Handling Repentance - Finishing Discipling Well

Most of us, parents and bosses, do now and then, discipline our children and staff. But most, if like me, tend not to close-up well. We skip a vital part in the closing phase of discipline and therefore fail to reap the benefits that the discipline was supposed to achieve in the first place - a transformed heart to do the right things in the future and never to repeat the same mistake.  By not ending this well, the discipline may become just a punishment to be avoided (not to be caught) and not a true change of heart which believers call repentance.

How to do this closing well is shown by Samuel in 1Sam 12:19-25. There are four goodie all life time heroes in the Bible. They are Joseph, Samuel, Daniel and Job. Even Moses and Abraham failed God sometimes. David was a din-dong guy that could be very bad and the repented to be very good. He knew the heart of God and I think he sometimes exploited it. The four heroes are all great statesman of their time running great countries and had great influence on the people then. Here is the response from Samuel when the people repented for of their sin of rejecting God and Samuel by asking for a king and to be like their pagan nations (This is the deception of sin. We gave up what we have that is good to exchange for rubbish!).

The Seven Steps for Closing the Discipline - The Must Do follow-up on Repentance

1. Make Sure it is A True Repentance
2. Assurance of Acceptance
3. Point Out The Error
4. Point Out  The Right Way
5. Absolutely Guaranteed Love of God.
1. It is God that chose and love you.
2. You don't earn it. He is faithful to Himself to love you always.
6. My Promise to Support You
7. Summary:  Your Part Now is do this and not that.

Here is a mind-map that gives the details. Hope you find the mind-map form easier to understand.

 

You may want to read this for the earlier steps on disciplining Changing Behavior (3) - Changing Mindset.