Mother's Day 2015

Mother’s Day …

God Disciplines His Children

Hebrews 12:4-13

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son?

“It says, ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.’

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

“If you are not disciplined - and everyone undergoes discipline - then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!

“They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet,’ so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

Mentioned in this passage: Discipline (10), rebuke and chasten.

How many of you saw reports on these two moms in the past couple of weeks?

The mom in Baltimore who “assaulted” her son who had a hoodie and mask on during the riots.

The mom who had her 10 year old son “arrested” in order to get him to behave in school.

Really … what do we think about when we hear the word “discipline”? The subject usually devolves into “do you spank or don’t you spank your children?” Right?

Proverbs 5:23

“For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.”

Susannah Wesley was the mother of 19 children, including John and Charles Wesley. Through much adversity, she dedicated her life to instilling a sense of Christian Destiny into each of her children. Her children went on to change the world.

Here are 16 rules she laid down in her home.

1. Eating between meals not allowed.

2. As children they are to be in bed by 8 p.m.

3. They are required to take medicine without complaining.

4. Subdue self- will in a child, and those working together with God to save the child's soul.

5. To teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.

6. Require all to be still during Family Worship.

7. Give them nothing that they cry for, and only that when asked for politely.

8. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.

9. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.

10. Never punish a child twice for a single offense.

11. Comment and reward good behavior.

12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

13. Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.

14. Strictly observe all promises.

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16. Teach children to fear the rod.

ON DISCIPLINE

Susannah Wesley believed that for a child to grow into a self-disciplined adult, he/she must first be a parent-disciplined child. To her, the stubborn flesh was the hardest battle for Christians to fight, and Godly parents would do well to equip their children to overcome it early.

Discipline is a life saver!!!

Whether you agree with all of Susanna Wesley’s house rules or not you must agree that discipline is a life saver!

Example: If you train your child to stop when you say stop it could very well save their life when they chase ball out into the street in front of an oncoming car. I've seen parents who have yelled "stop" to their child and the child just giggled and kept on running with no response from the parents. In the scenario stated above that child would be in grave danger. Discipline is a life saver!

Now, it’s true that a good mother can influence her children positively and a bad mother can influence her children negatively, but, we also must realize that the child has an important role in the outcome of their lives.

Since it is Mother’s Day we are mostly thinking about mothers and their influence on children.

I remember that Karenlee would leave most mother’s day presentations feeling pretty poorly since she could never measure up to the standard presented by the speaker (at least in her own mind).

And, for Pete’s sake! Who am I to speak about motherhood????