GOFAMINT DEVOTIONAL - MEANING OF DISCIPLINE

GOFAMINT DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DISCIPLINE MAKES YOU BETTER

MonDAY  4/7/2022

Suggested Hymn: GHB. 47

Devotional Reading: Prov. 5:15-23

Topic For Adults: Marital Infidelity Is Tragic And Traumatic

Topic For Youths: The Way Of Immorality Is Destructive

Topic For Intermediates: Immorality Is Dangerous; Keep Off It

Lesson Scriptures: Jam. 4:4; Heb. 13:4; 2 Sam. 11:1-17; Prov. 6:20-29

 

MEMORY VERSE

“For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:26-27) NKJV.

 

 

 

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                     Meaning Of Discipline           

   ProvERBS 29:15-17

Discipline can be: (1) a field of study or academic subject. (2)  a set of rules explaining how to behave either for oneself or for others. (3) a systemic method by authority to make or enforce people to obey. (4) a means of correcting wrong behaviour. This will be in form of punishment to someone who has erred. Today’s devotion centres on the fourth definition given above. It is a means of correcting errors and restoring offenders on track.  Without discipline, no one can grow better or succeed in life. Our Christian journey will also be in shambles. We all are bound to err from time to time but as we subject ourselves to disciple, we will grow better and get better until God’s aim is achieved in our lives.  

 

Point of Emphasis:  Submit yourself to discipline, you cannot succeed without it.

Prayer Point: Help me Lord to submit myself to Your correction and that of the elders in order to be who You want me to be in Jesus’ name.

Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: Rev. 1: 1-8; Evening: Jer.22-24

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BACKGROUND

God is our Father. He has placed us by mercy in the hands of our biological and spiritual parents to train and guide us. Part of the ways God ensures we arrive at the destination He planned for us is to discipline us when
        we err. Like the saying goes, “to err is human…” This means it is normal for humans to err but what happens when we err? God will not abandon us; He will ensure we are properly corrected and restored to the track. This is a privilege we enjoy as God’s children and we must embrace it with both hands.

 

 

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NOTES ON THE LESSON

PART 1: GOD DISCIPLINES OUT OF LOVE - JER 29:11; PROV. 13:24; HEB. 12:5-11

God has an end in view for every of His children. He said His thoughts for us are thoughts of peace and not of evil to give us a future and a hope (Jer 29:11). With this in mind, God ensures His children are well guided until His plans come to pass in their lives. He has an expected end for each of His children who submits to His tutelage. Part of the ways God ensures His expected end comes to pass is to teach, rebuke, correct and instruct them. Every legitimate child has a right to all these. God takes it upon Himself to ensure we end up where He planned for us.

God will neither leave nor abandon His beloved children when they stray or err. For Solomon, God said even when he sins, He would not abandon him but He will chastise him and restore him (2 Sam. 7:14). This is applicable to all God’s children. He will do this for us because of His love. Leaving us to our own means we will end up outside His will and plan and we will end up in ruins. The Bible says a child left to himself will return with shame (Prov. 29:15).

It is not believers alone who enjoy God’s love, sinners too enjoy His love. The Bible says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die in order for them not to perish (Jn. 3:16). The Bible also confirms that God does not want any sinner to die but to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). This may be the reason Christ has not returned. God may allow some people to experience challenges in order to be saved.

 

 

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PART 2: THE ROD OF HIS DISCIPLINE – PROV. 22:15; 29:15; PS. 23:4; 2 SAM. 7:14

       When God chastises us, He does not come down physically from heaven. He uses men He has given authority over us to do so. God does this through various means. Just like a shepherd who uses his rod to perform threefold functions on the flock - to guide, protect and correct the flock when they stray, in the same way, God uses His rod to correct and bring us back on track. God’s rod any of these (1). Biological parents - parents use physical rod, words (advice, harsh or soft), denial of some privileges for a period, etc. Our Lord Jesus was rebuked by His earthly parents when He was missing on their way back from the feast in Jerusalem (Lk. 2:41-48).

The Bible says Jesus henceforth subjected to them (Lk. 2:51). (2). God’s word - God’s word is always there to rebuke and correct us (2 Tim. 3:16-17). (3). Situations and circumstances - God can ensure situations and circumstances around us go wrong just to ensure we realize our mistakes and return to Him (Ps. 107:17-20). (4). Enemies - As seen several times in the Old Testament, God uses the enemies to correct His children (Judg. 2:11-15; 3:7-11, 12-14; 6:1-6) (5). His servants - God can speak through messages or teachings. He can also use His servants to directly confront us just as He did to David through Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-15). (6) Government- God can also use constituted authorities to correct His children (Rom. 13:4).

 

 

 

 

 

PART 3: DEVELOP CORRECT ATTITUDE TO CORRECTION – PROV. 29:1; HEB. 12:7, 9

When we are being disciplined, we need to develop and deploy the right attitude. This will make us enjoy the benefits of discipline. We need to realise that no one is above error. This means no one is above discipline.  There are both wrong and right attitudes to discipline. Some of the wrong attitudes that can be displayed when being disciplined are; denial of the error, rebellion, argument, insubordination, separation, inciting others against constituted authority and so on. Wrong attitude will only compound the difficulty and error in a man’s life. When someone displays wrong attitude, it simply means he has neither realised his error nor is he willing to correct those errors. The Bible says; he who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy (Prov. 29:1; 2 Chr. 36:15-16). Wrong attitudes bring swift and final destruction on those who reject discipline.

Right attitude to discipline shows we have realised our mistakes and are willing to make necessary corrections. We may also realise that there may be pains and shame that are attached to discipline but we know that God is correcting us out of love in order for us to get better. Some of the right attitudes to demonstrate are; acknowledgement of our errors by admitting and confessing them, submission/subjection to authority, respect for leaders despite their seeming harsh reactions to us (Heb. 12:9) and a change of attitude.

When God disciplines us, He meant well. Discipline is painful but rewarding (Heb. 12:10). He was left alone after his sin with Uriah’s family, perhaps, it would have been more disastrous for David than Saul. Anytime God corrects us, we need to know this is for our own good and profits.

 

 

 

PART 4: LEARNING FROM MEN OF OLD – PROV. 1:8-9; 3:1-4

There are several Biblical characters we can learn from. While some of them benefited from discipline, some did not. Some of these characters include: David, Samson, Reuben, Simeon and Levi.

The first category are those who were not corrected. Reuben, Simeon and Levi were the first three sons of Jacob. Reuben slept with his father’s wife (Gen. 35:21-22). The Bible says when Jacob, his father heard it, he kept quiet. There was neither rebuke nor confrontation from him. Simeon and Levi, Reuben’s brothers killed all the males of the city to revenge the rape of their sister, Dinah (Gen. 34:25-31). Jacob only complained about their act, he never confronted them in any way. These three were later cursed by their father, Jacob (Gen. 49:1-7).

The second category are those who blatantly rejected correction. Samson is in this category. Though, God warned the Israelites not to intermarry unbelievers (Deut. 7:1-5). Samson insisted on marrying a Philistine woman. This woman was taken from him by his best man. He eventually married another Philistine woman, Delilah who sold Samson out to her people who shaved his hair and removed his eyes (Judg. 16:6-21). He eventually died with the people he was anointed and called do destroy. 

King David is in the third category. In 2 Sam. 11, David committed adultery with Bathsheba, murdered Uriah (verses 2-4, 6-17). When Uriah died, David took his wife and pretended as if nothing happened (verses 22-27). When God sent Nathan to rebuke him for his sins, he soberly repented. The famous Ps. 51 was sung by David while he was confessing his sins. God later called David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22) because he would not hide his sin but was ready to accept discipline.

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

God is always interested in our future and well-being. One of His plans to ensure His purpose come to pass in our lives is discipline. Our response to discipline determines how far we can enjoy all He has in store for us. Every believer needs to understand that good attitude to discipline makes one better while wrong response truncate God’s purpose for our life.

 

 

 

 

QUESTIONS

1.   To your own understanding, why will God not keep mute when we err?

2.   What is the relationship between God’s love and discipline?

3.   When we are being corrected, what are some of the attitude we must display?

4.   How can you explain discipline and legitimacy as a child of a loving Father?

5.   Which of the Bible characters impresses you most in his attitude to discipline and why?

 

 

DO HAVE A BLESSED DAY

 

©2022  THE GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL DEVOTIONAL IS BY PASTOR (DR) E.O ABINA, THE GENERAL OVERSEER OF GOFAMINT Worldwide.