Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

Social media has weakened the concept of “friend”. True friends and true brothers are the ones who do far more than ‘like and share’ your posts. They stay patiently by your side during the tough times and rejoice in your victories. Our example in all this is a creator God who didn’t send Adam and Eve a friend request or text. He sought them out in the cool of the day for an intimate walk in the garden.

Discipline is often confused with punishment.  Punishment’s goal is to ‘make you pay’ for your crime. Discipline guides you to restoration. Disciple is done in love; punishment in anger. Discipline requires relationship; punishment does not.

This verse could be very concerning to some. Few of us really want our deepest desires or thoughts exposed. Exposing them to someone intent on harming us physically or emotionally would keep us away. But exposing them to a loving Father intent on making us better is refreshing to say the least.

God chose to love a stubborn, rebellious, selfish people. There was nothing lovely about them, nor were they strong. But, true love is measured by the one doing the loving, not by the attributes of the one being loved. 

Jesus help me to be satisfied with the joy I can have in you and not be fooled into the false joy the word offers.