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Day 162 Hebrews 12:4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Will we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. 18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and burned with fire, to blackness, darkness, tempest, 19 the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “If so much as a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly, and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more will we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. No one likes discipline. People have taken away the thought of discipline, calling all discipline abuse and causing trouble for those who discipline their children by fining them and taking their children away from them, resulting in an entitlement generation who does whatever they want, knowing that no one will discipline them for their actions until a judge decides whether their actions deserve jail time or prison. The author told the Jews that those who didn’t discipline their children treated them as illegitimate and not as sons. A father disciplined his children because he loved them. In the same way God, their Father, disciplined them and showed them His love in so doing. He told them that no discipline was joyful to either the person giving the discipline or the one receiving it, but it brought blessing for both through repentance and tears. Many Christians raise entitlement children because they are afraid to discipline their children. They know what God’s Word says, but they also know what the law says. Now the mountain that gave the children of Israel the law, has become a mountain more restrictive than the laws God gave His children who were disciplined, not with harsh judgment, but with love. The mountain, government, doesn’t look at what form of discipline parents give their children, but treats all discipline the same. So, how do Christians discipline their children and show them they love them and bring about godly children who obey their parents and God? This is a question I ask myself as a victim of the government who took my children from me and told them they don’t need to obey me. The government told my children I brainwashed them with the Word of God so that they no longer go to church or have anything to do with God. Only one child has returned to me, loves me, and knows that what I did for her was in love and not in harsh discipline. I have one child who rejected me and everything about me. I have one son who was never taken from me. He loves me and knows I love him. This is my harsh reality. This is the pain I live with every day because I dared to discipline my children and show them not only my love for them but God’s love for them. The government told me how I was to raise my children and what discipline was acceptable. A discipline that changes weekly. What was acceptable one week was no longer acceptable the following week. The government is set up to tear the family apart, not keep it together. Where does Satan strike first? The family. If he can tear the family apart, he can keep the children from knowing God and accepting them as Savior and Lord. God’s discipline keeps a family together because it is founded in love. You receive a blessing from God’s love and joy is your benefit because you know God loves you when He disciplines you. Let’s pray: Father, help me show my children I love them, and You love them. Let me know the blessing and joy of Your love for me and my children. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 24 December 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.