Dear Ones,
Hope you have a great weekend!!! Happily, the weather is warming up so we can enjoy walking outside again. Today is supposed to reach a high of 24! The question for this week is recall a time you felt the Lord correcting you and how did you respond? Did you see fruit from that later?
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I rejoice when I see parents correcting their children for it is a demonstration of their love for them. Those that get by when doing wrong and acting inappropriately will suffer more down the line. But how about us? Do we appreciate when the Lord opens our eyes to see things that need correction in our lives. I was reading a devotional by Joyce Meyers, and she writes that we should celebrate such times. She quotes Rev. 3:19 from the Amplified translation, “Those whom I (dearly and tenderly) love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten (I discipline and instruct them). So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent (changing your mind and attitude.)”

Perhaps we all wish we could be enthusiastic when we are shown our faults and actually celebrate that our eyes have been opened. Maybe we are blinded to some fault and when the Lord shows us, we wonder why we have never seen that before. It is His love that He exposes dark areas in our hearts that need to be corrected, and we can rejoice and even be enthusiastic that now we see. Until our eyes are opened, we see no need to repent and change. But when we become aware it is a sign of growth, and we can ask the Lord to change us. Often, we have to deal with our pride, unforgiveness towards others, anger, selfishness etc. We might have thought we were helping others by insisting they do things our way but are we helping? As we read scripture the Lord often shows us our hidden faults so that we might let Him change us. In II Tim. 3:16-17 Paul writes that “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” If our hearts are open to the Holy Spirit, He will bring to light things in our lives that need correction, and in His timing, for He knows when we are ready.

I marveled when Al and I were at another church one Sunday evening and sitting across from a young toddler who was being held in the lap of his grandma. I wondered how he was going to be quiet during the entire teaching time, but he never talked aloud. He let his needs be known without causing any fuss, and his mom got food and drink for him. His great grandma sat next to me and later told me both parents spend a lot of time teaching their children and correcting them when needed. I saw that little angel bounce across the parking lot when it was over, and he was a delight to my heart. I hope the Lord can say the same thing about us!

Challenge for today: Be open to the Lord’s correction and celebrate that the Lord loves you that much.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy