaries whereby He can and will protect and bless us.
God loves you too much to just leave you in your sinful behavior without at least trying to correct you. God disciplines us because He loves us.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 