20 Comments

  1. Melissa, once again, you have taken a simple idea and made it heavy with meaning and teaching. Obedience is absolutely key in our growth with Jesus. I have often found that when I am being disciplined if I choose to obey what ever it is that God is telling me, I am drawn deeper into His many layers. I love that. The same is true with our children…adults and younger…when they obey the teaching they know is right and true…it not only enhances their relationship with God, but with us as well. Great post. Thanks for the reminder that discipline is all part of God’s relationship with us. – Amy
    http://stylingrannymama.com/

    • melissa

      Thank you, Amy, for your encouragement! You are so right that our obedience following discipline brings us closer to God and His love for us. Thank you for reading and for your insightful comment! God bless!

  2. If our children have a contrite heart and truly are sorry for their sin, they should not receive punishment. In the same way, when we come to God in true repentance, He forgives us and shows mercy.

    • melissa

      Very true Susan! He provides us endless ways to emulate Him in all we do. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  3. Discipline is never fun, but the lessons learned are priceless. As a child if I did everything I wanted to without boundaries I wouldn’t think my parents cared. It is the same with God. He sets the rules for us because He loves and cares for us,

    • melissa

      Absolutely! Unfortunately, today there are plenty of parents that do allow their children to do whatever because they don’t want them to be distressed. It really doesn’t help the child now or in the future. But this is also why the concept of discipline and obedience is so difficult in society now. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

    • melissa

      Sometime it can be a hard reminder when in the moment we want what we want. I also find having my own struggles with discipline and obedience provide me more empathy for my kids! It’s a matter of maturity – as a person, in regards to our children and maturity in our faith as Christians. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  4. Hi Melissa

    Thank you for your blog post “Living in the Word – Prayer Devotional for Discipline.”
    It was an encouraging read today.

    You’re right. We want our children to develop a moral character that’ll help them in their adult life.

    I often think about what I need to teach my son and why I want him to learn it.

    I also want to use some consequences that are fair so that we develop a healthy relationship.

    I like when you say:

    “Choosing a consequence that is completely unrelated to the negative behaviour is not beneficial for our children to remember in the future!”

    If our children don’t get a deeper understanding of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ they’ll be confused.

    My favourite part of this particular blog post was:

    “Friends, this is the same with our Heavenly Father. Discipline takes place when we are not obeying and abiding in all aspects of our life. When we correct our behaviour and our heart, the discipline stops. Our Heavenly Father is just and merciful.”

    This reminds me of the merciful Father we have in Heaven.

    God wants us to succeed in life. The guidelines He has set up for our life will help us live a better life.

    What’s also a great take away from your blog post is that God’s love is unconditional.

    I’m grateful for this; His love for His children is not dependent on how they behave.

    Those Bible verses are relevant, and your post helped me to evaluate my life.

    Once again, thank you for your kind words.

    I’ll share “Living in the Word – Prayer Devotional for Discipline” from my social accounts Monday, November 6.

    Warmly,
    Edna Davidsen

    • melissa

      Thank you for taking the time to comment Edna. I’m glad that the post was encouraging and that you were able to have some take-a-ways. Obedience and discipline are often the hardest aspects about being a Christian because we are also selfish beings. Just as you want a healthy relationship with your son, when we have a strong and healthy relationship with God we come to understand his desires and boundaries for us. And then it becomes easier for us to abide with no need for discipline. Thank you again, Edna, for reading and commenting! God bless!

  5. You are absolutely correct: WE are in charge of whether discipline takes place! I never thought about it that way. This realization incentivizes an effort to obey more consistently. Not that the only reason to obey God is to avoid his discipline. Surely we obey Him out of a sincere desire to please Him and as a response to His love for us. But maturing as a Christian is a process. As it is with our children, this process of obedience may begin out of a desire to avoid discipline and eventually flourish into a natural act of our own will.

    Thanks for this reminder that God is patient with us and just. He is willing to love us through our life-long process of growing into “successful adults [who] glorify Him and share His message with others.”

    • melissa

      Thank you Christy for your comments. Discipline and obedience are such a process! We have to be able to put our selfish desires aside and have a larger desire to honor God. Thank you again for reading and commenting! God bless!

  6. WE live in a culture where disciple is automatically given a bad name. But God’s discipline is one of the most loving things we can experience. I look back on my life and praise Him for his correction. Because of it, I have grown in ways I never dreamed possible.

    • melissa

      That is so true! In the moment it may not always feel enjoyable, but we know it is for good and then our faith journey gets so much deeper and stronger. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  7. That’s an interesting connection. It’s amazing to me how many moments in my life as a parent help me see and understand my relationship with God better!

    • melissa

      I completely agree! As much as I know I’m supposed to be teaching my children, I realize how much better I understand life, faith, God, and myself because of them. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

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