DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-18)

BECAUSE HE LOVES US, GOD CORRECTS US WHEN WE ARE OFF COURSE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Correct me, LORD, but only with justice — not
in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing.
(Jeremiah 10:24)

MEDITATION:
I think we could all agree that none of us relish being corrected.
When we were children, correction usually meant punishment
for something we did wrong. When we are adults and children
of God, hopefully we realize the value of His corrections and
accept it as an act of love from our Heavenly Father.

When we were children, we didn’t see the value of being corrected.
All we could understand was, we had to do things differently than
what our selfish desires dictated. As adults, we can also allow our
selfishness to rule our lives. And when we do, we have a Heavenly
Father who loves us enough to help us change our direction, and
start living a life that is pleasing to Him.

God is love! God is also holy and righteous! If He did not lovingly
and tenderly correct us, none of us would be on a path to become
more like His Son, Jesus, and develop a confidence that on the day
of judgment, we will be invited into Heaven.
    If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
    God lives in them and they in God. And so we know
    and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever
    lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how
    love is made complete among us so that we will have
    confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we
    are like Jesus.
    (1 John 4:14-17)

Without His corrections, we cannot have the love He has for people.
Instead of having our minds renewed in order to please God, we will
continue to be influenced by the guidelines established by the world
(Note: when scriptures make reference to the ‘world’, they are referring
to anything and everything that is in opposition to God).

However, out of a love for His creations, our God has chosen to be merciful
and offer us salvation when we believe in His Son, Jesus. When we receive
His salvation, we can expect Him to correct us and mold us to be more like
Jesus in ALL things. When we embrace His corrections, we will no longer
conform to the pattern of the world, but our minds develop a new filter that
allows us to better understand and accept God’s will for our lives. We will
have a strong desire to discover the spiritual gift we were given at salvation,
and diligently seek ways of using our gift in the way God wants us to use it.
    Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
    but be transformed by the renewing of your
    mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
    what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
    will.
    (Romans 12:2)

ACTION:
Aren’t you glad that God loves YOU enough to help YOU live
a life that is good for YOU and pleasing to HIM? Just as we
discipline our own children to protect and teach them, God’s
corrections are meant for YOUR good. If He doesn’t lovingly
discipline us, then we may ask ourselves this question,
    “Do I really belong to the family of God?”

He doesn’t want to beat us down into a state of discouragement;
the purpose of His discipline is to guide us into a more righteous
life of peace and joy, and teach us how to experience satisfaction
in serving Him (which could serve as a confirmation that we are
members of His family).
    “I am coming to you now, but I say these things
     while I am still in the world, so that they may
     have the full measure of My joy within them.”
     (John 17:13)

Jesus wants His disciples to have the kind of joy He has.
As a follower of Christ, you are included as a disciple,
    To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If
    you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples”
    (John 8:31)
so He wants you to have His joy in your heart and life.
For that to happen, discipline and corrections are necessary.

Rather than resenting them and rebelling against them, learn to be
grateful and embrace God’s corrections. Learn from them so you
can experience joy, and the satisfaction of knowing you are pleasing
Him through the use of the spiritual gift you have been given.

If someone asked you,
    “How are you serving the Lord?”
how would you answer them?

If someone asked you
    “What spiritual gift did God give you when you were saved?”
would you be able to answer them?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, although they can disrupt my life
and be contrary to my selfish desires, thank You for
loving me enough to correct me whenever I am going
in a wrong direction. Forgive me for the times I have
resented Your efforts to discipline me. I am thankful
that You are a loving, forgiving and merciful Father
who cares about me and my life. Help me to see the
value of Your corrections so that my joy will increase
and I can live a life that pleases You and points others
to Your Son, Jesus. I truly want my character and my
attitude to become more like what the scriptures have
taught me about Jesus.”

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