Fight with the Discipline of Patience
1) Only God is the true authority in education
According to the Bible, humans are in a spiritually dead state and therefore cannot understand the purpose of their existence. Therefore, they also cannot understand the purpose of education or possess the ability to educate themselves. In this state of total inability, the only true subject of education is God alone. God created people to receive worship and praise within eternal union. And to fulfill this purpose of creation, He personally carries out the work of education.
So, what does God, the true educator, teach us who are His students? God has recorded everything He wants to teach sinful humans in the Bible. We believe that the Bible, written by the inspiration of God, is the only infallible and absolute truth. Therefore, original education takes the Bible as the most foundational textbook.
》Scripture Prayer
(Deuteronomy 6:1–9,NIV) 1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 Hear, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Every parent has the responsibility to educate their children with the Bible, raising them to be restored into the original image in which God created them—children who are reborn in Christ. This is not an education shaped by the humanistic or secular values set by the world, but one where God Himself is the true educator who teaches and transforms. History shows us that only God can truly change people’s hearts and lives. The gospel of the cross saves sinners, causes them to be born again, and enables them to live as people of faith who overcome the world. Believing that God is the author of education, let us commit ourselves to raising both ourselves and our children in the gospel of the cross according to Scripture.
2.What God earnestly desired from the people of Israel was for them to know that He alone is the one true God and to love Him. To make this possible, He commanded that His people continually hear, read, and be taught the Scriptures so they would not follow their own thoughts, knowledge, worldly values, or idols. However, even though we have continued to hear and read the same Scriptures, our sinful reality has been to compromise and use God and His Word according to our own desires. Let us return to the God who desires to save and transform us through His Word and pray that we may love the one and only God with all our heart, soul, and strength.
2) Becoming a person who obeys God and His Word
When a person faces an unbearable crisis, it reveals what they truly believe and desire. Esther, who had no parents, was raised by her cousin Mordecai and taught about God and His Word. Mordecai, out of his faith, refused to bow down to a man named Haman and stood firm. Because of this, not only he but all the Jews throughout the kingdom faced the threat of total annihilation. At that moment, Mordecai urged and commanded Esther, now queen, to go before the king and plead for the salvation of her people. Esther asked Mordecai and the people to fast and pray, and then she resolved to obey, even if it meant facing death. As a result, the crisis became an opportunity. Through the king, the Jews were saved and restored, and their enemies—Haman and his followers—were completely destroyed. Through Mordecai, Esther came to know God and obey His Word, even in the face of death.
》Scripture Prayer
(Esther 4:7–17,NIV)7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. 9 Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Mordecai did not bow to worldly powers, nor did he compromise. He was ready to face any punishment or consequence. God placed His Word and presence within one man—someone from an old enslaved people whose nation and name had been nearly erased by Babylon. Through this man, God worked and revealed His salvation and power across the entire land. Let us pray that our children and their generation, regardless of their conditions or surroundings, would cling to the Word with their lives and be raised up as vessels to reveal God’s salvation and power.
2. Esther had a spiritual authority, Mordecai, who taught and trained her to fear God and live according to His Word. When faced with crisis, she wrestled with the choice of saving herself or dying in obedience to the Word. In the end, she chose to move forward in faith, even if it meant death. At a critical moment of decision, Esther did not question or resist Mordecai but followed his instruction in obedience. Let us pray that the next generation of all churches throughout the world, raised in the same Scriptures, will be trained in the Word and in prayer, offering themselves fully to God and displaying the glory of obedience.
3) Build them up with discipline of patience
Today, the youth has drifted so far from God and the truth of His Word that we often find ourselves sighing at the news, wondering, “Can they ever return?” The description in 2 Timothy 3 of the last days—people being lovers of themselves, proud, slanderous, lacking self-control, and brutal—feels mild compared to what we see now. The brokenness of society is clearly revealed through the extreme behaviors of today’s youth. In this moment, the parent generation must fulfill their God-given role. However, no one truly disciplines their children. We often avoid the hard work of patiently confronting sin—lust, violence, anger. Has today’s generation of parents given up on their children? Even if we give up, God never does. He never abandons the children He created. Instead, He disciplines them with patience through His Word and builds them up through the gospel and prayer.
》Scripture Prayer
(Proverbs 4:1–10, 23–27,NIV) Get Wisdom at Any Cost
1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. 2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. 3 For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. 4 Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. 6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. 8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. 9 She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” 10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Children need discipline, and at times, correction must come through admonition and even corporal punishment. Yet today, schools invoke student rights, and society invokes child protection laws to block parents and teachers from administering necessary correction. In such times, let us pray that the education of the next generation will be firmly rooted in the Word of God, and that parents and teachers will rise up who take responsibility and continue to discipline with patience, never giving up.
2. God’s Word is wisdom and understanding far beyond any religion, ideology, or philosophy of the world. It is on an entirely different level—true life itself—and therefore must be taught, upheld, and followed through instruction and correction. But the sinner, spiritually dead in sin, cannot respond to the light of truth. Instead, they resist and attack it, trying to tear it down and boldly claim, “There is no God.” For such sinners, Jesus Christ died on the cross according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day. The Holy Spirit continues to work until the gospel of the cross—this Word that exchanges death for life—is engraved on the hearts of sinners. Let us earnestly pray that the next generation around the world will exalt the Word of the gospel, cherish it in their hearts, and live by the life of Jesus through faith.
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