Be frightened by the absence of God’s discipline

Cruciform Press’ latest book, Brass Heavens: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer, is now available and it’s among the strongest titles released yet. While I’ll be offering more substantial thoughts in a future post, the following (adapted from a few highlights in my ePub edition) is too important to not share:

[Our] relationship to God as Father is alive, rich, nuanced, dynamic, and personal. Our behavior certainly can influence this relationship. Although God the Father will never disown or reject us as his children, our behavior can please or displease him in a thousand different ways.

To be on the wrong side of God as judge is to be headed for eternal punishment—absolute disaster. But to be on the wrong side of God as Father because our sin has displeased him is not to be outside his love, care, and mercy in the slightest…

However, though our sin does not change the reality of our newfound relationship with God, it does impact our father/son or father/daughter relationship with him. . . . When God the Father chastens his children the goal is always restorative—never punitive. To say it again, God does not punish his children—he disciplines them…

The discipline of God is an evidence of his love, not hatred. If God does not discipline you when you go astray “then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (v 8). Therefore, do not be made anxious by the presence of discipline in your life. Be frightened by its absence.

This is crucial for us to remember: If God loves us, He will discipline us in order to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s essential for our growth as believers.

If you want to pick up a copy of this great book, head over to  or Amazon to order your copy. And if you’ve got a blog, Cruciform Press is running a blog tour for Brass Heavens—so, if you want to receive a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, sign-up at the link!