DCLM Daily Manna Tuesday 18 April 2023
TOPIC: Spiritual Bastards
TEXT: Hebrews 12:5-13 (KJV)
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
KEY VERSE:
“But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
(Hebrews 12:8)
DCLM Daily Manna Tuesday 18 April 2023
No one likes to be called a bastard. This is because it is a word that connotes a negative image. A bastard is a child born outside wedlock and to be called one implies an identification tag that is both odious and repelling. To be termed a bastard is a tag no one desires.
The writer of the book of Hebrews used this word to describe believers who fail to cheerfully bear afflictions and divine discipline. He observed that the afflictions they faced were incomparable to what Jesus endured for man. He wanted them to bear hardship and corrections because no life can have any value without discipline.
He explained that the corrections were for their good and they should, like good children, obey God who is their heavenly Father. No good father will allow his child to grow up in life without corrections. It is only a child estranged from the father who would be allowed to grow up with unlimited freedom.
The new birth introduces the believer to the family of God. As a child of the Kingdom, there are things to do and lessons to learn. Whenever we wake up in the morning, the Father expects us to begin the day with prayers, reading and meditating on His word. Then He wants us to live up to our confessions, and forsake every known sin. It is a new life with new vision and new commitment.
Every child of God must do the will of our heavenly Father. As His children, we are to delight ourselves in what makes Him happy and to keep ourselves away from things that He hates. Just like Jesus corrected Peter in love after denying Him, the Lord also will use appropriate opportunities to train and correct us as may be necessary. May God give you the grace to heed His warnings and abide by His corrections today.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s correction should make us better, not bitter.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 22-23
