Initiate meaningful conversation with your family no matter how long the commute with Joe White's age appropriate short talks on scripture, parenting, culture, and community.
Episodes
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
"I was in seventh grade, I believe, maybe sixth grade. I was in junior high and I'd lied to my mom. My daddy and mom came home from a two day trip and it was Friday night when I lied to my mom. And my daddy simply said to me on Sunday, "bring me my belt.""
Family Discussion:
- What does that do to encourage you in your trials?
- How can you help somebody that's in your life who's going through a trial right now?
Transcription:
00:14 Today I want to tell you about the last spanking with a belt I received and that was from my dad, but it wasn't the last spanking that I ever got in my life. Revelation three 19 is insightful. He says this, he says, "those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, therefore be zealous and repent." I was in seventh grade, I believe, maybe sixth grade. I was in junior high and I'd lied to my mom. My daddy and mom came home from a two day trip and it was Friday night when I lied to my mom. And my daddy simply said to me on Sunday, "bring me my belt." For three days I suffered. I don't remember how hard that man whip me, although he could swing a belt pretty well. But I do remember dreading the discipline. That wasn't the last discipline in my life. I've needed a whole lot more since and I needed more, by him even then.
01:11 But you know, God has unique ways of disciplining somebody. God allows trials in our life to discipline us. And I have certainly had a lot of those and probably in store for a whole lot more because discipline brings us to our knees. Discipline makes us look up. Discipline helps keep us humble. And you know what? Discipline isn't fun for me. And discipline I'm sure is not fun for you, but discipline as it says in John 15 chapter one, "God uses to prune the fruitful tree so that you can bear more fruit." I remember when I got leukemia and I'm sure that, you know, God didn't intend for me to get sick and die. But anyway, he allowed that discipline in my life and I was studying John Chapter 15 and I remember in verse one, it says that God prunes the tree so it can produce more fruit.
02:04 And the greatest days of my life had been since the death sentence of leukemia and discipline is really a great thing because let me tell you something, if you're going through discipline right now, I'm going to tell you there's one thing that every great athlete that I ever met has in common. If you're going through something right now that is incredibly serious trial in your life. You know, where there's, you know, depression or sadness or you're going through something at school or in your family, your workplace that you think is too difficult to bear. Every great athlete I've ever met has one thing in common and that is scars. They've all got scars. Great ones, They've all been through discipline. And I'll tell you about the temptation that not the temptation, but the trial that's in your life. Temptation comes from Satan.
02:57 God doesn't tempt. But the trial that's in your life is that God is giving you the master's degree. In every great man and in every great woman that you'll ever meet has been in this classroom called the master's degree. The master's degree is a classroom that's full of sweat. It's full of drops of blood. It's full of men and women who God has used to do great things. But in that classroom, the master is teaching. In that classroom that you're probably in right now. And I mean right now the teacher is not absent. He is the master and he's going to give you the degree. And at the end of the degree as you live a life of discipline through this difficult trial that you're in. He's going to say at the end of the course when he places on your head, the crown of life, because you're faithful, he's going to say, "well done thou good and faithful servant. Come into the eternal list with me." And so my question for you today is this as you look around you and see your heroes in the master's degrees. You look around and you see all you have in common with the greatest folks that ever lived with scars on your heart and your body. What does that do to encourage you in your trials? And if your with somebody doing this study, how can you help somebody that's in your life who's going through a trial right now?