Have you been disciplined recently by God?

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline from the Lord), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Hebrews 12:5-6, 8 New International Version

THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Even our natural fathers disciplined us, why should we expect any less from our Heavenly Father. This does NOT mean God is a cruel mean ogre! It only means He wants the best for you because He loves you. Sometimes what He gave us to take care of is taken away because we have failed to listen to Him about how He wants us to take care of it because we have lost sight of the original purpose. When the work of the ministry becomes more about the money than about the Gospel and the Sheep, then it’s time to be disciplined. We must remember that God has only entrusted us with the care of His sheep NOT the ownership of them. Therefore if we are not doing His will as far as caring for them and feeding them, then God will take them away and give them to someone else to care for! This is also known as discipline because He loves us and His ‘Sheep’. I want to know my Father loves me, I want to know I have been made His son. Because if I am not His son and He is not disciplining me then whose son am I? There is only one other possibility and that is the Devil as a father, and I for one don’t want that. Remember Jesus told the Pharisees: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. “(John 8:44) So, whose son/daughter are you? If you are not receiving discipline from God then I would be worried if I were you.

MY PRAYER…
Most Holy God, I give You praise and glory forever. Father I thank You for Your discipline and Your love, for Your correction and chastisement. I thank You Lord that those whom You love and accept as sons, You correct. I want to be corrected by You, so that I am doing the things You would have me to do. Lord I accept Your correction and Your rebukes when necessary, but I also cherish and receive Your Fatherly love. For You do not rebuke without also sending love. In the mighty name of Jesus, Father, I give You praise and glory forever.
Amen