Category: Discipline

• Truth leads to less difficulty

  Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on January 23, 2018

  Proverbs 23:23 (NCV) Learn the truth and never reject it. Get wisdom, self-control, and understanding.

  Learn the truth and never reject it. I don’t know about you, but this seems really hard to do sometimes. When I learn the truth about something, I come to a point of decision. I can choose to accept the truth immediately or I can spend days, weeks, months, sometimes even years wrestling with the truth and try to incorporate it into my daily life. Is anyone else squirming on the hook with me or am I total alone in this? I think what this verse is saying is very simple. Learn the truth and then use the wisdom, self-control and understanding we obtain along the way not reject that truth.

  So let’s make this practical. Think about a truth you have been wrestling with for a while. I know for me, it was the issue of being a submissive wife. I struggled in this area for years because it was hard for me to submit when my husband and I were in two completely opposite places spiritually. The reality I faced was that the God’s word is, was, and will always be the truth. I can accept it and be blessed or reject it and hinder my spiritual growth. Just because my husband and I were in two spiritually different places did not mean that I had the option to ignore the truth. As a Godly wife, I still have to submit to my husband as to the Lord (Eph 5:22).

  I am not going to lie to you… this was a VERY hard truth to learn and accept. Looking back, what I learned to do was use the second part of Proverbs 23:23 to help me with the lesson. I actively looked for wisdom, self-control, and understanding in the area of submission. How did I active look for these things? Well, I researched scriptures about being a submissive wife and wrote them down where I could see them every day, I prayed and prayed and then prayed some more for God to take control, I was in constant communication with God. Yes this was a difficult process for me at times, but I didn’t reject the truth just because it was a hard one to accept. I was obedient to the truth of God’s word and as a result God has blessed me and my household beyond measure. There is now an indescribable peace where there used to be strife and constant struggle.

  So what is the difficult truth in your life? May I encourage you today to use wisdom, self-control and understanding to embrace it. You will be amazed at the way God draws you closer to Him in the process.

  Related scripture: Gal. 5: 22 – 23; 1 Peter 1:13; Titus 2: 2 – 6; Titus 2: 11 – 12

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  Posted in Discipline, spiritual growth | 1 Comment

• Lack of discipline leads to an out-of-control life

  Posted at 8:30 am by sneuhofer, on November 20, 2017

  Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled, but those who obey what they have been taught are happy.”

  As I read this verse I couldn’t help but wonder if God gave us children as an illustration of our relationship with Him – especially when it comes to discipline. We love our children and we want what’s best for them. We, as parents, know the harsh realities our children will have to face in this world so we work hard to discipline them in love, encourage them in all they do, and comfort them when they fall. Without this loving discipline, we know our children would be uncontrollable and ill-prepared to face the challenges awaiting them beyond the front door of our safe and comfortable homes.

  Even if you’re not a parent, just envision the picture in your head. Think about it in terms of your own life. You are the child and God is the loving Father. Without his discipline our lives spin completely out of control. Even though we may not see it….a path that doesn’t honor God will bring pain and suffering.

  Why?

  Because His word (the Bible) confirms it. As Christians we must “enter through the narrow gate. In Matthew, Jesus tells us “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13 – 14).”

  In Luke’s gospel, chapter 11 verse 28 he says, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” At first, disciplining children takes a lot of hard work, consistency, and patience. The same is true for us. Our spiritual journey is not a sprint. It’s a life long journey with our heavenly Father. As we grow through the stages of our Christian life, take a minute to look back at how far you’ve come. How has your life changed since you said yes to Jesus and NO to this world?

  Related reading: 1 John 5:2 – 4; 1 John 2:3 – 6; Isaiah 48: 17 – 19; Isaiah 38:17

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• Are you watching out for life’s hot pots?

  Posted at 8:25 am by sneuhofer, on August 28, 2017

  Proverbs 12:1 (NCV) “Anyone who loves learning accepts correction, but a person who hates being corrected is stupid.”

  Ok, I must admit when I read this verse in Proverbs 12 I felt a little twinge of pain because after all, who likes being told they’re doing something wrong? I know I sure don’t. However, when it comes down to living according to God’s word, it IS up to me to accept the correction that living a fully devoted life requires….whether I like it or not.

  The writer of Hebrews says “God disciplines those he loves” (Hebrews 12:5-6). He (God) disciplines us in the same way we discipline our children. As a parent, I discipline my child because I can see the consequences of his actions if he continues down a current path of motion. The same is true of our Heavenly Father.

  God can see our lives from beginning to end. Just like the watchful eye of a caring parent, He sees when we are about to “touch a boiling pot on the stove” of our life and encourages us (through His word, previous life experiences, our friends and family, etc.) to “move” because He loves us and doesn’t want to see us get burned. His desire is to give us the abundant life He has planned for us,

  Sometimes I think I’m just too caught up in my own agenda to see His plan clearly. I know discipline isn’t fun but when heeded it will produce a harvest of righteousness (Hebrews 12:10 – 11).

  So, do you have any “hot-pots” in your life that are within reach?  Here are a few examples to help get you started… disobedience or rebellion to something God has asked you to do, gossip, little white lies, inappropriate relationships, bitterness, anger?

  Why are there “hot-pots” in our lives that we keep touching over and over again? We know the pot is hot, yet we fail to learn from the scorched fingertip it produces. Some burns from hot-pots have burned deep and the pain is unbearable. So why won’t we just accept God’s loving discipline. It is only when we accept God’s correction that we can live the abundant life He has promised for us.

  Related reading: Deut. 8:2-5; Rev. 3: 19 – 20; 2 Cor. 12: 7-10; 1 Cor 10:13

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