Text: Hebrews 12:5-11
Memory text:
“But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
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Everyone on the street sees the large, unshaped block of marble, without beauty and without form as useless and should be discarded. However, the sculptor sees differently. He sees potential and possibility in it. Yet, to bring out the beauty within, the sculptor must strike, chip, and remove excess, using his chisel and the hammer. The process is loud, painful, and seemingly destructive
but every cut is measured, and every strike is intentional. You know that if the stone had feelings, it might resist the chisel because it doesn’t understand that the blows are not harm, yet they are part of its transformation.
Likewise, God looks at us not as we are, but as we can become in Christ. He sees what we and others don’t see. Just as the sculptor, God uses the discipline as the chisel and the hammer to transform us into what He created us to be and to be the best we can be. He disciplines us, not to punish us but to form us; corrects not to crush us but to confirm us (Rev 3:19). It is proof of love and not hatred; value and not rejection
“As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?” ‭‭(Heb‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬ NLT‬‬).
Submitting to discipline is a great mark of true sonship before God.
Discipline is a mark of legitimacy in God’s family. He disciplines His children, not to destroy them but to deliver them. He corrects his children to show that He cares about their future. Submitting shows that you honor the Father’s wisdom more than your own desires. You trust your Father’s judgment and that it is for your good.
Yet, there is no discipline that doesn’t come with pain (Heb 12‬:‭11‬‬‬). Discipline brings out beauty from brokenness, just like the chisel and the hammer on the marble stone. Over time, the shapeless stone becomes a masterpiece. It turns out to be something valuable, admired, and purposeful! The raw and rough becomes refined and radiant. Likewise, God’s discipline does not leave us wounded but leaves us whole, holy, and useful. Our character and destiny are shaped.
Friends, discipline does not crush but confirms sonship. Discipline is like the classroom of sonship, where identity is confirmed, character is forged, and destiny is shaped. Sons are trained for responsibility there, but orphans are locked out! No relationship without discipline!

Prayer points
1. Father, thank You for loving me and disciplining me as Your child and not abandoning me to myself but forgiving me when I resisted Your voice.
2. Father, give me a heart that yields to Your correction, remove pride and rebellion from me, and help me listen, learn, and grow through Your discipline, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. I am not an illegitimate son because I willingly submit myself to God’s discipline. His discipline shapes me and does not break me.
2. I measure God’s love not only in His promise but also in His discipline because He disciplines the son whom He loves.