Friendly Friday: A Boss Your Heart Message From a Friend

Fridays are for friends (real life or bloggy friends!) to share their boss your heart messages!  I'd LOVE to hear YOUR Boss Your Heart message!  Click HERE for more info!


Today's Boss Your Heart message is from Kaleigh Anderson, a young lady who has a heart for the orphan.  Thanks, Kaleigh, for sharing your Boss Your Heart message!

Kaleigh's Message:

Love and Discipline

"...In process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass,—when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear..."

Genesis 4:3-13

"Too much to bear" ... really? I've always thought this a bit ironic. Um, Cain? You just MURDERED someone.

Yet how many times do we do the exact same thing?

How many times do we whine over discipline we deserved?

Discipline that we very much needed and yet was still far to generous.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

How often do we feel entitled to total mercy for our sins?

Mercy that we don't extend to those around us.

Yes, the gift of God, Jesus Christ, does now give us full grace and mercy through Jesus' blood if we accept it.

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture … I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 10:9

So the discipline we now receive is from a generous God that sees our sins through the blood of Jesus and who still loves us enough to continue to teach us. It is not a payment, we could never make amends, it is simply for our benefit.

He wants us to learn that nothing, even punishment, is "to much for us to bear"

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

He wants us to draw close to His heart and allow Him to work in ours.

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Det. 30:6

Like He told Mrs. Patterson to tell Chrissie, sometimes He needs to tell us to Boss our Hearts into better submission to Him.

Like Cain, in our humanness, we feel we don't deserve it, nor need it.

We like our hearts just fine, thank you.

Yet the Lord O so lovingly (sometimes through discipline) shows us how desperately we do need His loving guidance.

So when God brings discipline into your life:

Do you respond as Cain did with anger and arrogance?

Or do you see it as a loving reminder to grow closer to your Heavenly Father and as another opportunity to boss your Heart?

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it

Hebrews 12:11