GOD DISCIPLINES US, LIKEWISE PARENTS DISCIPLINE THEIR CHILDREN

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The world has moved far from God’s instruction on raising children. God tells us to discipline our children corporeally, yet never without proper instruction of the righteous behaviour we need to exhibit. In much the same way, the Lord disciplines the one He loves, as a father the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3:12).

Folly is bound within the heart of a child, yet the rod of discipline will drive it from them (Proverbs 22:15). He who withholds the rod hates his son, but the one who disciplines him diligently loves him (Proverbs 13:24).

In Hebrews 12:6 we find the same principle carries through; the Lord disciplines those whom He loves and scourges His own children. The two terms here are synonymous with the examples above from the book of Proverbs, in that the usage of παιδεύω (discipline) and μαστιγόω (scourge) carries both the corporal and instructional component. Again, παιδεύω carries with it the idea that instruction is rooted intrinsically in how to live in a proper manner before God and man. The usage of μαστιγόω here is a bit more violent than most Evangelicals would like, but it literally means to “beat, whip, or flog” physically. In essence then, what the author of Hebrews is telling us is that God will punish our disobedience in rather harsh ways. He will “use the rod” just as the loving father in the book of Proverbs instructs. Like before, it is a “both/and” proposition rather than an “either/or” one. Both components are present and designed to work with an explicitly good purpose in mind, which is that those trained by discipline will experience the harvest of righteousness and peace yielded by and through it at a later time

“For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:10-11

SOME COUNTRIES LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES

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The following article (abbreviated) is by Damian Wyld Director, Australian Family Coalition

It’s easy in such a time to feel like you’re the odd one out; believing in such quaint ideas as the uniqueness of man-woman marriage, the intrinsic value of human life, mere biological truth, or that the virtues underpinning Western civilisation are worth defending, rather than apologising for.

Are you mad for believing such things? No, you’re not.

Aside from having the weight of evidence on your side (history and science just for starters), vast swathes of the world still hold to the same principles as you. And here’s something truly remarkable. Some nations, learning from past mistakes, are now returning to those principles. Within the last few weeks, significant steps towards enshrining the family have occurred in not one, but three countries: Hungary, Poland and Russia.

What these countries really have in common is that each endured the scourge of Communism for decades. This awful ideology, the cause of millions of deaths worldwide, proved incredibly effective at causing birth rates to plummet, divorce rates to increase, and the overall impact on the family to be catastrophic.

This makes what we’re seeing in Central and Eastern Europe all the more amazing. So, what is happening there? As you might have read recently, Hungary has made good on its proposal to legally set in stone a person’s biological sex at birth. Despite attacks from the EU, the UN, and Amnesty International, the Hungarian Government and Parliament show no sign of backing down.

Meanwhile, Poland is in the middle of a presidential election. Incumbent President Andrzej Duda has used his campaign to decry the Rainbow Agenda as a “foreign ideology” and “even more destructive to the human being” than Communism.

“Today, there are attempts to push an ideology on us and our children, It’s totally new, but it is also neo-Bolshevism,” Duda said. “The Polish family has preserved our values. The family is a special value, which demands special protection from the state … Marriage is a relationship between women and men, and so it will remain.

Andrzej Duda speaks at a campaign rally in Złotoryja
Duda pledged to “defend children from LGBT ideology”.

”Duda won the first round of elections just days ago and, according to polls, is slightly ahead of his ‘progressive’ main opponent the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, going into the final round of voting.

Lastly, Russia has just held a referendum on constitutional amendments. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most media commentary has focused on limits to presidential terms (allowing Putin to stay in power longer), so there has been minimal coverage of other changes. The revised constitution backs up existing laws that declare marriage to be the union of a man and a woman, as well as referencing “the memory of our ancestors who transmitted ideals and faith in God”. Whatever one makes of Vladimir Putin or of geopolitics, these changes would have been unthinkable a few decades ago in the “Evil Empire” of the Soviet Union. My point here is not to point to any political leader, but rather to the people of these three countries; people who have endured hard times and bankrupt philosophies; people who are now seeking a path forward. They know from firsthand experience that strong families build strong societies and nations and what is happening in the west with gay marriage and and adoption of LGBT will undermine .

GOD REACHES OUT TO THE UNREACHABLE

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Werner Nachtigal founder Go2020 shared that in some of the hardest to reach Muslim nations, there were thousands of decisions for Christ—6,400 in Somalia, and 8,300 in Afghanistan.
He told the story of one unnamed North African city, where a Muslim imam used the mosque’s loudspeaker to call Muslims to come and watch the Jesus film. 16,000 people made a decision for Jesus as a result.
In Tanzania, almost half a million people responded to the gospel. These numbers and stories are truly mind-blowing.

The Canberra Declaration community, say they have truly been blessed to be a part of the Go2020 prayer and outreach movement. God is good!

Global Outreach Day was a worldwide Go2020 prayer gathering to pray for the global harvest in the midst of the COVID-19 virus crisis. Many prayer streams, so far embracing 145 nations and including International Prayer Connect, have come together to arrange this united event. It will be led by ministry leaders from every region of the world, including some praying children.

Persist as the prayer does not start until about 7 minutes in when David Demian gives a great introduction.

CHRISTIANS: YOUR WORLD VIEW IS EVIL AND BIGOTED

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In the USA they, as a society (Supreme Court), have now said as a matter of law that to hold beliefs about marriage and gender and human sexuality that are consistent with the Bible is discrimination, that it’s hateful and bigoted.

Now, society might give some of those hateful religious people an exception because their Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act tell them that they have to do that. But, when you think about the political and cultural trajectory of the USA, how long do you suppose that the religious liberty exception is going to last when everybody thinks that this is a bigoted and evil view?

We should not be surprised, Jesus told us beforehand.

Jesus told His disciples “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” Matthew 10:22a but also “But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22b

Thankfully, there are many prophecies warning us of escalating tribulation in the seven years preceding His Second Coming. World events indicate we are approaching that last seven years but IMO we are not there yet.

CHURCH IS NOT OPTIONAL

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Why is it important to get back in the habit of regular and faithful attendance? Why should those connected to a local congregation make a new commitment to attend as regularly as possible? Here are five reasons:

1. The Bible mandates we gather for worship. The writer of Hebrews is unequivocal:

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” Hebrews 10:25, NLT

Gathering for worship is not an optional activity. It is not an occasional activity. It is an ongoing and regular commitment.

2. The Bible emphasises the importance of the local church. Think about it. After the four Gospels, almost all of the New Testament is about the local church or directed to the local church. Throughout the New Testament, different local congregations met together and worshipped together. It is simply what believers do.

3. When we gather together, we encourage each other. Look at Hebrews 10:25 again. “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” What Day? The Day of Jesus return. Therefore, this will be increasingly important as persecution escalates.

4. When we gather together, we encourage our leaders. The encouragement of one another includes the encouragement of our leaders. They desperately need it. I pray that many people will return to the in-person gatherings with new levels of commitment. Our leaders will be greatly encouraged.

5. We grow spiritually when we commit to faithful attendance. We grow as a believer in Christ when we have a committed prayer life. We grow when we are committed to read Scripture daily. We grow when we share our faith regularly. We grow when we serve in ministry. And we grow when we commit to attend worship services faithfully. That attendance is a spiritual discipline. It is a vital and necessary act toward greater spiritual maturity.

The pandemic and quarantine have been transformational moments for our world and our churches. We now have the incredible opportunity to hit the reset button in our own lives. Church is about relationships and therefore small groups. It is not about meeting once a week on Sunday. God has reminded us, perhaps even given us a major wake-up call, first about what church really is and how really important it is.

THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT RECONCILING PEOPLE TO GOD

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The agenda of the gospel is not social and structural reform. The Gospel is about reconciling mankind to God, not to one another.

It is through reconciliation to God by the finished work of the cross that reconciliation happens between people groups. This simply means works produced by faith cannot be had without genuine faith. This seems like stating the obvious, but with all of the assumptions on what is of “first importance” today, it must be stated, and restated because it is becoming less and less clear to those who consider themselves faithful Christians.

Sure faith without works is dead but those works will bring love, joy, peace, righteousness, kindness, goodness and mercy. We will do all that we can to be at peace with all men because we are at peace with God. The gospel of individual salvation must always be in the place of “first importance“. 

The early church adhered unflinchingly to the refusal to use violence. It is part of the critical power of the gospel that this summons to freedom – which also means freedom from the inner law of violence – is still heard today. is in fact once again being heard more clearly. … Reflection on the message of Jesus against the background of the unimaginable brutality and injustice of his age could help us today better to understand the gospel, that is, Jesus’ summons to freedom, and to act accordingly.

Relevant Scriptures:

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; James 2:21

“Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.“ James 3:17-18