Proverbs 1:23 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
What a word to the wise! "Turn you at my reproof..." God uses His Word and His Spirit in this world to correct your direction in His Wisdom. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." God's reproofs are profitable to you.
What are reproofs? According to the BDB Lexicon reproof means "rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement." That is a vast range of intensity. A rebuke may not be as severe as a correction, and a correction may not be as severe as punishment, and so on. God cares about you so much that He reveals His perfect way to you and reproves you when you are going the wrong way. If that doesn't get your attention then maybe throwing a correction into your path will.
My guide dog, McQueen, is a wonderful help to me. He makes sure I don't get run over by Dump trucks or walk off a ledge. The guide dog/master relationship is interesting because he will safely guide me wherever I want to go, but I have to have the orientation to point him in the right direction. Unlike our Heavenly Father, sometimes I will lead McQueen astray and will need to turn around. So, when that happens the verbal command of "back" is given with a backward sweeping hand motion. If McQueen is doing what he was trained to do (and he has so far) he will immediately turn back and lead me in the opposite direction.
BUT, if he were to not respond to my command to turn back I would essentially reprove him with a leash correction (a tug on his choke chain), and then repeat the command. If that doesn't work (and it would mostly be because he sees something he wants: food, another dog, etc.) then he would have a more severe reproof: "doggy push-ups." Doggy push-ups are a series of simple commands followed by leash corrections until I have his attention.
Too many of us are living life in constant reproof when we could be living in revival! All you must do is properly respond to God's reproofs and turn "back" when He says so.
What a word to the wise! "Turn you at my reproof..." God uses His Word and His Spirit in this world to correct your direction in His Wisdom. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." God's reproofs are profitable to you.
What are reproofs? According to the BDB Lexicon reproof means "rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement." That is a vast range of intensity. A rebuke may not be as severe as a correction, and a correction may not be as severe as punishment, and so on. God cares about you so much that He reveals His perfect way to you and reproves you when you are going the wrong way. If that doesn't get your attention then maybe throwing a correction into your path will.
My guide dog, McQueen, is a wonderful help to me. He makes sure I don't get run over by Dump trucks or walk off a ledge. The guide dog/master relationship is interesting because he will safely guide me wherever I want to go, but I have to have the orientation to point him in the right direction. Unlike our Heavenly Father, sometimes I will lead McQueen astray and will need to turn around. So, when that happens the verbal command of "back" is given with a backward sweeping hand motion. If McQueen is doing what he was trained to do (and he has so far) he will immediately turn back and lead me in the opposite direction.
BUT, if he were to not respond to my command to turn back I would essentially reprove him with a leash correction (a tug on his choke chain), and then repeat the command. If that doesn't work (and it would mostly be because he sees something he wants: food, another dog, etc.) then he would have a more severe reproof: "doggy push-ups." Doggy push-ups are a series of simple commands followed by leash corrections until I have his attention.
Too many of us are living life in constant reproof when we could be living in revival! All you must do is properly respond to God's reproofs and turn "back" when He says so.
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