Discipline

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 7th of January, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.”
Psalm 119:67

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.”
Psalm 119:71

Yes, it's a wake-up call. You know, when we are young, we tend to feel that we are bulletproof, isn’t that right? That is why a loving father disciplines his son because he loves him and does not want him to hurt himself. It hurts the parent much more than the child. Ask me about it, I remember it so well, but it might save his life one day.

“He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
Proverbs 13:24

I know the animal lovers are not going to like this, and I don’t particularly like it either, I have heard that when Shepherds in the Middle East take their flocks into the open, they don’t have fencing, they don’t have anywhere to put their sheep. If there is a rebellious lamb that continues to push the boundaries, coming to the edge of a cliff face, maybe running away from the flock, subjecting itself to jackals and wolves, the shepherd eventually takes that lamb and breaks its front leg, not the back one otherwise it would never walk again, but the front leg, and after that, the sheep never leaves the shepherd's side.

What about the story of the eagle? We know that when a young eaglet starts to grow and stretches its wings but it doesn’t want to leave the nest, what does the mother do? She starts taking out the down, all the soft parts of the nest and eventually the sticks so that there is nothing left, and makes it extremely uncomfortable for the youngster. Eventually, it causes it to fly.

God loves you and me so much that He disciplines us to protect us from this ravenous world to which we are subjected. Today, don’t be afraid to discipline your loved ones. The Lord loves you and me so much that He gave us His only begotten son.  

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.