CHASTISEMENT

READ: PROVERBS 3:11-12

“Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD, and teach him out of Your law; that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be dug for the wicked.” (Psalms 94:12-13). As a father corrects his children, God also corrects his own. Are you a child of the King? If you are, expect him to correct you when you are wrong. He has the spiritual and moral duty to do so. When you make a mistake, and God corrects you, admit your fault immediately and make amends, so that you do not run into trouble further down the line. God created everything, even the waster to destroy. He has reserved the wicked for the day of trouble. (Proverbs 16:4).
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction: For whom the LORD loves He corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12). A child who does not accept correction has already made a choice for destruction. There are some Christians who are too proud to accept that they make mistakes. Some cannot stand being disciplined by the leader. They would rather leave the church for some unknown place than stay behind to receive their correction. People who refuse to humbly submit to correction under God are like bastards, not sons. When you revolt against God’s ordained authority, because you do not like to be disciplined, you risk being cut off from the Father, like a branch that is separated from a tree. Such a person will soon begin to wither.
Proverbs 13:18 says shame and poverty will be the portion of those who refuse correction. This poverty refers to spiritual poverty. Today many people do not want to hear the truth anymore. If you refuse the truth of God’s Word, you will become spiritually impoverished. If you refuse the truth, Satan will give you counterfeit goods. He will give you fake salvation, fake healing and fake prosperity. Stick to the truth and insist on the real thing. Welcome any correction. It is for your own good.   

MEMORIZE: PROVERBS 3:11-12 –My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction: For whom the LORD loves He corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.  

UTMOST DESIRE

READ: PSALM 42:1-2

“One thing have I desired for the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4). To be a favourite wife is not easy. The greatest desire of a favourite wife is to be at her husband’s side all the times. According to David, the ultimate desire of the sanctified is the divine presence of God. David compares that desire with the thirst of a hunted deer. In Psalm 84:1-4 David added that his desire for God was not limited to his soul, but that even his flesh was crying for Him. David must have been truly sanctified. Little wonder God said that David was a man after his own heart. It explains why God forgave him for adultery and murder, and why God retained him as king, even at a time when he should have been rejected. This is also why God could name Jesus the son of David.
Before David, Moses also craved God’s presence. “And he said to Him, if You go not with me, carry us not up from here.” (Exodus 33:15). Moses went to mountaintop to be in his presence for 40 days and nights. He cherished God’s presence to the point where he did not want to go anywhere without it. God’s presence meant a great deal to Moses. How much of God’s presence do you carry with you? When last did you do something for him just because you love him and because you wanted to be in his presence? So often we are self-centred. We serve God for material gains: promotion, prosperity or victory over our enemies.
Truly sanctified people serve God because they love him and they want to be with him; the material blessings are merely a bonus. If you are sanctified, you will obey God, pay your tithes, bring your offerings, sow seeds and be actively engaged in God’s service. You would be prepared to make any sacrifice for God, not because anybody tells you to, but because you love him and want to please him. Why are you a Christian: for love or for material benefits? If you serve God because you love him, you will keep in loving him, whether the blessings come or not. If you only serve God for the material things he can give you, you will dump him when they perish. Make your choice today! 

MEMORIZE: EXODUS 33:15 –And he said to Him, if Your go not with me, carry us not up from here.  

DOES GOD UNDERSTAND?

READ: ACTS 7:55-60

A vision from God can transform your entire life. Even a fraction of God’s glory is worth more than a thousand sermons. A vision draws you like a powerful magnet. Obstacles on your way become stepping stones to glory. Seeing God’s glory acts like a powerful drug. In today’s passage Stephen saw the glory of God. As he was being stoned, he looked up and saw the heavens opened and the glory of God on high. He saw Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God.
“Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:35).
Even as his persecutors were stoning him to death, Stephen’s face must have changed the instant he saw the glory that awaited him in heaven. In that riot, he was calm, peaceful and full of expectation as heaven awaited his glorious home-coming. At that point he probably preferred death to being rescued. Beloved, heaven is an epitone of glory beyond any description human prose can come up with. It is a place you should not miss. You may wonder why Isaiah proclaimed woe to himself on seeing the Lord, if the glory is so wonderful to behold? Psalm 140:13 says: “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name: the upright shall dwell in Your presence.”
Not everyone who sees God’s glory will remain comfortable. This is because heaven is too pure to contain a sinner. If there is just on little stain of sin in your life, that alone can make you uncomfortable in God’s presence; that alone can rob of heaven. That is why you should vigorously pursue a life of holiness every day. Some Christians may be holy in ministry, family life and academics, but when it comes to business, they will compromise. They will make excuses, saying God understands that they have to make it by any means necessary, so it is all right if they compromise now and again. Does God really understand?   

MEMORIZE: PSALM 140:13 –Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name: the upright shall dwell in Your presence.