Short Devotion: The D Word - Hebrews 12:10

Hebrews 12:10            Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

Parenting is the hardest job on the planet. It always has been and always will be. As a parent, you always want the best things for your children. You want them to have the best education and opportunities. You want them to experience the best of friends and the best that you can give. You just want everything to be better for them than you ever had for yourselves.

At some point, the awful D-word enters into parenting: discipline. Little Johnny or Janey behave badly, despite all of the good things that are all around them. This is where the rubber hits the road and parenting becomes even harder to accomplish. Harsh discipline will deepen resentment and accomplish practically nothing; little discipline will trivialize the faulty behavior. Time outs work for a while with younger children, as do prohibitions from cell phones, computers, and other devices for teenagers. The whole point about discipline is to make it a teaching moment – a discipling toward better behavior.

The one thing that parents need to beware is an over-indulgence after the discipline has ended. Some parents make the serious mistake of rewarding their kids after discipline, only because the parents feel bad about disciplining their kids. This completely undermines any progress in character. Parents, who do this continuously, usually end up ruining their own relationships with their children and spouses.

When God disciplines us spiritually, He usually does it to get our attention and make us aware of the consequences of our sinful choices and deeds. His discipline is meant to cause us to reflect upon our poor decisions and repent of our disgraceful acts. As Christians, we are still prone to making mistakes; however, as Christians, we are meant to humbly confess our sins to God and seek His mercy. God’s discipline brings us back under His care – without it, we would separate ourselves completely from God and, in the end, be forever isolated from Him in a hell of our own making.

As we head into Holy Week, let’s use the days to come as a means of spiritual discipline, to draw closer to God, seek salvation from His Son, and be restored to God’s Kingdom.

Questions for personal reflection

What methods of discipline were used on me to get my attention and strengthen my character? How have I experienced God’s discipline in my life?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, discipline us each day with Your love. Help us to learn from our mistakes and not take Your mercy for granted. When we are at fault, enable us to take time out to confess our misdeeds to You, as well as to restore what we may have broken in our relationships with others. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Holy Week drawings called “Her Holy Tears.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/13645985583_8026057840_b.jpg

Daily devotions: Helping Our Teachers - Isaiah 65:23

Isaiah 65:23    They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 

Teachers are amongst the most undervalued professional people in our society. They devote themselves to the betterment of our communities by trying to educate the hearts and minds of the next generation. They put in long hours during the day, work at home at night as well as the weekends, and have to deal with a constant stream of parental demands. It’s not a career that anybody can do; you have to be specially called if you want to teach.

In my opinion, helicopter parents are currently the biggest blight on producing great academic students in our society. They constantly ‘hover’ over their kids and expect classroom teachers to shape the curriculum to suit their child’s individual needs. When their kids misbehave or neglect to do their homework, these poor parents berate the classroom teacher rather than deal with the source of the trouble: their own kids. Because of their constant and unnecessary intervention, they doom their kids to misfortune. Even when the kids go to college, these doted parents are still interfering. In my opinion, they are the Number 1 reason that academic standards are declining across the United States and in other western nations. A whole generation of children is going to miss out on advancing their peer group academically because they will not be able to think or fend for themselves.

So, here’s the simple lesson for today: if you want things to get better in your community, support your local teachers.

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, help us to value the teachers among us, both in church and at school. Grant us the courage to support and sustain them, even when our natural inclination is to excuse and make allowances for our kids and grandkids. Enable us to re-enable our teachers to grow great leaders, innovators, dreamers and visionaries so that the next generation will be blessed beyond measure. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Looking Back & Glancing Forward

I watched one of my favorite movies recently that I haven’t seen in decades. It’s called “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” and stars Alan Arkin as a deaf mute, and Sondra Locke as a teenager. It’s a precious movie which deals with loneliness, mental illness, injustice, racism, love and life all at the same time. I would heartily recommend that it be viewed by parents of High Schoolers, as well as teenagers themselves.

It’s a beautiful story that has a sad ending. It evokes a lot of emotions, but what captivated me when I watched it this time, was the Americana throughout the movie. It was filmed in 1968 in Selma, Alabama, and watching it was like going back in time. The buildings, the stores and the streets were attractively small town America; the people, their hairstyles and clothes were all Southern mid-sixties styles - the likes of which we shall probably never see again.

Sondra Locke’s character, Mick, is a young girl who wants to learn to play music. Sadly, her dreams are shattered when her father cannot work due to disability. In a poignant moment, she pleads with her mother to let her stay at High school: “I feel as though I’m going to be somebody, momma. I want to do something with my life.” Stoically, her mother responds, “Well, you’ll soon grow out of that.”

It’s at that moment that Mick realizes she will have to give up her dreams and work for the sake of her family.

Verse of the Day

2 Corinthians 12:14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

Most of the time, parents try to work hard for the sake of their children. They make sacrifices and save up, so that their kids can start off on the right foot when it comes to establishing themselves, their careers, their hopes and dreams. Paul mentions this when he is writing his second letter to the church at Corinth. He feels like a parent to them, and is willing to expend his resources of time, talents, and money so that the church will grow. He sees it as his gift to them. He wants them to grow strong in faith, in numbers, and influence. Happily, his work and devotion, sacrifice and blessings enabled the church to fulfill its potential.

So, how do we apply this lesson today? Firstly, if we are parents, we should remember that we brought our children into the world, therefore we need to support them when they seek to find and fulfill their dreams. Secondly, we should be thinking about the future of the churches to which we belong. Instead of looking for what we can get from church, we should be investing in its future. That way, we allow future generations to benefit through the blessings and gifts we bestow today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we pray for our children. We ask that You will enable and empower us to love and support them, to honor and encourage them. We pray that they will find and fulfill their dreams. We also pray that they will find faith in You and seek to serve You through Your Church. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.