The Disciplines of The Lord

“’..My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

    nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

    and chastises every son whom he receives.’

“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:5-13 ESV)

What does God require for us to be legitimate children of God and not illegitimate children? We must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. This does not make us perfect people, but we should not be those who are deliberately and habitually walking in sin and disobedience.

So, as legitimate children of God we are to be those who are laying aside every weight and sin which clings so closely so that we can run the race (walk the walk) with endurance God has for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ, relying on his grace and power to help us every step of the way. And all throughout the New Testament we are exhorted to forsake all sin and to now live holy lives pleasing to God in walks of surrender and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. This is the life of a true follower of Christ.

[Romans 6:1-23; Hebrews 12:1-4; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-32]

And one of the ways in which the Lord helps us to walk in holiness and in righteousness and not in sin is that he disciplines us in various ways. And this is not light and momentary afflictions, necessarily, for they are described as painful and as chastisements of God. We need the disciplines of God in our lives so that we walk the narrow road and we do not get off track and end up on the broad road leading to destruction. So he takes us through trials and tribulations and persecutions to strengthen us in our faith.

So, we need to see the difficulties which God brings into our lives (or which he allows) as for our good so that we may share his holiness. And to be holy is to be different from the world (different from the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life) because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of the character, mind, and heart of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We need these trials and tribulations to keep us focused and on target and to strengthen us in our walks of surrender to Christ as Lord.

So, even though these disciplines are painful, they are for our good, for later they yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness in the lives of us who have been trained by the disciplines of God. And I can attest to that in my own life. Even though the Lord has given me a lifetime of trials and difficulties, through them all he was getting me prepared for the calling he put on my life 20 years ago to write down what he teaches me from his word each day and then to place these writings on the internet to go out to the people.

So, in response to our Lord, and in response to the trials that he takes us through, we are to throw off anything from our lives which is holding us back and which is hindering us from living the kind of life for Jesus that God has called us to live for his glory. If we are being lazy and if we are feeding the flesh and if we are busy entertaining ourselves instead of our lives being on the altar of God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, then we are encouraged here to “get back in the game” and to “fight this battle.”

Now we are to make straight (upright, morally pure) paths for our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. For the grace of God is not free license to keep on living in sin and in selfish desire. His grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this age. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” which God prepared for us to walk in them (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10).

For, if we ignore our Lord’s commandments, and the exhortations of his NT apostles, and we decide to live to please our flesh, and not to live to please our Lord in all that we are and say and do, then even if we profess faith in Jesus Christ we will die in our sins and we will not inherit eternal life with God. So we need to take this seriously, for our eternity depends upon us believing and living the truth of the gospel and not the lies of Satan.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

“All I Ask of You”

by Andrew Lloyd Webber

No more talk of darkness,

Forget these wide-eyed fears;

I'm here, nothing can harm you,

My words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom,

Let daylight dry your tears;

I'm here, with you, beside you,

To guard you and to guide you.

Say you love me every waking moment..

Say you need me with you now and always;

Promise me that all you say is true,

That's all I ask of you.

Let me be your shelter,

Let me be your light..

Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;

Let me lead you from your solitude.

Say you need me with you, here beside you..

Share each day with me,

Each night, each morning.

Love me, that's all I ask of you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uahlf4fo3iQ 

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*The above lyrics are taken from a secular song, “All I Ask of You,” but these quoted lyrics express God’s words to us, that we would let him be our freedom, that we would let him shelter us and be our light, and that we would find our hope, and our peace and safety in him and not in the things of this dark world. All he asks of us is that we love him, which means that we forsake our sins, submit to him as Lord, and we obey his commands.