God's Loving Discipline

Chuckle:  Church Bulletin blooper:  "Barbara remains in the hospital.  She is having trouble sleeping and requests CD's of Pastor Jack's sermons." 

 

Quote:  "The Lord disciplines those he loves."  How petty our complaining is!  Our Lord begins to bring us into the place where we can have communion with Him, and we groan and say, "O Lord, let me be like other people!"  --Oswald Chambers      

 

GOD'S LOVING DISCIPLINE

 

    "My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as children" (Hebrews 12:5b-6 NLT).

 

When we find ourselves in troublesome situations, it's popular to blame Satan.  We may think Satan is waging spiritual warfare against us when we experience unpleasant circumstances and hardships.  It's so much easier to blame our troubles on Satan than to admit we may be reaping what we have sown (Gal. 5:6) and are being chastised and disciplined by our loving Heavenly Father.

 

We all know there have been times when we were guilty of not listening to God -- not paying attention to what His Word was saying.  For some of us, God may have used severe discipline to get our attention so that we would restore our fellowship with Him and once again listen for and obey His voice.

 

Who do you think loves his child the most -- the parent who allows his child to make his own bad choices and make mistakes that will ultimately harm him, or the parent who shows love by disciplining his child with correction, training, and even appropriate punishment?  I think the answer is obvious.

 

Yes, we can mistake our difficulties for the work of Satan, when in fact they are the result of a loving God warning us of looming dangers because of sin in our lives.  No doubt God disciplines us to get us back on the right path.  How sad it is when a child of God never makes the connection between life's problems and God's loving discipline.

 

    "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening -- it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way" (Hebrews 12:11 NLT).  

 

God's discipline is never pleasant, but it is an unmistakable sign of God's perfect love and concern for us.  One thing is certain, because of God's love for you, His discipline will be for your ultimate good.  Our most important question should be, what is God trying to teach me through His disciplining?  

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse       

God's Perfect Timing

Chuckle:  "How come wrong numbers are never busy?" 

 

Good Quote:  "The way we pray shows how we live; the way we live shows how we pray."  --William Arthur Ward 

 

GOD'S PERFECT TIMING

 

    "For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night"  (1 Thessalonians 5:2 NLT).

 

In chapter four, Paul described the events of Jesus return to remove His church (all believers) from the earth.  Here in chapter five, he deals with the timing of our Lord's return.  How and when Jesus Christ will return was an often asked question in Paul's time as it is now.  Most of us live by the clock and are constantly looking at our watches and calendars as we anticipate our next church service, meeting, work assignment, or vacation.  I must admit I am a stickler for things being done on time and according to plan.

 

When thinking about the return of our Lord, we must remember that we aren't God and we do not view time from His perspective.  Of course God knows all about time.  After all, He created it.  But God's time-table is difficult for us to understand.  For us to try to predict with certainty, the date for Christ's return is an exercise in futility and foolish.  It is not for us to know these things.  Jesus Said, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36 NIV).  Evidently, the timing of Christ's return is a closely guarded secret even within the Godhead.  All we know is that the event is certain to happen.

 

The key message from Paul's writings and the words of Jesus is that we cannot know when Christ will return, but we should be ready for Him to return at any moment.  There's no way that God will adjust his time-table just to suit us.  God's timing is always perfect and everything fits into His master plan for the universe, the earth, and His children.  If we understood all about God's timing, we would be God. 

 

Many have been made to look foolish by predicting exact dates for Christ's return.  None of their predictions has been correct.  Having said this, we do know from Scripture that many of the prophecies have been fulfilled that are prerequisites to our Lord's return, and this has led many of us to believe His return could be soon.  But we just can't know for certain.  As Christians, we should just trust God and His perfect timing, be ready, continue our work for Him, and listen for the trumpet call (1 Thessalonians 4:16). 

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse