Skip to main content

IBS 56 - Revelations 3:19-20

Revelation 3:19-20
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.”

I don’t like being disciplined. I don’t like getting in trouble so I try my hardest to not do wrong. To stay away from authoritative figures. The Lord is an authoritative figure, but He’s also Father. He loves me to literal death. He’s not someone I should try to stay away from. And because He loves me, he rebukes and disciplines me. A good parent doesn’t let their kid get away with being disobedient. They discipline the kid because they love them and want them to grow up and behave, be a good adult one day. That’s how God is. He rebukes me because He wants me to live correctly, to behave, and understand. 
I shouldn’t be afraid of that. Because it shows me how much God cares for me. How much He wants me to be closer to Him. Being rebuked and disciplined in the moment hurts. It’s painful and makes me want to quit and leave, but God says “No! You don’t get off the hook that easily.” But after the rebuking and discipline, I’ve changed into a deeper, stronger person. My relationship with Christ is always stronger after and my confidence is higher. 

Through rebuke and discipline God reminds me who He is. The power He has and the greatness He is. It reminds me of how much He loves me. How He sent His son to die for me. How His son endured the most painful death, crucifixion on the cross. How He did that for love. So that He could be with me for eternity. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IBS 70 - PSALM 51:8

Psalm 51:8 “Let me hear joy and gladness: let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” For a couple of years, people have talked to me about getting broken by God. About what it means for God to crush me. They’ve shared their stories of God breaking them and it always impacted me. Especially because they were so joyful, bringing praise to God so easily. I craved to have that type of joy and to be able to praise God the way they did. But I never wanted to go through the process of being broken. It’s a painful process that I didn’t want to have to endure. I said I wanted God to change me, but I wasn’t completely willing to change and to let Him break me. I didn’t want to surrender, and it became hard for me to praise God. I realized that my relationship with Christ wasn’t what it needed to be, but I wasn’t willing to let God do His work in me. My spirit craved to be broken and to draw near to God, but my flesh refused and fought God so hard.  Through the years, God put people ...

IBS 41 - Philippians 3:8

Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Losing all things to gain Christ, considering them garbage. That’s intense. That’s hard to do. It takes a lot of faith and trust to get to that point. It’s one step at a time. Growing up, I’d here this verse. “You have to get rid of everything to have Christ.” That scared me, I didn’t want to get rid of my baby dolls and nail polish. As I got older, I learned the deeper truth to this verse. It’s not just giving up items, it’s giving up bad habits, your wants, your rights. It’s giving it all to God to know Him better.  When God told me to do Potter’s Field, I said no. I didn’t want to give anything up. I wanted to keep control, doing what I wanted to do, following my own dreams, holding on to earthly possessions. As God worked on my heart, it got harder to say no....

IBS 77 - Luke 1:37-38

Luke 1:37-38 “‘For no word from God will ever fail’. ‘I am the Lord’s servant’, Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’” Trust trust trust. God is faithful and true. He keeps his promises. He will not fail. I never have to doubt or wonder if he will come through. He is constantly showing throughout the Bible how he never fails. Daniel and the Lion’s Den. David and Goliath. God giving Noah the rainbow after the great flood. And there are many many more. God is also constantly showing me his faithfulness in my life. Providing the funds for Ignite, providing food and water, a place to rest, protection, and many many more things. Every day there is always something new that God shows me of how his word never fails. He will guide me and provide my essential needs wherever he will lead me.  Mary knew that God’s word never fails. That’s one of the reasons why God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. The angel Gabriel even greets her by saying, “Greetings, you who are...