December 14 - Stirred but not Shaken

 Read today’s texts first: Hebrews 12,13; Jude

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Sometimes real love requires real discipline.

As I approach the Christmas holidays my thoughts default to family, which is appropriate context for my Bible reading today. The last chapters in Hebrews talks about our Father God’s loving discipline and Jude applies why that discipline is important, to keep us all contending earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 3).

We sometimes get the misguided notion (usually from TV and the movies) that love is always sickeningly sweet support – “oh look at Johnny throwing his Fruit Loops at Suzy, isn’t that cute!” No, that’s not cute – it’s a waste of good cereal!  Sometimes real love requires real discipline (another variation of “discipling”)! My Dad didn’t have to discipline me very often (I was the baby and the most obedient child among the six siblings!). But when he did, I felt his belt on my backside quickly followed by a hug I couldn’t escape (though I was mad enough to try). He would encourage me with profound, unforgettable wisdom, like “it’s not your failure that defines you but what you learn from it.”

That’s the kind of wisdom we find in our readings today: For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines (12:6) and it is for discipline that you endure (12:7). Following these wise words are illustrations of those who failed to learn from their discipline and then fell away from their faith. All of us, from the beginnings of human history, have or will experience a great shaking of our faith, from Mt. Sinai to Mt. Zion, from this world to finally the heavens (12:18-29). That’s why we must not refuse Him who is speaking (12:25). The gentle stirring in our hearts that brings us conviction and correction now, will save us from falling apart when the big one comes, when our whole world starts shaking around us. Bond got it wrong - stirred but not shaken is the better choice!

“Lord, thank You for a loving father who did not let me get away with my sin. He gave me a glimpse, as perfect as the imperfect can be, of how You, my perfect heavenly Father, loves and disciplines me now.”