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The Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives.

Hebrews 12:6

There is a tendency among Christians to view anything unpleasant that happens to them as the result of “spiritual warfare.” When a difficulty arises, many immediately ask God to remove their distress. The problem is that their predicament may have nothing to do with Satan or with spiritual warfare. It may appear far more glorious for us to explain our hardships as Satan’s determined attacks against us, rather than admitting that we are merely reaping what we have sown and are being disciplined by our heavenly Father (Gal. 6:7). What is often mistaken as Satan’s attack may actually be chastisement from our loving Father. If you have neglected your role as spiritual teacher to your children, God may allow them to fall into sin. If you have been dishonest at work, God may correct you by letting you face the consequences. It would be foolish to pray that God would ease your discomfort. God is disciplining you in order to gain your attention and bring necessary change to your life. How tragic never to make the connection between your problems and God’s discipline. God’s discipline will not help you if you dismiss it as Satan’s doing or spiritual warfare. Not every hardship is the chastisement of God, but Scripture indicates that God will discipline you. If you misunderstand God’s chastening, you may actually blame Him for not answering your prayers or failing to protect you from Satan. Meanwhile, God is warning you of the danger you face because of your sin. His nature is perfect love, and He corrects you because He has your ultimate good in His heart. 

see “Experiencing God Day By Day”

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Does God’s Word ever cause you discomfort? When you read the Bible, does what you read make you uneasy? When you listen to sermons, do the Scriptures seem aimed directly at you? You are experiencing the reality that the word of God is alive and can read your thoughts and judge your intentions. When God’s Word speaks to you, it is always for a purpose. God knows your heart and knows what you need to do to bring your life into conformity to Christ. If you have a problem with sinful talk, the word that comes to you will address the tongue. If you are struggling to forgive, God’s Word will confront you with His standard for forgiveness. If pride has a stronghold in your life, God’s Word will speak to you about humility. Whatever sin needs addressing, you will find you are confronted by God’s Word on the matter. One way you can escape the discomfort of conviction is to avoid hearing God speak to you. You may neglect reading your Bible and stay away from places where it is taught. You may avoid those whom you know will uphold the truths of Scripture. The best response, however, is to pray as the psalmist did: “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Ps. 139:23). Regularly allow the word of God to wash over you and find any sin or impurity (Eph. 5:26). Always make the connection between your life and what God is saying to you through His word. Make a habit of taking every word from God seriously, knowing that it is able to judge your heart and mind. 

see “Experiencing God Day By Day”

May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

John 17:21

God often speaks of human relationships as a part of His mission to redeem a lost world (John 13:20; Matt. 25:40). One reason He gives for a husband and wife to live in unity is so they can produce a “godly seed,” that is, children who love and obey God, who can be used in God’s mission to bring redemption to a lost world (Mal. 2:14–15). Similarly, the church is the body of Christ. A church cannot be on mission with the Father in our world if its members are waging war with one another (1 Cor. 12:12). There is a crucial connection between our relationships with others and the salvation of those around us. We might assume that during Jesus’ prayer before His crucifixion, He would have prayed that His disciples would have courage, or would remain faithful, or would remember what they had been taught. Yet He asked that His followers would remain united in their love for one another. Jesus understood that it is spiritually impossible to love God but not love others. A test of your love for God is to examine your love for others. Our tendency is to say, “Heavenly Father, the problem is not between You and me. I love You with all my heart. I just don’t love my brother.” And God says, “That is an impossibility. You cannot love Me without loving the ones for whom My Son died” (John 13:34–35). Your life will not convince those around you of the reality of Jesus if you cannot live in unity with your fellow Christians. 

see “Experiencing God Day By Day”

We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven

Colossians 1:4-5

Genuine faith gets noticed. There were no ad campaigns, no social media promotions, or direct mailers, yet Paul heard of the faith of the Christians in Colossae. He had never been there, and yet the gospel had spread and was bearing fruit, as it always does. Paul was thankful for them because of their love of all the saints, not just the believers like them, not just the Christians who were in their area, but all the saints. It is refreshing to find a group of believers who are not known for what they are for rather than what they are against. They were not tearing down other churches and pastors, they didn’t host discernment blogs, they genuinely loved the whole church. Why did they do this? Not because they knew every believer, not because they liked all the other churches, they did it because of Jesus, their hope which was waiting for them in heaven. We’re called to not only be nice to those we like, or those who are 100% correct on things, we’re called to love all the saints, not because of them, but because of Him… and that won’t change. Be kind today, love. 

see “Experiencing God Day By Day”

Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

When you were young, what was it that made you afraid? Maybe a fear of heights, a fear of clowns, maybe you were afraid of lightening? There is one fear that is near universal, the fear of the dark. It’s not because darkness itself is scary, but because you don’t know what’s there. Imagine swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night in your scuba gear and you’re deep enough that you can’t just surface right away. Then all of a sudden… your light goes out. It’s so dark you can’t even tell which direction the surface is. Wouldn’t that be scary? I’m a bit scared just thinking about it. Do you know what would make it better? Sure, getting your light back on, but to know you were not alone. If you had a dive partner who simply came over and grabbed your hand. You knew someone was with you. If someone could talk with you over a radio and you could have some personal interaction, that would greatly reduce your fear. We are not meant to be alone, that’s why God created Eve so that this world would not simply have a man, but people. When God says not to be afraid because He’s with us, that’s the most comforting thing we need. He will never leave us, He will never forsake us. He gives us strength just by us knowing no matter what we’re going through, he’s with us. He is going to hold on to us and will never walk away. You’re never alone in the dark, if you know Him, Jesus is with you, don’t be afraid. 

see “Experiencing God Day By Day”