Romans 11:22
Both God’s goodness as well as His decisiveness are based on His integrity; unbelief is not tolerated, not in them, neither will it be tolerated in you. His favor is not to be taken for granted; instead, continue to embrace and appreciate His goodness with gratitude. (Mirror Bible)

How long are you going to be in time out?

Have you been in a store, a restaurant, or any other place and you heard a mother or father say, “Johnny stop?” Then a few minutes later, you hear “Johnny stop.” And that goes on for a couple of minutes and then you hear: “If you don’t stop, you are really going to be in trouble.” Meanwhile, Johnny is still doing his thing. At this point, anyone who is in the vicinity and has been witnessing the situation is probably thinking, “Johnny does not believe anything is going to happen to him”. Finally, you hear, “Johnny, you are in ‘time out’”. He may no longer move from the side of his parent. He has no freedom to do anything.

Can you hear God saying stop? Are you like Johnny? Have you been living as though you don’t believe there are Godly consequences for your actions? Here are some things to consider. Have you noticed you are not flowing in the Spirit the way you used to? Have you noticed you don’t sense The Lord’s presence as strongly or as often as you used to? God placed you in “time out.”

1 Samuel 4:21a  And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has left Israel,” (Amplified Bible)

For more signs you are in time out, read Deuteronomy 28:15-44 and Leviticus 26:14-39. If you do not correct your behavior, the next step after time out is the danger of being cut off because you are not bearing fruit.

Matthew 21:18-19 Now early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry. 19 Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. (Amplified Bible)

Be grateful you don’t have to stay in time out. You can cry out to the Lord to repent and ask for His mercy.

Psalms 51:10-11 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (KJV)

Please agree with me as I pray:

Father, thank You for pointing out to me I cannot do anything and everything I want to do . It is not okay. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who makes me aware of the instructions You have given me and continually identifies what You require of me. I will no longer deliberately disobey You, act like it was an accident, and rely on your mercy and forgiveness. Thank You for consequences for my actions. You remind me of the consequences; I will reap what I have sown. If I continually disobey You, without remorse, I will be cutoff. I’m grateful for that reality. Thank You for chastising me. Not only does it demonstrate Your love for me, but it also means I still have a chance to get it right. Thank You for the opportunity to seek You for Your grace to choose You and Your will. I know when I choose You, I will be excited about the results of my choices…