Scripture to Read: Hebrews 12:9-11
As we consider God’s loving discipline of
us, God led the writer to compare His discipline to our
earthly parents’ discipline. For some people, earthly parents’
discipline went too far and it turned into abuse. Our
Heavenly Father NEVER uses His discipline to abuse His
children. But, there are others who have loving parents
and that is where God wants us to focus. Just as a loving
parent will lovingly discipline their children, when their
children make bad decisions, so too will our Heavenly
Father discipline us when we are not in right fellowship
with Him. Also, just as we lovingly respect our parents,
because they love us enough to discipline us, so too, we
gain a deeper love and respect for our Heavenly Father
knowing He desires us to be more and more like Him in
all that we do. Now, discipline is NEVER fun and discipline
is NEVER something anyone looks forward to going
through, even though we know it’s for our good. Most
discipline, when it’s first completed, ends in a time of
sorrow. There’s the pain that the discipline brought, but
thankfully, that’s not where discipline ends. God’s loving
discipline is not fun either, but through God’s loving
discipline we grow in holiness. God’s desire is that we
be holy and because He is Holy, we are also to be holy
(1 Peter 1:15-16). God also desires us to bear His fruit of
righteousness in our lives and bearing His righteousness
comes from going through His loving discipline.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about His loving discipline
that you did not know before?
2. Who will you share these truths with this week?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!