God Had to Spank Me

October 19
I certainly don’t mean to make light of anything God does, but I think this image is much more meaningful than most I would use. I’ve written about it before, but it bears repeating, that God does not punish His children; He disciplines them. Some likely think such rhetoric is splitting hairs, but I suggest it is not. When we spank a child, we do so to change behavior that is either self destructive or we know is displeasing to God. Discipline’s goal is correct behavior. Punishment is imposed on those who are not part of His kingdom. Hell is punishment. Unredeemed people are recipients of the wrath of God. His children are recipients of His disciplinary actions which are designed to change their behavior so that they can be more effective instruments to minister the word to the lost and their brothers and sisters.

Yesterday, God told me to get up, to stop feeling sorry for myself, and go and preach the gospel to any who will listen. He reminded me those who have rejected the message He sent me to proclaim are not rejecting me; they are rejecting Him. Wow! Now I understand why people trembled when Elijah entered the scene. It wasn’t Elijah they feared. It was the word of the Lord that he proclaimed without wavering. Of course, they didn’t likely make the distinction; and for that matter, even Elijah forgot it occasionally (I Kings 19:1-4). Once again, please understand, I’m making no claim to be a prophet. I am not an Elijah. God just used the situation with Elijah to help me realize, even powerful men of old who proclaimed His word, occasionally faltered. They occasionally had doubts; they occasionally whined and moaned about their circumstances. But, when God spanked them, they got up and moved on, continuing with the ministry to which they had been called.

We may leave Sidney. That’s strictly up to God. If our work here is finished, we will go to wherever He takes us. I am often chided that my reputation precedes me when I speak to local pastors. My response is “Praise God!” They don’t realize what a compliment that is. I have a reputation for speaking out against anything that is not in perfect keeping with God’s revealed will. I have a reputation for rebuking pastors who fleece their flocks. I have a reputation for scolding men who claim to be pastors who don’t live disciplined lives, studying and praying each day for significant periods of time for their flocks, our community, and out national leaders. I’m told I need to have a more balanced approach to the proclamation of the gospel. I am told I spend way too much time studying and in prayer. Does anyone who truly loves God think that’s possible? Does anyone who loves the God of creation really think anyone can spend too much time speaking to Him and listening for His instruction? Wow! Maybe that’s what’s at the heart of all that is so wrong with the church in America.

I often wonder how many people in America haven’t a clue why God doesn’t hear their prayers much less answer them. I often wonder how many pastor/teachers assemble their flocks each Sunday and purposefully leave out entire sections of God’s word for fear they will have to actually expect their congregations to be obedient to them. I’m relatively sure the numbers are already staggering and growing daily. In Revelation 18:4 God is addressing those who have joined themselves to Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots when He says, “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;'” That’s His word for any today who are in churches that don’t demand adherence to and preaching of the entire word of God without wavering.