August 6th, 2026
Scripture – “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Revelation 3:19-21 NIV
Observation – Jesus is telling us the reason we are being corrected and disciplined is because he loves us. If we agree with Jesus that we deserved to be disciplined and we repent of our sins he will come into our lives and we will have a close relationship with him. If we are obeying Jesus in this life he will give us the right to sit on his throne with him in eternity.
Application – When God disciplines us it is very disheartening. We may be upset with him for a moment but the more we think about how we got ourselves to a place where God determined it was necessary to rebuke us the disappointment shifts. We now find ourselves shaking our heads wondering how we could have made the decisions we made knowing what we know about God and his ways. We are disappointed with ourselves. This is why Paul says, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” When we fail and sin and feel weak and our confidence must be placed in Jesus because we don’t trust ourselves. After the initial sting of our sin we are closer to Jesus because we remember that he disciplines those he loves and that he will never leave us or forsake us. We also remember the pain of our sin and are much more careful to ask God what he wants us to do in situations as opposed to us saying, “I got this”.
Prayer – Lord God, I pray that those of us that have experienced your discipline will thank you for it and remember it clearly so that we don’t become complacent and rely on our own wisdom. Thank you for the promise that we’ll get to be with you forever when this earthly life ends. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 