Scripture:
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”
Revelation 3:19
Observation:
When the Lord reproves and brings discipline into our lives, He has a clear goal in mind - to motivate our humility before Him and to develop a zeal for Him. Because my Father loves me, He will bring discipline, chastening, and consequences of poor decisions. This happens when my zeal for His ways dims away and when my pride starts to grow. But I believe that is possible to avoid the chastening and reprove of God. If we have a genuine and consistent zeal for integrity in our hearts, and if we repent often of our wrongdoing, then we will not have to be disciplined. Our Heavenly Father is righteous and He will never reprove me by mistake, or unnecessarily, or unfairly. That’s why repentance must be a common practice in my everyday life. I cannot let my zeal for righteousness to be compromised when I’m tired, or hurt, or distracted.
Application:
God’s discipline over my life comes because God’s love for me is real. He says, “I love you Fernando. I accept you the way you are, but love you too much to leave you that way. For that reason, you will suffer the consequences of your poor decisions and sinful habits. I reprove you because I want to humble you. I want to break you, so I can make you according to my plan.”
Nobody likes to be disciplined, but it is necessary. That’s why humility and repentance are so important. However, we can confess and repent all day long; but if we don’t change our wrongdoings, God will take us by the hand, in His love and grace, to places where our impurities will be removed with His consuming fire. As we endure His discipline, we will be renewed and we will become more like HIm.
In our Christian walk we will experience great victories over some areas of our lives, but defeat in others. Our flesh becomes addicted to wrongdoing and by default we continue to fall. When that happens, and we realize about our sin, it’s already too late! At those moments we must trust the Lord, repent before Him, and walk willingly to the altar of sacrifice and face the consuming fire of His love. The more I walk that way before God, the greater my zeal for integrity will be.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me not just for my sinful habits, but also for avoiding the consuming fire of your love. Please help me to submit to your ways and walk in the integrity of my heart. I’m trying to control my flesh and be more aware of my compulsions before sin happens. I need you more of You in my heart. Teach me how to develop a consistent zeal for your righteousness, for the truth, and for purity. I don’t want to embrace the father of lies, but I want to be truthful like you. Humble me as I walk in the loving discipline you bring into my life. Amen!
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