When I was a child, my parents would say something to me before administering discipline. They would say, “this hurts me, more than it hurts you.” To be honest, as a child, I could not understand how this could be true. Now as a parent, I both understand what they meant and have said these very words myself. Discipline is a necessary part of raising children. Discipline is an essential part of any kind of growth and development. However, discipline is never fun or enjoyable.

Godly discipline is born out of both sorrow and love. We should weep and have sorrow over sin while being ready to forgive when there is repentance.

It has been a difficult week. Due to a family tragedy, I did not preach this pastor Sunday, and we have been out of town this week for the funeral.

For the podcast this week, I have chosen a sermon I preached in 2020 from the book of James. In this passage, James takes on the cause of conflict in the church and the resulting broken relationship with God and gives a clear solution – draw near to God through repentance. I hope it will be a blessing to you.