“For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful, yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose)” (Heb 12:11; AMP). God disciplines us to help us grow up into Christlikeness, dedicated to serving God and spreading the gospel. God disciplines those He loves (Rev 3:19). Jesus likened Himself to a vine and we, the branches in the vine, saying that the Father prunes the branches to become more and more fruitful (John 15:1-2). God does not use sickness or any kind of misfortune to prune or discipline us.

In Hebrews 12:5-12 (NKJV) we are told that God chastens us, the Greek word for chasten can also be translated discipline or instruct. He chastens His sons and (daughters) whom He loves (Heb 12:6). The writer of Hebrews says that if we don’t receive chastening, we are “illegitimate and not sons” (Heb 12:8) God uses His word to chasten or instruct us. As we read and study, we will come across verses that jump out at us and in some cases challenge us to change, we may respond with an “ouch.” Don’t skip those verses that bring discipline or call for change, God knows you need to respond, so you can grow. I came across this verse in Proverbs 12:1 (NKJV), “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge. But he who hates correction is stupid.” Wow, that’s blunt and but certainly got my attention! God loves us and wants us to grow into all His fullness, so let’s take note of His discipline and respond. Is that an amen or another ouch?

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, “This is the way walk you in it,” when you turn to the right or the left” (Isa 30:21; ESV).

In the New Testament we read, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” Gal 5:25; ESV). Then in Galatians 5:16 (AMPC), “But I say, walk and live (habitually) in the (Holy) Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit); then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).” Then verse 18 says, “But if you are guided (led) by the Holy Spirit, you are not subject to the law.” In other words, you won’t be led by rules and regulations. We know that Jesus of course was led by the Spirit. Immediately after He was baptized, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit helped Jesus just like He helps us - to protect us from falling into sin.

In Romans 8:4 The Amplified Classic Bible says we should be controlled by the desires of the Spirit and in the very next verse we are told how to do this, by setting our minds on and seeking “those things which gratify the Holy Spirit.” In other words, we need to be thinking about the Holy Spirit and be open to His guidance.

We have the same Holy Spirit that inhabited Jesus but how do we become sensitive to His voice? It is by spending time with God and getting to know Him on an ongoing basis that this sensitivity develops, making it easier to be led by the Spirit, which is simply following an inner prompting to do or not do something (Rom 8:16) and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit (1 Kings 19:11-12). It involves cutting out the distractions and being quiet. The more time we spend in fellowship with God the easier it is to know His voice.

Satan seeks only to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:19; NKJV). The apostle Paul wrote “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15; NIV). Simply put, this means that Jesus through His death and resurrection completely defeated satan and all his minions. In the book of Hebrews, we read “that He might bring to naught and make of no affect him who had the power of death - that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14b; AMP). Jesus stripped satan of all power and authority to harm us. “But thanks be to God who gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57; NKJV; bolding and upper case added). Jesus actually gave us authority over all the powers of satan to hurt us (Luke 10:19). Why then can satan still cause problems for Christians? The apostle Peter told us that satan still roams around pretending to be a lion, roaring at people and trying to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10a; NKJV). However, as Peter taught, as Christians, we can resist satan and send him running (James 4:7). How do we do that? God has given us His armor (Eph 6:3-18) and especially “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (V 17b; NKJV). Speak God’s word in faith to the issues you face and satan has to flee! VICTORY!

We first read about meditating in the Bible in Genesis 24:63 where we are told that Isaac went out to the field to meditate. When Joshua took over from Moses, God gave him some instructions and He told him the importance of meditating on the word and that this would cause him to prosper and be successful (Josh 1:8). To meditate means to think about something over and over, to ponder it and even study it. Psalm 1 talks further about meditating, saying that the person who habitually meditates on the word will be like “a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers “(Psalm 1:3; ESV). Wow! That sounds like true prosperity to me! Psalm 119 is a long psalm which is almost entirely dealing with the word of God. There are several verses in this psalm which talk about meditating on the word such as verse 97, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

In the New Testament Phil 4:8 in the Message Bible reads, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly, things to praise, not things to curse.” Learning to meditate like this takes practice but the more we meditate on God and His word and good things the less we will meditate on anxious, fearful and negative thoughts. Give yourself time today to not just read the word but to meditate on those verses that stand out to you and let God give you revelation.

In all our pressing into God, seeking greater revelation of His word and the excitement of growing in our relationship with Him it is important to be reminded sometimes of some of the foundations of our faith. Recently I was reminded that as Christians we are God’s “dear children” (Eph 5:1; NKJV). The apostle Paul quoted God as saying, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters (2 Cor 6:18; NKJV). In Galatians 3:26 we read that we “are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (NKJV). We have been adopted as God’s sons (Eph 1:5). Jesus is our brother (Heb 2:11), “the eldest in a vast family of brothers” (Rom 8:29; Wey). As God’s sons and daughters, He has “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying, “Abba Father”” (Gal 4:6; NKJV). “Abba Father” is an intimate name for our Father God, like us calling Him daddy. In Eph 2:10, Paul tells us that God sees us as His “workmanship”. The Greek word translated “workmanship” can also mean work of art or poem. That’s how our Father sees each one of us. God’s sons and daughters are those who are led by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14), they are peacemakers (Luke 6:35), they walk in love and selflessly do good (Luke 6:35). The Bible promises us that those who walk a victorious Christian life will inherit all the blessings of eternal life as God’s “sons and daughters” (Rev 21:7; MSG). Sometimes we need to close our eyes and try to take in all it means to be sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, our heavenly daddy. Now that’s more than exciting!