The Heart of Discipline

Hey there.

Lisa and I made it safely to Kansas City. We will be here until Tuesday the 10th.

Everything here is really green, and there are fireflies. Yes I have been here before, but the fireflies were out of season or something.

We will be joining fellow brothers and sisters here at IHOP-KC for the nationwide solemn assembly on 7/7/07. I have been hearing about different prophetic things possibly taking place within the next week or so. As well as a lot of intense spiritual cleansing coming to America. Don't give into the lie that God does not judge anymore. To assume such an un-biblical idea is to lift up our nose at our own spiritual pride and persistent sin. I have heard men of God speak of God's love and His good mood (which I strongly believe in) in such a way as if God exchanged His throne for some peace signs and tie-die shirts. As if to say that it's all good, God never gets angry anymore, He only loves.

Well, there are a couple problems with that. I want to say, however, that God's heart towards human beings has, is, and always will be full of desire. Do I think that the God who created me doesn't desire my every good? That would be some serious blasphemy. Do I forget that often, yes. Do I need the blood of Christ daily, yes.

Well, back to the main point. Am I saying that God stops loving in a given moment just to discipline with anger. IMPOSSIBLE. How could the GOD OF LOVE, ever act in such a way outside of His very name??!! Obviously, whatever God does He does with the highest level of love possible. When your name is love, what else are you gonna do? Do I think that God is full of desire, as a husband for his bride, and because of His love, would be full of anger and jealousy if she was unfaithful to him. Or even worse, was taken captive by another man?? Would that man not burn with anger? Why, because he hates her? UGG! No! Because the one in whom He desired with vehement desire has scorned his loved through unfaithfulness. And there is nothing more painful than scorned, or rejected, love. Does not the scriptures say that "jealousy is a husbands fury." A divine hint into the God who judges. He judges out of the place of love and desire, yet many influential men and women of God reject a God who judges wickedness because they think He is just cranky and unloving. "Ohh, God is a nice God. he wouldn't do anything mean like that." I promise you these people suffer from a severe lack of the knowledge of God. They talk about food, getting drunk in the spirit, and all sorts of other stuff that just makes you feel good (and I believe all of these things are good things!!), but they fail to address disciplinary issues because they have an "ouchy" attached to them.
If these things make you churn in your stomach, you probably had parents who would emotionally detach from you if you did something wrong, or parents who never really disciplined you. They may have loved you inwardly, but they failed to help you learn the truth about a God of burning desire who disciplines out of love. You were made with a freewill, you make choices that determine your future all of the time. Would not God bring discipline (or judgment on your mistakes) so that you could know how bad sin is for you? Does He not correct us because He loves us and wants us to enjoy life and love Him above all?

Whew, that was intense! I pray that God would give you and I greater insight into His tender and loving heart behind His discipline. And that we would know it soon, because according to what it looks like the Spirit is saying, it's going to get pretty rough here in America just around the corner...