daily java

Daily Java:

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:10-11)

I really am not sure how discipline from God works. I have read and heard a thousand discussions and sermons and pontifications on it, but I am still not sure.

On the one hand, nothing bad ever comes from God. The Bible plainly says that God does not send bad things to us. All bad comes from the devil. God does not tempt us nor does he hurt us. In the book of Job, that is shown rather plainly.

But what he does do is let the bad happen. He doesn’t always stop it. There were times when God stopped bad things from happening and kept the person from harm. Then there were times when he stood by and let them happen.

For instance, in Acts 12, the apostle James is killed by the ruling authorities. They got away with it so they decided they would arrest the leader, Peter. However, God led Peter out of prison and saved his life. Peter left and lived. Why he chose Peter over James I do not know and neither does anyone else.

Sometimes the discipline that he allows to happen seems for nothing. Job never knew why he was hurt so badly. It was just a bet between God and the devil. God won, Job didn’t deny him like the devil said he would, but Job and his helpless wife were damaged beyond repair. He got everything back along with new children, but his life had been shattered. And God stood around and let it be.

So what happens when God disciplines us? I believe that it is the living through the pain that makes it discipline. Bad things happen to everybody no matter how well blessed they may be. But there is a differences between those who accept the pain as discipline and those who do not.

Those who do not accept it as discipline rage against the night, they rage against God, against others, against life in general. They become bitter and angry. They wear their anger like a suit of clothing and everybody can see it. It eats them up.

Those who do accept it as discipline become stronger. They are like the trees that stand before storms. They just become stronger. Their endurance is strong, their patience is strong, their strength multiplies. They accept the fact that things happen, and that some of them are bad things, and they allow God to remain in their lives. You can see the strength and the endurance.

There is a scene from a movie about the older Robin Hood and Marian in which the older Robin is telling the older Marian about all the things that had happened since they saw each other last, which had been several years. He talked about the atrocities of war that he performed under the leadership of King Richard and how it made him feel. She asked him if it was so terrible, why did you stay with King Richard? Robin answered in a bit of astonishment at the question, he is my King. Where else would I go?

We have had a lot of bad things happen to us in the past few years. One day my daughter asked me why we kept on going to church. It seemed to her that God had turned from us. My answer: he is my God and I will ever serve him. After all, life for many of his people in the Bible was not particularly good. So why should I expect different. I remain faithful even though bad things happen to me.

In John 6, the apostles were embarrassed at some of the graphic language Jesus used in describing our relationship to him. Eat my flesh and drink my blood. Many turned from him. Jesus turned to the apostles and said, are you going to leave too? Their answer, “Lord, to whom would we go. You have the answer to eternal life.”

We accept what happens to us because we love God. And we let it make us stronger. And we become like the tree that stands before storm after storm: strong and straight.

We stand as citizens of a better country and disciples of Christ.

daily java

Daily Java:

About that time David’s son Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, began boasting, “I will make myself king.” So he provided himself with chariots and charioteers and recruited fifty men to run in front of him. Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome. (1 Kings 1:5-6)

David was king of ancient Israel and he had nothing but trouble all of his life. But one of the main reasons he had trouble was because he was such a lousy father.

Two of his sons turned on him and tried to kill him so they could be king themselves. One of them was his favorite, Absalom. Absalom finally ended up hanging from a tree full of arrows.

The other was Adonijah. He too was a handsome guy. But that stood to reason. The Old Testament said that David himself was handsome and all the girls liked him. Since he was king, that helped, of course. But his kids were also handsome.

Adonijah was his next favorite, but David had made one big mistake when Adonijah was growing up. He never told him no. He never stopped the kid and said why are you acting like this? He just let him go along doing whatever he wanted to do. After a while Adonijah thought he could get away with anything.

He wanted to be king. The only way to do so was to throw David out and take over as king. David was old and David’s other son Solomon was supposed to be king next, but Adonijah didn’t care. He wanted what he wanted and he wanted it right now.

What he got was dead. He ended up being put to death.

A lot of people get in trouble because they were never told no growing up and they think they have the right to do anything they want to do. And we do live in a free country. But that right, that freedom stops when it hurts other people. Adonijah hurt his father and his brother and acted in a way that was against the law.

And he ended up dead.

If you go the way you want to, no matter what anybody else says, you will end up dead. You may not die right now, but a lot of people on death row started by doing things they wanted to do in spite of the fact that it hurt other people.

When Jesus died, he did so knowing that a lot of people were not going to like him or care one way or another. But he put the need to bring us back to God ahead of everything he wanted.

His death meant something great. Adonijah’s death was worthless.

Which life are you living? One that helps or one that hurts? When you die, will it be good that you lived, or worthless? You can decide.

daily java

Daily Java:

About that time David’s son Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, began boasting, “I will make myself king.” So he provided himself with chariots and charioteers and recruited fifty men to run in front of him. Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome. (1 Kings 1:5-6)

King David was always beset with family troubles. First Absalom, his son, took the kingdom from David and David had to run. Finally, Absalom was killed and it was all over.

The David became an old man and his next son decided that, since he was oldest, he would be king. But David was going to make Solomon, son of Bathsheba, the king of Israel.

Adonijah was a spoiled brat. The scripture above says that David had never told him no. He had never disciplined him, never even questioned him when he was doing something.

It is no wonder he decided he was king. He figured that whatever he wanted was automatically the will of everybody, he was the center of the universe, a special and unique little snowflake.

It was somewhat logical that he would be king. He was oldest. And it was somewhat logical that he would think so. But he just decided on his own that he would be.

He had always decided on his own to do things and no one would ever tell him no because, after all, he was the king’s son.

David was a man of the people. He had been a shepherd, he had been a warrior. Everybody like him because he was a prefect example of  a commoner coming into kingship. The Israelites could relate to him because they understood him.

Unfortunately, his kids were spoiled rich kids. They had always had their own way and there was no one to stop them. So a lot of them died violent deaths that were their own fault.

In America today, we see this same thing. Men from an ordinary background will work hard for what they have and gain a fortune by extreme talent or hard work. Then their daughters will be the recipients of all this wealth.

Unfortunately, their daughters have been brought up in extreme wealth and are not worth much character-wise. They have been given everything and denied nothing.

The train wrecks that are their lives are evident. And they are sad.

The parents are to blame and at the same time, are not to blame. They were raised in ordinary circumstances and understand what it is like to be without. Their kids haven’t. The parents want their children to have the best and not have the deprivations they had as kids, and that is understandable.

They give these kids things because they love them. But it is their love that is killing the kids.

David’s love for Adonijah ended up with Adonijah’s death. He was so used to getting his own way that he ended up dying for it.

The word says, in Proverbs 13:24: Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

If you love your children, you will tell them no, or they will suffer for it.