Proverbs 3:11-12 (NKJV) -"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights."
Sometimes God chastens because we have rebelled and need to repent; other times He chastens us to keep us from sinning and to prepare us for His special blessing. No matter how much the experience hurts us, it will never harm us, because god always disciplines in love.
0 Comments
The fourth condition for receiving God's direction in life is to submit to God's correction. Discipline is a part of God's plan to help his sons and daughters mature in godly character. God chastens is, not as a judge punishes a criminal, but as a parent disciplines a child. He acts in love and His purpose is that we might " be partakers pf His holiness." Chastening or discipline is not fun. But God is more interest in our holiness than our happiness.
A third condition we must meet if we want God to direct our paths is to share Gods blessings. The division of "spiritual" and "material" doesn't apply to the follower of Christ , for everything comes from God and belongs to God. The Old Testament Jews brought the Lord the firstlings of their flocks and this way they acknowledged God's goodness and sovereignty. The New Testament parallel is seen in Matthew 6:33.
Most of us know and perhaps these verses in our memory:Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." These are key verses, a promise God's people have often claimed as they have sought God's direction in their lives. And this promise has never failed them- if they have obeyed the conditions God has laid down in verse 1-2. God keeps His promises when we obey His precepts, because our obedience prepares us to receive and enjoy what He has planned for us.
A second condition for receiving God's guidance is that we must obey God's will. "He shall direct your paths"(v.6) is the promise, but the fulfillment of that promise is predicated on our obedience to the Lord. We must trust Him with all our heart and obey Him in all our ways. That means total commitment to Him. Here is that truth in Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) -"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Conformed or Transformed? |
What we Learned on Sunday? Insights, ideas and InspirationWritten by Pastor Chris Hudson Archives
April 2024
Categories |