August 31 Daily Devotional

Correction Out of Love

Charles and Norma Ellis

Bible Reading:

Proverbs 3:1-12

¹My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
²For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
³Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
⁴So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
⁵Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
⁷Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
⁸It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
⁹Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
¹⁰So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
¹¹My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
¹²For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Devotional:

'My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord' (3:11). We have seen this in Job. We shall read it again later. Maybe we should just skip over it here.

But so full is our life of illness, disappointment, frustration, even persecution, that we need to be reminded often and vigorously that these things are used for our growth in the Lord. We need to be reminded often that no matter how bad things seem to be, the Lord is at the helm, and He is working out in our lives things that will be to His glory and for our good. He is often correcting us out of love.

Especially in our day we need to be reminded to train our children in accordance with this pattern that God has set forth in His relationship with us. Conversely, as we correct our children in love we are setting forth the relationship between God and His children!

There is no room for the vengeful, tyrannical, emotional, spiteful correction of children. Nor is there room for the resentful, sulky, self-pitying child. This applies in our own homes, but it applies as well in the church, the household of God.

Correction is one of the means God uses for causing us to grow in grace. Our parents, the leaders in our churches, our elders in the faith, are to encourage us in our sanctification. We in turn are to aid others, including our own children.

We are happy to have obtained permission to post as our current daily devotional Heirs Together of Life: Daily Bible Reading for Husbands and Wives, published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Don't be misled by the subtitle. As the book's "Preface" indicates (see below), although Heirs Together of Life is "especially prepared for couples,"the authors declare, "Since the basis for this guide is God's Word, we believe it would have value for any reader."

Charles and Norma Ellis are husband and wife and the authors not only of Heirs Together of Life (which was first published in 1980 and continues in print today), but also of Wells of Salvation (first published in 1985, and likewise still in print today). The latter contains a series of short studies covering the entire book of Isaiah, while the former contains a series of almost 200 short studies covering the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Both books by the Ellises can be ordered from the publisher, The Banner of Truth Trust. We trust that these daily Bible readings, posted daily on our site, will be helpful to you in your Christian walk before God. Whether married or not, all of us are members of families and members of the family of God.

Charles Ellis was educated at Wheaton College and Westminster Theological Seminary. Upon graduation from Westminster (where he earned not only a Th.B. but also a Th.M.), he was ordained to the ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and pastored a number of OPC churches, including Immanuel OPC in West Collingswood, New Jersey; First OPC in Cincinnati, Ohio; Covenant OPC in East Orange, New Jersey; Knox OPC in Silver Spring, Maryland; and Lakeview OPC in Rockport, Maine. Less biographical information is available about his wife, but it is known that they served as parents of seven children. After retiring from the ministry, Charles Ellis went to be with the Lord in 2003, but he and his wife left us with a beautiful legacy in the two books they have given to the world, and we are proud to share the daily Bible readings from Heirs Together of Life here with you.