Greetings,
There is nothing more sure in God’s Church than change. In the second and third chapters of Revelation, Christ stresses that it is the overcomers, the changers, who will have their names written in the Book of Life and who will sit with Christ on His throne. So, change toward God and away from the carnal self is not only expected within our personal lives, it’s a huge blessing and results in great good!
Personal change is generally motivated by correction or instruction; two words, which, when properly understood, are practically interchangeable. Correction can come from within as we study God’s word, or it can come externally from others. However it happens to come, it is a blessing to the wise. “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:8-9). Correction accepted does nothing but change us for the good, making us wiser as well as thankful.
Whether or not we willingly accept instruction is actually a clear indicator of our spiritual well-being. That is something we are always interested in and especially so as we approach the Passover season. Solomon wrote, “Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die. A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise” (Proverbs 15:10, 12). Those who hate correction have either already forsaken or are in the process of forsaking God’s way of life. Obviously then, either accepting or rejecting correction isn’t a game to God — it’s an illuminator of what is in our heart, our inner person. How we accept instruction and what we do with it is a barometer of our spiritual well-being. “He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray” (Proverbs 10:17). The English word “instruction” is translated from the Hebrew word musar. This same word was translated as “correction” in verse 10 of Proverbs 15 that we just referred to, so we can easily see the correlation between the two concepts. Equally significant is the fact that those who are truly in God’s way of life, don’t just “do” as they are corrected – they “keep” it. The word “keeps” in verse 17 is translated from the Hebrew shamar. It means to hedge about, to guard or to protect. The implication is that we guard or protect the valuable correction we’ve been given so that it can by no means escape our protective embrace.
God’s wisdom teaches us to embrace instruction but that does not mean we will always be instantly happy when we receive it. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). We wisely embrace correction because we know it ultimately comes from God and will improve the lives of those around us, as well as our own.
God’s love is another reason to guard or protect His chastening of us. “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:5-6).
Nothing is more sure than change for those whom God loves. What a blessing!
U.S. Feast of Tabernacles Registration
The U.S. Feast of Tabernacles sites are now open for on-line registration!!
We will again have two sites within the U.S. for the Feast of Tabernacles, which begins on September 24 and ends on October 1, 2018.
Oxnard, California at the Residence Inn by Marriott at River Ridge
Granbury, Texas at the Granbury Resort Conference Center
It is very important for us that you register now and you may rest assured that you will be able to make changes later if your situation changes. Your registering now assists us greatly in our festival planning. In the past, many registered late or not at all, which made it difficult for those working behind the scenes to negotiate and plan.
We also have new functionality in our festival registration system, which enables us to easily communicate information specific to each site via email to those who have registered (e.g. meals, activities, etc.) Registering will ensure that you receive these emails.
The registration page is found on The Father’s Call website under the Welcome menu. You can quickly go to the page by clicking here.
Marshall Stiver
