Six Steps

Discipline your son, for in that there is hope. Proverbs 19:18

We’ve talked about the concept of loving discipline during the past two weeks. To give you a
practical summary of our ideas, here are the six basic steps to implementing good discipline at
home.

First: Define the boundaries clearly and in advance. If you haven’t spelled them out, don’t try to
enforce them!

Second: Once a child understands what is expected, hold him accountable. This may lead to a
contest of wills—be sure to win those confrontations when they occur.

Third: Distinguish between willful defiance and childish irresponsibility. Forgetting, losing, and
spilling things are not challenges to adult leadership.

Fourth: Reassure and teach as soon as a time of confrontation is over. By all means, hold your child
close and explain lovingly what has just occurred.

Fifth: Avoid impossible demands. Be sure that your child is capable of delivering what you require.
And

Sixth: Let love be your guide! You will make mistakes with your child, but a relationship
characterized by affection and grounded in God’s love is certain to be healthy and successful.

These basic principles are taught throughout Scripture. They bear the wisdom of the Father Himself.

Before you say good night…

Do you use these six steps with your kids?

Which step is hardest for you? How can your spouse help you with that?

Would you add anything to the steps above?

Father, we love our children so much. Strengthen our weaknesses, forgive us for our mistakes, and
lead us as parents into healthy lifelong relationships with our kids. Amen.

Jonah

His name means: "A Dove"

His work: He was a northern kingdom prophet. His character: Jonah must have been a gifted
communicator. Why else would God choose him to preach repentance and grace to the pagan city
of Nineveh? But Jonah was a proud man, a rebellious prophet, and a sulker. His sorrow: Jonah was
sad that the Ninevites had repented and that God had granted them mercy. Jonah would have
preferred seeing these pagans punished for their sinfulness. His triumph: That God had spared his
life from the belly of the fish. Key Scriptures: The book of Jonah; Matthew 12:38-41

A Look at the Man

Prophets often scandalized God's people, ill-prepared as they were to hear the unvarnished truth
about their spiritual condition. But in Jonah's case it was the prophet who was scandalized, not by
another prophet, but by God himself. For one day he heard God issue an incredible command: "Go
to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."

Could God possibly mean it? It was one thing to endure mockery and ridicule from your own people
whenever you preached repentance, but going to the capital city of Assyria was dangerous, perhaps
deadly. The Ninevites, after all, were a violent and ruthless people who had already brutalized many
Israelites. What's more, Jonah despised them. So, like a rebellious teenager, he ran away, except
that he wasn't fleeing his parents, he was running from the Creator of the universe.

But, as Jonah soon discovered, you can't outrun God. Instead, he found himself surrounded by the
entrails of a great fish. There in the darkness, Jonah was ready to pray.

"In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for
help and you listened to my cry…. You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God…. Those who
cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will
sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good."

From inside the fish, Jonah was calling his fear, his defiance, his pride, and his willful disobedience
by a new name: "idols." And he was identifying the ship, the storm, and the fish as something they
had never been called before: "grace." And once Jonah acknowledged these truths, God gave him
another chance to obey, and the great fish vomited Jonah onto dry land. Even though Nineveh was
probably more than five hundred miles away, Jonah headed for the city.

In the same way he had prepared the fish to swallow the prophet, God prepared the people for
Jonah's message. "The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the
greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show their sorrow for their sin."

But now, instead of rejoicing at the way God had used him, Jonah acted like a spoiled child.
Although he had taken God's message to the Assyrian capital city, he had no mercy for the people
himself. He would have much rather watched Nineveh burn than have seen its people repent and
avert God's judgment. He believed God's gift of grace belonged exclusively to his own countrymen.

How little did Jonah perceive the nature and intentions of the living God for whom he spoke. His
running and his sulking demonstrate how little he understood about God's great compassion and his
desire to forgive anyone who repents of his or her sins.
Reflect On: Jonah 2 Praise God: For his grace—in its many forms. Offer Thanks: For God’s call on
your life and his willingness to make certain that you hear his voice. Confess: Your own foolishness
and rebellion, remembering that nothing escapes his watchful eye. Ask God: To fill you with a
renewed gratitude for his presence and love for the lost.