Text: Hebrews 12:5-11
Memory text:
“Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As a boy, Jude ignored his father’s warnings and laughed at his mother’s tears. He hated school rules and discipline but loved lawlessness and free money. By the time he was 25, Jude had joined a gang, robbing stores and breaking into homes. Many times, his old schoolteacher said to him “Jude, it’s not too late to change,” but he scorned.
One night, he decided to rob a businessman’s house on the outskirts of town. He told himself, “One last score, then I’ll quit.” This time, he was unlucky. Police arrived, the gang scattered, but Jude was trapped. As he lay in his cold blood, memories of his father’s warnings, his mother’s cries, and his teacher’s advice flooded his mind. He had ignored them all. An officer knelt beside him. “Hold on, son,” he said. Jude tried to speak but could only mutter, “I should have listened.” Then, he gave up!
Wisdom cries, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” ‭‭(Prov‬ ‭29‬:‭1‬).
Some people see correction as an indication of hate or dislike. No, it is a mark of love! “The Lord corrects the people He loves and disciplines those He calls His own.” (He 12:6 CEV).
People who reject correction and discipline often end in regrets. It is the fastest way to a dead end.
Correction takes a man out of the way of destruction. Like an adage says, “Correction may sting, but rejecting it can be fatal.” God uses it to refine us in order to fulfill our God-ordained destiny. It may be bitter to the taste, but it does leave a sweet aftertaste (Heb 12:11).
There are two agents of discipline – divine and human hands. Most often, God uses the human hand to achieve His goal of discipline.
Someone can either respond to correction, react to it, or rebel against it. To respond to correction is to receive it with humility and to willingly submit to it. This is positive. To react to it is to reject it and to silently withdraw from earlier commitments or relationships. To rebel is an open or visible opposition or affront against an authority or a leadership. These last two are negative and end with grave consequences.
Friends, whoever rejects this wisdom is inviting disaster. Anyone, be it a parent, a friend, or an older person who encourages one who is reacting or rebelling against discipline, is a stumbling block. The lesson missed with the correction will definitely show up somewhere in tomorrow and may be more costly!

Prayer points
1. Father, please help me to receive correction with humility and to submit to it in Jesus’ name.
2. I refuse to be a stumbling block by encouraging one who is reacting or rebelling against correction in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. I will never react or rebel against correction, but I will submit to it for my good.
2. Although I may not understand now but I see correction as God’s way to deliver me from a fatal end.

Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng