When we hear the word “correction” or “discipline”, we often turn and act like it was never mentioned. Why? Because we don’t like being told that we are doing something wrong. It is a pride issue that unfortunately just comes so naturally to us. Instead of turning from correction, today, lets invite it. God’s discipline is never meant to hurt us, it’s meant to help us and redeem us. Unlike our natural tendencies to turn our back on people, God will never turn His back on us. Ignoring discipline is a sign of weakness. God encourages us to allow ourselves to grow and to be able to correct our behavior to gain wisdom. In Hebrews 12:11, it says “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.” Today, reflect on your life and see what needs to be corrected, or what areas you need to develop discipline. God will help you get through it, and it will certainly benefit you in the long run.
Morgan Drake
photo credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/Daino_16-40392
As we read through the New Testament, we are able to glean from Jesus’ life some characteristics worth emulating in our own lives. In this passage, we see Jesus praying to His Father in heaven and thanking Him for orchestrating their mission in a way that pleased Him. Today, let’s spend time in prayer thanking God for the opportunity He has given us to be examples of Christ to a lost and dying world. Thank Him for the people He has placed in our life who are searching and in need of hope and ask for the chance to speak truth into their lives. Finally, let’s thank God and praise Him in advance for all He is going to do through us as we faithfully commit our lives to be on mission for His kingdom.
One day while I was at the mall, I watched a little girl try desperately but unsuccessfully to convince her family of something she’d seen. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen what she described to them, but that each time her family came around to checkout what she described, they saw nothing. She was so frustrated as her mother and siblings practically dragged her off down the mall. The little girl wasn’t making up a story; I’d witnessed the same thing she had. Two boys would come to the front of a store and position themselves in the display window, standing perfectly still, or posing, like mannequins. Many people didn’t see them or passed by without acknowledging them. When any passersby stopped to investigate, and noticed that they were indeed real people, they’d laugh victoriously and run back into the store, away from the window and out of sight. They repeated this little trick over and over, more elated with each surprised ‘victim’. They were children having fun at the expense of others. My daughter recognized that they were not really mannequins when one of the boys blinked. The little girl saw one of the boys blink also, and they were discovered, so they ran away. By the time the girl got her family to come back over to the store, the boys were gone. Her family never witnessed their mannequin imitations and subsequently didn’t believe her story.